We have been loyal Britax customers for years, owning 2 Roundabouts, 1 Marathon and now recently, we purchased a Frontier. We at first LOVED the Frontier when we LATCH installed it in our 2008 Honda Odyssey. When our child hit the weight limit of the car seat (per our vehicle manual), we tried switching to the belt installation and WOW did we have troubles! I took it to a car seat tech in hopes of getting a better fit with the belt installation. It took 5 techs and 1 1/2 hours to get a solid fit and then when we got home and I read the manual AGAIN, I noticed it was not installed correctly. So once again, installed it (3 people this time) and no luck, not a solid fit.
So, is it the car or the seat I asked myself? I was so frustrated as we have NEVER had an issue installing a car seat. We decided to then try installing our neighbor's Britax Regent via the belt installation to determine if it was the car that did not do well with belt installation or if it was in fact the seat. The Britax Regent installed in less than 2 minutes via the belt installation and we got a rock-solid fit just as we do with the LATCH. Summary, it is the seat that is the issue!
I think this seat is probably great for everyone via LATCH installation and good for some via belt installation. Bottom line, check both before throwing away your receipts! If we were able to get a good fit, I think the seat has some great things about it - high weight limit, LATCH in booster mode, True Side Impact Protection, etc. but if you cannot get a solid fit, what good are those things? This seat is not Britax's best - for the first time, I am disappointed in a Britax. I tried contacting them today to share my concerns and frustrations but they close at 3:45 pm ET on Friday - also VERY frustrating!!
We are going with the Britax Regent in our Odyssey and will either sell our Frontier, use it as a second seat in our Yukon (has a 48 lb LATCH weight limit vs. the 40 lb in the Honda), or keep it for when our LO no longer needs the 5-point harness and we can again LATCH it in and then belt our child.
Wish I could recommend this seat but I cannot . . .
Get more detail about Britax Frontier Booster Car Seat Rushmore.
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