Reviews for Britax Frontier toddler car seat

We have been using the Frontier for about six months and love it. I do hate having to trade it between vehicles, because it takes three times as long to install as our Roundabout. We have two Subaru Legacys -- one wagon and one sedan. The install in the sedan is a little easier (perhaps because the seat back is higher?). The very first time I tried to install the Frontier, I could NOT get a tight fit with the lap belt. I worked on it for forty minutes and nearly gave up, but tried one more time and finally figured out that I needed to turn the buckle to the lap belt 180 degrees (upside down) inside the short belt path in order to get the angle in able able to tighten it properly. That worked! I have used the LATCH belt to install on a relative's Dodge extended cab, and it took only 10 or 15 minutes (and a LOT of muscle) the first time. Don't be afraid to kneel IN the seat while tightening. Also: on most vehicles you cannot "borrow" LATCH connectors for a middle-seat install (I often wonder if that is many folks' difficulty on LATCH placement). The lifting armrests are handy for getting our son in and out of the seat. The armrests are also helpful as a place to hold back the straps when he is climbing in (though I miss the little velcro tabs on our Roundabout). The cup-holders tip a bit too far back for my liking in the harness mode. (The recline block causes the seat to lean further back in harness mode.) But honestly, that's just me being picky. This is a great and sturdy seat. Be sure to watch the video up above so you can see why you need those big sidewings around your child's head. The side impact protection on this seat is AMAZING. I feel so much safer for having it. The sidewings are also great for when my son falls asleep on long drives. They support his head in a very comfortable position. I like the rubbery harness covers at the chest; they keep the harness from slipping on wiggly children, and also make it harder for little hands to pull the chest clip down from it's proper position at armpit level. My son says the seat is very comfortable, and prefers it to his Roundabout (he's still within the limits for that seat). He has the red Frontier and calls it his "race-car seat." He giggled for 30 minutes straight during our first ride. We will be buying another one soon so we can stop using the Roundabout and so we don't have to trade between cars anymore. I will never buy another carseat that is not Britax. Their dedication to quality and safety astounds me.

I just finished installing the frontier in my Ford Freestyle. I was worried about the fit after reading many reviews, but I decided to go for it and get the return shipping insurance just in case. I do agree that this was exponentially more difficult to install than the Roundabout that my almost 3 year-old son has outgrown. That said, I was able to fit my child and install the seat in about 30 min. using latch. (I did break all of the fingernails on my right hand trying to change the buckle position.) The Britax website (britaxusa.com) has installation videos that were invaluable. I don't think I could have followed the manual alone. So far so good my son seems happy in it and was glad to get a big kid seat like his older brother.

This seat simply does not fit in a Chrysler Town and Country in harness mode. I've tried both the long and short belt paths in every single seat in our van. Neither the belt nor the latch will tighten enough and I pride myself on installing carseats properly. It slides around several inches conservatively on either side and to the front. I have loved the Britax products as well and never had a problem before. This seat is a great concept but the execution could have been better planned. If you own a T&C, spare yourself the frustration and aggrevation and buy a different seat. The only redeeming quality is that it is a very nice booster seat but for $270, it's just too much money for just that.

We have 3 children ranging from 3-9yo. We got the Britax frontier in early 09. We are solid Britax supporters, however this is the seat that has caused us most problems out of the 7 britax seats we have purchased and assorted other travel boosters. The biggest issue for a parent user is the installation and removal of the seat cover and seat LATCH install. Also the twisting straps - a first for a britax seat in our experience. The latch install is completely counter intuitive. To LATCH install, do NOT try to LATCH traditionally, OUTSIDE the Frontier seat, instead reach inside the seat, where your childs butt sits, you will find openings on either side at the rear/bottom back area. First LATCH the buckles to the car LATCH sytem, then reach thru to DRAG the LATCH slack thru and AFTER latching to the actual car system, pull tight on the slack to tighten the seat easily. It took me 45 wasted mins and several viewings of instructions, incl online video to figure this out. Next issue, the cloth they are using for the colors does not hold up (we had pink), it pills, pulls and discolors easily. We had this replaced under waranty. Your best bet is the desert (sandy) color, its a diff fabric and holds up well, we have it on another Britax Regent. We also have had harness issues. Again replaced under warranty. One of the over shoulder harness straps started to rub and fray where the harness half buckle sat. We also have had problems with the harness straps twisting, which is a first for us, with a britax seat. No real issues with replacement aside from getting someone with britax customer service and ensuring you have the info necessary for the claim. Finally and importantly, the replacement of the cover and straps was HARD work. I am very familiar with BRITAX products and have changed more than my fair share of covers from kids being sick or spilling something. This removal/replacement took me over an hour to achieve. Hard to imagine if you were dealing with a pukey seat and sick child too. The shoulder/hip harness straps are now sliding into a moulded area under the seat, that makes it harder still to remove, twist out for cleaning. The two piece seat cover required me to use a knitting needle and some fine handiwork to hook some of the elastic into its holders, so the cover stayed in place. With all the negatives of this seat, I am a firm believer that the safety characteristics of Britax seats are worth the troubles you may encounter with this seat. That said, if you like keeping it simple, this may not be the perfect seat for you. We still have yet to convert it to a booster, though I know of others who have found this feature great. Overall, this would be a seat would have trouble recommending to others at this time.

After reading the reviews, I was a little apprehensive of installing this seat in our small 2003 Audi A4. I warned my non-instruction reading husband to read the instructions. He actually followed my instructions, read the booklet, and had the car seat installed more securely than any other Britax seat that we purchased the first time around (this is our 4th) in about 20 minutes. We had no problems. You have to read the instructions because this car seat is set up quite differently from other Britax seats. Finally, my 2.5 year old daughter absolutely loves the seat so I believe it's definitely a winner in our household.

I love this seat. I was a little nervous about installation after reading other reviews, but it was no problem in my Mazda 5 minivan. I used PP suggestion to use a binder clip to hold the seatbelt out while threading it through the belt path. My 5 yo reports that the seat is confortable and he likes the cupholders. I just ordered a second Frontier for my younger child. Hopefully the last car seat I will ever buy :)

I was skittish about ordering this seat given all the "difficult installation" reports. I needn't have worried: thanks to tips from other reviewers, it took ~10 minutes to put in my Volvo wagon & it doesn't budge an inch. To summarize key tips on installing as harness w/ LATCH: 1) Position the recline block 2) Throw the top tether strap over the back of the seat (you'll come back to it later - right now you just need to get it out of the way so it doesn't get stuck behind the seat when you tighten the lower LATCH anchors) 3) Attach the lower LATCH anchors 4) Put your knees in the seat, then reach through the holes in the back of the seat to grab the LATCH tightening straps & PULL HARD while pressing your knees into the seat itself. 4) Attach the top tether & pull tight. I'm so glad I ordered this seat - we're a Britax family (Boulevard, Marathon, Roundabout) and are happy to have found a harness/booster seat that that delivers the safety and stability we've come to expect from the brand.

I usually do not write reviews....and almost did not purchase this seat based upon the large number of reviews on the site that suggest extreme difficulty installing this seat. Well, we purchased the seat, installed it using latch in about 15 minutes AND IT DOES NOT MOVE. AT ALL. I think the key to a successful install using latch is to position the latch connectors so they can be pulled tight through the holes in the seat that you would use to pass the seat belt in the "long belt path" install. Pulling the connectors tight through these holes gave me plenty of leverage and allowed me to eliminate all side to side motion. It is unfortunate that Britax does not make this tip available in their install guide. I think it would save many consumers a lot of frustration and bad word of mouth publicity. Hope this is useful information.