Help with Frontier as a Highback Booster

sk8nut

New member
Over the weekend I converted my son's Frontier 85 to a highback Booster but I don't think it works right in my car. The seatbelt doesn't really retract well and I'm wondering if anyone else has the same issue. We don't have the same issue with it in my husband's car so I wonder if it is my car, the combo of this highback booster and my car, or if I should just use a backless booster. I don't really like the idea of a backless booster because I like the added cushion but he is almost 7 so it's not like we're talking about a toddler... still it seems extreme to go from harnessed to backless booster.

I drive a 2005 Ford Freestyle and I am trying to use the Frontier on the passenger side, middle row seat. It seems like the seatbelt has to go up to reach the Frontier and then back down to feed through the guides. I figure that's probably what is causing the issue. I did test it to see if it would lock up and tighten if yanked hard and it does, but you have to manually push the shoulder belt back through the guides to get it to retract when in use or after use. That can't possibly be safe.
 
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joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
It's a really finicky seat :(. I had to do some serious tweaking to make it retract freely in my van...like, the vehicle seat had to be reclined 'just so', the height of the shoulderbelt anchor in the car had to be lower than the belt guide on the seat, I may or may not have had the back in the booster mode position, rather I just raised the headrest so it worked. And then, it's so bulky that it took a month for my kiddo to be able to buckle it without pulling the belt all the way out every time. Once we had that all down, we liked it, but having a less-flexible car would have been a no-go.
If you still want a highback, there are probably quite a few that would work, but if he's not a car sleeper, a backless would be fine (hard to believe, trust me, I know! BTDT a few times).
 

sk8nut

New member
Thanks for the tips. I declined the car seat slightly and put the bottom recline like it was for harnessed and it works much better. It still retracts slowly but not that much slower than out of the booster and it does retract completely where it would stay hanging before.
 

Athena

Well-known member
put the bottom recline like it was for harnessed

Do you mean the block is flipped forward instead of back? Sorry to have to tell you, but you can't do that. It must be in the position indicated in the manual.

As far as the general retraction issue, that's something that happens with some booster-car combos. Or do you mean it's because the head rest is in a low position, so the seat itself is interfering? I think that's one of the reasons they suggest using the harness until outgrown, then converting to booster. We love using ours in booster mode, but I have tall kids who outgrow the harness by 7. If this HBB doesn't work for you, there are lots of other HBBs to choose from. If you want suggestions, maybe post his measurements.
 

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