Vent gee there is nothing like owning all thumbs down seats...

ginny4 · Jan 6, 2010

its frustrating that no matter what i end up choosing is the one that everyone ends up hating. i've had the AO, the intera & now the fairly recent issues with Britax? i also own & use the FPSVD AND the REGENT. of course these were my "step up" in safety choices. HIGHLY recommended.

i had to convince DH these were/are the best choice & NOW they suck. liek no body wants to recommend or use them anymore. folks act like its a deathtrap. i'm FRUSTRATED. i can't just go buy NEW seats. UGH

besides that i drive a deathtrap van too. the grand caravan with gen3 seatbelts. oh yes this is just great.....NOT

this sure makes me feel like ace in mothering. i'm putting my children at risk...blah blah blah

firemomof3 · Jan 6, 2010

Its OK, you don't have seats that suck!
Reviews & crash tests change all the time, all we can do as parents is do the very best that we can

In your van, do you have tethers? If the Regent is installed correctly & tethered its fine :thumbsup:
How old are the children that are using these seats?

cookie123 · Jan 6, 2010

Don't feel bad. At least your seats are used! Mine just sit there most of the time. Oh, and I drive a death trap, too!

horseymom · Jan 6, 2010

may I ask what gen3 seatbelts are? we are looking at getting a Grand Caravan in the future. newer than 2002

wendytthomas · Jan 6, 2010

The FPSVD has been discontinued for years, so naturally it's not recommended anymore. When it was in production I recommended it often. Great seat. Lots of Britax features for half the cost.

The Regent is still highly recommended for those who need it, but with the creation of the Nautilus, Frontier, and now Maestro, there are top slots out there for kids who need a harness to a decent age, but not the excessiveness of the Regent. I'm very sorry the Regent is being discontinued, as it filled a very important spot in the lineup. And I recommend it when needed and will continue to do so until it's gone.

Wendy

ginny4 · Jan 6, 2010

firemomof3 said:
Its OK, you don't have seats that suck!
Reviews & crash tests change all the time, all we can do as parents is do the very best that we can
In your van, do you have tethers? If the Regent is installed correctly & tethered its fine :thumbsup:
How old are the children that are using these seats?

yes we have tethers & are used. DD is 5.5yo in the regent (also booster training) & DS3 is 3.5yo 40lbs in the FPSVD. when DD turns 6 then DS3 will go into the regent & DD will be full time boostered

horseymom said:
may I ask what gen3 seatbelts are? we are looking at getting a Grand Caravan in the future. newer than 2002

you can google. basically the red release button is set too high & can unexpectedly unlatch in an accident. i'm not too sure if the gen 3 seatbelt have been replaced with gen4 in ANY dodge vehicle yet. even with knowing this i bought the 01 grand caravan because it was what we could afford & fit our family.

wendytthomas said:
The FPSVD has been discontinued for years, so naturally it's not recommended anymore. When it was in production I recommended it often. Great seat. Lots of Britax features for half the cost.

The Regent is still highly recommended for those who need it, but with the creation of the Nautilus, Frontier, and now Maestro, there are top slots out there for kids who need a harness to a decent age, but not the excessiveness of the Regent. I'm very sorry the Regent is being discontinued, as it filled a very important spot in the lineup. And I recommend it when needed and will continue to do so until it's gone.

Wendy

oh i know about the discontinuations. the FPSVD is SO close to the Britax convertibles..... KWIM? at the time of the regent purchase the nauti was out & while i thought it was a nice seat i didn't like how snug the shoulder area was. lo & behold my DD hasn't grown in the shoulders since & likely would've been fine. i had defintily been eyeing a regent for sometime too then so i just had to have it when it was on sale. did my DD NEED it? i don't know. my goal was 6yo in a harness. she most definitly will make it. she is on the last slot with a good inch to go. my DS will get some good use out of it too.

what it is that irritates me is that some poeple wouldn't put their kid in these seats ever again. how is that supposed to make me feel? a part of me wished that these tests never came out. it made everyone freak out. what ever happened to "the safest seat is one that fits the child, fits the car & is used correctly everytime"? that syaing has gone directly OUT the window with these recent tests which i don't know what kind of validity it holds in real life. UGH

tiggercat · Jan 6, 2010

I'm sorry if it was me saying I couldn't use my MA in my caravan anymore that upset you. I had another option, so I used it. You aren't a bad mom for having seats that pass standards and are appropriate for your kids installed correctly in your vehicle.
The thing is, opinions change over time and as new information comes to light. The recs are going to vary. I also post at a diff. carseat board, and they have quite different top recs from here.

arly1983 · Jan 6, 2010

ginny4 said:
what it is that irritates me is that some poeple wouldn't put their kid in these seats ever again. how is that supposed to make me feel? a part of me wished that these tests never came out. it made everyone freak out. what ever happened to "the safest seat is one that fits the child, fits the car & is used correctly everytime"? that syaing has gone directly OUT the window with these recent tests which i don't know what kind of validity it holds in real life. UGH

The FPSVD is basically an early version of the RA50, IMHO, and it is recommended quite a bit especially when its on sale.

As for the hype, it comes and goes in cycles with just about all brands of seats and their is always going to be the people who just don't like a certain brand/seat for whatever reason.

You are not alone on the owning the "bad" seats either.

Back when everyone was bashing the radians for their lack of SIP, I owned two. They were what fit my needs the best. Back when everyone was bashing seats that didn't RF tether I owned two: EFTA and Signo but they were once again what fit my needs the best. Back when the whole Evenflo/Cosco bashing was going on I owned an EFTA and a scenera.

Now that everyone is bashing Britax I have SIX! A regent, a frontier, a MA, a DC, RA50, and RA

(2 are for my niece's full time use)

I will use them until they expire or my needs change.

cpsaddict · Jan 6, 2010

I am very proud to own my thumbs down seats, since I don't care for the thumbs up seats. Besides, who is doing the thumbs up/down? People on an internet forum. Don't feel bad! Use your very nice seats proudly!

littleangelfire · Jan 6, 2010

Eh, I still don't quite understand the hoopla over the Britax seats in testing, I mean, they passed, right? I tried to read through everything and though I'm far from stupid, I got lost. But I remember something about how even though the results weren't what was desired, that the inuries sustained were still in an acceptable range or something like that. So I took that as meaning those seats are definitely still safe seats to use. And I have still yet to meet the seat that installed as quickly or easily in our vehicles than a marathon.

As for the Regent - I don't remember anyone giving it a thumbs down at all

Yeah, its big, and its discontinued, but that doesn't make it bad. We still use ours - I LOVE that seat! And thank heavens it wasn't discontinued before my child needed one. All the other high weight harness seats were too narrow and uncomfy for him. And the frontier is a witch to install. I'm very sad and disappointed in Britax to be discontinuing it, thought I get why. Its not a big seller, particularly with the Frontier in the line-up. MOST kids don't need as much harness time as the Regent offers, but the fact that some do means it really stinks that it won't be there for those that need it. The only option will be a $500+ seats.

You've got good seats, I wouldn't worry about it. There's no recall, they passed testing, you install and use them correctly, you're good to go.

zactayaus · Jan 6, 2010

Gavin will be going into two MA's as soon as the weather brakes or he outgrows his SS1, which ever comes first. Of course his will be rf'ing, but I really have no problems with him using them forward facing when the time comes. That being said his forward facing days are years away and by then there will probably be some awesome new seat I just have to have

or he'll use his brothers GN and Frontier. We'll just have to wait and see.

Maggie · Jan 6, 2010

DD2 is in a MA RF and will be in it FF. I'm also looking for a Regent for her in the near future. DD3 is in a SS1, which I believe flew off the base in some test? My seats are installed properly. The harnesses are snug on my children. I also drive a Pontiac Montana. I've heard it referred to several not nice things here. Eh, doesn't really bother me. It's what I can afford.

Louisa · Jan 6, 2010

i wonder perhaps if you are taking this a bit personally.
i was one who recently said i PERSONALLY might buy a 86-y and booster or RSTV before a Regent. i did not intend to imply that people using Regents were bad parents or that they were harmful, just that that was my preference. If i already owned a regent i might feel differently, i just think that for my child the cost for the inch or two i might gain, it would be more practical to purchase a different product.
I drive a Grand caravan too, an '06 i will certainly be looking in to this seatbelt info, thanks for the warning.
As long as YOU are happy with your purchases who cares what others think, I have two Signos that i LOVE, not a lot of others recommend them but i like mine, so i am happy with that.

Maggie · Jan 6, 2010

Louisa+3 said:
i wonder perhaps if you are taking this a bit personally.
i was one who recently said i PERSONALLY might buy a 86-y and booster or RSTV before a Regent. i did not intend to imply that people using Regents were bad parents or that they were harmful, just that that was my preference. If i already owned a regent i might feel differently, i just think that for my child the cost for the inch or two i might gain, it would be more practical to purchase a different product.
I drive a Grand caravan too, an '06 i will certainly be looking in to this seatbelt info, thanks for the warning.
As long as YOU are happy with your purchases who cares what others think, I have two Signos that i LOVE, not a lot of others recommend them but i like mine, so i am happy with that.

Your belts aren't the same. It was older models.

I think the issue is more of being frustrated than anything else. You try to do the best you can and then all the sudden the seats you saved so hard to buy are being put down and some people are all "ZOMG!!!!!!!! I will NOT put my child in that seat. I will go buy a new one!!" Well, I don't have that option. I know I get a little frustrated every time I hear people talk about how crappy my model of van is. Yeah. I know. But you do what you can.

Calideedle · Jan 6, 2010

littleangelfire said:
As for the Regent - I don't remember anyone giving it a thumbs down at all Yeah, its big, and its discontinued, but that doesn't make it bad. We still use ours - I LOVE that seat! And thank heavens it wasn't discontinued before my child needed one. All the other high weight harness seats were too narrow and uncomfy for him. And the frontier is a witch to install. I'm very sad and disappointed in Britax to be discontinuing it, thought I get why. Its not a big seller, particularly with the Frontier in the line-up. MOST kids don't need as much harness time as the Regent offers, but the fact that some do means it really stinks that it won't be there for those that need it. The only option will be a $500+ seats.

:yeahthat: :yeahthat:

When my DS1 outgrew the Marathon at a little over 3 years I sure as heck couldn't put him in a booster, right? There was nothing else out yet.

The Regent is an awesome seat. Some people don't like it because it is a tank, is heavy, has quite a few install rules, overkill for many. So what? If it works for you then that is great. I love it! My DS1 doesn't fit in the Nautilus or Frontier (they are also too narrow if he did). The only other harnessed seat he fits in is the Radian (only in certain cars). He rides in his Regent and will until he outgrows it (has maybe 6months left).

What year is your Van? I looked up gen3 seatbelts and it is years 1993-2003 in certain positions.

abigaylebelle · Jan 6, 2010

Yeah I hear you on this, ds rides in roundabouts. 2 of them. I imagine in the next year he will ride ff in them too. No one ever recommends the roundabout but it fits my son and my car. I subscribe firmly to the belief that if seats did not pass the testing standards then they would not be sold and there would be a recall. The britax convertibles passed testing and I have no qualms with using mine.

ginny4 · Jan 6, 2010

i guess i was taking it personally. i seem to be a bit touchy today especially. so forgive me. i'm not pointing fingers at anyone in particular. i can't keep track of screennames of who said what when. its just the general consensus that i was feeling here ever since those test results emerged a few months ago.

it is good to hear that i'm not the only one with supposedly :thumbsdown: seats yet is OK with still using them despite it.

i think i needed just a lil extra

& support. Thank you!

ginny4 · Jan 6, 2010

Calideedle said:
What year is your Van? I looked up gen3 seatbelts and it is years 1993-2003 in certain positions.

2001. do you know which positions? not like it would matter as all shoulder belts are used in our van but just for curiosity sake

kittykate · Jan 6, 2010

ginny4 said:
what it is that irritates me is that some poeple wouldn't put their kid in these seats ever again. how is that supposed to make me feel? a part of me wished that these tests never came out. it made everyone freak out. what ever happened to "the safest seat is one that fits the child, fits the car & is used correctly everytime"? that syaing has gone directly OUT the window with these recent tests which i don't know what kind of validity it holds in real life. UGH

I think that there are a few posters on this board that have overstepped their bounds by pushing their opinion (if they even present it as an opinion-- some present it as a fact) as to which seats are "good" and which are "bad" in light of all the recent tests.

Last I checked, being a CPST or CPS advocate/fanatic does not make one qualified to analyze crash test footage or rank seats based on FMVSS 214 compliance testing scores. It boggles my mind to see specific seats recommended and condemned based on the assumptions that some people have made about recent footage and data.

CPST is a professional title, and with it comes the responsibility of realizing that every bit of information you present about carseats may be taken as an expert opinion based upon your training-- even if its just a gut feeling based on nothing but your intuition-- and that when something is just a personal opinion you either have to be really careful about presenting it as nothing but a personal opinion or not share it at all.

(And I honestly don't mean to offend with the above

I just don't think some people realize the weight that an opinion can hold when you present yourself as an expert.)

Maedze · Jan 6, 2010

There is a huge difference between continuing to use seats that you have spent money on (that still do pass testing, however minimally), and raving and ranting about how you LLLUUUUUUUUUUUURVE britax and zomg it's BRITAX, big pink sparkly heart!

The numbers were pretty clear. Britax seats are not at all impressive in forward facing crash test scenarios. It didn't take a degree in engineering to see that. Nor is it just 'people on an internet forum'.

So while I certainly wouldn't say to someone who owns Britax "Zomg, run out and replace the seat before your children explode" I cannot in good conscience RECOMMEND a parent buy a Britax seat knowing that it doesn't even begin to compare to other models.

You can't afford to replace them. The seats do pass, if just barely. If they fit your vehicle and your child, let it go.

However, if you came to me and said, "I have some money to buy child restraints, what should I get?" I am never going to recommend a Britax convertible and I would almost never suggest a Regent.

Vent gee there is nothing like owning all thumbs down seats...

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