Question Britax Frontier in booster mode

I have a really dumb question

I recently converted one of our Britax Frontiers (last year's model, not a Frontier 85) into booster mode by removing the harness. If I am reading the manual correctly (and that's a big if :lol the seat belt goes through the red belt position part near the head, then over the child's body, then down & across to the opposite hip.

Here's the question. Does a parent have to re-thread the seat belt through the red belt-positioner at the shoulder each time? Whenever we unlatch the seat belt after arrival at the destination, the seat belt does not retract completely into the door. And, when it doesn't retract completely into the door, it doesn't come out completely the next time you pull on it. The only way it retracts completely is to un-thread through the red belt-positioner-at-the-shoulder part.

Am I making sense? This seems like a major PIA for a booster use. My one child could strap himself into the 5 pt harness (of course I double-checked each time). I was hoping he could strap & unstrap himself in the booster mode as well.

If it doesn't come out completely, meaning it stays threaded through the guide, then there's no need to remove it; just check to make sure it's fully in each time and properly positioned (or teach your child to do so.)

You should also teach your child to buckle the seat every single time he gets out of it. Not buckling it in while unoccupied makes it a potential projectile hazard for other passengers/driver of the car.

(Are you saying that your seatbelts are mounted ON the door, as in the part that opens? I believe that that kind of seatbelt is usually not allowed for use with boosters/car seats. If you have that kind, check both your vehicle and Frontier manuals for prohibitions on use. If you mean it's mounted OVER the door, to the frame of the car, not the part that opens, then you're good.)

sounds like it's getting pinched between the back of the Frontier headrest and the backseat maybe??. One of our boosters did this in one of our cars.It was just a weird angle that the seatbelt came from and the lower the headrest, the weirder the angel, making it hard to retract. I had to stop using it in that car until my DD grew a little taller and I could raise the headrest another click. It freed up some room and the seatbelt now retracts like it's supposed to.


How old/tall is your child? What kind of car is it in?
What headrest setting is the headrest set on?
Is it possible you could raise it another click?
That would only work if the red belt guide is still just slightly above your child's shoulder, you wouldn't want it too high, the belt would then not be placed appropriately.

I'm wondering how low your headrest is now to be getting pinched/hung up like that. If it's really low it's possible you could still be using the harness in that car until your DC gets tall enough to raise the headrest:scratcheshead:


ETA: I just re read your question and one more thought popped into my head. Is your seatbelt locking?? Like it you pull it out really far then let it feed back in?? Sometimes DD pulls her seatbelt out too far causing it to lock. It's OK for the ride, but when we go to get back in the car later, the only way to get it to pull back out again is to take it out of the belt guide, feed it all the way back in, then re- thread it and re buckle. I hate it when she does that, it IS really annoying so I see why you are frustrated having to re thread every time. I just cant quite figure out what's happening with your car.

Are you locking the seatbelt after you buckle in the child?

Wendy

A few answers here. Frontier boosters have LATCH to secure unoccupied seats, so no worries there. The seat belt is NOT on the door, it is attached to the frame. The car is a 2001 Honda CRV, boostering on the passenger side.

DS is 5 yrs old and short enough to still harness, but the harness is broken (see my Mouse ate the bottom strap thread :lol: ) so I am boostering until the new Frontier 85 arrives. I'm glad to know this is not normal behavior for this, because I was NOT looking forward to this for the several years I was planning on using these as boosters (after they are outgrown as harnesses) :lol:

I spent a few minutes playing around with the seat belt tonight after kiddos were in bed. I think you are right, the seat belt is locking somewhere during the process, and it shouldn't be. It seems to be very sensitive to locking up during the retraction process. I didn't remove the screw on the headrest adjustment, since I thought I could get a replacement part for the bottom harness part (I can't). I don't think it is locked while DS sits in it.

Also, since DS and I are both new to the process, we are both pulling the seat belt out quite far (not as far as it goes but still far) -- the seat belt stalk is waaaay down there for short arms :lol: so he leeeeans forward and sideways to reach it. When he grows an inch in torso & outgrows the harness, maybe his arms will grow too.

We'll try pulling the seat belt out not quite so far the next few rides, and see if that fixes the problem. I'm just relieved this isn't a permanent "feature" of this seat.

I guess I have a bit of Britax disappointment, since I loved their Marathons so much, and the Frontier is (1) a total pain-in-the-tush to install (2) the harness bottom latches drop down into the cracks of the inside seat, and (3) the straps are much flimsier and twistier that the Marathon. Definitely a step down in this customer's satisfaction.

Thanks so much for listening to my tale of woe, and helping me with your advice and thoughts.

yeah, I think you are locking the belt when you pull it out to buckle him.
I too have my Frontier in a CRV, so I know the exact set up you have. It's the belt locking, I'm sure. DD would do it ALL the time with the FR in booster mode (her younger sis is in it now in harness mode.) For some reason the belt gets pulled too far when buckling the FR ,and locks (becasue it hasn't happened with my other boosters since)and you do have to unthread the whole seatbelt to feed it back in....

Another suggestion, have your DS flip the armrests up for buckling, then make sure to flip them back down before driving. That always helped my DD not have to pull out so much belt when buckling herself.


One more thing, make sure you flipped the recline boot on the bottom of the FR back for booster setting, it should be back now, not forward for when it's in harness mode. It will make the seat sit more upright

I am having the exact same problem as you are (years later) so thank you for this post. Hoping I can figure it out because it is a royal pain for me and I've been getting frustrated.