LATCH Questions, Britax Frontier Question & Britax Advocate question

BabyO'smama

New member
I have asked this before, but I have never fully grasped it... vehicles have a weight limit for using the LATCH that is different than the car seat's weight limit? And in the vehicle weight limit, we are to include the weight of the car seat AND the child? Do I understand correctly??? I cannot find any weight limit mentioned for my Mazda CX-9 anywhere in the manual or online... do I therefore refer to the LATCH weight limit indicated on the carseat??

I just installed a Britax Frontier 85 SICT for my 3 year old daughter (40", almost 40lbs) with a seatbelt, not the LATCH, because I am assuming her weight and the weight of the (very heavy) carseat are past the recommended weight limit for using the LATCH in my vehicle, but I have not found proof of this anywhere, therefore I am assuming!!! Can somebody please clarify for me? I believe Britax suggests using LATCH until 48 pounds, right?

I am also wondering if I have prematurely bumped my 3 year old into this seat... I am feeling like she was more snug/safer in her Britax Advocate 70 CS. Moving her up makes the most financial sense as my 1 year old (29", 24lbs) is needing to move from her infant carrier to a convertible, but am I compromising my older daughter's safety with this move? Should I have got the baby her own convertible car seat and let my older daughter stay in Advocate until 65lbs???

And if I stay with this current set up and move my 1 year old into the Advocate, rear facing OF COURSE, should I be using LATCH for her? Or seat belt?

I know this is long and many questions are asked, but am confused about LATCH usage and not feeling so great about my Combination seat decision right now ;(

Thanks!
-Megan
 
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Jessica61624

New member
The latch limit is only the weight of the child. How ever neither latch or seatbelt has been proven safer. Since your daughter is 40 lbs you'll need to install the seat with a belt soon anyways so I'd just skip latch. At 3 years old she's no safer in the advocate. I think you made the right choice passing it down. As far as the advocates install use the one you get the best install with.
 

BabyO'smama

New member
So basically LATCH isn't any safer than using a seat belt? It just comes down to what we prefer?

The Advocate had a little lever on the side that held the seat belt in place up by the head of the child and the Frontier does not... was this piece important at all? Is it okay to use a clip to hold the shoulder strap to the belt part when using the Frontier? I'm so worried about seat belt failure- do those clips work as a back-up if the seat belt fails? Or is that what the top tether is for??
 

Jessica61624

New member
BabyO'smama said:
So basically LATCH isn't any safer than using a seat belt? It just comes down to what we prefer?

The Advocate had a little lever on the side that held the seat belt in place up by the head of the child and the Frontier does not... was this piece important at all? Is it okay to use a clip to hold the shoulder strap to the belt part when using the Frontier? I'm so worried about seat belt failure- do those clips work as a back-up if the seat belt fails? Or is that what the top tether is for??

Exactly neither is safer. The lock offs aren't a requirement. The frontier has two different ways to install. Long belt path and short belt path. If you go to britax website you can find videos. The long belt path usually is easier to get a good install with. I prefer it. Your seat belts lock already so you don't need a locking clip. The top tether should still be used with seat belt install.
 

Jessica61624

New member
Here's the video
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uuovrWhQp0"]‪Britax Frontier: Installation Using Vehicle Lap/Shoulder Belt; Long Path‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]
 

BabyO'smama

New member
Thank for the video! I read and rad the manual and couldn't get a grasp of the long versus short but this video did the trick- I just went out to re-install ;) Thanks!
 

Jessica61624

New member
BabyO'smama said:
Thank for the video! I read and rad the manual and couldn't get a grasp of the long versus short but this video did the trick- I just went out to re-install ;) Thanks!

I watched it before I purchased my frontier and I would have been lost if I hadn't!
 

EmmaCPST

CPST Instructor
Just wanted to add - Mazda doesn't have a stated LATCH limit, they defer to the car seat manufacturer's instructions, which is 40# for your Frontier. If you were using another seat that specified a higher LATCH limit, you could use LATCH if that were your preference.

Some vehicles - Subaru in particular - do specify that their LATCH limit includes child AND car seat, so in those vehicles you need to take the weight of the car seat into account, but everyone else is just referring to the weight of the child.

It's a perfectly safe choice to move your 3 year old into the Frontier, it is exactly as safe as the Advocate would be forward facing. The only other safer option would be to rear face her, but at 40 pounds the only option for that would be a Radian 80SL or XTSL and I wouldn't spend $200 on another seat that's only going to get her another 5 pounds rear facing, especially with your current needs and the seats you already have. Don't forget to hook up the top tether, and remember that your 3rd row does not have tether anchors, so if you ever need to put one of the kiddos in the 3rd row, go with the rear-facer. :)

And install the Advocate with whichever method you prefer - like Jessica said, LATCH is not any safer than the seat belt, choose whichever option is easier for you to achieve a proper install.
 

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