Frontier85 in booster mode

Hi all.

My daughter has 2 frontier85s. She is 6, over 45 lbs at this point. It is in a 2012 VW tiguan.
One seat she is harnessed and I love the seat in harness mode!
The other seat is in booster mode as it's easier to switch back and forth for when she is in Grammies car and when I have to move it for babysitting reasons. (Bella moves to harness, 4.5 yr old goes into her harnesses seat.)

I am not loving this seat in booster mode. She knows her booster rules very well, and although It fits her well, the way the seatbelt retracts and tightens I do not like. When she pulls it out to buckle herself, it retracts very slowly, and she actually has to feed it back into the top as it seems to get stuck on the soft head part of the seat. This doesn't happen with her high back Graco TB.
Also, if she pulls out the seat belt out all the way, the seat needs to be unlatched to get it to Go around the arm rest to fully retract for the next use.

It also takes me a minute to get it to sit nice my on the seat, it takes a minute of wiggling and rocking before it sits nicely before installing...

It's a great harness seat, but it's turning into such a pain as a booster...
Anyone else experience this or have any suggestions??

Also, it says to latch when I booster mode, but is this mandatory? And/or can I latch bit not tether? I move the seat 2-3 times a week, and untethering every time gets, well, obnoxious and time consuming..

Thanks !

My 8yo rides in a F85 in booster mode and we've run into the same problems with the belt retracting slowly or getting hung up, and I think it's because the belt guide is not very big, and kind of at an odd angle, at least in my vehicle, so the belt comes through it kind of wonky. I will say the same thing happens in his Parkway SG. He usually buckles himself, but I always double check.

As for the lower anchors and tethers, I don't have my manual in front of me so I'm doing my best from my memory. I don't believe you're required to hook up the lower anchors, but it makes sense to do so, so you don't have to re-buckle the unoccupied seat every time she gets out (projectile risk if it's unsecured), which IMO is a bigger pain than undoing the anchors when you're moving it. Britax recommends, but does not require, top tether use at all times.

I've never had a problem with mine sitting funny, so that might just be the shape of your vehicle seat not playing well with the shape of the Frontier.

Something I've read here is that it seems to be the FR85 doesn't offer the best belt fit and others encounter the same issues you are until the child outgrows the harness completely.

Maybe a dedicated booster would work better for her, and leave the FR in harness mode?

It doesn't surprise me that a vehicle that works well with the turbo wouldn't work well with the FR85. I can't use the Turbo in my car, but one of the few boosters I can use is the FR85, so I would think the opposite could also be true. Also, my DD did not used to fit the FR85 as booster, but now the she's about outgrown the harness it looks like the fit has improved greatly.

Hi, neighbor!

ceruti82 said:

I am not loving this seat in booster mode. She knows her booster rules very well, and although It fits her well, the way the seatbelt retracts and tightens I do not like. When she pulls it out to buckle herself, it retracts very slowly, and she actually has to feed it back into the top as it seems to get stuck on the soft head part of the seat. This doesn't happen with her high back Graco TB.

Click to expand...

This is usually a vehicle/seat/child not really matching up well problem. Sometimes the problem will go away as the headrest is raised; sometimes it gets worse.

Also, if she pulls out the seat belt out all the way, the seat needs to be unlatched to get it to Go around the arm rest to fully retract for the next use.

Click to expand...

You will probably find this true with any booster. It has more to do with the size of the dead zone than the booster itself. Work on teaching your daughter to pull the belt out only as much as is necessary, no more, so the retractor doesn't get switched.

It also takes me a minute to get it to sit nice my on the seat, it takes a minute of wiggling and rocking before it sits nicely before installing...

It's a great harness seat, but it's turning into such a pain as a booster...
Anyone else experience this or have any suggestions??

Also, it says to latch when I booster mode, but is this mandatory? And/or can I latch bit not tether? I move the seat 2-3 times a week, and untethering every time gets, well, obnoxious and time consuming..

Thanks !

Click to expand...

You can use the lower anchors, or tether, or buckle the empty seat to prevent its becoming a projectile. Lower anchor use and tether use are each optional in booster mode. When installing with lower anchors for booster mode, remove all slack but don't tighten it down like you would for harnessed installation. This information is in the 2013 LATCH manual, table A3.

It's so big kids have to learn not to pull the belt all the way out when they buckle. It took my kiddo about a month to get really good at it, now she's a champ. I had to do all kinds of adjusting to get the belt to run smoothly in the shoulderbelt guide...does her spot have a moveable seatbelt anchor? Try putting that higher or lower to make it work better. I think I even lowered the main part of the seat and raised the headrest...anything I could move to test and try, to get it to work right, just tweak it till it works. Yeah, no need to LATCH/tether it, but I'd probably be looking for a light seat to have as a spare rather than torture myself with moving that beasty, lol (Harmony Dreamtime is only about $40 at Walmart/Target, or grab another Turbo?)

Thanks for the replies!

She rides in the turbo booster in my husbands GTI, and that fits great, retracts very easily- it has significantly less "stuff" near the shoulder belt guide area and I think that has a lot to do with why it doesn't get hung up on anything..

He likes that seat in his car, because 1-it's not pink (he chose a color that would match his car... And 2- he takes it out frequently when she isn't driving with him and he has all his camera gear/dog/etc. back there..

I would just keep both 85s as harnessed seats, except that I need both in my car, as I transport my daughter and a 4 yr old 2x a week in it, and when one of my parents pick her up, it's easier/quicker to give them the booster than a harnessed seat. They previously had the other 85 in their car, but since school started, I've needed 2 seats in my car.

For a couple weeks I tried using just one 85 harnessed in my car, (other one harnessed in my moms car) and a bubble bum for the 2 days I drive both girls, but I'm not totally in love with it. I feel like it slides around (forward) when she sits on it, and for occasional use, I will use it, but I'm just not comfortable using it weekly..

Anyone with experience with a bubblebum have any tips?! That would be my ideal set up, for sure-- harnessed 85 for Bella's daily use, and only putting her in bubblebum when I have the 4 yr old with us as well..!

And with winter coming, I want to spend as little time as possible messing around with seats!
I may live in New England, but I HATE the cold weather! Lol (hi pixels!)

joolsplus3 said:

It's so big kids have to learn not to pull the belt all the way out when they buckle. It took my kiddo about a month to get really good at it, now she's a champ. I had to do all kinds of adjusting to get the belt to run smoothly in the shoulderbelt guide...does her spot have a moveable seatbelt anchor? Try putting that higher or lower to make it work better. I think I even lowered the main part of the seat and raised the headrest...anything I could move to test and try, to get it to work right, just tweak it till it works. Yeah, no need to LATCH/tether it, but I'd probably be looking for a light seat to have as a spare rather than torture myself with moving that beasty, lol (Harmony Dreamtime is only about $40 at Walmart/Target, or grab another Turbo?)

Click to expand...

No adjustable seatbelt. I wish..!

Why not get a second Turbo? I wonder if Target will have them on sale again TG week. Last year they were $30.

Today was our first day using our FR85 in booster mode in my car and I'm already hating the whole booster thing. She could buckle herself harnessed, but now she won't even try. Says it 's too hard. It's a total pain for me to reach way over her and get back there to do it.