New Dionos not recommended as boosters by IIHS?

deanna1ynne

New member
Please forgive me if this has already been discussed somewhere else (and feel free to link me to the appropriate thread); I spent a while searching but didn't find anything.

I recently came across this link indicating that the new Diono Pacifica and Olympia are not recommended as boosters due to the belt fit: http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/child-boosters/not-recommended

Does anyone know if Diono is doing anything to fix or adjust the belt-fit, or if we're just sort of out of luck, or anything else about the issue? Is the IIHS more or less reliable than other car seat rating places? I guess I'm just not sure what to make of this, and we have two pacificas that we got last fall before this came out. Any thoughts?

ETA: I just realized I posted this in the wrong area. Sorry about that! (I don't see a way to un-do or switch it though.)
 
Last edited:
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jjordan

Moderator
This blog post from carseatblog might help you to get a handle on what the IIHS ratings mean and what conclusions you should draw from the various ratings. They are generally considered to be a pretty reliable source of booster fit ratings.

Generally the Diono seats are not often recommended here for booster use (regardless of the particular model and its IIHS rating) because they have a minimum weight of 50 pounds, and most kids are booster ready before they reach 50 pounds. In addition, the type of shoulder belt positioner that is used (at least on some of them, I'm not sure if it's all) means that when a kid moves out of position a bit, slack is introduced into the shoulder belt and the belt doesn't retract, which is unsafe.

I haven't heard anything about whether or not Diono is addressing the rating or changing the seat design in any way.

Hope this helps!
 

thepote

New member
Yes, the standard spiel here and on other car seat safety forums is that you should not plan on using it as a booster, and get a dedicated booster when the time comes. That being said, the Dionos are great convertible seats and are high on the 'recommended ' lists.
 

spokaneCPST

CPST Instructor
Here was my experience with the Diono Radians . . . my 9 year olds outgrew the harness height around the time they turned 7. They were well under 50 pounds at that time, so they could not use the booster function. Now that they have finally reached 50 pounds, they are too tall to use the booster (shoulders don't fit under the headwings).

I haven't actually tried them in the newer Dionos as boosters, but I don't think the new seats are that much different that they will fit.
 

Cnidaria

New member
Yep, that is typical: many/most kids outgrow the booster function by height before reaching the minimum booster weight of 50 lbs.
 

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