True Fit Update

tl01

New member
I finally got to talk to the seat engineer and asked him about the 45 degree installation issue. He said the seat must be installed at that angle. I mentioned that I thought that 45 degree angles are usually necessary for a newborn and not a toddler and that it seemed to me that the installation would be safer being more upright and he said that this is not the case. I also told him that the seat is quite large which is great for FFing but that installing it at a 45 degree angle is challenging in anything by a huge car. In addition I also explained that toddlers don't like being so reclined which makes extended rear facing harder. He said he could understand the issues but could not approve the seat for a more upright recline. Lastly, I told him that the level line on the seat seems super reclined and he said that in future seats they will have a level indicator on the seat.

Anyway, I'm going to go take pics of my install to see how close you think I am to a 45 degree install.

I also tried to tell him that other seats don't have this requirement and when seats are recommended, it will be hard to recommend this seat given the recline issue.
 
ADS

aisraeltax

New member
thanks for posting that. although i have 2 of them and will not be able to recline them at a 45 degree angle past 22 lbs, i will never recommend this seat to anyone. i think Frontier's response is horrible and Im really disappointed. I ventured away from my tried and true seats...never again.
 

tl01

New member
how reclined of an install are you able to get in your R320? I think I can get a 45 degree angle in my car but it just doesn't leave a whole lot of room for the front passenger... DH and I are both tall with long legs.
 

aisraeltax

New member
im sure i could get a 45 degree install in the R but i bought these 2 seats as extras for my partners car..which is a standard size car (as far as i know...bmw 325). they are ok rf'ing until you have to put the top on (like you i think)...im just not happy enough to put the britax's in the bmw and use the TF's as my every day seats, yk...i bought them due to the sale (otherwise wouldnt have).

my lesson is to try a seat before buying..or be prepared to pay return shipping. w/ the deal i got, im going to keep them for his car...but im not happy and will never recommend them, yk??

i just feel as if TF isnt listening, yk? When there were issues w/ the Frontier, Britax listened and went and did everything they could to fix their issues....im not saying the Frontier is perfect..its not ...but Britax addressed the issues. TF just seems to say the same ole' stuff over and over...has to be 45 degrees...yada yada yada....doesnt matter that kid is uncomfortable, doesnt matter that mom or day is kissing the dash....just going to stick w/ what we say (at least thats how it feels to me).

eta: my partner isnt particularly tall for a man..he's 5'8..im 5'9, so tall for a woman but not esp. for a "person" if ykwim? :)
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
Thanks for the info. It's doubtful the TF will work for us then, unless the seat is narrow enough to fit between the seat bolsters. If it isn't, and has to rest on the bolsters, then it will sit several inches further forward and make a 45 degree not practical.

This proves to me that the seat is NOT designed for extended RF. Because once you add the headrest, the seat can't be installed at a 45 degree angle in MANY vehicles. So, it seems the intention is to have the child FF at that point.
 

abacus2

Well-known member
Don't other companies say a 45* angle is "required" as well? I thought the recommendation of installing a seat more upright for older children was based on research showing it to be safer and the assumption that the only reason the 45* angle requirement is in instruction manuals is for a newborn.
 

vonfirmath

New member
thanks for posting that. although i have 2 of them and will not be able to recline them at a 45 degree angle past 22 lbs, i will never recommend this seat to anyone. i think Frontier's response is horrible and Im really disappointed. I ventured away from my tried and true seats...never again.
]

This was about the Trufit, not the Frontier...
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
Don't other companies say a 45* angle is "required" as well? I thought the recommendation of installing a seat more upright for older children was based on research showing it to be safer and the assumption that the only reason the 45* angle requirement is in instruction manuals is for a newborn.
No. My Britax Marathon manual states that it must be 30º–45º from vertical. My Graco SafeSeat states that the seat level indicator must be in the "blue range" and that range varies. My DD is more upright than 45º in her SS, yet it is still in the blue range.
 

azgirl71

CPST Instructor
Don't other companies say a 45* angle is "required" as well? I thought the recommendation of installing a seat more upright for older children was based on research showing it to be safer and the assumption that the only reason the 45* angle requirement is in instruction manuals is for a newborn.

Some manufactures do state 45 degrees. However, they have also said it is fine to be intalled more upright than 45 degrees for a child wiht good head control. Britax has right in thier manual that it can be 30-45 degrees. The difference with the TF is they are sticking to the 45 degrees and not budging.
 

singingpond

New member
Thanks to the OP for following up on this question, and informing us of Learning Curve's response. It's disappointing that they are so inflexible. I tend to think that in practice the TrueFit would be like other seats, and be somewhat safer at a more upright angle. However, it sounds like they didn't test it that way, and if one of their engineers (not a CS rep) is explicitly saying it MUST be at 45 degrees RF, it would be pretty hard to go against that. Makes one wonder if they did test it more upright and it failed for some reason? It's hard to imagine that it behaves that much differently from other RF carseats, but we all know that behavior under crash forces is pretty unintuitive (we can't just trust our best guess about what will happen, because our brains don't have everyday experience with such forces).....

I agree with aisraeltex, who was comparing the rapid Britax response to the initial Frontier install problems, with LC's non-response to these problems with the TrueFit. It sounds like they don't even understand why consumers are unhappy with the inflexible 45 degree install requirement :confused:. Since the seat was designed with the removable upper section, specifically so that it CAN fit better in small cars, how can they be so impervious to this issue ???

This pretty much kills my interest in the TF; if I had noticed the sale in time, I would have been VERY tempted to buy the TF in Monet for my RF 13 m.o., but now I'm sort of glad I missed out. She can keep riding in her boring old AO :p.

Katrin
 

vonfirmath

New member
This pretty much kills my interest in the TF; if I had noticed the sale in time, I would have been VERY tempted to buy the TF in Monet for my RF 13 m.o., but now I'm sort of glad I missed out. She can keep riding in her boring old AO :p.

Honestly? Me too. I had gone to "MA or EFTA or Trufit" and I've dropped TruFit as even an option.
 

jubgulia

Active member
What is all this now?! :eek: I am so fed up with car seats! :mad:

I just bought two True Fits at almost full price! Well, one. Grandma bought the other one. I had gone to the store to try some seats in the car (she had been able to return the Young Sport). Took the Avatars out to test fit, but when I put them back in I noticed a crack in the base of DS1's seat! So I checked DS2's and there wasn't one in the same spot, but there was a crack in another spot! :eek: So we just got the True Fits right then and there, and the store allowed us to trash the Combis and put them in their personal dumpster.

Anyway, I cannot return them because they have been in use. And I was so happy with them. DS1 is finally RF again now after over a year of FF. Here is a link to the pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jubgulia/ Do you think this is good enough?
 

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