Would you buy (and use) a Frontier right now?

Just curious as to how everyone else feels about this. I need to get two new harnessed seats asap. Not because I don't have seats but because we are moving both of the harnessed seats almost every day, sometimes twice a day now.

I had planned to get Riley a Frontier as soon as I could afford it (and I can make it work right now cause moving the Radian is a real PITA!) and Rayn a Nautilus in December. They're on sale right now at BRU (Canada) and I'm torn about whether I should get one now and just be really careful with it or if I should just suffer until the issues are worked out.

The Frontier would go in my truck as a primary seat, the Radian would stay in DH's truck and the Apex would stay in my truck unless I needed it for daycare (1x a week) and then I would move it to the daycare van.

I said other! For me I wouldn't buy a Frontier due to the fact it's incompatible with our truck. Not because of the harness issue while that would make me wait until a fix or more testing.

As of right now I have way to many seats as it is. (3 Regents, 1 MA, 1 PW, 1 GN, 1 Apex & 1 Clek Olli). These are just seats that are in my home currently. I need to sale the MA for sure, possibly 1 Regent and the Apex will go to a needy family (it's new with all it's tags).

jen_nah said:

I said other! For me I wouldn't buy a Frontier due to the fact it's incompatible with our truck. Not because of the harness issue while that would make me wait until a fix or more testing.

As of right now I have way to many seats as it is. (3 Regents, 1 MA, 1 PW, 1 GN, 1 Apex & 1 Clek Olli). These are just seats that are in my home currently. I need to sale the MA for sure, possibly 1 Regent and the Apex will go to a needy family (it's new with all it's tags).

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I was asking if you were me what you would do, not whether you are buying one. It is not incompatable with our vehicles and we don't have too many seats, we have not enough.

proudmomofriley said:

I was asking if you were me what you would do, not whether you are buying one. It is not incompatable with our vehicles and we don't have too many seats, we have not enough.

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Well you title does say "would you buy Frontier" implying would "I" buy one. I answered the poll and gave my reasoning for why I would not buy one. I also did say that the harness issue would make me wait for either a fix or more testing. So, I think I did answer your implied question too.

LOL, I wouldn't but its not only the harness problems. I fully believe Britax will fix it.

I wouldn't buy it because when I saw it IRL, it wasn't my cup of tea. I wouldn't want to move it either. The twisty straps are also a deal breaker.

Also, there is the money angle:

Two Nautiluses would be $300 or less if you could find BRU coupons or a sale.

Just one Frontier would be $250 or $225 on sale (Can't remember what it would be in Canada)

yes, i'd buy and use it now. i've tried to replicate the problem with my dd's frontier and haven't had any problems w/the splitter plate at all.

We love ours. Every time Leah climbs into it, she exclaims she loves her pink seat It's certainly a bit of work to install, but if you are buying it so you don't have to move seats, then that won't matter. The harness is a touch twisty in the buckle tongues, but I take a little time to make sure it doesn't twist all the way...it's not great, but not a deal breaker, IMO. The harness adjuster is almost as smooth as the Nautilus, too, that makes up for the extra buckling in effort of keeping the straps untwisted, lol.
:thumbsup:

I voted other because no, I would not buy one or use one.

However, it has nothing to do with the splitter plate issues(even though my straps came off)

I had the seat two months. It was an installation nightmare once I got a minivan (was fine in other cars). It was a pain to use for me and not user friendly. I honestly couldn't stand the thing and won't consider it again unless it's redesigned.


However, if the question is whether YOU should buy one or not, I'd have to say it's all up to you Some can't stand the twisty straps, some don't mind. Some don't have head slump, some do. Some don't mind the tricky install, some do. Some don't mind the splitter plate issues, some do.

I would have no problem recommeding this seat to someone IF I knew they were going to correctly tighten it AND be sure each time the straps were still connected.

Some love them....some don't. I'm one of the dont's

To answer your question, in *your* situation... yes, I would buy it.

We don't have the Nautilus up here.
It installs well in your van.
The straps aren't nearly as twisty as the Apex, so this is a step up IMHO.
You're aware of the *possible* strap issue and can watch for it.
That sale price is great!

Why would you not buy it?

I haven't had any issues with twisty straps. I did get the splitter plate hung up on the back of the seat twice, only during testing.

Right now I am mad at it. See where it is sitting in my siggy? Yeah, it didn't want to get installed in any seating positions at the safety fair, so it had to sit out.

I said yes, buy it and use it.

first, you know about the issues, so you would not be just randomly pulling one side of the harness... you know how crucial it is to follow that part of the manual.

Second, again because you know of the issue, you could play with the seat before you get rid of the box to make sure you don't have the problem so severe that it needs replaced (so far, I've only seen one poster on this board where she was having the problem even when she was pulling them evenly... and they replaced her whole seat, as they should, because clearly it was more than just the straps or something, and the splitter plate and seat needed to be examined).

Lastly, I do believe that Britax is being inundated with reports of this (at least from the people here) and the word is spreading throughout the internet so much that they will have a fix or resolve on this problem before too long, so just being extra careful and having the seat registered should ensure that you will have a safe child in a safe seat.

Now, what would make the decision for me would also be seat choices and price.

if it were the same price as the nautilus and I preferred the frontier, I'd opt for it.

As it is, I prefer the Nautilus, so I doubt I'd ever buy the frontier myself. BUT.. the main reason I prefer it is Ruthie's SUPER long torso... so I need every little tiny bit of space I can... and the Nautilus has taller top slots.

If she hadn't outgrown the marathon before she was 4, I'd have wanted the frontier, and when the sale for the military hit, I would have called up my friend and given her the money to get it for me at that price, because it lasts longer as a booster.

So I think it's not just as blind as... I'd buy and use the frontier, but that I'd do it if it were the right seat for the child. If there was a seat that I liked as well or better that didn't have the issues, I'd go with that so I didn't have to think about anything when using it, but otherwise, I'd rather a britax with an issue than any other brand with an issue.

Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear in my original post/title. I meant if you were me what would you do, lol.

It would be staying in my truck and not being moved, I would be super careful with the straps, and it's regular priced at $299, on sale for $269. The GN when it comes is supposed to be $219 - $249 apparently, so not a whole lot of difference in price. The reason I was going to go for the Frontier for Riley instead of the GN is being he's pretty chubby. He's in 3T clothes, 34 lbs at 25 months old. So I'm concerned about the GN being too narrow for him. Rayn on the other hand is a beanpole. She wears 4T pants and shirts for the length, but 2T panties because she's so tall and skinny.

What I don't get is when the Frontier is installed, how would you know if the harness ISN't coming off the splitter plate? Nicole (QuassEe) had to put all of her weight into it to install it LBP when we tried hers in my truck. I don't think I could uninstall and reinstall it by myself to check it because I'm a lightweight.

Thanks everyone for the responses so far.

OMG I just had the most ingenious idea! Why don't I buy Riley a TF right now, turn him rf for another pound or two (I'll have to re-weigh him tomorrow) and then just use that for awhile, get Rayn the GN in December, and then when we have baby #5 (which is not conceived yet, just thinking ahead ), put them in the TF and get Riley a Frontier?!! That way we have another seat, the RN can stay in DH's truck (yay!) and we'd only have to move the boosters (for a week or so until the Moneterey hits the shelves) and occasionally the Apex to the daycare van, which is way easier. Hmmm....It feels like a bit of an impulse buy, but a new seat purchase nonetheless, and I have an HBC credit card, so I could convince DH that its almost like its free right?

How does everyone feel about that idea?

Commenting on your idea, it sounds like a great idea to me. You'll have need for the seat in the future, and it will meet your needs fine right now.

For me, I would never get past the "what if" in my mind every time I used the frontier. I'd drive myself insane worrying about it. So no, I would not buy and use a Frontier right now even with being aware of it's issues - not when another seat will meet your needs. :thumbsup:

See Trudy, I think I am the same as you, I would worry. Now I'm frantically searching around for confirmed top harness height for the TF and trying to install it in my truck rf'ing in my mind... I just told DH my plan and about the 35lb rf'ing weight limit and he said "Riley must weigh 50lbs!" OMG, no! I said he weighs about 33, but I haven't weighed him in awhile, and he's shot up in height a little. Then he asked "what does Rayn weigh?" And the lightbulb went off in my head....about 32!!! OMG I COULD BUY TWO OF THEM!

the Truefit is in between... higher than the MA... shorter than the frontier.

I think that's an ingenious idea because it would also give you more time before you start using frontier lifespan... and that's a seat that, if you buy it after the baby #5 is born, it could literally last until that baby is done with seats because of the 9yr life.

so Riley could use it, then move to the Monterey when baby #5 (and this would be quite some years down the line) needs the frontier, if not ready for just a seatbelt.

Sounds like you may have it worked out without the Frontier, but I still wanted to throw my :twocents: out there.

I did recently buy a Frontier. I needed a new seat now, the GN wouldn't work so it was the Frontier or Regent.

I have confidence that Britax will fix the issue. Until then I'm not adjusting the harness and I give it a quick tug each time it's buckled. Not optimal, but it's working for now. I also couldn't get it to come off of the splitter plate when I played with it.

Blah. I don't think my TF plan is going to work. The crotch strap on its furthest out position is way under Riley's "crotch" and its really tight on him. I can't see it lasting him comfortably in that area for very long, if at all.

Back to square one.....