To enter, please visit our forums for more details by clicking here. Honestly, this is a very nice list of improvements. Almost every important facet of the weight and height limits was increased. Almost every minor quibble with the original design was updated and appears to be improved. Overall, this really is a prime example of a company listening to consumers and making a good product even better! And now on to the boring re-hash of the original review.
I try not to write reviews this long any more, but this one was mostly recycled from the original! Side Impact Protection — Most child restraints are quite effective in frontal crashes when used properly.
Side impacts are gaining attention because they can be very dangerous, even to properly restrained passengers. The relatively deep wings for the torso and head provide added protection from intrusion.
In addition, the wings around the head are padded with energy absorbing foam. The Frontier 85 seems to be the same as the original Frontier in this regard. While most kids above 40 pounds can use a booster, some may not be mature enough to remain seated properly in a lap and shoulder belt.
In other cases, parents may prefer to keep their child in a 5-point harness beyond 40 pounds because it may offer somewhat more protection in side impacts and rollovers than a 3-point lap and shoulder belt.
Britax recommends use of the harness system to its limits before using the Frontier 85 as a booster. The harness material is slightly different and appears more similar in feel to that found on some of the Britax convertibles. This may help keep it from folding over in the buckle as would happen in the original Frontier from time to time.
Added stitching keeps the sliding buckle tongues from getting lost in the corners. My daughter above right is 9. You can see she is very close to the seated shoulder height limit of the Frontier 85 in harness mode. Multiple Harness Height Settings — The harness adjuster has ten height settings to fit children of varying sizes. The height adjustment is accomplished by a handle on the back of the seat.
Though no rethreading of straps is necessary in most cases, the Frontier does need to be removed from the vehicle to adjust the harness height. The new height adjuster is significantly revised. Compared to the original, it uses high density plastic and has a large steel reinforcement bar, too.
I find it works well, but mine is not quite as easy to adjust as the original Frontier, especially into and out of the top setting. Anyway, it is a small price to pay for what appears to be a much more robust adjuster.
Harness Adjuster and Use — The Frontier 85 has a one-hand-pull front adjustment to tighten the harness. The strap to tighten the harness comes through a slot in the front of the seat and is also narrower than before. The release button is hidden under the pad on the top of the seat. This allows for easy adjustments to make the harness tighter or looser. On the Frontier 85 you push in the lever to adjust, whereas on the original Frontier you lifted up on the lever to adjust.
It feels about the same as the original in limited use. The harness buckle clicks when each buckle tongue is inserted. Various Britax convertibles have a Velcro fastener to hold the harness out of the way while the child is placed in the seat. On the Frontier, the armrests are convenient place to loop the harness system out of the way when not in use. LATCH — The Frontier 85 includes a single flexible strap with connectors on each end to attach to the lower anchors found in newer vehicles.
Now, only one side also has an adjuster and push-button release mechanism. A minor drawback. Convenient slots on the side of the seat are provided to store the LATCH attachments when not in use. Unlike some other combination models, Britax allows you to use the lower anchors and the top tether when this model is used as a belt positioning booster.
This can help keep the booster in place while loading, unloading, during turns or when the booster is not occupied. An energy absorbing Versa-Tether top tether strap is also included and use is recommended at all times. Most vehicles on the road today have top tether anchors or can have them fitted at a dealership.
When not in use or when used in booster mode, a storage clip at the bottom of the recline block keeps it securely fastened. Base and Crotch Strap Adjustment — The crotch strap has three adjustments, with the slot positions slightly changed from the original model. Changing it requires the seat to be removed from the vehicle.
A metal clip is threaded through the base and reinserted into another slot. Most older kids will be using the outermost slot. The inner two slots may be more appropriate for kids closer to the minimum age and weight limits. Select the slot closest to, but not under the child. The Frontier 85 is also reasonably deep and should accommodate older kids fairly well. A belt shield cover attaches to the bottom of the back of the Frontier 85 to keep the harness strap system from getting stuck against the vehicle seat back.
Padding and Comfort — The Frontier 85 is very well padded all around and seems very comfortable. The breathable, red mesh fabric is down the middle. The very soft black and grey fabrics are like a micro-fiber velour and are on the wings, thighs and edges. While the Frontier 85 will launch only with updated versions of the same fashions, hopefully we will see some additional styles in the future!
Sturdier, fixed armrests replace the adjustable ones in the original Frontier. A large comfort pad is also attached to the crotch strap to keep the buckle and strap off the child. This is handy if the buckle is hot from being in the sun.
Belt Guides — When converted to booster mode, a red shoulder belt guide positions the shoulder belt right under the head restraint. This guide is open and should allow free movement of the shoulder belt in most vehicles.
In vehicles with low shoulder belts that come from the vehicle seat, you may find in a few cases that the belt has to come up over the back of the Frontier shell, then down the front to the guide on a shorter child. This might add some friction and so you need to make sure any slack it always taken up by the retractor.
A red lap belt guide indicates the routing of the lap belt, under the armrests. The geometry of the lap and shoulder belt guides is quite similar to the original. So, I expect the Frontier 85 to perform similarly, as it did in my observations.
Starting at 2 years, this could indeed be the last seat your kids will ever need. However, if the seat is involved in a moderate or severe crash, it may be unusable. Please contact Britax for guidance on crash replacement. Cupholders — The Frontier 85 now has fixed cupholders on each side of the front of the base.
One quibble with the original Frontier was that the cupholders could be difficult to open in some vehicle seats. This will no longer be an issue. They are also reasonably deep. The only possible drawback may be with the biggest kids who would not be able to spread their legs to the side with bottles in both cupholder.
Crash Indicator — The top tether strap has a special stitching indicator that will break free if subjected to forces in a moderate or severe crash.
The manual shows how to inspect the seat to determine if the Frontier is no longer acceptable for use. That is only one example, there are other possible crashes that may not cause the stitching to rip, so caregivers should refer to the NHTSA guidelines on re-use of crashed child restraints or contact Britax for guidance on using the Frontier after a crash.
Airplane Certification — The Frontier can be used on aircraft, but only with the harness. It may not be used on aircraft as a booster. The top tether is not used on airplanes.
Construction — The Frontier 85 feels solidly made. The main potential issues for durability on the original Frontier seemed to be the bottom of the mesh cover, the cup holders and the armrests, all of which have been revised and improved. Kudos to Britax for this! The Frontier 85 is a very nice combination seat for kids above 2 years old who are no longer rear-facing.
Like the Britax Regent, there are no built-in lockoffs on this model. Parents will find it beneficial to pull the loop that tightens the LATCH straps through the belt path slot and cover, into the front of the seat before pulling to tighten this is now more clearly reflected in the manual. The adjuster on the LATCH attachment strap may actually come up to the belt path slot in the plastic shell of the Frontier when the installation is secured tightly.
This is less of an issue with the Frontier 85 as the belt path slots are a little more open. If you attempt to pull the straps from the side of the seat as is typical on narrower carseats, you may find that you cannot get a good angle to tighten the LATCH attachments adequately.
In most cases, this should also more than compensate for the fact that there is now only an adjuster on one side. For seatbelt installations, the manual now gives additional guidance on whether a short or long belt path might be tried first.
This is based on the where the seatbelt system is positioned in relation to the width of the Frontier It takes a little more time to route the seatbelt in this manner, especially the first few times you try it this way.
It takes practice to keep the seatbelt from twisting as you route it behind the Frontier. Having a second person hold the shoulder belt while it is fully extended may help. Despite the extra learning curve, it is not too bad once you have some experience with it. On the plus side, the result is usually a very solid fit in the second row of our Odyssey and in the outboard spot of our Prius.
The seatbelt now sits much better on the revised lap belt guide, as the gap between the guide and armrest has been redesigned. In some vehicle seating positions, the seatbelt may not be long enough for a reverse belt path installation.
In our Prius, it was barely long enough to work. Please note that when installing with the reverse belt path, the shoulder belt is NOT routed through the red shoulder belt guide under the head restraint wings that is used in booster mode. The label on this guide applies to booster mode only. When using the long belt path installation for harness mode, the shoulder belt should lay flat against the fabric of the main shell of the Frontier 85 as shown in the photo above.
Using the short belt path routing, it was somewhat more difficult than average in the second row our Honda minivan, about the same as with the original Frontier. This is due to the pillar mounted lap and shoulder belts that tend to allow for more side-to-side motion with the short belt path. I was still able to get an acceptable installation, but the long belt path is preferable in this spot.
On the other hand, it installed quite well with the short belt path in our Prius and almost as well in the third row of our Odyssey that has a different seatbelt setup. The new, more open design helps reduce the issue of longer seatbelt stalks being a problem with the seatbelt routing path slots when using the short belt path. Another tip in some vehicles is to recline the vehicle seat back first, then install the child seat as tight as possible. When you have finished, bring the vehicle seat back upright to secure the Frontier a bit better.
One or two complete twists may do the trick, but no more than three full twists if absolutely necessary. Please keep in mind that an acceptable fit does not have to be rock solid! The seat is installed correctly when it cannot be moved back-to-front or side-to-side more than one inch, when given a modest tug at the seatbelt path.
Conversion to a booster requires removing the harness system. This is outlined in the manual. A small screw is also removed from the back of the headrest, allowing a second adjustment of the head restraint for booster mode only. It is important to note that this second height adjustment cannot be used in harness mode. And is there any way to make it more upright? If you can't make it more upright, then it's fine.
Angela New member. HayleyCPST said:. Click to expand Yes, it is tethered. This is the best we could get it or it wouldnt work, the seat is damn near impossible to install! Pixels New member. I think that there is too much of a gap at the seat back. There is no way it is going to get any more upright or the gap any smaller, believe me we tried for 40 min Is the gap a potential problem? Can you try long belt path? I agree that the gap is a bit troubling to me. What is causing it to push out like that?
If you set it down on the vehicle seat and just push it back toward the seat bight where the back and bottom of the vehicle seat come together what happens? Does it spring back out at you, or will it just not go in any farther?
I'm just having a hard time understanding what it causing it to be so far off the back of the vehicle seat. Is there a headrest in that position? It's ok to have a gap at the back of the FR85 base and vehicle seat bottom and also at the bottom of the FR85 back and vehicle back depening on your vehicle seats , but yours seems really awkward.
You're also looking a little too reclined. I think you may get a better install with the long belt path. I HATE installing with the short belt path. Start your install with your knees pushing the car seat back, "thread" the seatbelt and then slowly - while you have your knee pushing the FR down and in - tighten the shoulder belt. I usually have to tighten down near the buckle first, then feed through and finish with the shoulder portion.
There is no headrest in that seating position, I think its a combination between the shape of the vehicle seat and the shape of the Frontier. I was standing in it and pushing it as hard as I could and dh tightened it and that was the best we could get.
It had to be short path, with the long path the belt couldnt even reach the buckle. If that block thing didnt have to be in the forward position it would have a much better fit. Do you have any techs near by? Not that you don't know how to put it in you've been here long enough that I'm sure you're pretty good or that you tried hard, but maybe a near by tech might have some tricks that may help.
Sometimes it's easier to try the tricks rather than just describe them here. I am having the exact same issues here with our F Supercrew cab truck. The install looked exactly the same. I wasn't comfortable with it, so I put our Marathon in the truck in the center position.
Now I am trying to get a good install of the Frontier 85 in our Honda Odyssey van and am having a horrendous time. We have captains chairs in the 2nd row and can't get a good fit without reclining it. Watched all videos on Youtube by Britax, did all 3 installation methods.
Called Britax according to their info they were able to get a good fit in the F and in my Honda. I am growing increasingly disillusioned with this company.
My 13 yr olds used Britax seats when they were younger. My soon to be 3 yr old loves her Marathon. It is just the stinky Frontier that I'm having problems installing. I know there is a fire department not too far away that holds seat checks once in a while, but thats about all I know of. I NEED this seat to work in this truck in the center position!
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