Are child seats for children car specific or does one seat fit all?

Question

Are child seats for children car specific or does one seat fit all?

Answer 1

Not always, I had a Blazer I drove for a while and the I got a Nissan Maxiam, and had to get a different car seat because my little girls seat would wobble and the need to be flat and tight aganist the seat to be safe.

Answer 2

most car seats fit any car.

Answer 3

Well, neither actually. :)  Very few seats are car specific - only from high end dealers and you have to special order them. And very few seats fit all cars.

There are some car seats that are car specific, you can buy model specific child restraints from Mercedes and Porsche and a few other high end vehicles. The Porsche ones are mainly available b/c they have a special mechanism that will shut off the airbag. These seats are thoroughly expensive, and most often made by Britax or another major car seat brand. They're also usually not needed.

On the other hand, car seats are definitely not universally compatible with all vehicles. And some child seats are notorious for being incompatible with lots of vehicles - like the Sunshine Kids Radian65 - its a terrific seat, but throroughly difiicult to install in many cars and for that reason I don't often recommend it unless you need 3 car seats across. (Its the narrowest harnessed seat out there). Honestly, ease of installation and fitting in most vehicles is one of those areas where the cheap ones just don't measure up. There is one seat - Cosco Scenera, actually THE cheapest convertible car seat you can buy new at $45, that installs pretty easily in most vehicles. The Evenflo Triumph Advance is easily installed in many vehicles and has some great features, for $130-150.

The absolute easiest seat to install in almost every vehicle its tried in is the Britax Marathon.  Its b/c of the way the baSe is shaped and the fact that it has built-in lockoffs. Both make it almost universal. Almost. Though I've yet to hear of a vehicle it wouldn't work in. Its that good. :) Another seat that is notorious for being difficult to install is actually one of the top selling ones - the Eddie Bauer 3-in-1/Safety1st/Cosco Alpha Omega. These 3-in-1 one seats are all the same seat by the same company, just different covers and extra features. Its incredibly difficult to install them rear facing, and most people have to remove the base to get a good install that way. It has some other major drawbacks, too, check the links below or my other answers on convertible car seats to learn more.

So - if you're looking for the easiest seat to install that will most definitely fit your car, Britax Marathon all the way. And Decathalon and Boulevard are the same seat shell with different features so they will fit as well. Infant carriers are all very similar inhow they install and the shape, so most will fit most vehicles. However if you want a really easy to insatll version go for one with built-in lockoffs like Chicco Keyfit, Britax Companion or Graco SafeSeat. Although I'm not an infant carrier seat fan, check my other answers for why.

When shopping Remember these rules:

1)the BEST seat is the one that fits your child, fits your car, and will be used correctly 100% of the time. (This is why convenience features DO make a difference and ARE worth the money! If its easy to use, you're more likely to use it correctly.

2)children need to stay rear facing as long as possible.

Turning kids forward at 20lbs/1year is an outdated practice that could cost you your child's life!

  A)A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 5 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age.

  B)A child's vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone.

  C)Current research suggests that children under the age of two years are 75 percent less likely to die or be seriously injured when they are riding rear facing.

  D)In a recent article from Injury Prevention, it was found that the odds of severe injury to forward facing children age 12-23 months old was 5.32 times higher than a rear facing child. (Car Safety Seats For Children: Rear Facing For Best Protection; Injury Prevention 2007; 13:398-402.)

3)Once you do turn them forward facing, they need to stay in a 5 point harness as long as possible. 4 years/40lbs is the minimum for riding in a booster, and most 4 year olds have no business using one yet. If they can't sit upright for an entire trip, they need the harness of a car seat still. And, even if they do sit properly, a 5 point harness is safer, so you want to keep them in one as long as possible. This is important to consider b/c most car seats only forward face to 40lbs. My son just turned 3, and is in the 95th% for height and weight - 40" tall and weighs 41lbs. He outgrew the 40lbs seats shortly after his 2nd birthday. It was a total waste of money. He now has a Britax Marathon, which goes to 65lbs, and will be able to fit it for some time yet. If I'd have bought it when he was born, I could have had one car seat this whole time instead of the 3 I wasted money on. They are more expensive for many reasons, this is one.