Some Infant Car Seats Provide Lower Margins of Safety Compared With Others

The latest car seat crash tests conducted by Consumer Reports found several infant seats provide merely Basic protection, while there are many others that offer a greater margin of safety.

When we developed our crash test protocol, we set out to test child seats in a way that is more representative of an actual vehicle interior and to challenge seats with greater speed that more closely matches the forces and energy that current vehicles experience in crashes. While all seats provide a baseline of crash performance as required by the government and certified by their manufacturers, our goal is to be able to distinguish those that go beyond the minimum standard.

In rating car seats, we factor ease of use, fit-to-vehicle with LATCH, fit-to-vehicle with seatbelts, and crash protection. Ultimately, Consumer Reports will not recommend any seat that scores a Basic for crash protection, even if it scores highly in the other ratings categories.

The Basic rating is assigned to seats that provide a base level of crash protection. They are still considered safe, but they may not provide the additional level of safety of their peers rated Better or Best. A seat can be designated Basic for crash protection if the seat exhibits some structural problem during testing, or if it results in significantly and meaningfully higher injury numbers than the other models in the group (as measured by instrumentation in the child-sized dummies used in the testing).

In our most recent test group of infant seat / rear-facing-only models, Basic ratings were given to early production versions of the Baby Trend Secure Snap Gear 32 (see update below), Maxi Cosi Mico Max 30, and Kiddy Evolution Pro, as each exhibited some structural problem during our test. (The Kiddy Evolution Pro manufacturer told us it has been discontinued but some samples may be available at retail.)

In addition to these three seats, the previously tested Evenflo Embrace 35 is also rated as Basic.  

The Baby Trend Secure Snap Gear 32 carriers we tested detached from their bases either fully (early production seats made between 6/22/2015 and 1/31/2016), or partially (in seats produced 1/31/2016 to 6/11/2016). Though the child-sized dummy remained secure within its carrier, when a carrier isn't fully secured to its base, the seat's ability to protect a child for any subsequent impacts or secondary events is significantly reduced. If you own this seat and are concerned, you can purchase a base from the Baby Trend EZ Flex-Loc 32 seat ($49.99) and use it with your existing Secure Snap Gear 32 carrier. When tested with that base, we saw no issues in our tests. Or you may contact Baby Trend customer service at 800-328-7363 or via Babytrend.com. The production date for Baby Trend Snap Gear 32 seats can be found on a label on the bottom of the carrier portion of the seat.

Update January 2017: Baby Trend Secure Snap Gear 32 seats produced after 6/11/16 incorporate product changes that eliminated any separation of the carrier from the base in our tests. Ratings of the Secure Snap Gear 32 now reflect a score of Better for crash protection based on its current performance, and its overall score has been revised accordingly.

See our full Baby Trend Secure Snap Gear 32 car seat ratings.

In tests of the Mico Max 30 installed using LATCH and with our heavier 30 lb. dummy, the LATCH strap tore through the base's belt path on one side. (The Mico Max 30 has a 30 lb. weight limit.) Even though the dummy remained secure in the carrier and the carrier was attached to its base, the entire seat rotated, leaving the base detached from the vehicle seat on one side and forward-facing following our tests. Any lack of full contact between the base and the vehicle seat is of concern as the seat may not provide full protection for secondary impacts.

See our full Maxi Cosi Mico Max 30 car seat ratings.
 

The Evolution Pro incorporates a "lie flat" feature in its carrier that allows a child some additional recline so that they can sleep comfortably for longer when using the child seat outside the vehicle. This feature is not intended for use while traveling in a vehicle, but during our tests the seat reclined and extended to its lie-flat position. That change in position caused the harness to loosen. A tight harness is critical to controlling a child's movements and to keeping the child safely restrained in their seat. A loose harness increases the risk for injury and even possible ejection from the seat.

See our full Kiddy Evolution Pro car seat ratings.

In tests conducted in 2014, the Evenflo Embrace 35 carriers detached from their bases. Though the child-sized dummy remained secure, when a carrier isn't fully secured to its base, the seat's ability to protect a child for any subsequent impacts or secondary events is significantly reduced.

See our full Evenflo Embrace 35 and Evenflo Advanced Sensor Safe Embrace DLX car seat ratings.