Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Your child is at risk in this seat! First we had the Britax Advocate CS70. Great seat. The harness strap had a click tight system and was always smooth and secure. We always had confidence in using the Advocate so we purchased another Britax. We wanted another seat with a four point harness system as we transitioned our son from the Advocate. First we purchased the Pioneer the model down from this seat. We could not get it installed correctly with the Click Tight installation system. See review on that one. So we returned and upgraded to the Frontier with the Clicktight system. The Frontier also has the harness strap guides (Gray rubber items which go through the straps) we thought this made it a more comfortable seat. The Clicktight system worked easily. Pull the seat belt through and there are bars underneath which increase the tension on the seat belt. When you close the seat it clicks when it is secure and seat stays securely in place; for the most part. Again the installation was easy. The next part not so much. We tried to put our son in and secure the harness but was not able to to do so!!! I check there was nothing catching on the harness strap and it moved freely while my son was out of the seat. My son is 46" and weights about 49lbs. Be aware you can not use the Latch System for any child over 40lbs. Confirmed through Britax. You will have to use the seat belt to secure the seat. I tried putting my son back in and had to pull the harness strap so tight it would loosen up the seat. No matter how hard I tried I still had almost two inches of slack between the harness belt and my son. We had no choice but to use this seat as we were leaving for a trip! I was not happy and concerned the entire trip. I will note my wife could not pull the strap hard enough to secure our son. I would have to hold onto the strap and lean into it moving towards the front of the car while keeping the strap straight but could never get it fully secured while our son sat in the seat! This harness strap does not have a click system like the Advocate letting you know the harness is tight enough. I removed the seat several times but nothing changed. Our vehicle is a 2015 Nissan Murano. Found the same issue on the Pioneer model seat. Also the seat back is flimsy when compared to the Advocate. It rattles loudly if our son is not in the seat! The Advocate had padding around the frame of the seat and behind the raised seat portion. This seat and the Pioneer do not have any padding in place to prevent the rattling. Placement of foam padding might help to prevent the rattling. Again the Advocate was great Britax product but we are going to look for something other than a Britax product. When I called Britax about the issues with the Pioneer seat they claimed to have no knowledge of the complaints and I directed them the reviews here on Amazon. I will be calling them again about this issue; which I see others are having as well. I am glad we are back from our trip and will be returning this product and going back to the Advocate for a short time till we have another seat. My recommendation is not to use this seat is you are not able to tighten the harness. I will add my son did seem comfortable in the seat during our 6, 8, 8, and 6 hour drives. If you used this seat without the harness it might be good but I could not deal with the back rest clicking away while I drove without my son in the seat. Good luck and be safe. 1-16-2017 Update on Harness: I found issues with tightening the harness system anytime my 48 lb son was sitting in this unit. At first I thought maybe something in my car; 2015 Nissan Murano; might be catching on the harness behind the seat but when I felt behind the seat the harness was not touching anything! I also tried the seat on a hard floor out of the vehicle and had the same issue with tightening the harness while my son sat in the seat. While my son was out of the seat the harness strap worked fine and had no impedance through the entire range of the harness. I am pulling the harness straight and not at an angle This leads me to believe there is a design defect in both the Pioneer and Frontier versions of this seat. I would guess the plastic back area is flexing when my son sits in it preventing the parent from being able to fully / safely tighten the harness. In the Pioneer version of this seat; the seat comes loose from its car attachment due to having to pull so hard to tighten the harness. The Frontier model has the same issue with the harness system but the Click Tight system keeps the seat in place. I will be contacting two safety organisations regarding this issue on both the Pioneer and Frontier models. I am so uncomfortable driving with my son in this seat but have no choice as I can not return the Pioneer. I did return the Frontier and continue to look for another seat. We are still using the Britax Advocate CS with no issues but my son is really to big for the Advocate. 1-31-16 I finally found that the use and inability to tighten the harness tightly is due to a design issue. We still have our Advocate seats so I looked at the back of both and found the reason for this issue many are experiencing with the harness system. First the harness system is removable as you child grows and uses the Frontier or Pioneer booster seats. We purchased both the Frontier and Pioneer for the multi point harness due to be safer than using the seat belt. The track the harness rides in on the Frontier and Pioneer allow the belt to become trapped between the what I would call the riser guide and the side tracks the adjustable headrest rides on. I have provided pictures showing this. Every single time you pull the harness tight the belt get caught in the mechanism! This design flaw is dangerous and these units should be recalled! The Advocate seat has a dedicated channel the belts ride in, which prevents them from becoming caught no matter how tight you pull the harness. See the pictures of this. If you not going to use the harness this seat has a great installation system. The click-tight system is quick and holds the seat in place. Unlike the Pioneer which we still have and can not install securely. Both seats do come loose though after having to pull the harness so tight so it fits only somewhat snug on your child. Why have a product which has the harness and the reason many parents purchase these unit for it to not work properly? It is so bad I am debating just going with the seat belt to secure my son in and use the latch system to hold the seat in place.