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Child Safety Seat Ratings

NHTSA logo - this page is 508 compliant

data last updated 05/19/2005

Now entering its fourth year, NHTSA's Ease of Use Ratings program continues to prompt child restraint manufacturers to improve their products and make them easier for consumers to use.

The purpose of the ratings program is to educate parents and caregivers about child safety seat features and to assist them in finding the appropriate child safety for their needs.

Overall, the results for the 2005 ratings were the most positive to date. Results show that the majority of improvements pertained to the clarity of labels and instructions. Ratings were also improved within the assembly and CRS installation categories.

Among the 2005 findings:

  • In 2005 there were 92 different CRS (child restraint systems) selected from fourteen different manufacturers. Including all of the multiple modes from convertible and combination seats, there are 144 total ratings. This is a vast increase from 2004, where 67 CRS were selected with a total of 106 ratings.
  • In order for a seat to qualify as an overall "A", it must receive an "A" rating in every possible mode. Out of the 92 CRS rated, 74 received an "A" overall, 13 received a "B" overall, and 5 had mixed scores of either an "A" or "B" for each of its modes.
  • As in '04, there were no child restraints that received an overall "C" rating. There were several "C" scores within the categories, but there was a much smaller percentage of "C" scores in 2005 than in 2004.
  • Three seats that were re-tested from 2004 improved their overall scores from a "B" to an "A". These seats were the Britax Husky, Britax Roundabout, and Cosco Protek.

Remember, the best child safety seat is the one that fits your child properly, is easy to use, and fits in your vehicle correctly. The best way to ensure a proper fit in your vehicle is to try installing the child seat before purchasing.

Be certain you've installed your child safety or booster seat correctly by having it checked at a child safety seat inspection station or by a certified child passenger safety technician. To find one near you, visitwww.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps and click on the Fitting/Inspection Stations button, or www.seatcheck.org. You can also call 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236) or 1-866-SEATCHECK

For questions and answers about NHTSA's Ease of Use Ratings Program click here.

For guidelines for using Ease-of-use ratings program ratings in advertising and communications click here.

Infant Convertible Forward Facing Combination Booster

Infant seats
Manufacturer and Model Name Model Number and Date of Manufacture Harness Type Weight/Height Range Assembly Evaluation of Labels Evaluation of Instructions Installing Features Securing the Child Overall Ease of Use Rating

Baby Trend

Latch Loc

 6169 (05-14-2003)Picture available 5-pt 5-22 lbs
A
A
A
A
A
A

Baby Trend

Latch-Loc Adjustable Back

 6269 (08-11-2004)Picture available 5-pt 5-22lbs/up to 26"
A
B
A
A
A
A

Britax

Companion

 E9L2030 (07-28-2004)Picture available 5-pt 4-22lbs/up to 30"
A
A
A
A
A
A

Combi

Baby One Ourson

 404102 (07-13-2004)Picture available 5-pt up to 20lbs/up to 29"
A
C
C
A
B
B

Combi

Tyro

 8000-1 (11-18-2003)Picture available 5-pt up to 22lbs/up to 29"
A
C
A
A
B
B

Cosco

Arriva 3-pt w/ Base

 22-010-PAW (seat) and 22-999-WHO (base) (01-20-2004)Picture available 3-pt 5-22lbs/19"-29"
A
A
A
A
A
A

Cosco

Arriva 5-pt w/ Base

 22-049-FSM (seat) and 22-999-WHO (base) (06-03-2004)Picture available 5-pt 5-22lbs/19"-29"
A
A
A
A
B
A

Cosco

Arriva 5-pt w/o Base

 22-049-FSM (06-03-2004)Picture available 5-pt 5-22lbs/19"-29"
A
A
A
A
B
A

Cosco

Eddie Bauer Designer 22 SE

 22-625-AFD (01-27-2005)Picture available 5-pt 5-22lbs/19"-29"
A
A
A
A
A
A

Cosco

TLC

 22-000-FSM (01-20-2004) 3-pt 5-20 lbs/19"-26"3pt
A
A
A
A
B
A

Evenflo

Discovery w/base

 3161291P1 (01-23-2004)Picture available 3 pt 5-20 lbs/19"-26"
B
B
B
A
B
B

Evenflo

Embrace

 3171478P1 (03-01-2005)Picture available 5-pt 5-22lbs/19"-26"
A
A
A
A
B
A

Evenflo

PortAbout 3 w/base

 3741351 (01-20-2004)Picture available 3 pt 5-22 lbs/19"-26"
A
B
B
A
A
A

Evenflo

PortAbout 5 w/base

 3751353P1 (01-15-2004)Picture available 5-pt 5-22 lbs/19"-26"
A
B
B
A
A
A

Graco

SnugRide 3-pt

 8642SFT (02-02-2005)Picture available 3-pt up to 20lbs/up to 26"
A
A
A
A
A
A

Graco

SnugRide 5-pt

 8643DOH (02-09-2005)Picture available 5-pt up to 20lbs/up to 26"
A
A
A
A
B
A

Graco

SnugRide 5-pt w/ Headrest

 8647CJR (02-03-2005)Picture available 5-pt up to 20lbs/up to 26"
A
A
A
A
A
A

Peg-Perego

Primo Viaggio

 IMCBP53RU53 (01-07-2004)Picture available 5-pt less than 20lbs/up to 26"
A
A
B
A
B
A

Safety 1st

Designer 22 w/ base

 22-325-NVP (01-08-2004)Picture available 5-pt 5-22 lbs/19"-29"
A
A
A
A
B
A

 
 
Convertible seats FF: Forward Facing, RF: Rear Facing
Manufacturer and Model Name Model Number and Date of Manufacture Harness Type Weight/Height Range Assembly Evaluation of Labels Evaluation of Instructions Installing Features Securing the Child Overall Ease of Use Rating

Britax

Decathlon (FF)

 E9L4741 (03-02-2005)Picture available 5-pt up to 65lbs/up to 49"
A
B
A
A
A
A

Britax

Decathlon (RF)

 E9L4741 (03-02-2005)Picture available 5-pt 5-33lbs/up to 49"
A
B
A
A
A
A

Britax

Marathon (FF)

 E9L0642 (01-30-2004)Picture available 5-pt no min-65 lbs/ 18"to 49"
A
C
B
A
A
B

Britax

Marathon (RF)

 E9L0642 (01-30-2004)Picture available 5-pt 5-33 lbs/18-49"
A
C
A
B
A
B

Britax

Roundabout (FF)

 E9L0216 (03-01-2005)Picture available 5-pt up to 40lbs/up to 40"
A
C
A
A
A
A

Britax

Roundabout (RF)

 E9L0216 (03-01-2005)Picture available 5-pt 5-33lbs
A
C
A
A
A
A

Britax

Wizard (FF)

 E9L0742 (01-12-2004)Picture available 5-pt 22-65 lbs/up to 49"
A
C
B
A
A
A

Britax

Wizard (RF)

 E9L0742 (01-12-2004)Picture available 5-pt 5-33 lbs/up to 49"
A
B
A
B
A
A

Combi

Avatar 8100 (FF)

 8100-1 (12-01-2003)Picture available 5-pt 20-40lbs/19"-40"
A
C
B
A
B
B

Combi

Avatar 8100 (RF)

 8100-1 (12-01-2003)Picture available 5-pt 5-30lbs/19"-40"
B
B
A
A
B
B

Combi

Victoria (FF)

 174482 (09-20-2004)Picture available 5-pt 5-30lbs/19"-40"
A
C
A
A
B
B

Combi

Victoria (RF)

 174482 (09-20-2004)Picture available 5-pt 5-30lbs/19"-40"
B
B
B
A
B
B

Cosco

Regal Ride (FF)

 22-131-HBL (01-04-2005)Picture available 3-pt OHS 20-40lbs/29"-40"
A
A
A
B
A
A

Cosco

Regal Ride (RF)

 22-131-HBL (01-04-2005)Picture available 3-pt OHS 5-35lbs/19"-36"
A
A
A
A
A
A

Cosco

Touriva 5-pt (FF)

 22-100-TTD (01-20-2004)Picture available 5-pt 20-40 lbs/29"-40"
A
B
B
B
A
B

Cosco

Touriva 5-pt (RF)

 22-100-TTD (01-20-2004)Picture available 5-pt 5-35 lbs/19"-36"
A
B
A
A
A
A

Cosco

Touriva OHS (FF)

 22-130-WAL (01-28-2004)Picture available OHS 20-40 lbs/29"-40"
A
B
B
B
A
B

Cosco

Touriva OHS (RF)

 22-130-WAL (01-28-2004)Picture available OHS 5-35 lbs/19"-36"
B
A
A
A
A
A

Evenflo

Titan (FF)

 3661367P1 (12-26-2003)Picture available OHS 20-40lbs/up to 40"
A
B
A
A
A
A

Evenflo

Titan (RF)

 3661367P1 (12-26-2003)Picture available OHS 5-30 lbs/19"-top of crs
A
A
A
A
A
A

Evenflo

Titan 5 (FF)

 3671213P1 (01-22-2004)Picture available 5-pt 20-40 lbs/up to 40"
A
B
A
A
A
A

Evenflo

Titan 5 (RF)

 3671213P1 (01-22-2004)Picture available 5-pt 5-30 lbs/19"-1" below top
A
A
A
B
A
A

Evenflo

Tribute (FF)

 3781100P1 (01-04-2004)Picture available OHS 20-40 lbs/up to 40"
A
B
A
A
A
A

Evenflo

Tribute (RF)

 3781100P1 (01-04-2004)Picture available OHS 5-30lbs/19"-1" from top
A
A
A
A
A
A

Evenflo

Tribute 5 (FF)