Evenflo Car Seat Review

Founded in 1918, Evenflo has been a leader in manufacturing children products for over a century. Its products include nursing kits, bottles, and home goods. In the past century, Evenflo has also developed infant car seats and booster seats. Evenflo’s car seats are designed to meet government safety standards. Its products also feature removable cushions and machine washable fabrics. Its car seat has a 12-position headrest and a no-rethread harness. Evenflo’s booster seat has an additional margin of safety over its competitors. The seat is also easier to install and can accommodate children from 5-110 pounds.

Evenflo was an early adopter of side-impact testing. It was also one of the first manufacturers to include head and chest sensors in its crash tests. In one test, a dummy belted into an Evenflo Big Kid booster sat in the same position as the dummy in the crash test. This test showed that the child’s head and neck were vulnerable in a side-impact crash. In addition, Evenflo’s Big Kid did not have side wings. The head of the dummy flailed around the outside of the seat during the test.

When Evenflo’s Big Kid boosters were first introduced, Evenflo didn’t disclose tests that showed boosters were dangerous in a crash. The company told parents that the booster was safe for children as young as three. The company also didn’t include an increase in age recommendation on the box. But it changed its policy. The company changed the minimum age for the seat from 3 to 4 years.

Evenflo’s booster seat was recalled in 2012 for labeling that said a child could use it at 30 pounds. Evenflo also failed to disclose that it had tested child-sized dummies careening outside the boundaries of the booster seat. The company also failed to disclose the results of a study showing that children under 40 pounds could be safer in a seat with an internal harness.

Evenflo’s boosters are recalled three times in Canada. In Canada, booster seats are not sold to children under 40 pounds. However, Evenflo has broken the rule by advertising boosters for children under 30 pounds. The company has also run afoul of Canadian laws that require booster seats to have side wings. Evenflo didn’t change its marketing materials or its instructions to match Canadian regulations.

The company’s new Big Kid seat with side wings has better crash test results than the old Big Kid. In addition, the seat has better head and chest sensors. The seat was tested using the same specifications as NHTSA, and the data from the crash test sensor was less than the maximum allowed. But the seat still earned better results than the average in other tests.

The Evenflo Big Kid booster was tested with a dummy modeled after a 3-year-old. In the test, the seat belt dragged off the shoulder and wound up around the child’s soft abdomen. The seat also lurched out the side of the car, just as the child would have in the seat.