All posts by Mike

3 Across Installations: Which Car Seats Fit a Toyota Sequoia?

May 6, 2016 Mike

The Toyota Sequoia is the largest SUV Toyota makes, which makes sense since it’s derived from the Toyota Tundra, which is the largest pickup by the Japanese automaker. Built for the US market in Toyota’s Indiana factory, it competes with other mega-SUVs locally like the Chevrolet Tahoe, Dodge Durango, GMC Yukon, Nissan Armada, Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Ford Expedition, as well as with some extra-large variants like the Chevy Suburban. However, being a Toyota, it’ll run longer than any of them. It’s also one of the safest vehicles you can buy as judged by IIHS driver death rates, and was one of the few vehicles to make the recent “zero” driver death list.

As a result, it’s no surprise that the Sequoia is a popular vehicle among families interested in safety, utility, and reliability. It seats 7-8 passengers, depending on which generation you’ve purchased, and is one of the hardiest vehicles on the road. However, I wanted to figure out just how well it did when it came to fitting car seats across the 2nd and 3rd rows.

Before going into which seats worked (a lot of them) and which ones didn’t (very few), let’s take a quick look at which kinds of seats you’ll want to use with your children, when you’ll want to use them, how you’ll want to face them, and why.

For me, the most basic and essential part of car seat safety involves rear-facing. It’s the safest position we know of, and the longer our kids rear-face, the safer they’ll be, regardless of what kind of vehicle they travel in. I recommend keeping children in rear-facing infant or convertible seats as long as possible (ideally until 4!), then keeping them harnessed in forward-facing seats for several years more (ideally until at least 6!), and then only switching them out of booster seats when they pass the 5 step test (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep kids in the safest kinds of seats for as long as possible to increase their odds of surviving serious car crashes.

With that all in mind, I got to work with my seats to create what I believe to be the most detailed 3 across guide for the Toyota Sequoia on the Internet. If you find the list helpful when shopping for car seats, you can shop through my Amazon link below. I’ll add more seats as I test them over time.

You can access the complete 3 across guide for every vehicle here and the complete list of recommended seats here. The Canadian car seat guide is here. 3 across car seat images are taken by yours truly or are courtesy of Wikipedia.

2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Toyota Sequoia

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

Chicco NextFit (x3).

Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).

Graco Head Wise 65 (x3).

Graco Fit4Me 65 (x3).

Graco Contender (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30.

Tips and Tricks:

The second generation Sequoia is currently just over 205 inches long and just under 80 inches wide. As a result, you’re going to be able to fit pretty much anything you want inside it in the 2nd row (presuming you have the SR5 or Limited trim levels) and a great many seats in the 3rd row as long as you’re willing to use seat belts in both rows as needed. To be honest, you’ll probably be able to get away with using LATCH on both seats, but do keep in mind that some seats will be wide enough to make using seat belts the better option.

The generous amount of room between the 1st and 2nd row also means you shouldn’t struggle with front-to-back room, although you’ll struggle more with the installation of rear-facing seats if you try to use them in the 3rd row. Forward-facing seats won’t be an issue in any of the rows, although you will have to deal with a limited number of tethers available in the Sequoia overall. Remember that you always want to tether forward-facing seats to limit head excursion.

2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Toyota Sequoia

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).

Graco Head Wise 65 (x3).

Graco Fit4Me 65 (x3).

Graco Contender (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30.

Tips and Tricks:

The first generation Sequoia is just under 204 inches long and between 76 and 79 inches wide, depending on whether you own an ’01-’02 (76″), an ’03-’04 (78″), an 05-’07 (79″), or an ’03-’04 SR5 2WD (76″). What this means is that you’re going to be able to fit most car seats you can think of in the Sequoia as long as you’re willing to use seat belts with the widest seats instead of LATCH, which robs you of valuable real estate. Remember that seat belts are as safe as LATCH, and often the easier of the two options when it comes to 3 across setups.

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If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.

Albert E. Dempsey, 51, Killed in Panama City Beach, FL Crash

May 4, 2016 Mike

Who

Albert E. Dempsey, 51, was pronounced dead at Bay Medical Center Sacred Heart Health System on Thursday, September 24th, 2015 from a collision that occurred on Thomas Drive at 12:20 PM in Panama City Beach, Florida. He was driving a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser and killed in a side impact collision.

The vehicle that drove into him was a 2012 4-door Jeep Wrangler driven by Jack C. Payne, 43, from Ringgold, Georgia. Payne survived and was treated at a hospital for minor injuries. He was later charged with a felony on October 22nd for driving unlicensed during a crash that led to a death.

How

Per FHP reports and images from News Herald and WJHG, Dempsey had been facing east in the driveway access for the Dick’s Wings parking lot close to Coastal Palm Boulevard. He was stopped and waiting for an opportunity to turn southbound on Thomas Drive.

Payne was heading south in the outer lane, left the roadway to the right (i.e., westbound), and impacted the driver’s side of the FJ Cruiser. The Wrangler stopped facing south while the FJ Cruiser stopped facing east.

Eyewitnesses stated that Payne appeared to have been undergoing a seizure while driving shortly before the impact. The witnesses stated he had accelerated after a green light before swerving into Dempsey’s SUV. The witnesses had been driving alongside Payne, and stated they could see Payne undergoing what appeared to be a medical issue while they passed the collision.

When officers arrived at the scene, Dempsey was unconscious and a Dick’s employee had held his head in place in order to keep his airway clear, while Payne screamed due to leg and chest injuries. Both occupants were wearing seat belts and alcohol did not factor into the collision.

Why

This is yet another sad case in which a confluence of factors led to an unnecessary auto death. Payne apparently suffered a medical episode, he was driving a dangerously modified vehicle, his vehicle did not offer any form of frontal crash prevention, and most importantly, he was driving without a license. Let’s look at these issues after considering the crash forces that led to this unfortunate loss of life.

The FJ Cruiser

The 2007 FJ Cruiser is a safe vehicle to be in during a side impact collision. At 14.5 cm, its side impact intrusion resistance wouldn’t earn it a spot on the 2015 list of safest SUVs for side impacts (the highest-ranking SUV there had a post-crash B-pillar to driver’s seat gap of 26 cm), and it’s just over half of the value of the current vehicle leader, the 2017 Q7 at 27 cm, but it’s more than good enough to be classified as “good”, structurally, by the IIHS (their threshold is 12.5 cm), and it also has a “good” side impact score overall as well as side airbags with head and torso protection in the front seats.

This is as good as one could expect for a vehicle made in 2007, and it is crucial to note that any vehicle rated “good” in its side impact score overall by the IIHS, regardless of its side impact intrusion resistance, is one where you would expect to survive (and indeed walk away from) a 31 mph t-bone collision by a 3300 lb SUV (e.g., a Honda CR-V). That is the survivability standard of a good side impact score. Or to put it as simply as possible, there was nothing wrong with Dempsey’s vehicle. It’s crucial to note that his FJ Cruiser did come with side airbags, as they were optional in the 2007 FJ Cruiser and did not become standard until the 2008 model year. We know his FJ Cruiser came with side airbags because they’re visible post-deployment in the pictures above.

With that said, the FJ Cruiser was designed to handle 143.7KJ of kinetic energy in a side impact collision safely. In my experience calculating forces, individuals tend to survive up to 200% of designed force tolerances in their vehicles. Above that, however, survival odds drop significantly; I’d estimate the survival rate at 300% of expected forces drops to somewhere around 33-50%. Around how many KJ of energy did Payne’s Wrangler transfer?

The 2012 4-door Wrangler weighs around 4365 lbs, depending on the trim level. It comes with a “good” frontal score. Given the likely speeds of the collision (I’ll estimate ~45 mph), the collision likely imparted at least 401KJ of energy into the FJ Cruiser / Wrangler. The standard side impact test simulates 143KJ of energy (a 3300-lb sled impacting a vehicle at 31 mph). In other words, the FJ Crsuier faced 279% of the force it would have experienced in the types of crashes cars are rated to make survivable. Given these forces, despite the seemingly minor degree of vehicular intrusion, it is sadly understandable that Dempsey succumbed to his injuries, even with the use of seat belts.

Payne’s survival was expected, in contrast, as he experienced a frontal impact that featured survivable forces. The Wrangler would have been expected to perform safely in a 316KJ collision, which means that Payne experienced 127% of tested forces. His survival was almost guaranteed as a result.

The Medical Episode

However, additional factors tipped the odds against Dempsey. For starters, presuming Payne had indeed suffered a medical episode, it was purely bad luck that he ran into Dempsey to begin with, rather than merely off the road. Beyond that, he could have been traveling at significantly more than 45 mph, if, as witnesses noted, his seizure began from shortly after his acceleration past the green light; every additional mph would have significantly increased the forces Dempsey experienced (remember that forces quadruple as speeds double), significantly reducing his odds of survival.

The Modified Wrangler

Beyond the apparent medical issue, Payne was also driving a dangerously modified vehicle. This video shows the difference between a stock Wrangler and two lifted / raised Wranglers that are “only” 4 inches taller. The higher a vehicle is, the more of a risk it poses to other vehicles because it becomes a.) more likely to bypass crash-resistant structures (bumpers, reinforced steel, crumple zones) in other vehicles, and b.) more likely to override other vehicles in frontal collisions.

The first image clearly shows the absurd height of the Wrangler; the top of its nose is significantly higher than the window sill of a comparable mid-sized SUV, the FJ Cruiser, suggesting it was raised by at least 4 inches, if not more. Along with the speed of the Wrangler, the increased height of it almost certainly directly contributed to Dempsey’s death, as it reduced the amount of protection the FJ Cruiser’s door and body frames could provide by towering above them.

Raised vehicles have no place on public streets. They reduce the effectiveness of crash-resistant structures and place everyone driving normally-dimensioned vehicles at significantly greater risk of injury and death.

Ironically, given that Payne’s Wrangler had also been modified with a door deletion, he would almost certainly have died in a much milder side impact collision, given the near-complete absence of any side impact-protection whatsoever in his Wrangler. The Wrangler, by the way, is also one of the few vehicles still sold new in the US without side airbags as a standard feature.

The Lack of Autobrake

Beyond these factors, it would have been helpful if Payne’s Wrangler had come with some form of frontal crash prevention, as autobraking software is specifically designed to stop vehicles from running into other objects. Granted, current autobrake technology is only rated at up to 25 mph by the IIHS, but it does still retain some effectiveness at higher speeds, depending on the company’s technology, and any mph reduction could have potentially given Dempsey a fighting chance at life.

The Unlicensed Driver

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Dempsey would almost certainly have lived if Payne had not been driving to begin with. He shouldn’t have been driving to begin with because he didn’t have a driver’s license. Unfortunately, there are thousands of unlicensed drivers on our roads every day.

Takeaways

None of this brings Dempsey back. But knowing what we know about the circumstances of the crash suggests that it could have been prevented or at least ameliorated a number of ways. Unfortunately, it’s difficult for us to protect ourselves from the unsafe choices of other drivers and their vehicles. My main suggestions for keeping yourself and loved ones safe on the road remain to:

1.) Avoid driving (e.g., by using public transportation or by cycling or walking…eventually this leads to a critical mass where everyone is safer by having fewer multi-ton machines speeding everywhere).

2.) Limit driving (by the same measures above and by combining trips…it’s a significant part of why many European countries like Norway have far lower driver death rates than we do).

3.) Drive safely (by wearing your seat belt, driving the speed limit or slower, driving without distractions, driving sober, using your headlights 24/7, checking before entering intersections…basically, these tips).

3.) Drive the safest vehicles possible (by choosing, at a minimum, vehicles with side airbags and electronic speed control).

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3 Across Installations: Which Car Seats Fit in an Acura RLX?

May 2, 2016 Mike

The Acura RLX, which is also known as the Honda Legend overseas, is the current flagship of Acura, the luxury division of Honda. Manufactured in Japan and released in 2013 for the model years 2014 onward, it’s designed to succeed the Acura RL, and comes with FWD and AWD versions like its full-sized luxury sedan competitors, including the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, Volvo S80, and Lexus GS, as well as its smaller twin, the Acura TLX.

Like the vehicles it competes with, the RLX hits the ground running with a range of top notch crash scores and safety features, including side airbags and ESC, as well as frontal crash protection in the latest models. In fact, it’s one of the few vehicles with superior levels of front crash protection as a default feature at every trim level, which is why I’ve ranked it among the very safest vehicles on the road in my Safety Level 4 threshold.

As a result,even if you aren’t an executive or business-type, the RLX is worth considering if you’re a parent interested in one of the safest sedans money can buy. As a result, I got up close and personal with the initial generation of the RLX to see just how car-seat friendly it would be for interested families.

Before looking at which car seats did and didn’t fit in the RLX in 3 across setups, it’s worth reviewing a bit of car safety, in terms of which kinds of seats to use and when.

For me, the most basic and essential part of car seat safety involves rear-facing. It’s the safest position we know of, and the longer our kids rear-face, the safer they’ll be, regardless of what kind of vehicle they travel in. I recommend keeping children in rear-facing infant or convertible seats as long as possible (ideally until 4!), then keeping them harnessed in forward-facing seats for several years more (ideally until 6, 7, or 8!), and then only switching them out of booster seats when they pass the 5 step test (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep kids in the safest kinds of seats for as long as possible to increase their odds of surviving serious car crashes.

With that all in mind, I got to work with my seats to create what I believe to be the most detailed 3 across guide for the Acura RLX on the Internet. If you find the list helpful when shopping for car seats, you can shop through my Amazon link below. I’ll add more seats as I test them over time.

2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Acura RLX

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).

Graco Head Wise 65 (x3).

Graco Fit4Me 65 (x3).

Graco Contender (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30.

Tips and Tricks:

The initial generation RLX is 196 inches long and just over 74 inches wide, which gives you a good amount of interior room to work with for many 3 across situations. Due to the substantial doors and padding in the RLX interior (for safety and comfort), the back row isn’t the widest, but it’s definitely wide enough as long as you’re willing to use your seat belts instead of LATCH for the installation. Remember that seat belts are as safe as LATCH, and in some cases, safer, depending on the weight limits of your car seats.

Because the RLX isn’t one of the longest vehicles out there as far as luxury sedans go, you might find yourself compromised on front-to-back space, especially if you’ve got taller drivers or passengers. If you’re interested in which safe seats take up the least space, you’ll definitely want to check out my front-to-back comparison chart for rear-facing convertibles.

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The Best Safety Features in Used Cars, Minivans, SUVs: Part 4

April 29, 2016 Mike

It’ll get you from point A to point B. But there are safer choices out there for your next road trip.

This is the fourth installment in a series I’ve been writing to help parents, families, and individuals of all ages figure out how old is too old when it comes to choosing a safe car, minivan, or SUV. I first established a baseline called “Safety Level 1”, which involved vehicles with 3-point seat belts for front occupants, frontal driver and passenger airbags, and a good moderate overlap crash test score. This was the minimum level of safety I felt was worth buying, and I explained my rationale for these requirements.

I then added Level 2, which included the features of Level 1 and added side airbags, good side impact scores, and ESC. At this level, occupants would be protected from the most common fatal collisions (head-on, moderate frontal overlap, and side) while also receiving one of the biggest safety boosts since the seat belt, Electronic Stability Control. This was the minimum level I personally considered for any vehicles we purchased in my family.

I then added Safety Level 3, which added the features in Level 2 and focused on a.) further reducing the risks inherent in frontal collisions via good performance on the IIHS’ small overlap test and b.) providing protection from deaths in rollovers via side airbags designed to activate during impending rollovers and strong roofs designed to maintain structural integrity during active rollover situations.

Today’s level, Safety Level 4, includes the features in Level 3 and adds to them a superior level of front crash prevention, or essentially a high speed (25 mph) autobrake. As in each previous level, my goal isn’t to profile every vehicle meeting this standard, but to highlight the oldest and most affordable vehicles offering this level of safety to individuals and families.

Safety Level 4: Safety Level 3 + Superior Frontal Crash Protection

Levels 1 and 2, and 3, as I noted above, focused on a.) frontal crash protection, b.) side crash protection, c.) and rollover protection via strong roofs, roll-sensitive airbags and stability control. A vehicle with these features (i.e., those in Safety Level 3) offers an extraordinary amount of protection in most collisions with vehicles of similar size. However, just as ESC helps reduce the risks of single vehicle crashes occurring in the first place, frontal crash prevention systems–the focus in Safety Level 4–help reduce the risks of frontal collisions with stopped vehicles or objects. It’s another step toward autonomous driving, and while it’s unlikely to save the lives of vehicle occupants at these speeds, it can significantly reduce the risks of personal injury as well as property damage.

A vehicle with superior frontal crash prevention, per the IIHS, is capable of significantly reducing speeds or completely avoiding collisions with stopped vehicles at 12 mph and 25 mph. I’ll take things a step further. I’m interested in vehicles that can offer such protection not when you purchase the optional SuperTechnologyWhizBang package, but by default. I fully support purchasing used vehicles with optional safety add-ons (I’ve done so for years with my personal vehicles), but throughout this series, I’ve profiled the earliest vehicles to make particular safety features standard.

The goal here is to make choosing a safe vehicle fool-proof for individuals and parents; rather than navigating through trim-levels (e.g., in the Toyota Sienna, side airbags were standardized in ’04, but ESC was only available on particular options and drivetrains until ’08, when it became standard, which is why the Sienna doesn’t appear in Safety Level 2) and option lists, I want you to know the vehicle I’m recommending is one that will keep you and your loved ones safe.

Now that I’ve explained what I find important at this level, here are examples of some of the oldest and most affordable vehicles that meet this safety threshold. The oldest only dates back to 2015; this is still bleeding-edge technology. I left out coupes and sports cars and focused on vehicles that could practically be used by both individuals and families:

2015+ Mercedes E-Class

The award for the oldest vehicle on this list goes to Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class. I’ve profiled the E-Class several times in various budget buys, as well as in my ranking of cars most resistant to side impact collisions; it is one of the safest cars on the road, hands down. It’s also one of the few to make superior-high speed autobraking a standard feature; the IIHS rated a 2015 model as capable of fully avoiding a 12 mph collision and capable of reducing a 25 mph collision to a 4 mph collision.

The addition of an optional Pre-Safe Brake package led to the collision being completely avoided, but what was capable with the standard E-Class was already above and beyond what any other vehicle on the road could do in 2015. The addition of potentially life-saving technology before other manufacturers isn’t new to MB’s repertoire; some of their vehicles had ESC in the 1990s, despite it not becoming a federal mandate in the US until 2012.

Beyond the features standard to Safety Level 4, the E-Class also comes standard with a driver knee airbag and automatically adjusting head rests. The former is present in multiple vehicles on this list; the latter is only available in the E-Class.

My 3 across guide to the E-Class is available here.

2016+ Acura RLX

The RLX is Acura’s answer to the E-Class, and it’s definitely a match when it comes to safety features. Its standard Collision Mitigation Braking System was rated by the IIHS as capable of fully avoiding 12 mph and 25 mph collisions, which was even better than the E-Class. It currently has the best front crash prevention system of any car tested by the IIHS as a result. If that weren’t enough, it also comes with a driver knee airbag.

My 3 across guide to the RLX is coming soon.

2016+ Volvo XC90

I profiled the 1st gen XC90 in Safety Level 2 and Safety Level 3, and the 2nd gen XC90 takes things up a notch by appearing in Safety Level 4. Its standard City Safety front crash prevention system was rated by the IIHS as capable of fully avoiding collisions at both 12 mph and 25 mph. Like the E-Class and RLX, it also comes standard with a driver knee airbag. Beyond this, the current gen XC90 is one of the best vehicles in the last two years you can be in when it comes to surviving a side impact collision.

My 3 across guide for the XC90 is available here.

2017+ Audi Q7

The 2nd current generation Q7 is currently the safest passenger vehicle you can buy to protect you in a side impact collision.

As with every vehicle on this list, it also comes with standard front crash prevention technology rated “superior” by the IIHS, and in the Q7’s case, capable of completely avoiding a collision at 12 mph and reducing a 25 mph collision to a 2 mph collision. That’s not quite as good as the RLX or XC90, but it’s still quite good. It’s also the first vehicle on the list so far not to feature a driver knee airbag.

My 3 across guide for the Q7 is available here.

As you can see, there are only a few safe vehicles from the mid-to-late 2010s with excellent front crash prevention systems included as standard features. The technology is new, and it will take time for it to percolate through the vehicle fleet. However, it’s important to note that you can find superior levels of front crash prevention in additional vehicles for less money if you’re willing to go hunting for used models with optional upgrades. For example, the Subaru Outback features optional superior frontal crash prevention from 2013 onward under the “EyeSight” package, but it’s not a standard feature, so you’ll have to search for it specifically if you want to save money by buying an earlier model.

As with Safety Level 3, at this point, if you’re driving a vehicle with these features and those highlighted in earlier Safety Levels, you’re already driving one of the safest vehicles on the road. That said, if you’re interested in yet another tier of safety, you’ll be interested in semi- and fully-autonomous driving technology, which will comprise Safety Level 5 in the next few years. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting there.

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Clek Fllo Safety Review: 50lbs Rear-Facing, Comparisons, Installation Tips

April 24, 2016 Mike

The Clek Fllo review on The Car Crash Detective — The Fllo changes colors every year, but remains one of the best 50 pound options for rear-facing in the United States.

2018 update: Once again, Clek has updated the Fllo in fabric only; it’s the same seat, and still one of the best 50 pounders on the market.

It seems like I review the Clek Fllo every year, but I can’t help it; it’s one of my favorite car seats on the market right now. If you’re wondering whether it’s worth getting the 2018 version over the older version, it is, but the truth is that there aren’t that many significant changes from the older version to the current (or 2017, 16, etc) versions. Your rear-facing and forward-facing height and weight limits are still the same, but that doesn’t take anything way from the newest Fllo; it just means that if you’ve got an older Fllo or have the chance to get one for significantly cheaper, you can save your money and skip the upgrade. With that out of the way, I picked up a Fllo from Amazon and put it to work to make sure it was still a seat worth recommending. It is.

Before buying it, keep in mind that the market for convertibles that will allow you to rear-face until 50 pounds has grown by leaps and bounds in the US in recent years. There’s the original Clek Fllo, the Clek Foonf, the Diono Rainier, the (now discontinued) Diono Pacifica, the Graco Extend2Fit, the Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit, the Nuna Rava, the Safety 1st Advance EX 65 Air+, and now the Safety 1st Grow and Go EX Air–that’s six seats in a country that didn’t have a single seat 5 years ago. We’ve come a long way in the US in car seat safety, although we still have a ways to go in education–most parents are still turning kids forward-facing between 1 and 2.

Let’s take a closer look at what makes the new Clek Fllo Convertible Car Seat worth considering over the other sevearl options for 50-pound rear-facing.

Clek Fllo – Fast Facts and Feature Updates

Clek Fllo review on The Car Crash Detective — The Fllo can be used with an infant insert to rear face from birth.

The 2018 Clek Fllo is a refresh of the Clek Fllo, which I reviewed earlier and loved. The Fllo itself was a redesign of the Foonf with the goal of making it lighter and cheaper, and it was a huge success. The Fllo refresh includes 4 basic changes:

First, the rear-facing seat belt lock off has been redesigned. The lock off is now easier to close and is designed to stay closed when you remove the seat cushions. You can also retrofit the seat belt lock off to older seats. Second, the forward-facing lock off was also redesigned to feature a thicker rubber bumper. Third, the harness pads at the shoulder have been lengthened and designed to include a snap button to open and close them. Fourth, the car seat cover was redesigned to feature better stitching and thicker foam.

None of these changes significantly affect the functionality of the seat; you still have the 50 pound rear-facing and 65 pound forward-facing weight limits, and you still can’t use it with infants unless you also buy the Infant-Thingy infant insert. More broadly, it’s still a convertible car seat, which means you can use it in two configurations: as a rear-facing infant seat and as a forward-facing seat. It’s still a great car seat; it’s just not that different from the older model.

Buy the Clek Fllo on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon.

Clek Fllo – Weight and Height Limits

Rear-facing: 14-50 pounds with a 25-43″ height limit. Your child needs to be able to sit upright without help, which most infants won’t be able to do before 6 months. Your child’s head needs to remain below 1″ from the top of the headrest.

Remember that using the Clek Infant-thingy infant insert reduces the rear-facing weight limit to 5 pounds and overrides the need for your infant to be able to sit upright without assistance. Your child does need to be at least 19″ long.

Like the old Fllo, the new Fllo remains one of the best seats for making sure kids actually reach the useful limits of the seat, as it measures around 26.5″ in shell height when the headrest is extended to its fullest position.

Most seats top out at 23″ or 24″ in shoulder height, which means a lot of children will outgrow them by weight before doing so by height. The greater shell height gives your kids more time in the seat before outgrowing it by weight.

Forward-facing: 22-65 pounds, and 30-49″ in height. Your child should be at least 1, and it’s recommended that s/he is at least 2. Of course, research into car safety indicates children should remain rear-facing for as long as possible (the average is 4 years in Sweden, which posts the lowest child fatality rate on Earth), and after rear-facing, the child should remain forward-facing as long as possible.

Dimensions and Key Stats for the Clek Fllo

The new Fllo retains the dimensions of the old Fllo. It’s 17″ wide at the widest point (Clek claims 16.9″, but I measure 17″), 13″ wide at the base, and weighs 25 pounds. It weighs 3 pounds more if you use the Anti-Rebound bar. The harness slots range from 8″ at the lowest setting to 17″ at the highest, and the seat ranges from 23.5″-27″ in height when rear-facing, depending on the height of the headrest. When forward facing, the seat ranges from 26″-31.” The seat takes up between 29″ and 32.5″ front to back when rear-facing, depending on whether or not you use the Anti-Rebound Bar, and is 24″ long when forward-facing. You can see how it ranks compared to other seats in front-to-back space through this comparison guide.

Using and Installing the Clek Fllo

The new Fllo looks and feels pretty much like the old Fllo out of the box, and if you’ve seen the old one, you’ll be pretty familiar with how the new one works. It’s a futuristic, fighter jet pilot-looking seat, and it comes with a new range of colors and patterns–9 in total, including the psychedelic Tokidoki space. As a mild-mannered car crash detective, I opted for Capri, which is basically a sky blue.

There isn’t much of anything to put together with the seat; just remember that you need to use the steel anti-rebound bar while you’re rear-facing, and that you’ll only use the tether while forward-facing. Installation is pretty straightforward with LATCH and takes a little longer with the seat belt. As with most seats, I prefer using the LATCH anchors when I don’t need to worry about room (e.g., when it’s the only car seat in a row), and I use seat belts exclusively whenever attempting 3 across installations, because it makes a lot of installations that wouldn’t be possible any other way…possible. Check out the 3 across car seat guide to see what will work in your vehicle.

Install the Fllo with Seat Belts or LATCH (they’re equally safe)

Remember that seat belts are as safe as LATCH, and that most vehicles don’t allow you to use LATCH beyond when a child weighs around 40 pounds, which means that if you plan to rear-face until your child hits the full weight limit, you’ll either need to switch to seat belts during your rear-facing years or just start out using seat belts from the beginning. I don’t like messing with seats once they’re installed, so if you’re going to buy this seat for its rear-facing abilities, which is the primary reason to buy this seat, as far as I’m concerned, I’d just start out with a good seat belt installation and call it a day.

As with the old Fllo, airplane installation is pretty straightforward on the new Fllo. Keep in mind that it’s not likely to fit in the X-ray systems at most terminals, so you’ll want to leave a bit of extra time for being screened manually. Similarly, in most smaller and mid-sized jets, you aren’t going to get it to fit in the aisles, so you’ll need to be prepared to hoist it above them. However, the Fllo will fit the actual airplane seat well. Don’t even bother trying to fit it in the storage compartments above; that’s just an exercise in frustration unless you’re in first class. And remember that it’s a good idea to bring your car seats onboard if at all possible instead of checking them in with baggage; you don’t want your seat to go through additional crash testing when being flung across the tarmac by an overworked baggage handler.

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Why Buy the Clek Fllo?

The most important part of a car seat review, in my experience, has to do with whether or not the seat is worth buying based on my needs. My goals are extended rear-facing, extended harnessing, and boostering until the 5-step test is reached. The new Fllo is not the best seat for you if you’re looking for the cheapest car seat on the market, or even the cheapest 50-pound rear-facing seat on the market; the Extend2Fit, Pacifica, Rainier, and Safety 1st seats are all cheaper than the Cleks. It is the best seat for you if you’re looking for a 50-pound-capable seat that’s narrow enough to fit virtually any car, SUV, minivan, or pickup truck on the market, and don’t want to spend additional money on the Foonf. There are only a handful of seats 17″ wide on the market regardless of rear-facing capabilities, and there are exactly two that will allow you to rear-face until 50 pounds–the Fllo and the Foonf. If money matters, the Fllo is cheaper.

Skip the Fllo if you already have the Foonf

The new Fllo is not the best seat for you if you already have the old Fllo, or even the Foonf; the seats are too similar to justify spending another few hundred dollars on the new Fllo. It is the best seat for you if you don’t already have those seats and are interested in the additional technologies present in the Fllo that just aren’t in any other seats in its class right now. I’m talking about the Energy-Absorbing Crumple Technology, or EACT safety system, which Clek stated helps reduce the forces your child experiences in frontal collisions. I’m also talking about the metal substructures within the seat and foam on the sides of the seat to maintain its integrity and reduce forces in side impacts. There’s the anti-rebound bar that helps stabilize the seat by reducing tensional forces. It’s a well-designed seat with various nods to safety on the inside and out. And if it matters to you (I’ll admit that it matters to me when buying a seat I’ll be looking at for several years to come in the rear view mirror), it also comes in some pretty nice colors.

Get the Fllo if you want one of the best new options for extended rear-facing

In conclusion, just as I wouldn’t call the old Fllo the best car seat ever, I’m not going to say the new Fllo is the best car seat in the history of car seats, as there isn’t one seat that does everything perfectly. Once again, I wish you could RF younger infants with the Fllo out of the box instead of having to pick up the Infant-Thingy insert. I also would like a higher forward-facing weight limit; if you use it to rear-face to the limits, your child will probably outgrow it as a forward-facing seat within a couple of years of being turned forward. However, for what it does–provide nearly-unparalleled RF abilities by weight–it has very few equals (namely, the Clek Foonf, the Diono Rainier, the Graco Extend2Fit, the Graco Extend2Fit 3-in-1, the Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit, the Nuna Rava, the Safety 1st Advance EX 65 Air+, and the Safety 1st Grow and Go EX Air). And it’s lighter than the Foonf while being easier to fit in smaller vehicles (or in 3 across configurations) than the Rainier, Pacifica, Extend2Fit, or Safety 1st seats. In that sense, it has no equals.

Just like the old Fllo, the new Clek Fllo is an amazingly safe seat that can be fit in just about any vehicle while reassuring you as a parent that you have literally done everything possible to transport your child safely. I recommend it wholeheartedly. You can buy the Clek Fllo in a range of colors here. Canadians can buy the Fllo here.

If you find my information on best practices in car and car seat safety helpful, you can do your shopping through this Amazon link. Canadians can shop here for Canadian purchases. Have a question or want to discuss best practices? Join us in the forums!

35,000 Americans will die this year on the road. You don't have to be one of them. A car seat and car safety blog to promote best practices for families.