A convertible car seat is a child seat that "converts" from rear facing for infants and small toddlers to forward facing for children. Britax convertible car seats can accommodate children from birth up to approx. 4 years of age. 

We highly recommend you refer to our Crash Exchange section within our website for more information. 

No, air cushions are fitted at the time of manufacture. 

By law, an infant must be in a rear-facing restraint to at least 6 months of age, the child should then progress to a forward-facing restraint to at least 4 years of age. 

We recommend that restraints over 10 years old be discarded. Britax currently does not offer a recycling program, but you may want to contact your local recycling facility to see if the seat can be recycled. 

When you discard a car seat, be sure to cut off all the harness and top tether, cut the cover, remove, or black out the serial number and manufacture date, and write “trash, do not use” on the car seat shell. 

Our recommended lifespan on all infant restraints is 10 years from date of manufacture. 

Car seats are made with polypropylene which is the number “5” for recycling purposes. Please check with your local council for the best method 

We would suggest you have the seat in the reclined position if you do not already have it this way. Dependent on how we fall asleep in an upright position there is a possibility of our heads dropping forward. What is good to note is that your child is still protected even if their head has dropped forward. 

Please refer to your instruction manual on how to remove the buckle from the seat then wash the buckle in hot water and retry the buckle. If you continue to experience problems, please call our Customer Service Department on 1300 303 330 to arrange a replacement buckle. 

It is best to open and hold the harness up by the buckle tongue holders rather than grabbing the harness to avoid twisting. Also, when you remove your child from the seat, you need to ensure the straps have no twists and again as you re-enter your child back into the seat. 

As per the Australian Safety Standards, the buckle needs to be accessible in the event of an accident, hence there are no devices/covers available to prevent access to the buckle. 

Yes, if you need extra support for your newborn baby, you can purchase our Newborn Infant Insert.  This Newborn Infant Insert nests neatly inside the car seat insert. 

Booster seats differ from a harnessed car seat in that a booster seat, by definition, simply “boosts” the child up so that the vehicle seat belt is positioned correctly across the child’s hips and shoulder/middle of the chest. Booster seats rely on the vehicle seat belts to hold both the child and the booster seat in position. 

Harnessed seats have an internal harness system that is used to restrain the child.

Many countries have laws for using child restraints and their standards differ from Australia. Laws vary from country to country and even state to state. Countries with strong laws are European countries, USA, Canada, Japan and South Africa. 

Many vehicles around the world are not yet fitted with a child restraint upper anchorage point or fitting thus to use an Australian seat an upper anchorage fitting needs to be installed. There will be no fittings in Taxis and most rental cars. In many developing countries there are no seat belts in which case a child restraint is of no use at all. 

New Zealand accepts child restraints made in Australia to the joint Australian and New Zealand Standard and there is an understanding of the upper anchorage strap and vehicle fittings. Despite this it is worthwhile asking for a rental vehicle that is suitable for Australian Child restraints and it has an upper anchorage (tether strap) fitting in the vehicle. 

Britax seats are made to other overseas standards and not to the joint Australian/New Zealand standard. The traffic rules in all states required child restraints to comply with the Australian Standard AS/NZS1754 and in some states required certification (the 5 tick mark used on all Australian seats).  

Using an International restraint that doesn’t comply with AS/NZS1754 is illegal. Thus there is the possibility that you could be booked for a traffic violation or in the case of a crash an Insurance company may consider that the Child restraint invalidates the insurance policy and you may be held liable for the death or injury of your child. 

The best child seat is one that fits your child, fits in your vehicle, and is easy for you to use each and every time. You will notice that some child seats are easier to use than others, while some will not fit into certain vehicles, and some types are less suited for the child's size and development.  

Read all product labels and verify that the specifications of the child seat meet your current needs.  

Britax car seats fit most vehicles.  We encourage you to try installing the seat directly into your car at the retail site, because not all car seats are compatible with all vehicles.  If you are considering a convertible (infant/child) car seat, try it in both the rear-facing and forward-facing positions. 

Although Britax is a global business not all Britax car seats meet the AUS/NZ standard hence if they do not comply they cannot be used here in Australia as the traffic rules in all states require child restraints to comply with the Australian Standard AS/NZS1754 and in some states required certification (the 5 tick mark used on all Australian seats). 

Do not leave your child in the baby capsule/car seat for extended periods. 

Car seats are designed to absorb crash forces through the shell of the seat and spread the remaining crash forces away from the child’s body. Rearward facing car seats offer the best protection in the event of frontal collisions – the most frequent type of accident on the roads. 

Physics dictates that in the event of a frontal collision, it is safer for a child to travel in a rearward facing car seat as crash forces are directed to the back of the seat, while the remaining energy is spread evenly across the head, neck and upper body. In a frontal collision with a forward-facing seat the energy of the impact is distributed differently across the seat structure and restraint system – potentially resulting in more energy impacting on the child’s body.  

After an accident in which a child car seat had been involved, the forces absorbed by the seat could lead to fine cracks in the structure which may not be visible to the eye. Therefore, we strongly recommend that the seat is replaced.  Please contact out Customer Service Department for more advice 1300 303 330. 

If a child is wearing a very thick coat, there is a risk that the harness or car seat belts cannot be tightened to sufficient tension. So, we would recommend in general that very thick coats are removed in the car.