New Safety 1st Complete Air Convertible Car Seat Review
Posted Under: Reviews
This is a review of the Safety 1st Complete Air. It features revolutionary new side impact protection technology called “air protect,” in which the head wings are air filled cushions. This protects the child in two ways: shields the child’s head from impact, and the air in the headrest channels crash energy away, giving the child more ride down time.
So you may be wondering why this carseat is all the new buzz? Along with its innovative new headwings, the Complete Air is only the second carseat to hit the U.S. market that is rated to 40lbs in the rear-facing position. New research indicates that children under 2 years of age are 75% less likely to die or experience serious injury when they ride in a rear-facing car seat, and toddlers between 1 and 2 years of age are 5 times safer rear-facing than toddlers who ride in a front-facing car seat. Also, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that all children remain rear-facing until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat.
The Stats:
Rear-facing = 5-40lbs (19″-40″)
Forward-facing = 22-50lbs (34″-45″)
Seat Depth = 12 inches
Seat inside width = 12 inches
Seat width = 17 inches
Seat height in lowest position = 10.5 inches
Seat height in highest position =17 inches
Seat back height = 27 inches
Features:
- Air protect side impact technology
- Push button LATCH connectors
- Storage for Tether, and LATCH connectors
- 40lbs rear-facing limit
- Tall seat shell for extended rear-facing and forward-facing usage
- Approved for aircraft use
- Detachable cup holder
- Height adjustment levers
Notable observations:
- Harness may be adjusted even while seat is installed.
- Not an ideal car seat for newborn.
- Cannot be tethered while rear-facing.
- Allows child to remain rear-facing until child’s head is even with top of seat shell which is 27 inches.
- Made in USA
- Features Safety Tip in Owner’s manual regarding rear-facing safety: “Experts agree that children should remain rear-facing as long as possible. In this child restraint, your child can remain rear-facing up to 40lbs or up to 40 inches.”
- Color coded owner’s manual
- Allows single layer towel to be placed under and behind car seat.
The first time you set eyes on this seat you will notice its generous headwings. Since side impact crashes with vehicle intrusion can be the most violent types of automobile crashes, these wings have been engineered to help protect your child in such a crash. The air filled cushions are quite soft, and should not cause any discomfort to a child. My children actually found this quite nice to rest their heads on, especially when falling asleep in the car. The seat has a 40lb rear-facing limit. Combine that with a very tall seatback and you have a great combination for keeping your child rear-facing for years to come.
The cover seems to fit the shell decently, but definitely isn’t as nice as some other carseats. I am also not sure it is going to wear as well, as the cover is already pilling up near where the child’s feet would lay while rear-facing. The cover is handwash only, and isn’t as easily removable as I would have hoped. The black and grey colors are nicely done though, and will mesh well with many car interiors. The headrest pad is NOT removable.
Upon installing it rear-facing for the first time in my 2005 Honda Odyssey van I noticed immediately that it was going to give me much more room for my front passengers than my Sunshine Kids Radian. This has been a huge issue in our car, so I was happy to see the Complete Air gave me more angle to work with. I installed the seat using LATCH. It is a bit awkward, as there is no slot to pull the slack through to get a good angle on the buckle while pulling. You really need to remove part of the cover and feed the slack through to get a tight install. It wasn’t bad, but definitely not as easy as other installs I have done. Dual lower LATCH connectors in this situation would come in handy. The base angle for rear-facing could be better. I still needed to put a towel/noodle under there for my 3 year old son, otherwise it was too upright. For an infant, plan on using at least one pool noodle if not more.
First ride in the car went great.
My son, who is 3 years old and 34lbs and who is seen here rear-facing, said he was comfortable and the crotch strap seemed long enough as well to not cause any issues. I must say, seeing him in that seat with those protective headwings around him gave me a great sense of security. I think he also enjoyed being able to sit more upright than he was in his previous carseat. The straps are a bit twisty in my opinion for the price tag though.
My daughter is 5 years old and 35lbs. She is rear-facing as well in this seat. Thanks to the 40lb rear-facing limit on this seat she can remain rear-facing for awhile longer. They both enjoy rear-facing and are quite comfortable. The seat offers them plenty of leg room and gives them the option to place their legs where ever they want. They have both been riding in the Complete Air for several weeks now. I think their thoughts on the seat are clear from the smiles on their faces in these pictures.
In conclusion, the Complete Air has some awesome features and will make a great option for someone wanting to extend rear-face, or for someone who has a larger baby who needs that extra rear-facing weight limit and seatback height. It’s very impressive looking and I think it will be a popular seat.
-Melissa-
Safety conscious Mom to 2 kiddos, and Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician
Reader Comments
Very thorough review! In all the controversy of the rf’ing height limit and whether or not it’s safe to use it past 40″, I didn’t even notice the standing height limit for ff’ing. Only 45″!? Do they insist you must stop using it at 45″ ff’ing as well? My son is 43″ and has a decent torso on him and he is even with the next to last slots. He could easily fit for another year and to *at least* 45″.
A Safety 1st rep will be at my local BRU next week and I intend to be there and hold his/her feet to the fire about these silly height limits in the manual. Either they are just “suggested” heights and are just confusing the hell out of CPST’s and parents alike, or the seat is INCREDIBLY limited, regardless of the wonderful weight limits and slot heights. Who cares what it is rated for if the vast majority of children will never reach those limits due to their sill height restrictions.
I’ll report back once I’ve finished waterboarding the rep for more info…
Wow that’s awesome! I need one of those seats!
Thanks for the great review, Melissa! For anyone interested in another perspective, we also have a first look ( http://carseatblog.com/?p=3332 ) and followup review ( http://carseatblog.com/?p=3698 ).
Melissa, great review!
Wineaux, when is that rep gonna be there? I’d love to play around with the seat more and see how Connor fits it both RF and FF installed on the bench and see what they say. I sat him in it at TRU and he had at least an inch above his head but hes 43inches.
Love the review, Melissa, and it looks like your models love the seats too
. Thanks!
I purchased one of these seats from babies r us after A LOT of research about which rear facing convertible seat would be safest for my 20lb 29 3/4in. 9 month old son. We had a chicco keyfit 30 that we had been using but decided it was time to buy a convertible since he only has 1/4inch left in the chicco. We had a very difficult time w/ the installation of this car seat in our 2006 mercury milan and in our in laws 2008 mercedes ML320, it is WAY too big, especially if you pay close attention as to whether or not the level line is actually level to the ground as the instructions say it should be. With it level it does not allow for anyone to be able to sit in the front seat of either of these cars. I noticed in the rear facing position in your mini van that it looked very upright and that is not what ours looks like so I am wonder if you have the level line actually level with the ground?? We also find it difficult to tighten the harness and that the straps dig into our sons neck if we don’t pull his shirt around it. We are going to return the car seat, just wondering if you have any feedback on the problems we are having because I am afraid we are going to come up w/ these problems in all convertible car seats in the rear facing position being too large and our mercury milan is a fairly large sedan, way bigger than a toyota carola or camry, we are afraid the only way to have our son be safe and able to be rear facing as long as possible is to buy a mini van! we don’t think we should have to do this, is there no way to make car seats fit better in the “average” car??
Jessica- the “level to the ground” line can be disregarded for older children who have the appropriate amount of neck control (for most kids this happens around 6 months). I am also thinking your DS probably still fits in the keyfit with plenty of growing room unless he has an abnormally long torso- how did you determine he only had 1/4th inch left?
For install issues, it’s best to see a Child Passenger Safety Technician before you decide against the seat, and it’s actually best to see one anyway as 80-98%+ of all seats are installed incorrectly. I also suggest you post on the forum, car-seat.org , for issues you are having with the installation, so you can get a better response than we can provide on the blog post
.
Also, although the line can be disregarded, you will still need some recline, at least 30 degrees (which is markedly different from 45 degrees)
I talked to a rep from Dorel (the makers of this seat) who basically said that the height limits are there because they have to include them legally. I called about some other question when trying to get mine installed, and just asked since I had her on the phone. But yes, as long as they are under all the other requirements weight, fit for seat, then yes regardless of overall height they are fine. I asked since my daughter is only 30-32lbs and is still rear facing in it and she is nearing the 40″ limit stated since she is 38″ tall. But she still has like 6″ of shell above her head. And they told me that as long as she is not over the 40lb rear facing limit and her head is still within the shell she is still fine!
SQTGI1982- That’s right, all child restraints must have a standing height limit to comply with standards. Of course, as technicians, we cannot officially recommend that you do something contrary to the instruction manaul. If a Dorel rep advises you otherwise, then of course you may choose to go with that information.
So how is the skin on their necks? My kids spent a few minutes in CA’s and had deep red gashes on their necks because of the strap placement and no comfort pads.
MAMA! My kids haven’t said a word about their necks. However, the other day my FIL asked what was on their necks. It was two small red marks on each side. My kids always took the comfort pads off of their Radians, and Britaxs, so I guess it’s a non issue with them. Of course, an easy fix is either to put some cut up socks over the straps, or just pull their shirt collars up so the straps don’t touch their neck skin.
Wow, thanks for sharing all of this great information! There are so many great car seats on the market. It’s interesting to see what all of them have to offer!
Your carseat should not be touching the front driver or passenger seat to be installed correctly. (It seems to be in the photo). Part of the function of a car seat is to absorb the impact of a collision rather than transfer that force to your children. By leaving a gap between the rear of the child car seat and the seat in front, the child car seat is allowed to rock during a collision and thus absorb the impact the way it is intended. Not sure if this will have a bearing on your measurements or calculations, but it did take us some searching to find a car seat that could be installed correctly in our more compact 2008 Nissan Altima and be rear facing.
Most rear-facing seats can be touching the front seat. In fact, some experts feel that bracing them against the front seat back can be an advantage in a crash. The concept is that rigidly bracing to the front seat provides another coupling to the vehicle. This better allows the child restraint to ride down the crash forces as the vehicle crushes (and absorbs the energy) and it also prevents downward rotation. This is quite common in Sweden, where they often put a rear-facing carseat in the passenger seat and brace it firmly against the dash (without an active air bag, of course).
Others feel that while bracing is not harmful, it probably doesn’t help much either. In a severe frontal crash, both the child restraint and vehicle seat back will be moving forward in a similar fashion, as the vehicle seat back is not a structural member of the chassis.
Anyway, unless prohibited by the child restraint or vehicle instruction manual, it is OK for a rear-facing seat to touch the seat in front of it. There are a few models that do suggest you not allow a rear-facing child restraint to touch the seat and/or head restraint. So, it is a good idea to double check.