So, you want a safe convertible carseat that’s nice-looking, will allow your child to rear-face to at least age 3 and forward-face in a harness to at least kindergarten? AND you don’t want to bust the budget to get all that? What to do? You check out the Evenflo SureRide DLX convertible carseat! For less than $100, you get a carseat that fits newborns to grade schoolers, and it’s often on sale. If you don’t want to buy another carseat until your child is ready for a booster seat (generally somewhere between 5 – 6 years old), the SureRide is a great choice. The SureRide has made our Recommended Carseats List as well as our Recommended Carseats for Airplane Travel.
The SureRide DLX also has sibling carseats: the Titan 65 (Canada) and the Titan 65 with SureSafe Installation System (Walmart exclusive). They have the same plastic shell and differ only in fabrics and lower LATCH connector styles.
Weight and Height Limits:
- Rear-facing: 5-40 lbs. AND 19-40” or child’s head is 1” from top of seat shell
- Forward-facing: 22-65 lbs.
SureRide Overview:
- 6 harness slot positions (4 for rear-facing, 3 for forward-facing—opposite for Canadians)
- 2 crotch strap/buckle positions
- Easy installation
- Lightweight
- FAA approved for use on aircraft
- 6 yr lifespan before seat expires
- Made in the USA!
SureRide Measurements
Harness slot heights: 6.5”, 8.5”, 10.5”, 14.5”, 17”, 19.25”
External widest point: 19 ”
Shell height: 26.5”
Crotch strap depth: 4.5”, 6.5”
Seat depth: 12.5”
Seat weight: 9.7 lbs.
Installation
For rear-facing, the plastic recline foot (aka the pitchfork) must be engaged to create a suitable recline angle. If you have steeply sloped vehicle seats and you need more recline you can use a rolled up towel or baby blanket underneath the recline foot. A pool noodle won’t work in this situation. SureRide must be installed so that the recline line stamped into the side of the seat is level with the ground. Because it’s a tall seat, this causes the SureRide to take up a fair amount of space front-to-back.
LATCH installation is generally easy, but moving the LATCH strap from the forward-facing belt path to the rear-facing belt path is a complete pain. And the seat comes out of the box with the LATCH strap routed through the forward-facing beltpath so you will most likely need to move it before doing anything else. The cover must be lifted from the seat and the LATCH strap threaded under the harness lap straps; you must be careful not to intertwine the straps. The white plastic strap holding the LATCH strap to the carseat grips the LATCH strap too tightly, making it tempting to just cut it off to free the LATCH strap from its imprisonment.
Most SureRide models come with basic hook-style lower LATCH connectors but the Titan 65 with “SureSafe Installation”, available exclusively at Walmart, has nicer push-on LATCH connectors.
Using the Tether
Do not use the tether strap for rear-facing but always use the tether strap when forward-facing if a tether anchor is available for the seating position being used in the vehicle.
Forward-facing LATCH weight limit: 50 lbs.
Center LATCH installations with Non-Standard Spacing:
Evenflo allows LATCH installation in the center seating position if the vehicle manufacturer allows it and the LATCH anchor bars are spaced at least 11” apart.
Inflatable Seat Belts
Evenflo has determined that the SureRide cannot be installed with inflatable seat belts found in some Ford, Lincoln, and Mercedes vehicles, and in some airplane seat belts.
Seatbelt installation is generally quick and easy too but this seat does NOT have a built-in lockoff device for installations with seatbelt so it’s very important to understand how your seatbelt locks if you’re going to install with seatbelt and not with LATCH connectors. Once your child reaches 5o lbs. you must discontinue using the lower LATCH connectors and switch to a seatbelt installation (plus tether) instead. All vehicles made after 1996 have seatbelts that can lock in some way to hold a carseat tightly in place during routine driving. Most vehicles have switchable retractors but some vehicles or specific seating positions have locking latchplates instead. It’s important to know what your vehicle has and to understand how these features work before you install this carseat with a seatbelt. See your vehicle’s owners manual for specific information on how to install a carseat in your vehicle using the seatbelt. If you have questions, please visit our car-seat.org forum and we’ll be happy to help answer them.
Fit to Child
The SureRide is designed to fit children from 5-65 lbs. and the fit on the lower end is fantastic. Because it has such a large size range of kid to fit, the long harness has 2 sets of loops on the ends so it can be shortened for newborns and smaller babies. For newborns up to 10 lbs., the buckle can be shortened by threading it from the rear slot to the front slot.
There is a sizable distance between the 3rd and 4th set of harness slots that may cause an awkward harness fit on a rear-facing child. There’s nothing you can do about this other than turn the child forward, which we don’t recommend unless the harness simply won’t stay on your child’s shoulders.
Cover/Maintenance/Ease of Use
The cover is relatively easy to remove. It can be washed in the washing machine and dried in the dryer. To clean the harness, wipe with a sudsy washcloth and wipe off with a wash cloth that has water on it only to remove all the soap.
FAA-Approval/Lifespan/Crash Guidelines
The SureRide is FAA-approved and because it’s so light, it’ll be easy to get through the airport. It definitely won’t fit to full recline rear-facing on the plane and that’s OK, unless you’re dealing with a newborn who needs it. One traveler has reported back to us that the SureRide didn’t fit through the security line x-ray machine, so be aware that you may need to factor in more time for the seat to be inspected.
The SureRide has a lifespan of 6 years and Evenflo wants you to replace it after any crash.
Advantages
- 6 harness slot positions
- Easy-to-use harness
- 2 crotch strap positions
- FAA-approved—makes a great travel seat
- Weighs just 9.7 lbs.!
- Easy installation with LATCH or seat belt
- Inexpensive
- Made in the USA
Disadvantages
- Pain to move lower LATCH connectors between RF and FF belt paths
- Large gap between 3rd and 4th harness slots can be awkward when your child is in between them
- Tall seat that must be put at full recline when rear-facing
Thank you to Evenflo for providing the SureRide DLX used for this review. No other compensation was provided. All opinions expressed are those of CarseatBlog.
We are trying to install the sureride forward facing in the middle seat in a 2017 ram but the seat overhangs just a bit which causes it to bounce a lot in the front. My son swings his feet and the whole thing bounces. Does this car seat have to sit entire on the seat or does it have the 80/20 rule that I’ve read most cardeats follow?? I couldn’t find anything about it in the Manuel. Its tight at the belt but not the top of the seat or the very bottom front part.
Hi Taylor. Sorry I missed your question! The SureRide does follow the 80%/20% rule and as long as it has 80% of the base on the vehicle seat and is securely installed with less than 1″ of movement at the belt path, it shouldn’t bounce around. So, start by checking to make sure that the carseat is secure at the belt path.
Do you have the top tether attached? Depending on what trim line you have, the tether anchor will either be directly behind the vehicle seat and on the back wall or you’ll have a webbing loop through which you’ll route the tether so you can attach it to the webbing loop behind the adjacent vehicle seat. Attaching the top tether not only keeps the top of the carseat secure, but it reduces head excursion (the amount a child’s head comes out of the carseat in a crash) by up to 6″. You can download your manual here if you don’t have one: https://www.mopar.com/ramtrucks/en-us/my-garage/select-vehicle.html.
FAA-Approval/Lifespan/Crash Guidelines
The SureRide is FAA-approved and because it’s so light, it’ll be easy to get through the airport. It definitely won’t fit to full recline rear-facing on the plane and that’s OK, unless you’re dealing with a newborn who needs it.
What do you mean it won’t do full recline on plane and that’s ok???? How do I use it if it doesn’t fully recline???
Jaime, because of the pitch between airline seats, most convertible carseats won’t fit to full recline. If you have a newborn or small infant, I’d suggest booking a seat with more legroom or borrowing a rear-facing only carseat from a friend or family member that will fit better on the plane.
My daughter’s straps should be between the 3rd and 4th slot where the is a huge gap. Should I use a different car seat, go above the shoulder or way below the shoulder. She’s 28″, 18 lbs, 7 months old rear facing
Hi Priscilla. Yeah, that huge gap is a bummer. Use the slots below her shoulders, so if it’s way below, it’s way below. If the straps slip off, you may need to use another seat in the meantime.
Hi! I am trying to install this car seat rear-facing with the seatbelt in my husband’s older Yukon. When I do this I find that the shoulder belt causes the car seat to lift slightly on the side the shoulder belt is on. It does not move more than one inch side to side at the belt path. Any advice?
Sara, there are a few approaches you can take. First is to redo the installation. After you lock the seat belt and as you are pulling the shoulder belt tight, pull down on the shoulder belt on the side where it pulls up on the seat (so the side where it goes back into the retractor). This is easy if the carseat is next to the door and you’re standing outside because you can bend down and pull straight down to get it really tight. Then feed it carefully back into the retractor while maintaining tension across the belt path so it stays tight.
You can also make sure to put pressure on the carseat belt path straight across and not just closest to the buckle so it doesn’t tip.
I personally like to move the front seats all the way forward and lean over the top of the seat, then pull the seat belt tight. I find using this technique, I don’t get tippy seats.
Lastly, you can use a locking clip and not lock the seat belt at the retractor at all. The locking clip will hold the lap belt in place. Using a locking clip guarantees it’ll never tip, but it’s also the hardest technique to master. See http://carseatsite.com/lockingclips/ .
Just curious if anyone else has had issues with tightening the harness with the seat rear facing? We use this seat exclusively for travel. This seat has been incredibly frustrating in that it is so hard to tighten/loosen the straps on my child once seated. We’ve tried reclining the seat back a bit more to get a better angle but something about the way it is positioned makes it almost impossible to tighten and makes it very tricky to loosen. It is a fight and storm of curse words each time. I’m reluctant to buy a new travel car seat since this one is so lightweight and comes highly recommended for budget and safety. I feel like we must be doing something obviously wrong. Hoping that once we turn it forward facing this is no longer an issue.
Vanessa, we use this seat as one of our program seats and haven’t had a problem, meaning I’ve had worse ;). I no longer have mine at home so I can’t check how the harness is routed, but double-check the bottom against your manual for the harness routing and make sure that the harness adjuster is routed underneath everything on the bottom of the seat. Sometimes when you change harness strap height, that adjuster strap can slip under other straps or the recline foot and get lodged against the vehicle seat then when you install it.
Thank you for your quick reply! We are traveling today, so I appreciate it. I will check to see if this is the issue. I hope so, as it sounds like an easy fix!
Did you notice with the Titan 65 that the leg straps are more across the thighs as opposed to hips with other seats? Do you know if that affects the safety?
Hi Stephanie – yes, I have noticed that. This is typical of most Evenflo seats. I don’t consider it a safety issue, because you are spreading crash forces over a wide area of the body and femurs are pretty strong bones anyway. HTH!
I just tried to get this car seat snug and secure in our babysutter’s car using both the seatbelt and latch strap and neither will tighten so that the seat doesn’t move more than an inch. I have 3 Britax clicktights and had no problem with those. Any idea what I’m doing wrong??
Are you checking for movement only at the belt path? The trick I use to tighten either a seat belt or LATCH strap is to lift the carseat cover and pull the belt from there. Most importantly is checking for movement only at the belt path.
Thank you! You mean I should only be checking movement at the belt and it’s okay if the whole seat moves a good amount but the strap is tight? He’s 25lb rear facing.
We just bought this seat for our 36lb 5.5 year old to use harnessed since he has topped out the shoulder height on our other two seats (Evenflo Maestro and Safety First Guide 65). However, the brand new Evenflo Sureride we opened yesterday says it is manfuctured in China, not the USA. Evenflo is an American company, but the product description on the box says differently. That’s disappointing. Evenflo hides this well. They describe their operations in Ohio and Mexico but creatively don’t mention that some of their products are made overseas now.
Oh wow, that’s new. Thanks for letting us know!
Will the Evenflow sure ride DLX convertible car seat- Norwood fit in a 2011 Dodge Ram 1500
Thanks
Hi Rachel, which cab size do you have? Will the carseat be rear-facing or forward-facing?
We have this car seat and love it, but are in the market for a new vehicle. Planning to go around and try it out in each car we test drive, but what cars do you all have that cars it fits in? We are still rear-facing for at least another year. Thanks for any help!
Audrey, we’ve been installing the institutional version of this seat (very same shell, different name) in lots of vehicles lately. What type of vehicle are you looking at—compact car, mid-size, SUV, minivan? It will fit in more spacious backseats, obviously, but better designed vehicles vs. larger vehicles make a huge difference. For instance, everyone thinks the Dodge Durango is spacious because it looks big on the outside, but the 2nd row is very tight front to back. That’s why it’s good to do what you’re doing and try the seat in the vehicle before you buy the car.
Has anyone had trouble tightening the harness strap? I can’t ever get it tight enough. I have re-read over and over again the directions and can’t figure out anything! It gets almost tight enough but then stops. I am using it for a 30 lb 2 year old, forward facing.
Best,
Aly
Hi Aly. It sounds like the harness might be getting caught on something. Are the harness straps positioned above your child’s shoulders in one of the top 3 slots?
I just purchased the evenflo dlx and installed it in the center seat, rear facing, through LATCH. If I purchase a tether extender, may I tether the car seat to the floor of the vehicle (Toyota Yaris 2015) Swedish style? It is recommended that rear facing seats are tethered to the floor to avoid rebound in a forward collision, however, I can’t find information on this for Evenflo.
Hi Prescilla, Evenflo does NOT allow rear-facing tethering. Currently, only Diono, Combi & Peg Perego allow their convertible carseats to be tethered in the rear-facing position, and only if allowed by the vehicle manufacturer. Rear-facing tethering is not a general recommendation but is something that a select few carseat manufacturers allow. Most carseat manufacturers (Evenflo, Graco, Dorel, Chicco, etc.) do NOT allow it and I definitely wouldn’t recommend going against their specific instructions not to use it in the RF position. The good news is that the SureRide is sold in Canada and Canada has stricter federal requirements for rebound control so you can rest a little easier knowing that the design of the seat itself limits the amount of rebound that your seat may experience in a frontal crash. HTH!
Was having trouble installing this seat rear-facing with the LATCH system because of the white plastic strap holding the LATCH strap. Once I removed enough of the cover, I realized you can just swivel the white strap around and then rethread the LATCH strap. This 30-sec video was a life saver! https://youtu.be/SzWBp-OoNAc
Your post was just what I was looking for. I have read and reread the manual and haven’t found anything about the white plastic strip holding the LATCH strap. Watched the video you posted and problem solved! Thanks!
Thank you SO much for this link! I could not figure out how that strap was long enough based on the instruction manual!
I purchased the Evenflo Titan 65 from Walmart in August due to its latch system and safety features. Installing it was quite the pain but I got it installed into my Nissan. I was loading my daughter in the other day and the sticker on the carseat that is above the level line says that the lower belt path should be used for infants up to 22 pounds only. I purchased thinking there was a 40 pound weight limit as I want to keep my daughter rear facing but she is 25 pounds at 1 year of age. Is that in fact correct and I have been driving my daughter around in an unsafely installed carseat?
Hi April. You’re totally fine rear-facing up to 40 lbs. in the Titan 65. It’s special language required on the label by NHTSA. We have a blog article on it: https://carseatblog.com/23152/carseatblog-quick-tip-funky-label-wording/ .
Do you know whether this seat would fit in a Prius in the rear-facing position? Thanks!
Hi Sacha. It might fit OK in the center position. Because it pretty much has only a single recline position that’s very reclined and it’s a very tall seat, smaller backseats will be a problem for a RF SureRide.
We were unable to use the seat in the rear facing position in either a Ford Fusion or a Toyota Tundra crew cab. The forward seats had to be moved too far forward for comfortable safe driving.
Hi Jennifer T.
I drive a Ford Fusion and find I only need to move the seat up a small amount (maybe 2″) from the furthest back position when installing the Sureride rear facing, with the line level to the ground. My husband and I are both comfortable in front of it at 5’7″ and 5’10”.
Can you tell me the difference between the “EvenFlo Sureride DLX 65” and just the “EvenFlo SureRide DLX”? Looking to purchase this car seat through Target, and those are the two options listed on their site. I can’t tell what the difference is. Thanks!
Hi Elizabeth. It looks like a difference in soft goods. As far as I know, Evenflo hasn’t made any changes to the SureRide.
The info here needs some updating. I just bought one from Babies R Us (love the Great Trade-In!) manufactured one month ago 01/29/2016, and the owners manual lists on pages 7 and 30 that the weight limit of the LATCH is actually 55 pounds, not 50 pounds as you state here. It also doesn’t include a locking clip. I now have to hunt down a locking clip for a reasonable price since my family is stuck with a 1995 Mercury Sable wagon that surprisingly doesn’t have locking seat belts, BUT actually came factory equipped with all 3 tether anchors! I’m not spending $10 per clip when I need two, that’s ridiculous considering belt shortening clips only cost about $12 back when I was certified, and, we simply can’t afford it.
Hi, thanks for the update. We will confirm the LATCH weight limit increase with Evenflo and edit the info in the review. As for needing a locking clip – just call Evenflo customer service and tell them that you need one for your older vehicle. I’m sure they will take care of you.
Based on your recommendation, we purchased this seat for travel but unfortunately it is too tall when laying down to fit through the X-ray machine and now makes going through security more time consuming and became an unnecessary hassle. We do not want to check the seat until we are at the gate for safety reasons. Now I need to buy another carseat that will make travel easier. This should be reflected in your review and recommendation.
Sorry to hear that, Leigh! That is definitely a hassle. I haven’t heard of this happening before, but I will make note of it in the review. What country are you in?
I’ve traveled with this carseat over 10 times, always gate checking it. I travel with it on a Go-go mini cart (basically a dolly to strap your car seat and kid on) and they just roll it through the security door as they do with wheelchairs and other oversized items that don’t fit on the belt. They just do a little testing on it and I’m on my way. It’s never caused me any notable delay, since I have to walk through with my toddler anyway. Maybe this was a one-time fluke incident or maybe the fact that mine is strapped to wheels make it easy to roll through without having to deal with the x-ray machine.
Thanks, Jen. Yes, the buckle can be shortened for babies under 10 lbs.
Hi Heather, I read this before buying this car seat for my newborn baby (due in a week and a half). I called evenflo and the only thing that the manual and the tech over the phone mentioned was shortening the chest straps (I don’t know correct terminology for those straps). I, nor did the tech on the phone say that I could shorten the crotch belt, she said the only thing I should do is have it on the closest setting to baby’s body (which it is).
Any help understanding this would be a help.
Better late than never, but you can shorten the crotch strap by putting it through the rear slot (closest to the baby) as you have done, and then feeding the anchor back through the front slot to take up some of the slack. This essentially shortens the length of the strap exposed at the baby’s side. The anchor ends up on the seat side, lying flat, but in the forward slot in front of the baby enough that it does not interfere with seating or comfort. These instructions are shown on page 40 of my manual, with pictures. As it specifies to not use this configuration above 10 lbs, you are probably well past this with your baby, but maybe this will help others.
Yes. You use the shortened crotch buckle for little babes weighing less than 10 pounds.
Correct me if I’m wrong- don’t you shorten the crotch buckle for use with small newborns? I didn’t see mention of that and thought it is an important point. 🙂
The Wal-Mart website says their Titan 65 with the SureSafe installation has only a 37 inch RF height limit. Is this correct? If so, that is another significant difference between that and the SureRide.
Thanks for catching that! 37″ is a misprint. I have a Titan 65 with SureSafe and the you can see in the video here that the box is clearly marked 19-40 inches. https://carseatblog.com/28560/
It’s the same for all SureRide/Titan 65 models sold in the U.S.