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Replacement car seat advice pls

6 replies

JessTheCat98 · 09/11/2026 18:11

I need to replace both of my kids' car seats following a crash. They weren't in the car, but the seats were. My eldest is in a HBB and I want to keep my youngest (18 months) rear facing for as long as possible.

I am looking at this seat for my littlest one.

www.pramworld.co.uk/britax-romer-max-safe-pro-inc-free-leg-spacer-space-black/

I have only ever had isofix seats before so I am a bit wary about how easy it will be to install - anyone have any experience of this seat? I've looked for a few videos online but I am none the wiser really - do the tethers attach to the front seat?

Any advice would be appreciated, TIA x

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BertieBotts · 09/11/2026 19:15

Are you physically near Pram world? If not, I would look online for Axkid stockists near you as some of them also stock the Britax ERF seats and can demonstrate the fitting for you. Most/all the retailers have the same deals at the moment as it's a Black Friday price.

Tethers for seats like this come in two parts. One is a strap which connects to the seat itself, they normally come already attached. The other part is a loose strap which you attach to the car, then they have a ring and clip where they attach together.

It's the tether straps for the car which are usually unfamiliar and can seem daunting at first. If you've ever put up a tent or tethered down a trampoline, they work a bit like this, except rather than looping around a peg driven into the ground, they loop around any solid part of the car.

These are usually attached around the rails which the front seat is attached on (the bit that lets it slide forward and back).

In some cars, there is a small gap under the rails so it's very easy to install tether straps here. In other cars, it's tighter under the rails - you can normally push the tethers through with a bit of stiff card or flat plastic/metal.

If there is no access to the rails or they are too tight, it's usually possible to tether directly to the front seat itself. And another option is to buy metal loops (specific for this purpose) which can be directly screwed in to the floor of the car and then you can just clip the tether to this.

This video demonstrates: s

If you're more of a words/limited pictures kind of person this old blog post might be better, although it doesn't work online any more, you will have to copy and paste the URL into the wayback machine (wayback machine links don't work on MN): http://erfmission.com/you-cant-tether-in-my-car-debunking-myths-3/

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umathepuma · 09/11/2026 19:33

We have the older version of this and I love it, really roomy, DD says it's comfy at almost 4.
i found it quite easy to install, as long as you aren't having to take it in and out of the car often then once it's in you shouldn't need to touch it, it's a bit of a faff if your constantly having to move it.
Not sure if it fits exactly the same way but with ours the tether straps go round the front passenger seat rails and the seatbelt goes along the bottom of the car seat and holds it in place then the bar rests in the footwell, it's completely solid.

JessTheCat98 · 09/11/2026 20:05

@BertieBotts Yes, we're near Pram World. So hopefully they would demonstrate the installation? I've only ever either had seats I have belted in or used Isofix. I am worried about not installing it correctly. Thank you for the video link- that is exactly the sort of thing I was searching for, just couldn't find. I'm definitely more of a visual learner, I always really struggle to make sense of the user manuals and need videos. I'll have a look at the rails of the front passenger seat and see what the gaps are like.

@umathepuma I would unlikely ever remove it from my car once it is installed so that shouldn't be a problem. Glad to hear you found it easy to install too.

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BertieBotts · 09/11/2026 20:16

Yes they will demo it for you, if you go in. You might need to make an appointment for this - they probably have a contact email and/or phone number.

With the ERF seats you do need to redo the seatbelt and tethers if you change the recline or amount of leg room, but the tether strap part which is fitted to the front seat rails can stay in place, you don't need to take that out. Also if you ever want to move the seat to fit an adult in the back or fold the seats down etc, again the tethers on the rails don't need to be reinstalled.

BertieBotts · 09/11/2026 20:17

On the same channel on youtube, if you search tether, she has a video for what to do if your rails aren't easy to access or are boxed in as well, which is just as helpful. All of Margaret's videos are nice and slow and easy to follow, I think.

JessTheCat98 · 09/11/2026 20:27

BertieBotts · 09/11/2026 20:17

On the same channel on youtube, if you search tether, she has a video for what to do if your rails aren't easy to access or are boxed in as well, which is just as helpful. All of Margaret's videos are nice and slow and easy to follow, I think.

Thanks. I'll take a look at her videos. But if Pramworld will demo it for me that's ideal. I'll contact them tomorrow incase I need to make an appointment

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