Consumer Reports testing reveals safety concerns with booster seats

During tests of four toddler-booster seats, dummies whose weight nears the seat's limits for its harness system exposed issues with the seats. Consumer Reports found that the load-bearing components at the rear of all four seats broke.

The seats are the Britax Frontier ClickTight, the Britax Pioneer, the Cosco Finale 2-in-1 and the Harmony Defender 360. They're all forward-facing car seats initially used with a harness, then transition to a booster using the car seat belts.

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"When the structure surrounding either the harness or top tether breaks, it can compromise the seats' ability to protect the child in a subsequent crash event," said Jennifer Stockburger of Consumer Reports. "It may also allow the child to move further forward, which means they can contact portions of the vehicle interior, and if the harness disengages completely, the seat is no longer restraining the child."

Consumer Reports is not aware of any injuries related to the breaks and points out its crash evaluations are more rigorous than federal requirements. And Consumer Reports stresses, if you have one of the seats, don't stop using it unless you have a replacement.

Any car seat is better than no car seat.

Consumer reports recommends the Graco Milestone, Graco 4Ever or Chicco NextFit seats.

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Testers say the seats all provide a basic margin of safety, especially for children weighing less than 40 pounds using it with the harness. However, they say children above 40 pounds who safely fit the seat should use it with the vehicle seat belt in booster mode.

And if your child is over 40 pounds but still too small for the booster, Consumer Reports recommends you replace the seat.

In statements to Consumer Reports, Britax, Cosco and Harmony all reiterated the safety of their seats and noted they meet federal standards.