Britax Safe-n-Sound Meridian SICT

Safe and comfortable seat – No problems with straps in double always get it done by a professional. using it for baby number 2 now and very comfortable. It has one of the highest safety rating for rear and forward facing Show details ·  1

I feel safe – Easy to clean. Easy to use. I feel secure that my child is in the safest seat possible. Bought the new version for baby 2 & absolutely wrapped with that too. You can't put a price on safety. Love the promise to replace the seats if in an accident too. Fantastic customer service by Britax!

Perhaps Consumer Affairs should review the issue with the car straps being near impossible to tighte – I've had issues with mine too after it going in forward facing. It was professionally installed. I often cannot get the straps tight enough. After reading the comments from many other reviewers, it seems to me that there is a theme to the straps being very difficult/impossible to tighten. To me, this is a serious safety concern and I am already… Read more

reviewing other car seats to replace it after reading all the reviews. Annoying as it was an expensive seat and I'm not planning on selling it to anyone with the concern I have over safety.

Safety risk in the front facing position – It is easy enough to install, and our child seems comfortable in it ( probably :) It is durable, and looks fine after several major cleanups. Had no issues in the rearwards facing position. The problem is in the forward facing position, as it has already been discussed by others. The metal joiner on the back of the harness tangles with the car's… Read more

seat belt when you extend the shoulder straps. Then, you cannot tighten the shoulder straps enough, and the metal joiner pulls on the seatbelt, that can potentially loosen it enough. You have to inspect the back of the seat every time you put the child in, and this step is easy to miss if you are in a hurry or exhausted after a long day getting the child in and out of the seat. This seems to be more of a problem with an upright seat position and less when the it is inclined. It appears to be a serious design issue, but somehow the seat passed all the safety tests.

I assume the isofix models would not have this sort of problems, too bad ours didn't have that option.

Safe seat with rear-facing to approximately 3 years – While this seat isn't perfect, it is good where it counts. It is safe (if you install it properly). I must admit that its not the easiest seat to install and it needs readjusting periodically (which I think is my car more than anything), but I've done it so many times that I'm pretty much an expert at it! This isn't a huge issue for me as I… Read more

don't think there are many highly usable seats on the market.

Currently my toddler is 23 months and she fits in it fine with tonnes of room to grow.

Problem areas usability wise have been for a rear-facing set up:

- threading the strap under the seat

- getting the seat belt tight enough so there is no sideways movement

- sometimes the belt won't tighten sufficiently, but as long as I pull the belt from behind the seat first and then pull at the tensioner, then its fine. This might become a problem when she's forward-facing if I can't reach the belts at the back.

This seat doesn't seem to breathe, but she hasn't complained about this as we have the air-con on all the time.

5 stars for saftey, quality and comfort! – Having been using a cheaper rear facing convertible seat my 10 month had reached the weight limit for i was finally ready (and financially ok) to upgrade. The new meridian sict or the platinum Was the only choice for me (i chose the meridian as it is more narrow in regards to back seat space)as i want to keep him rear facing for as long as… Read more

possible, and it is approved rearfacing untill approx 2-3 years of age. It was so easy to install. I love that i just pull a lever to adjust the head rest and harness. My only regret is not having my boy in one sooner- it is comfortable and offers so much more saftey features than the basics. Yes it costs more than others-but i am willing to pay for quality when it comes to my son as if we have an accident we only get one chance to get it right. The woman at the store i purchased from tried to tell me it won't fit rear facing in most cars up to the Max height once the head is extended, but she had no idea about alot of things -it fits in the back of my nissan xtrail (they are not roomy in the back at all) and angles quite upright so i have no issue with space. In RegardsTo other reviews and negative talk about straps i have had none of those issues -is got belt tounge holders (why an i just learning about these now haha) and button harness adjuster at the front so no dicking around in the back. Thankyou britax for recognising the need for extended rear facing seats in australia.

Pretty good seat – I love this seat and so does my son. Installing rear facing was a little difficult, but once it was in it was great. Intalling front facing - so easy i could do it with my eyes closed. I love the moveable back section so you can adjust the straps without removing the seat or child. The ONLY problem i have with it is that in front facing mode… Read more ·  1

the splitter plate gets caught on the seatbelt when tightening the harness. I always have to squeeze my hand behind the seat to make sure they havent hooked together otherwise the harness doesnt tighten and it pulls the seatbelt a bit loose. This scares me as it is a big safety flaw in my eyes, and i have to make sure everyone that uses the seat knows to check it.

Perfect car seat – Very easy to install, heaps of room in the car still. Baby is very happy compared to a capsule. Great value for money when compared to what you get and others on the markets. Even better value when you are able to get them installed and on special. Very happy.  Show reply

Great Seat – Very easy to use car seat, safe and comfortable. Definitely needs to be installed professionally though so you know it's safe and has been done right. Only problem is it can be hard to clean. Other then that we haven't had any issues with the seat. Would recommend to others.

Terrible product. Seatbelt tangles every single time – I had no problems with this car seat when rearward facing. But since using it forward facing, it has been a nightmare. Every single time I put my child in and tighten the seatbelt, it doesn't tighten because it gets tangled and stuck at the back where the car seatbelt sash is. It's a real safety concern because either the baby seatbelt won't be… Read more

tight OR the baby seat gets loosened. To use it safely I need to basically install it everytime I put my child in. It's not practical, it's unsafe yet it was an expensive car seat. I can't believe it was not tested and can't believe it was even approved and certified as a safe Australian product.

Constant issues with straps, huge safety issue – I am so annoyed with this product considering it's in the higher end for price. Since going forward facing we've had constant issues with the straps. They get jammed and they can't be loosened or tightened. We have to pull the bottom part apart to fix it at least weekly. In the meantime my 21 month old daughter can pull her straps down at times… Read more

which is incredibly dangerous. The back test always slides down also.

I will be calling Britax to complain and will advise of the outcome.

We have 2 vehicles and other other car has a cheaper seat that was given by a friend. I actually feel it safer to drive my daughter in that vehicle now due to the constant issues with the Meridian seat.

Frustrating, inconvenient and dangerous – I have a Safe n Sound Meridian child seat which we use in rear facing mode for our 2 year old. There is a tether strap which is loosened when removing the child then tensioned when the child is back in. There is only the one tensioner, on the accessible side, the idea being that the strap slips through the anchor bracket so that the seat is… Read more

equally restrained on both sides. However in our installation the tether is attached to the anchor on the back of the seat. The strap passes over itself and takes a sharp bend over the back of the seat, with the result that when you try to tension it, it binds on itself and the far side does not tighten. Also, the strap is wider than the slot in the bracket, with the result that it folds over and jams in the slot. The upshot is that when you tension the adjustable side, the far side remains slack. The effect is that the seat is pulled to one side and the other side is loose. In a collision the seat would swing sideways, defeating the purpose of rear facing. Britax tells me this is no problem. It probably works fine if anchored to the roof. Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Can't tighten and head flops forward – I absolutely hate this product it's difficult to install it's difficult to tighten straps and I'm constantly having to push my daughters head back when she falls asleep, a year ago I purchased thinking that it would be safe and reliable as it was a little more expensive than the others but at this stage I wish I had researched and read reviews on… Read more

this before purchasing, I'm gonna have to buy a new one because I'm so frustrated with this one, I got it installed by a professional approx. 6 months ago thinking that might be the issue but no such luck, I wouldn't recommend this seat to anyone.

Reroute harness – Hi, I had the exact same problems as you have had with my meridian. I got so fed up and frustrated with not being able to adjust the straps (this is just too much of a safety risk). I had the seat fitted professionally and checked /adjusted 3 times but I could still not adjust the seat with my 2 yr old in it. I contacted Britax, again, and this… Read more ·  1

time I was given the details of a repair/service agent in Brisbane. I took the seat over to him and he rerouted and changed the harness. He said it isnt a fault as such - more of an inconvenience.

Anyway, its working now and I can at last adjust the seat.

Persist with Britax

Durable, reasonably priced – I bought this one when my first kid was born. After my second was born, he moved on to another car seat so my younger one could use it. It's been 6 years now and is still going OK. The only issue is the with the straps that after a couple of years, it became very difficult to adjust. Feels like it's stuck somehow. Other than that, it's a good car seat for that price range.

Difficult to install and remove – I wish I saw this blog before. I had used it for 4 yrs. yes 4 years and I hate it to date. installing it is so cumbersome and hard. cannot anchor it well to the CAR, first time around got it done by RACV, but cant book RACV every time and my Husband hated when had to take the seat off as he could not get to put it back properly. The traps are to… Read more

hard to get it right. My daughter has now moved into Booster, but I wish I had complained earlier rather then putting up with this $360 car seat which was a nightmare.

Nothing special – We were originally looking at an InfaSecure car seat but got a VERY hard sell from the staff at Baby Bunting (SA) on this model instead. Having given in to their pressure I have to say I'm not that impressed. My baby's head seems to loll forwards when asleep in rear facing, and the harness takes several tries to click in properly. Once I was… Read more

driving around not knowing that only one side of the harness had clicked in properly - scary! I also find the straps are very tight over my baby's legs and leave temporary red marks where they were pressing. I have to wonder what kind of sales incentives Baby Bunting gets on these as they implied that any other brand was inferior and even tried to suggest the InfaSecure wouldn't fit in our 4WD - what a joke, we made them try and it fitted more easily than this one. Don't know if another would have been better but have to say this didn't live up to the hype.

Failed after 12 months and next to zero support – We've had our Meridian Car seat for just over 14 months and the mechanism has already failed. Whilst this is not great, I understand that it's mechanical item and some times it just happens but the problem with this brand lies in the fix. After wasting half a day taking the unit back to YCN Adelaide were we spent almost 5K we were told by the… Read more

Britax rep that works in the store that we would need to contact Britax. Sounds strange because we are standing in the store were we purchased the faulty car seat from but we agree and call Britax on the Monday.

So we call Britax customer service and they explained that the store should have a loan seat and would be able to send ours back for repair. This makes sense and is what should have happened when we first went back to the store. So we call the store again and they advise us that they don't have any loan car seats......hmmmm so we call Britax again and advise them of the situation and they step it up to the Sales Manager who will speak with the store and work on a solution.

We then get a call from a repair agent for Britax who is based over an hour away who can fix the unit if we book in a time and bring it down to them. There goes another half a day of travelling around town!

You would think that a company as large as Britax would have a better warranty mechanism in place for people that only have one car seat in their Household but apparently this is not the case.

This household will soon have a few more car seats added to it with the new additions but they wont be from Britax and they definitely won't come from YCN.

Just poor service all round

Loving it – I have been looking for car seat for my older son, due to second baby arrival. we have been looking around safe n sound and infasecure car seat. At the end, we chose safe n sound with bigger seat and easier adjustment. Never disapointed with safe and sound's product. Very recommended.

Not a safe seat – I find this seat really hard to tighten the straps in forward and rear facing, It works perfect without baby in chair but as soon as weight goes in it's so hard to pull the straps my husband even has trouble doing also my baby's head is flopping forward when he falls asleep where is the safety in that??? I have had the chair looked at by a britax… Read more

rep and they found nothing wrong with the chair but I can't tighten the straps so I think that is a problem. I would never reccomend this product! Never!!!

Great Seat! – My daughter used this seat from newborn to 3 and a half years of age. She is quite tall and has grown out of it, but I really have nothing bad to say about this seat. I think any car seat is a bit of a drama to install and clean, but I managed to get the knack of doing it myself, and found that the fabric inserts and covers were very easy to… Read more

clean and even went through the washing machine a few times. Our seat is still like new.

If I had to criticise the seat at all, I was a bit warm in summer for my daughter when she was an infant during the summer months. I used to run the air con for a few minutes before putting her into the car.

I have not had any trouble with the belts as others have reported, and once reviewing the manual, adjusting the seat position etc was relatively easy.

I would definitely recommend this seat to others!

Good seat though frustrated with straps – Used for our now 3 year old. When putting her in the straps keep twisting and very frustrated with straps. Is there anything we can do to stop this? Had it professionally fitted though want to clean it and not have to get it professionally fitted second time. Has come undone once. Can you recline whilst child in seat?  Show reply

Rotten car seat, we went and bought another a year later – Ditto on the straps. Technically it was possible to tighten and loosen but even my husband could barely do it. Which made it an unsafe seat in my opinion, as layers of jumpers and clothes need different strap lengths. We went and bough an evenflo, much safer.

Easy to use car seat with an excellent reputation for safety – We have been very happy with this car seat. It is safe, comfortable and easy to clean. We have had none of the strap/locking problems reported by others. In my experience the shoulder straps can be easily tightened from the front, I notice some others reporting having to reach around the back. We have used it rearward and forward facing and it… Read more

works well in both configurations. Our eldest daughter used it from newborn to 18 months and could easily have continued using it but the arrival of our second daughter meant she was upgraded to the Safe-n-sound Maxi Rider.

Do not buy if intending to wash cover – I have a Meridian car seat that I have been using for 4 years, ,my second child is in it now and was wrapped with it until I went to was it the other day!! It came out missing parts of the velvet after following the washing instruction!! "Cold machine wash"!! I have another seat that is 6 years old and have washed the same way and have not had a… Read more

problem with... Everyone I have talked to washes their cover regularly!!

Wouldn't you think if my cover came out like this there is obviously a fault?? Apparently not according to customer service, who after reviewing my complain refuse to do anything!!

MINE - cannot be washed

13 months later still hate this car seat!! – My first review was for rear facing, we sent our seat to be checked as it is Really hard to tighten the straps and the replaced the straps and absolutely no change. Now we are forward facing I was hoping this would have made a difference and it's just as hard!!! What is wrong with this chair! It works perfect without baby in chair but nice weight… Read more

goes in it's so hard to pull the straps. The red clips are now not clipping properly which makes the seat very loose, and my baby's head if flopping forward when she falls asleep where is the safety in that??? I'm probably out of warranty now. Otherwise id ask for the entire chair to be replaced as clearly the replacement of the straps have done nothing. I would never reccomend this product!!! Soft fabric

Not worth the extra money compared to other safe seats on the market – Most people review the seat for a newborn and say how comfy and safe the seat is so I won't bother with that. It is once the seat is forward facing it becomes a disappointment. However before I get to the negatives I would like to say my son is now 18 months and he is very comfortable in the seat, he is small and can reach his toys or cup from the… Read more

toy pocket and can also easily see past the head rest. The seat is safe which is what you want in a car seat and it is also very convenient in the fact that it has storage at the front of it, which I use for blankets or clothes plus the toy pocket. It fits easily in our mazda 6. However I still have not been able to wash the cover under the inserts, where my sons bottom sits. I can't for the life of me figure out how to detach it from the seat where it is connected to the push button harness adjuster because the button is stuck on the seat and the cover so it does not come off. Also the shoulder straps are impossible to tighten in forward facing mode, as I find you need to pull the harness from the back then pull the adjuster strap through, which means trying to squeeze your hand between the car seat and the back seat which is almost impossible. I wouldn't re-buy the seat because of these last 2 points. Safe, comfortable and has storage Can't wash the whole cover and the shoulder straps are hard to tighten when forward facing

Meridian SICT – This product is fantastic, the AHR Easy Adjust makes life so easy adjusting the harness straps. When it was time to adjust my child's harness straps higher all I had to do was tilt the headrest forward, pull it up a notch and adjust i back into place. And the fabric is so soft my baby is always happy. Tilt, Pull and adjust the AHR

Love this chair – Love the the padding, my daughter falls asleep in as instant. It looks really comfortable. The material washes well and goes back together really easy. I did have a fault with the seatbelt locking in but that was fixed at no cost to me. I strongly recommend this chair for safely & comfort of your child rear & front facing. Easy to shift from car to car if needed. And the safety aspect you couldn't fault.

Great seat but my cover wore quickly – This is a great seat, although I would love a replacement cover and not sure where to get one, also my child outgrew quickly as he was a big boy, would be great if they make them to last a little longer for the ' larger' than average child. I like how it fits into the car and would never buy another seat unless it came from safe n sound. Felt safe, head rest is adjustable Cover wore quite quickly Show reply

Meridian – My fav thing is tha SICT and head protection is what sells a product to me defenatly also stability and suport of bub especaily as a newborn love that it reclines back quiet far hastlee free harness is also a great feature easy car seat to instal rate this verry highly SICT  Show 3 replies

Safest Seat! – Love this seat, you will not be unhappy with the security you feel of using safe n sound products - the meridian is the best baby car seat ive ever used from all my children and the material is so lush, my babies love it. Can't go wrong with Safe n Sound!

Very happy! – I love this car seat we purchased it for out first son it is now waiting to be used for our second on the way :) it has a lot of padding for extreme comfort for bub, looks great I love the frost designs! :) great safety review. My favourite feature is the adjustable head rest. Very easy to clean. Covers are reversible also a great feature! :) highly recommend! Love the comfort it offers! The tightening strap is quite hard to pull. Show reply

Looks can be deceiving – It looks comfortable and was great as a rear facing but now that we've turned it forwards, this seat is not comfortable for my little one, at all. 1. The head rest is badly designed, it is too high so baby's head rubs on the join and hits two hard edges of the head rest segments. It obviously hurts and is terrible on long journeys. I've… Read more

adjusted it in every possible manner...adjusting it to make the headrest comfortable makes the straps unusable. I've had to add padding to the inside.

2. The 'adjustable' strap requires a wrench and four oxen to move.

3. The adjustable headrest merely need to be sneezed at to move. It shifts constantly.

4. The material is hot and the seat does not allow for airflow so bubs sweats ALL the time.

I'm sure there are worse seats on the market, but for the price...I would not buy this seat again. Looks nice Hot, uncomfortable, headrest badly designed

Great safe car seat – We bought this for our newborn, it was great from day 1, its secure and he can sleep well in it. we only have a few minor problems that that is that our son is a big boy and at 2 he has now grown out of it, the straps start half way down his back and he also gets very very sweaty and hot in it, even when it is not a hot day. other than that it… Read more

is great, we will be putting our daughter in it very soon! Reliable, trustworthy brand Expensive, does not breathe that well and does not last the child until they are 4 years old.