More important than how long the carseat can last is how old, how heavy and how tall your child is currently. No point getting a carseat that will fit a kid when he is 5 years old, but the car accident happens when he is 5 months old but the carseat didn't fit him well at that age!

Are you asking for baby not born yet or baby already born? How old is baby, how heavy and how tall/long?

You have read from my earlier posts that once there is a car accident, you have to buy another carseat because carseats are all one-accident use only right?

This post has been edited by hanishoney: Mar 28 2016, 10:46 AM

Isofix weight limit is 18kg. So whether the carseat will still be useable until 5yo will depend on your child's growth rate. My eldest son is 4.5yo and still 15.5kg, so I am confident I can get him to 18kg before he turns 5yo, but there are plenty of kids who reach 18kg before 4yo also, so you'll see most shops say their carseats are until 4yo, because 18kg=average 4yo.

I highly recommend rear-facing for as long as possible. Rear-facing is FIVE TIMES safer than front-facing. With your budget, you should really take a look at Joie Tilt or Joie Steadi, which rear-face until 18kg. Another option would be to order a Cosco Apt 50 via lazada. It's a USA carseat that will also let you rearface until 18kg. USA carseats come with a LATCH belt, which can be used with a car's ISOFIX up to a total of 33kg (child + carseat weight).

But if you have your heart set on isofix, do note that all the isofix seats within your budget (and even some that stretch your budget) rear-face up to 13kg or less. Santa Barbara CS589 rear-faces with isofix up to 13kg. The price for Santa Barbara CS589 can range a lot, from under RM700 to over RM1000, so you'd need to shop around or order via lazada. Koopers Salsa is just over RM700, but the isofix is for front-facing only and you'd have to install rear-facing with seatbelt. Sweet Cherry LB589 rear-faces with isofix up to 10kg only, which is WAY WAY WAY too soon for your baby to front-face.

Please don't buy any carseat that rearfaces for less than 13kg. My second baby hit 10kg at 6mo! He barely could sit upright without someone holding him, and it would have been so kesian to make him sit up facing forward in the car. Better to let them lie down rear facing until their spine is stronger.

Graco Size4Me is a USA carseat. It is a recommended carseat by csftl.org. You can read their review here: http://csftl.org/graco-mysize-convertible-seat-review/

Do note that as a USA carseat, they don't actually have isofix; they have LATCH, which can be used with a car's ISOFIX system, but there is a child weight limit specified in the manual, after which must use seatbelt.

This carseat doesn't come with a lockoff. If you use seatbelt with this carseat, you will need to make sure your car's seatbelts are Automatic Locking Retractors (check your car owner's manual). If your seatbelts are not ALR, then you will need to use a locking clip, which may or may not come with the Graco carseat. I read that Graco has stopped supplying the locking clip with their carseats in the USA, but maybe overseas they still give it? If not, can buy from lazada.


No. 1 reason a 2mo baby would be screaming in the carseat in Malaysia is because he is feeling too hot. Can read these tips to managing the heat in carseats: http://thecarseatlady.com/warm-weather-tips/.

As he grows older, he will find new reasons to hate his carseat. This article is full of advice on keeping kids happy in their carseats from birth to booster: http://thecarseatlady.com/keeping-your-kids-happy/

This post has been edited by hanishoney: Jun 10 2016, 03:37 PM

Depends on the carseat. Some carseats maximum weight is 9kg. Some are 10kg. Some are 13kg. For ECE-R44 infant carseats (the rear-facing only kind), baby is too big for the carseat when baby hits the maximum weight of the carseat OR when the head is level with the top of the carseat (use a ruler or an eating knife to measure), whichever is earlier. As baby grows bigger, you remove all the support cushions so there will be more space in the carseat for the bigger baby. Remember that when you remove the cushions, you'd probably have to adjust the harness to fit the changed height.

This is always essential reading to me: http://thecarseatlady.com/keeping-your-kids-happy/

Diono is not importing their USA carseats here because they are expecting Malaysia to adopt European standards in 2019. If you want Diono Radian carseats, you'll have to import directly from USA. Can order online, from lazada or other online websites.

It rear-faces only until 10kg. If you're looking for a carseat for a newborn, it's more worthwhile to look for a carseat that rear-faces until at LEAST 13kg, if not for longer. Rear-facing is FIVES TIMES safer than front-facing, and is a MUST for children under 2 years old.

I used one with my firstborn when he was a baby, but I didn't bother with my second child. I find that I prefer to focus on the road when I'm driving and stop frequently to check my baby when I'm driving alone, and if I'm not the one driving, I just use my handphone selfie camera to take pictures of my baby to check.

From what I see with Sparco, often the angle is not good for newborn babies when rear-facing in some cars. Because of the seat of the car itself, Sparco can be too upright and not allow the 45 degree angle necessary to allow newborn babies to breathe safely. Always try installing Sparco in your car before you buy it, if you're going to buy it for a newborn, to make sure you can get the 45 degree angle.

It's not the seat that has to be 45 degrees, yah, but the baby inside the seat!


Again, I'd like to remind everyone that different carseats suit different cars, so please please please mention what car(s) you have installed your carseat in, and position of the carseat (behind front passenger, behind driver, center back seat).

For the budget you provide, the only ISOFIX carseats available will only allow use of the ISOFIX for front facing. You'd have to still use the seatbelt for rear facing. Examples are Koopers Salsa and Santa Barbara ISOFIX carseat, which also rear face only to 13kg.

If I'm not mistaken, the cheapest rear-facing ISOFIX carseat is Koopers Jive, which rear faces only to 13kg too, but is RM879 at littlewhiz.com. I'm also unsure of its suitability to your vehicles. Do check directly with the shop/distributor. ISOFIX tends to be rigid in whether it suits your car or it doesn't. There is no adjustability with ISOFIX.

If your budget cannot stretch past RM800, you may want to look at LATCH, instead of ISOFIX. LATCH is the USA version. It's cheaper than ISOFIX because it's essentially a belt (made of the same material as a car's seatbelt) provided with the carseat that you then connect to your car's ISOFIX points. LATCH carseats that can be within your budget on lazada and are carseat technician recommended include Cosco Scenera Next, Cosco Apt 50 and Evenflo SureRide. Lazada prices change every day though, so the prices can go beyond your budget and different sellers price differently too. These carseats all rear-face beyond 13kg (rear-facing is SAFEST; therefore rear face as long as possible), and suits most cars with ISOFIX attachments, but LATCH can be harder to install than ISOFIX, yet because of the adjustability of belts, they are more flexible to suit more cars than ISOFIX. Buying online via lazada does mean that you can't be sure what manufacturing dates you get, and that could mean shorter lifespan of carseats (because USA carseats have fixed expiry dates).

Babies should NOT be left in the carseat for longer than 90 minutes each time, BECAUSE the carseat is not lying flat. Babies should lie flat most of the time. However, lying flat in the car is NOT safe if there is a car accident, because the 45 degree angle as per your carseat's indicator, protects your baby's entire spine in a car accident, like a rocking "cradle when the bough breaks" in the song rockabye baby song.

So just tell your auntie that baby will most often be in his crib/floor/cot lying flat at home, not in the car. BUT this angle is necessary in the car. If you have to drive for more than 90 minutes with your baby, break the journey up so that baby gets out of the carseat for half an hour or so every 90 minutes.

Once your baby has head control, you can extend his/her time in the carseat to two to four hours, but every two-four hours, still need to let out to stretch and move about. In fact, adults should also get up/out and stretch/walk around every two/three hours to extend lifespan.

More info: http://www.babycentre.co.uk/x554834/is-it-...in-his-car-seat

You can also tell your auntie that baby must NOT be fed lying flat. Babies also need the 45 degree angle for feeding to make sure that if they vomit (reflux is very normal for babies), they don't accidentally swallow back their vomit and choke.

Never forget that you must replace carseats after any accident, even if the child is not in the carseat at the time of the accident. So I'm personally not keen on long-lasting seats myself, not just because of expiry, but because I personally have paid RM1.4k for a carseat and then had to throw away just one week later because accident. Overseas, when car gets into accident, can claim from motor insurance to replace the carseat. Malaysian motor insurance does not have such option. Always make sure you have enough money to buy another carseat just in case you get into a car accident.

From what I hear about Joie Steadi, it can be prone to buckle crunch, so I suggest to try in your car before you buy, to make sure it doesn't have buckle crunch in your car. LittleWhiz.com is a great shop that you can make an appointment to try the carseat out in your car.

Graco Extend2Fit is a lot pricier than Joie Steadi (Official Distributor's Website). If you have any intention to forward face the carseat, you'll also need to make sure that your car has a top tether anchor which you'd need to use when forward-facing.

When it comes to child carseats, Myvi has two versions. The old Myvi doesn't have ISOFIX, and middle back seat is a lapbelt. New Myvi is equipped with ISOFIX and a shoulder belt in the middle back seat. So you have to clarify which Myvi you have.

Also, how old is your child, weight and height? Recommendations should really be based on your child's age, weight and height, before being based on anything else.

I finally had time to check out the Combi Malgott carseat manual. One thing I'd like to point out is that it rear-faces only to 10kg. Since rear-facing is FIVE TIMES safer than forward facing, I suggest that when your baby gets close to 10kg, go shopping for at least an infant seat that rearfaces to 13kg, so you can rear-face just a little longer.

There are carseats that rear-face to 13kg that are as cheap as RM119, so surely that price is worth the extra FIVE TIMES protection you can give your baby for an extra 3kg? My baby slowed down in growth a lot after he turned 6mo. He's been 9kg for 3 whole months, so assuming that he only grows 1kg every 3 months after 10kg, that's another 9 months that he can rear-face! For such a low price. And yes, when your baby is not yet 2yo, cheapo RM119 rear-facing carseat is still FIVE TIMES safer than fancy-shmancy RM1.5k front facing carseat. But do make sure that baby's head still shorter than the top of the infant carseat/carriers. Some infant carriers claim can rear-face to 13kg, but the back is too short and baby cannot fit anymore by height long before they reach 13kg.

My son screams the whole drive. I still have him rear facing. Better for my child to cry than for me to cry.