Customer Reviews

Cosco Alpha Omega Elite Convertible Car Seat

5 star:		(129)
4 star:		(63)
3 star:		(42)
2 star:		(45)
1 star:		(56)

 

 

I was in a devastating car accident a month ago, in which I lost my wife, and mother to 2 lovley daughters. My oldest daughter, who was seated on the same side of the vehicle as my wife only received a broken leg. I beleive that if she were in any other seat she too would be dead, or at least injured more seriuos.

This car seat is of excellent quality. The drawbacks I can see is that the recline function does not recline far enough to compensate for the slope of the seat for the car seat to sit with the marker "level to the ground" like it should in the rear facing position. This car seat is rather large and I have to move the front passenger seat up in our SUV (Nissan Murano) quite considerably in order to put the car seat in facing rearward. Placing the rolled up towels underneath the base makes the car seat level, but it also requires the front seat be pushed forward even further. I test fit it in the forward facing position in the back seat and the car seat fits just fine that way. I wouldn't suggest buying this for an infant if you have a smaller back seat unless you want your front seat passengers spending the first year of baby's life with their knees in the dashboard. The Nissan's back seat is pretty large but perhaps it would fit better in, say, a Suburban?
I don't like the fact that the owner's manual has diagrams that show the level marks perpendicular to the ground with the car seat reclined while sitting in the back seat without towels. They could have designed it better in my opinion so I wouldn't have to use the towels.
(The level marks are located on the seatbelt harnesses that are visible in the picture of the product if you were wondering).

I'll try to address some of the complaints about this seat. It is a decent car seat, if you can get it installed correctly. I would suggest you take the seat to your nearest fire station and have them do it for you because the directions are not user friendly. Regarding rear-facing, yes it takes up a lot of room, as most rear-facing seats do. My child went into this seat at 5 months and will be switched to forward facing at 12 months, so we can deal with a minor inconvenience for 7 months. Furthermore, all seats do not fit in all vehicles; if it doesn't fit in your vehicle, save the box and return it for a smaller seat. Regarding the "puzzle" clasp, yes it is tricky the first few times you do it, so have someone at the store show you how it works, or practice with it before you try to put your child in it. After you get it, it's simple, just snap it together and click it in. All seats made by Cosco, including the Eddie Bauer line, have this style clasp, so if you really hate it that much, you're going to have to switch to another brand of seat to get a different clasp. Yes, the straps twist, but again, the straps twist on all of the Cosco seats including Eddie Bauer, so might want to look at the Britax line if twisty straps are going to annoy you.

The bottom line is people get frustrated because they yank this out of the box and want it installed and ready to use in 5 minutes, and well, it takes more time than that.

The points that make this car seat a decent choice:
- Safety - all seats on the market today are tested and meet safety guidelines.
- Extra padding on the seat, comfortable on long trips.
- Arm rests and cup holder, added features.
- Converts to a booster! This is the biggest feature, because when your toddler reaches 40 lbs, the seat converts to a booster and can continue to be used up to 100 lbs, so you wont be out in another 3 years looking to buy a booster seat (required by law in many states). This saves you $$ in the long run. We will convert this seat to a booster and be able to use it until my son is 6 years old, so we will definitely get our moneys worth.

I'm giving it 3 stars because no seat is perfect, but overall this is a decent choice. It is one of the bigger and heavier seats on the market, so I would not recommend switching this one back and forth between vehicles - once it's installed, you'll want to leave it in one vehicle. The instruction manual is not clear and could use some revision, but with a little patience, you can figure it out!

Edited to Add - It's been several months since my original review and now I'm in the market to buy another seat for our other vehicle. After doing some research, I've discovered that this seat doesn't perform well when used as a belt-positioning booster for older children, so perhaps I won't be using it for as long as I originally thought! I won't be buying another one of these seats this time around.

Recently, I got into a car accident with my infant son while using this carseat. I do not recommend this at all for anyone. Not only was the carseat destroyed but it did not hold up in the accident. Later the fire department told me that the carseat did not pass highway standards for 2002. That is enough information to avoid this carseat at all costs.

I wanted to love this seat, but I just couldn't. I bought it b/c a friend had it and loves it(she uses it forward facing though). Plus, it has a lot of really nice features. It was very difficult to install. To get it reclined enough for safety we had to put two pool noodles under it and it still wasn't quite there. Also, we had to push the front passenger seat of our Honda Accord ALL the way forward and totally upright. My daughter (who is 9 months old and outgrew her infant carrier b/c of height) didn't like it. The head rest tilts slightly forward which seems uncomfortable. After many fits from her and arguments with my husband we returned it and got the Evenflo Triumph. This seat reclines perfectly and my daughter feels more cozy and secure. Plus, it has a lot of the same features as the Alpha Omega.

Please don't beleive all the reviews you read! This is an excellent car seat! I've had mine for about a month now and totally love it! We needed an extra car seat for my husband's car, so he got my old one and I got this one. I was able to install the seat foward facing by myself and had no problems doing so. I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee and it fits just fine! It takes up the same amount of space as my old one and I didn't lose any room for my front passenger. The straps do twist, but not every time I use it, and they are very easy to untwist. I love the fact that it can be used from infancy to 100 lbs. and no other seat would be needed after the infant carrier. Plus I love the cup holder on the side. My daughter looks so comfortable in this when were driving around I wish I could be in her position. She loves the fact that she can kick and reach her feet. She's constantly pulling her shoes and socks off so she can suck on her toes! The only thing I don't like is when my daughter falls asleep her head falls foward or to the side. In my old one she had a shield to rest her head on so I never thought anything about it. But, if you think about it, when were in a car and fall asleep our heads fall forward or to the side. All-in-all, it is a good car seat and it will definately last you years to come. We'll definately be buying this seat for our next one! I wish we had bought this seat in the first place!

We purchased this car seat for our 6 month old twins who had out grown their baby carriers. The seats are comfortable and the babies really enjoy the ride. Some reviews mentioned the straps twisting, but we haven't had any more trouble with that than their last car seats. So why do we like it? After initial set up, they are relatively easy to install using LATCH. The car seats have a sturdy construction, and the babies appear comfortable. (We didn't have any problems changing them to their new seats.) The adjustable headrests are great, and weight restrictions add more longevity than most car seats in its class. There are other car seats with better reviews, but for the cost and features we chose the Alpha Omega Elite. The only problems we noticed are the following:
1. The car seats are hard to tighten from the rear facing position. We have to use all our strength to tighten them just a little. I'm sure when we turn them around it will be much easier.
2. The buckle is a little more difficult to snap because you have to puzzle the hooks together before snapping it into the bottom belt.
3. We were not able to level our seats by themselves. We rolled up some towels and then installed the car seats and it worked great. This is a problem with the other alpha omega - as a friend mentioned her leveling problem in their car.

I have 3, yes 3 of these seats. I needed to buy one for each car my baby rides in because these car seats (and car seats in general) are too difficult to transfer between vehicles. I like this seat but I don't love it, thus the 3 stars. I was attracted to this seat because it is forward AND rear facing, it converts to a booster seat and will hold toddlers up to 100 lbs. I did a lot of research and ultimately decided on this seat, despite some negative aspects. But this car seat is definitely not for everyone.

Problem 1: In the rear-facing position this seat is HUGE. The seat fits ok in the center seat of my large SUV, but did not sit well in the center seat of my Grand Prix, which is a fairly decent sized car. It hit the front seats and wouldn't recline enough. Unable to drive with the seat up too much, we moved the car seat to the rear passenger side. (Not quite as safe but my baby infrequently rides in this vehicle). It reclines fine now, but the front seat is up so far, nobody can comfortably sit in the front passenger seat. It does fit ok in the center of the Oldsmobile Aurora, which is about the same size car as the Grand Prix, but the seats seem to be shaped differently so that the heardrest part of the car seat sqeezes between the two front seats. This seat (rear-facing)would not fit well in smaller cars.

Problem 2: The seat (rear-facing) is supposed to recline so that it is level with the ground (there is an indicator level line on the seat). In all 3 vehciles the seat isn't close to level despite being fully reclined so we are forced to stick towels underneath to prop it up. The instructions actually recommend this course of action which I initially didn't think would be safe. The seats don't seem to move so I'm not concerned, but it is still a pain. If the seat isn't reclined enough, my baby's head hangs forward and looks uncomfortable. (We discovered this when one of the front seats was moved back, pushing the carseat into a more upright position - not good)! Also, after a while the towels shift and the seat needs to be reinstalled. If the seat is loose, it's not safe for baby.

Problem 3: I think that the harness is easy to use. I have no problem securing my baby in and taking him out, but the straps do occasionally get twisted and untwisting them can be time consuming.

Despite its problems, I bought 3 of these seats because they were nicely padded, I like the armrests, they have nice high backs for tall babies, and the cup holder will be nice when he's older. I like that the strap is designed so that my baby won't be able to easily undo it. And I love the fact that this seat will grow with my baby. My baby, whose initial birth weight was under 7 lbs., outgrew his infant carrier by the time he turned 4 months because he was too tall. Considering how quickly he was growing, and the number of carseats I need to buy, I didn't want to buy one that went to 40 lbs only to have to get another one that goes to 80 or 100 lbs a short time later. For this reason, I'm able to deal with some inconveniences (since none of them pose a safety concern) until the seats can be turned forward facing when my son is a year old. I'm going to love this seat when its forward facing. But for those who aren't willing to deal with these inconveniences, you may want to find a different carseat.

Ok...I don't know if the other parents watched the video and read the booklet that came with the car seat but this car seat is a breeze to install! Both my husband and I watched the video and read the booklet cover to cover. It took us 10 min to install the car seat...Rear Facing! I am not that strong (lost a lot of arm strength in an auto accident) but I was able to tighten the LATCH system so that the seat didn't even budge an inch. We then drove to the local police department and had them check out the installation. We did it perfectly. Remember if you are having trouble with installation you can take the car seat to a state authorized car seat installer at your local police or fire department. They will also show you how to properly secure your child into the seat.

When installing Rear Facing you can use a rolled up towel or pool noodle to raise the foot of the car seat. Don't waste your money on those car seat foam bars.

I drive a 2003 Toyota Corolla S and have the car seat behind the driver. Remember the safest spot is in the middle, the next safest spot is behind the driver and the least safest spot is behind the front passenger. I was able to have the seat all the way back with the car seat rear facing. Now we have the car seat forward facing. We just took out the pool noodle, adjusted the LATCH system and reinstalled the car seat. This time it took 5 min. I am able to take the car seat in and out of my car to place into my parents when my husband and I go on trips.

To stop the belts from twisting (happens on all the car seats! Yes even the Britax) just tighten them after you take your child out of the seat. They twist when they are not in use.

Its also a breeze to adjust the belts to the proper area on your childs shoulders. You just grasp the bar, push in and move it up or down accordingly. With a lot of the other car seats you have to unweave the straps, adjust to the proper slot and then reweave them back. (...)

This car seat is built to the same standards as all the other car seats. It even has the same shape as the Britax. And remember the Britax has recently been recalled! The Evenflo is too small. If you have an average or above average sized child they will quickly outgrow the Evenflo! When we tested out the car seats at BRU our daughter, who at the time was 6 months, was too big for the Evenflo. She didn't fit in it properly.

Also remember that you can take the store display out to your car with an employee to see how it fits.

I love this car seat! Its priced right, it is soft (not hard as a brick like the Graco Sport!), its easy to install, its easy to adjust, and it grows with your child. My daughter falls asleep very easily in this car seat and is always comfortable. We have taken a few 3-4 hour trips and she has never fussed.

So I definately give this car seat an A+++++!
I highly recommend this car seat to all my pregnant friends.

I researched car seats until I was literally in tears when I was pregnant with my son and registering at Babies R Us. I was so afraid of choosing the wrong seat! I read Baby Bargains and every on-line review I could find of as many car seats as possible. I am happy to say I'm so pleased with this car seat. It fits great in my '04 Yukon behind the passenger seat (second row seats are not bench style so no middle seat)and while we did not use the LATCH, it's buckled in so tight, it doesn't move at all. My son is super comfy (moved him to this seat when he was 4 mos old) and likes to put his arms on the arm rest. The cup holder is the right size for his straw cups, and I honestly have never had trouble with the straps or the latch. We originally had the Alpha Omega (not the Elite) and those straps drove me insane - they were always twisted. But, the car that was installed in was involved in an accident and we replaced the seat with the Elite (my son was not in the car when it was in the accident but the insurance company said we needed to replace the seat anyway)and the straps on this have not been a problem at all. And as far as the latch goes, I'm glad it's a little puzzle piece. My son works on that thing and has not been able to open it at all. I'm not sure that would be the case with a different style latch. When the seat was rear facing, I took it to be inspected and found out we had installed it incorrectly. They removed the base and used a pool noodle to get the recline right - we had read the manual and watched the video and still couldn't install it right, so I would definitely recommend having the seat installed. Forward facing was MUCH easier. I know my son is safe in this seat and I am glad this is the one we chose.