The best car seat is the one that fits your child, vehicle, budget, and lifestyle and has the features important to you. The safest car seat is the one you can install correctly and use properly on every ride! Let us know in the comment section what questions you have about this Chicco MyFit car seat review.
Chicco MyFit Car Seat Review (USA/Canada)
If you are looking for a forward-facing-only seat, this will likely be a good contender for you! With a 54″ standing height limit for the harness mode, this seat has higher limits than almost every harnessed seat on the market! It’s a great option for tall kids, and it’s fairly narrow as well, so it will work in some 3 across situations as well.
Type
A 2-in-1 car seat that can be used forward-facing, and in high-back booster mode
When
Preferably after your child has outgrown their rear-facing convertible car seat, but can be used from 2+ years
Age
Our recommendation: 2 years+ until the seat is outgrown (average 9/10 years old)
What you need to know before you go.
Forward-Facing Seat Stats
- height limit: 54″
- weight limit: 25-65 pounds
- head height rules: ears must be below the top of the headrest
High Back Booster Seat Stats
- height limit: 38-57″
- weight limit: 40-100 pounds
- head height rules: ears must be below the top of the headrest
Other Seat Stats
- width of seat: 17.5”
- weight of seat: 26 pounds
- crash replacement policy: Replace after any crash
- expiration limits: 8 years
- harness: no-rethread
- lock-off: yes
✅ Seat is good for you if:
✅ You have a tall child.
The Chicco MyFit has a standing height limit of 54″ for the harness mode, which is much taller than the typical 49″ limit that most harnessed seats have. In addition to the tall standing height limit, this seat also has a tall harness height of 19.5″. This means that it’s a great option for kids with tall torsos.
✅ You need to fit 3 people in one row of the vehicle.
Since the Chicco MyFit is only 17.5″ wide when the cupholders are folded in, it may work well in some 3 across configurations. We have some other more narrow options here. But we did fit 3 across in a 2012 Toyota Camry with a Safety 1st Comfort Ride, Evenflo LiteMax, and a Chicco MyFit, as you can see in this picture.
✅ Your child has outgrown their rear-facing seat but needs some recline due to low tone or some physical disability.
This seat offers more of a recline than other forward-facing seats, so it may be a good option for some children. If your child needs more support than a conventional seat can offer, we talk about all of our favorite adaptive options here.
🚩 Use Caution If:
🚩 Your vehicle has non-removable headrests
Thanks to multiple recline options, you can typically use this seat in harness mode with non-removable vehicle headrests. But it’s often incompatible in high back booster mode as it has to be flush with the vehicle seat in that mode. If you have a vehicle with non-removable headrests, you may wish to choose a different seat.
🚩You want to use a vehicle seat protector.
Chicco does not allow the use of mats, towels, or anything else under their seats. If that’s a deal-breaker for you, you’ll need to check out other car seat options.
️ Stand Out Features:
Tall Harness Height
With a harness height of 19.5″ at the tallest setting, this is one of the highest harness heights available today. This makes it a great option for tall kids. But it’s also great if you need to harness kids as long as possible due to ADHD, Autism, or other conditions that affect their ability to sit properly in a booster. If your child is outgrowing their harnessed seat and you think they need an adaptive car seat, you can find more information about those here.
️ Recline Options
This seat has four recline options that can be used as long as the recline bubble is in the allowed space for the mode you are using the seat. This slight recline may be helpful for children with hypotonia.
Seat Belt Lock-off
This seat has a seat belt lock-off. So it can be a good option in vehicles older than 1996 that don’t have locking seat belts or need to be installed in international vehicles. Moreover, this lock-off does not help get a tight installation like some other manufacturers’ lock-off designs do. But this is a true lock-off, so there is no need to lock the seat belt.
▶️ YouTube Videos
▶️ Your kid will be in a car seat for 10+ years
⚠️ Quirks to be Aware Of:
⚠️ Can be difficult to get a tight seat belt installation
Since the lower anchors for the Chicco MyFit have a maximum weight limit of 40 pounds, you will eventually have to do a seat belt installation. In some vehicles, this method of installation can be challenging. Make sure you utilize the Inside Out Trick to help you get a tight installation. We have found that sometimes this seat works better on outboard seats instead of in the center seating position.
⚠️ Has recline bubble for harness and booster modes
Recline bubbles are very uncommon on forward-facing harnessed seats and even rarer with boosters. But this seat has a recline bubble for each of those. The Chicco MyFit has 4 recline options to help you get the bubble in the right area.
✈️ Airplane Use
The Chicco MyFit is an FAA-approved car seat. At 26 pounds, it is one of the heaviest options available. If traveling internationally, this seat has a belt lock-off, so it will work well. For help with all things airplane travel and car seats, check out our Wheels Up Course and private Facebook group.
SITS Bottom Line
The Chicco MyFit is a great option for tall kids, as it has a high standing height limit and a tall harness height. It can also be a good choice for some 3 across situations as well since it is only 17.5″ when the cup holders are folded in. However, caution should be exercised if your vehicle has non-removable headrests, as the seat may not be compatible in high-back booster mode.
Other Versions of this seat:
- Chicco MyFit Zip – has zip-off fabric
- Chicco MyFit Zip Air – has zip-off fabric, kid console, and airflow channels
- Chicco MyFit ClearTex – has flame retardant free fabric
- Chicco MyFit (Canada)
*A SITS recommended seat. Recommended seats are in our Buying Kits because they have ranked high on our vehicle, child, ease of use, and features scale.
Compare Car Seats
Looking to compare car seats and narrow down the best car seat for your family? The Forward-Facing and Booster Buying Kit walks you through our 7Cs of selection, then on to an interactive quiz. And finally, a recommended car seat list is generated just for you! If it’s overwhelming and if you are sick of spending hours researching and reading car seat reviews like this one, the Buying Kit will guide you to Safe in the Seat’s recommended car seats for you in under 30 minutes!
We check every day for our recommended car seats on sale, and we have all the deals here for you. Shopping in Canada? Find today’s seat sales in Canada here.
What About Seats We Don’t Recommend?
Just like anyone, we have preferences! This goes for car seats, too. If we don’t recommend a car seat, it’s not because it’s unsafe for your little one. All car seats are safe if they’re installed and used properly, are not expired or damaged, and when they’re made and sold by a reputable manufacturer and/or retailer. Click here for our full list of car seats that we do not recommend.
A note about crash-tests
How does the Chicco MyFit perform in crash tests?
Well, that’s a great question. We know it passes the strict federally required testing for all car seats sold in the United States. But we don’t know exactly how it performs. That data isn’t released by any official sources in the US — not by car seat manufacturers, not by government agencies like NHTSA, not anywhere!
There are a few third-party websites that claim to offer objective crash test data that compares car seats. But we at Safe in the Seat ignore that data for a few big reasons. First of all, third-party car seat crash tests don’t actually give us meaningful data! Car seat manufacturers crash-test their products hundreds, even upwards of a thousand times. They crash test the finished product in every single installation configuration using every applicable-sized crash test dummy, not to mention a whole lot of testing at each stage of the development process too. So one or two crash tests completed by another organization just can’t give the same level of information! One or two crash tests aren’t going to represent the overall average performance of any car seat across its lifespan.
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Why would it potentially incompatible in booster mode if it was compatible in harness mode with non removable headrests? I don’t see any difference in the manual between each installation mode regarding the car seat touching the vehicle seat back… it only says the vehicle headrest can’t push on the carseat headrest pushing the carseat forward. I have a 2016 honda odyssey, which has removable headrests but I’m waiting to hear back from them if that’s allowed
Update i spoke with honda and the rep said it is recommended that the headrests remain in when vehicle is being driven. I have the slightest gap on the upper half of the carseat back (the lower back/latchplate storage touch the vehicle seat) but the headrests arent touching eachother. Installed in 3rd row passenger with seatbelt.
The Honda rep you spoke to may have been confused about using car seats with the headrests. Honda allows you to remove the headrests when needed due to car seat use. But they are highly recommended to be added back for an adult because without them, the adult is at risk of severe injury in a crash.
Thank you for the clarification! I was confused about that as well.
Does this seat go on sale often? Will be transitioning to it sometime within the next year. It is 25% off right now. Debating if I should buy now or wait. I don’t want to waste time with it sitting in the box but would also like to save some money!
Yes, it does go on sale a few times a year!
Because of the belt lock off, can I put this in the middle position even if the seat will be slightly off center? I need to create space for a passenger so I’ll have one on the side and one potentially in the middle if it can be off center a bit. No latch in center so it would be seat belt install.
You can put seats off-center even if they don’t have a lock-off. It’s easier to do it with certain seats. It’s not easy to do with this seat. Even though it has a lock-off, it’s not the kind that helps you get a tight installation.
I just purchased this car seat and it has been great so far! I am wondering if the soft goods, specifically the padding around the crotch buckle are mandatory? I have seen conflicting information on other websites. I see that the padding is not on the buckle in the picture you have listed above so I’m curious. My daughter is fine with the padding on the shoulders but is bothered by the padding on the buckle.
The only padding that is required are the ones around the chest clip.
I’m Between this car seat in cleartex and the britax grow with you click tight In safe wash. My child is not tall and doesn’t need the extra torso space, the narrow is a benefit but not a dealbreaker. I truly just want the safest, best combination seat with FR fabric. Would you recommend this or another seat more?
If you have removable headrests, either of these will work, but the Britax is much easier to install. If your vehicle headrests are not removable, the Britax is almost certainly not compatible, and the Chicco may not be as well. With non-removable headrests, the best combination seat is Graco Nautilus SnugLock Grow, but it does not come in FR-free fabric.