The best car seat is the one that fits your child, vehicle, budget, and lifestyle and has features that are 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 review of the Graco Turn2Me convertible car seat.
Graco Turn2Me Car Seat Review (USA)
If you have been looking at all of the car seats with a rotation feature and were wondering if there was one available that is compact, the Graco Turn2Me may be the seat you are looking for. If you desire a swivel seat that is compact front-to-back but also fits newborns, we would recommend looking at the Nuna Revv instead. We’ll explain further down in this post why we don’t recommend using the Graco Turn2Me from birth. However, if your child is at least 6 months old, this option may work for you.
What
A 3-in-1 car seat that can be used rear-facing, forward-facing, and in high-back booster mode
When
After the baby is at least 6 months old or after the infant seat has been outgrown
Age
6 months old until 6-7 years of age
What you need to know before you go.
Rear-Facing Seat Stats
- height limit: 49″
- weight limit: 4-50 lbs
- head height rules: head should be at least 1″ below the headrest adjustment lever
- Newborn fit: not great, see details for newborn fit
Forward-Facing Seat Stats
- height limit: 49″
- weight limit: 22-65 lbs
- head height rules: ears must be below the top of the shell
- Highest Harness Height: 17″
High Back Booster Seat Stats
- height limit: 43-57″
- weight limit: 40-100 lbs
- head height rules: ears must be below the top of the headrest
- Highest Shoulder Belt Guide Height: 18″
Other Seat Stats
- width of seat: 18.5”
- weight of seat: 26 pounds
- crash replacement policy: Always Replace
- expiration limits: 10 years
- harness: no-rethread
- lock-off: yes
- cup holders: 2, required
✅ Seat is good for you if:
✅ you have a small backseat
The Graco Turn2Me is one of the best rotating car seats for small cars because it is very compact front-to-back. Because the seat has numerous recline positions, it can get very upright, which lessens the footprint of the seat from front to back. If you have a tall driver or passenger or are just really tight on that legroom in the second or third row of your vehicle, this seat is a good option.
✅ you want a car seat with a seat belt lock-off
This seat features a lock-off called SnugLock. However, see the quirks section, as some users have reported issues with the seat belt loosening in the rear-facing mode. It could be difficult for individuals with larger hands to install this seat rear-facing, as the belt path you are working with is quite small.
✅ you want a swivel car seat
This seat only swivels in rear-facing mode. However, that’s good enough for most people. Once a child is old enough to be forward-facing, they can generally climb into the seat on their own. If you want a swivel seat due to you or your child having a disability, you may be interested in one of the seats that can also swivel in forward-facing mode, such as Chicco Fit360 or Evenflo Revolve Extend.
🚩 Use Caution If:
🚩 you have a car with non-removable headrests.
The Graco Turn2Me will work fine rear-facing in most vehicles. But if you have a vehicle that has non-removable headrests, you may have trouble using this seat in the forward-facing and booster modes. In booster mode, the car seat needs to be flush against the vehicle seat. Find car seats that work with non-removable headrests here.
🚩 you need to fit three car seats across in the back seat.
For the majority of vehicles, this seat is too wide at 18.5″ to work in a 3 across configuration. Check out options that we like better here.
🚩 you want to use a convertible car seat from birth.
For the harness to be low enough to fit most newborns, you would need to use the insert. However, the head insert tends to push a newborn’s head forward, which can be dangerous. Both of the inserts (head and body) have to be used together, if used at all, so you can’t just remove the head insert to improve the fit.
See our picks for convertible car seat for infants here.
🚩 you want this to be the last seat you ever need.
Although this seat says it will work until the child is 57″ or 100 pounds, that is not the case. As you can see below, this 9-year-old, who is 53″ and 55 pounds, has long outgrown the booster mode on this seat. Her shoulders are at least an inch above the shoulder belt guide and the bottom of the headrest. She cannot fit into the adult seat belt properly without a booster because she does not pass the 5-Step Test. This means she would need another booster once this seat is outgrown.
⚠️ Quirks to be Aware of:
⚠️ swivels rear-facing only
As mentioned in this review, this will not bother most people. But if you need or desire a seat that can swivel in the forward-facing mode as well, Chicco Fit360 or Evenflo Revolve Extend may be better options to consider.
⚠️some users have reported issues with the seat belt installation
If you have trouble with the seat belt staying tight in the rear-facing mode, you can install it with the lower anchors instead. However, the lower anchors have a maximum weight of 35 pounds. We haven’t heard of this being an issue when the seat is used forward-facing. The rear-facing lock-off is quite small, and it appears that thinner seat belts may be slipping through it, causing the seat to become loose over time. If this happens to you, we recommend filing a report with NHTSA, which you can do here.
⚠️forward-facing mode has a required recline range
This is one of the few forward-facing car seats that has a recline indicator. But more surprisingly, Graco allows you to add a rolled towel under the seat to get the seat at the proper recline.
✈️ Airplane Use
This seat only has aircraft approval for the forward-facing mode, and it weighs 26 pounds. For both of these reasons, we would recommend choosing another option to take on the airplane if possible. Here are some better options for you!
SITS Bottom Line
The Graco Turn2Me emerges as a standout option for those seeking a rotating car seat tailored to smaller vehicles. Its compact design and innovative features address common challenges such as limited legroom and tight spaces. While there are caveats to consider, such as reported issues with seat belt installation and restrictions on airplane use, the Turn2Me remains a compelling choice for families prioritizing convenience in their car seat selection journey.
Compare Car Seats
Looking to compare car seats and narrow down the best car seat for your family? The Convertible Car Seat 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 you are overwhelmed and 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 Graco Turn2Me 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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