I saw one website that listed the nuna pipa low and even the uppababy mesa mid range. But chicco always gets a high rating. Can anyone debunk these?
The child car seat finder tool published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle-safety/car-seats-and-booster-seats) is returning potentially dangerous results, contradicting information shown on the rest of the page and not functioning as one would expect.
As you can see from the linked screenshot, the tool does not even take into consideration the height and weight parameters and they are being completely ignored when generating a recommendation. It is dangerous that this is happening, providing incorrect child car seat information like this, especially from a federal organization that is often seen as a source of truth. Was this tool tested in any way before being released to the public? This is very troubling and makes me a bit mad. How much taxpayer money was spent on this tool? Not cool. And not safe.
https://imgur.com/usjFU6l
The tool's chart also changes the recommended age range for a rear-facing seat from Birth - 3 years to Birth - 2 years when you run the tool.
Original recommendation shown if you scroll up above the tool on the page: https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/carseatrec_age_size_bars_static_1000px.png
Edit: I've reached out to the NHTSA about this, haven't heard anything just yet.
IIHS and NHTSA crash ratings are often considered to be same thing (I usually find IIHS ratings are more respected than NHTSA's though). So I expected that cars that get perfect ratings from IIHS would get perfect rating from NHTSA and vice versa.
However, I was surprised to recently find that is not in fact true. I ran into lots of model that would receive perfect score on small overlap crash by IIHS but would receive 4/5 for frontal crash from NHTSA (I thought IIHS's Small overlap testing is the most brutal one out there lol). I would also find cases where a model that recieved a perfect score on pole (side (essentially small overlap side) crash from NHTSA would receive 4/5 for side crash testing from IIHS.
Why is this so?
The IIHS and NHTSA do their crash testing differently, and it's based on what they find from their different testing. Different things come up in different way of crashing.
For frontal impact, the NHTSA crashes a car head on straight front at 35 mph. The IIHS tests at an offset, so one of the tests is at half of the car impacting the barrier, and another test is at 1/4 of the car doing so, and both at 40 mph. These different ways of testing can show different things than other tests.
Same with the side. I believe the IIHS's side testing simulates as if an SUV was to hit the side of the car, at 31 mph. The NHTSA does their side barrier test as if its a 3000 lb car (different dimensions and energy dissipation) was to hit the side of the car at 38.5 mph. Again, the different speeds, different "footprint" of the barrier on the car, and different weights of the barrier all contribute to different results.
There's also differences in evaluation, since there are no published "bright line" results of what constitutes what rating.
In short, they're both useful, they just test different things.
The NHTSA is an official government entity, cars are built to pass those tests because they can't be sold if they don't. The IIHS is a private corporation that tests some cars but not all, and runs a lot of the same tests but also some unique different tests. Some like the small overlap should probably be adopted by official testing procedures, but since they aren't you can check results if the car you are shopping for was tested by the IIHS.
TLDR: Cars might be designed to get 5/5 on NHTSA tests and not the IIHS, or IIHS might test something official tests don't even consider.
The NHTSA finally crash tested the GX460 in 2023. 3/5 star rating for front crash, 5/5 for side crash, 3/5 for rollover. No written report is listed, unlike some other vehicles (maybe they just haven’t finalized it yet). Any thoughts on why it got the sub par front crash rating? Death statistics per million registered miles are very low (4 per million) and it’s a big heavy, high vehicle which is good for safety when hitting another vehicle. But the crash test is not great. Australia did give the prado a better rating.
Good news.
https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2025/TOYOTA/GRAND%252520HIGHLANDER/SUV/AWD
Video of side car crash test:
https://youtu.be/FsCqFjlLDVI?si=yFD-IRRa3PXllFny
For GH Hybrid AWD Ratings:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2025/TOYOTA/GRAND%252520HIGHLANDER%252520HYBRID/SUV/AWD
I know both test for different things, but as a new father in the market for a mid-size SUV with good safety ratings, it’s confusing sometimes to see IIHS call something a top safety pick, but list a side crash rating as “marginal.” How can a car be considered a top safety pick if a side crash test is only one step above poor on their own rankings? I notice that NHTSA & IIHS tend to agree (most cars that are given the label of, “top safety pick” by IIHS tend to get 4 or 5 stars from NHTSA), but I’m curious, as someone who isn’t an expert on cars, as to whether or not one is more applicable to an “everyman” like myself or if I should really be looking for 5 stars according to NHTSA and top safety pick according to IIHS, if safety is my top priority (which it is)?
Can anyone recommend a website or resource that definitely states car seats’ crash test ratings? I having a hard time finding a website that will share the rating, much less compare that rating to other car seats and then just when I think I found it, they’ve weighted ease of use/labels/weight equally to provide an overall rating. It’s been a frustrating search.
Hi! My name is Dr. Emily Thomas, and I am the Manager of Auto Safety at Consumer Reports. I’m a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) and I serve on the Center for Child Injury Prevention Studies (CChIPS) Industry Advisory Board. I also oversee CR’s car seat program and rear-seat safety program at Consumer Reports. I am passionate about helping families and caregivers keep kids safe in cars.
What questions do you have about car seats?
Hey all,
My girlfriend is interested in the 2025 Forester and 2024 CX-50. The Mazda has the top safety rating, it is a top pick plus and on top right on most review guides. The car feels small, but isn’t…. That is backwards. The forester is a better size imo and I trust the brand more than Mazda.
Does anyone have any recommendations about CX-50 vs Forester?
And ultimately, does anyone have insight into when the Safety Rating will be Released? That is the most important factor in her decision for a new car since her parents will sponsor this purchase….
Thank you for the replies.