Kate writes:

If I am interested in buying a Frontier right now, how do I know the production date of my frontier? Should I assume the problem has been fixed in the new Frontiers?

Since Britax is replacing the Regents with the Frontiers, would you say there is any reason to consider a Regent?

Great questions, Kate. The Frontier recall involves a problem with the metal harness "yoke" in back of the seat, which the harness straps attach to. The fix is as follows, according to a press release issued by Britax:

To address this issue, Britax will provide two rubber caps that can be easily placed on the yoke slots to prevent the harness straps from detaching. The rubber caps have been specifically designed for the Frontier yoke to provide a secure fit and have been tested to verify their effectiveness.

No later than January 7, 2009, the rubber caps will be mailed with an instruction sheet to all registered Frontier child restraint owners with manufacturing dates prior to September 15 or 18, 2008. Additional caps will be made available to retailers with affected inventory of Frontiers manufactured prior to September 15 or 18, 2008. All Frontier child restraint owners should confirm whether their Frontier is affected by verifying the date of manufacture.

As of today, a website at www.frontierrecall.com now offers additional information and a form through which owners of the Britax Frontier can sign up to receive a repair kit.

As shown in the image above, on the child's righthand side on the back of the car seat's wing there should be a label with all of the needed information to determine when your car seat was manufactured and what exact model it is. The recall includes Frontier child restraints manufactured between April 1, 2008 and September 14, 2008 for Model #s E9L54E7, E9L54H6, E9L54H7 and E9L54M6 and between April 1, 2008 and September 17, 2008 on Model # E9L5490.

The best thing to do prior to receiving your kit is to uninstall your Frontier and check the yoke to make sure the straps are securely attached (not slipping off).

Britax currently has no plans to phase out the Regent. (Based on your comment, we checked in with them to make sure.) The primary differences between the Regent and the Frontier are that the Regent offers slightly longer five-point harnessing (i.e. to a bit higher torso length) but is a bit wider design than the Frontier. The Frontier can be transitioined into one of the best belt-positioning boosters on the market, retaining its wings for added side-impact protection. (We reviewed the Britax Frontier in detail here.) Either makes an excellent choice, in our view, based (as are all car seat purchases) on your car and child.