Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit Review

Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit

Graco already has an impressive lineup of long-lasting convertible car seats.  The 4Ever Extend2Fit is a combination of two other popular seats: the Extend2Fit and the 4Ever.The 4Ever Extend2Fit combines the 4Ever’s four modes of use: rear facing, forward facing, high back, and backless booster with the Extend2Fit’s 50 pound rear facing weight limit and extendable foot tray.

Graco 4EverExtend2Fit rear facing panel extended

A child’s feet touching the vehicle seat back is not a safety issue, but the thought of a child’s legs being confined makes some caregivers uneasy. Graco has produced several seats with extendable foot trays; the one on this seat is basically identical to the Extend2Fit convertible and Extend2Fit 3-in-1 seats. It adjusts outward with a simple handle.

4Ever Extend2Fit seat belt lockoff – for forward facing only!

The 4Ever Extend2Fit includes a seat belt lockoff that can be used for forward facing vehicle seat belt installations only. It’s the same type of lockoff we’ve seen on other Graco combination car seats. It’s fairly easy to use — just thread the vehicle seat belt through the lockoff, remove the slack from the belt with your non-dominant hand while applying counter pressure to the car seat, then close the lockoff.

The body support is no longer required for all babies under 25 pounds

A generous body support cushion comes with the 4Ever Extend2Fit. Although the manual says otherwise, Graco has assured us that the body support pad can be removed for babies under 25 pounds, as long as the child’s shoulders reach the bottom harness slots without the cushion.

The harness pads can be removed.

The harness pads are fairly large and may end up forcing the chest clip into a position that is just a bit too low for newborns and preemies.Graco has confirmed that the harness pads can be removed even though the manual says they’re required for kids who weigh less than 25 pounds.

Easy access to the lower anchor strap tail

Sometimes it can be difficult to fully tighten lower anchor connector straps in a rear facing installation. We often tackle a tricky installation from a different angle by removing part of the cover to access the belt path, then pull the lower anchor strap’s tail parallel to the lower anchor webbing to get a snug install.The 4Ever Extend2Fit has a hole in the seat cover that allows this kind of access without removing the cover.

Pro tip: When the panel is fully extended, test for movement at the spot where the lower anchor strap goes through the car seat’s shell and not by pulling on the panel itself.

Graco 4EverExtend2Fit installed rear facing

Because the 4Ever Extend2Fit has a sort of gigantically large footprint, Graco was kind enough to put a label on the base. This label indicates how much of the base needs to be on the vehicle seat in rear facing mode. We found that when the panel was even partially extended and the seat was on the more reclined settings, it was really challenging to make the 4Ever Extend2Fit fit on the vehicle seat, even in a van.

Here’s how the 4EverExtend2Fit stacks up against the Extend2Fit in terms of front to back space.

Graco 4EverExtend2Fit and Extend2Fit rear facing

Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit installed rear facing with a lap only belt

The rear facing seatbelt installation presented some challenges. The lower anchors are stored right over the openings for the rear facing belt path. The manual confirms that this is correct.  Therefore it’s extremely difficult to thread the vehicle seat belt through the belt path. Once the seat belt is in the beltpath, the installation is straightforward; lock the vehicle seat belt and then tighten.

Graco 4EverExtend2Fit preemie doll

Our preemie Huggable Images doll weighs 4 pounds and is 19 inches long. He just fits at the lowest harness setting with the body insert, and the harness is at his shoulders. Removing the harness pads allowed the chest clip to be placed at the proper level.

Graco 4EverExtend2Fit newborn doll

The newborn Huggable Images doll weighs 7 pounds and is 19 inches long. She gets a great fit in the 4Ever Extend2Fit using both the harness pads and body insert.

Graco 4Ever Extend2fit Infant fit

Our 6 month old model weighs 17 pounds and is 27 inches tall. With the body pad in the seat, the crotch buckle is very snug against his thighs. Luckily, we can safely remove the pad to improve the fit. Our model is quite happy in the seat, but the crotch buckle being so short in the inner setting will become a problem soon.

Graco 4Ever Extend2fit crotch buckle

Since the manual requires that the crotch buckle must be wrapped around to the front slot in this setting, the buckle strap is really short. The next crotch buckle setting fits close to his knees, so the inner setting is still the best setting for him.

Graco 4Ever Extend2fit crotch buckle positions

To change the crotch buckle positioning, unsnap the seat pad to reveal the buckle area. Push the metal rectangle down and through the far slot, then reach underneath and push it up and through the close slot. This is easiest if the seat is uninstalled and fully reclined.

Our toddler model is 3 years old. At 24 pounds and 36 inches tall, she’s on the light end of the growth curve.

She can use the inner slot for the crotch buckle because she isn’t sitting on the strap or slot. However, because of the short buckle routing for the inner slot, her little thighs were pinched a few times during buckling. The inner setting makes the buckle strap very short, which can be pretty uncomfortable for many children.

The 4Ever Extend2Fit offered more legroom than her current seat even without the panel extended. When the extension panel was not being used, she was happy to put her feet up on the vehicle seat.

Forward Facing Installation: Lower Anchors and Required Recline

Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit’s two forward facing reclines

The 4Ever Extend2Fit has two reclines for forward facing. Recline 5 is required for children who weigh less than 40 pounds. This can present an issue in some vehicles, especially ones with fixed head restraints. Children who weigh over 40 pounds must use recline 6 when forward facing. The seat includes a helpful sticker that indicates the acceptable overhang forward facing.

The lower anchor weight limit in forward facing mode is 40 pounds. Moving the lower anchors from rear facing to forward facing mode takes a little effort, but is fairly straightforward process.

Moving the lower anchor connectors inside a Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit

Lift the padding and cover and expose the inside of the seat pan. Then pull both sides of the lower connectors inside the belt path and slide the connecting strap up the metal bar on the car seat’s right side. Place the lower anchors through the forward facing belt path, and that’s it!The lower anchors won’t get lost or disconnected because the metal bar keeps them attached to the seat. The lower anchor strap goes over the closed lockoff.

4Ever Extend2Fit top tether

The last step is to install the top tether!

Note:  The 4Ever Extend2Fit must be installed on recline 5 for children who weigh less than 40 pounds.

We were able to test the seat in forward facing mode with a few models, ages 3 and 5.  We found that it fit both of them well and they had some room to grow yet.

4Ever Extend2Fit handy harness storage

The 4Ever Extend2Fit has a fabulous harness storage compartment for booster mode. The crotch buckle and harness go into a compartment in the back of the seat, meaning that the harness doesn’t have to be removed or undone at all for high back booster mode.

At 5 years, 40 pounds, and 44 inches, this model is just barely old enough to use a booster properly all of the time. The 4Ever Extend2Fit fits her well in high back booster mode. According to the manual, the belt guides should be even with or just above her shoulders.

This kiddo is 7.5 years old, weighs 45 pounds and is 46 inches tall. She gets a great belt fit in booster mode as well. The 4Ever Extend2Fit positions the child’s knees higher up than the child’s bum, and this kiddo wasn’t sure if she liked that.

Remove the back to transform 4Ever Extend2Fit into a backless booster

Moving the pins inside the Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit for backless mode

To switch the 4Ever Extend2Fit from high back to backless booster mode, lift the red tabs on the seat pan and slide them towards the middle of the seat. They are attached to pins that hold the frame of the back of the seat into the base. When the pins are moved out of the frame, lift off the back of the seat to reveal a backless booster seat.

The Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit’s shoulder belt adjuster strap

When converting to backless mode, the entire back of the seat must be removed. There’s a handy spot at the back of the seat to store the metal splitter plate from the harness.

Our 7 year old model weighs 45 pounds and 46 inches tall.The seat fit her well in backless mode.

Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit backless booster mode

This model just celebrated her 9th birthday!  She’s 51 inches tall and wears a size 10 in clothes.  She’s got more than a few booster seat options available to her but she chooses the 4Ever Extend2Fit over all of them.  Her favorite part is the cupholders, but she’s also very fond of the way it fits her.  She ended up riding in this booster until she could pass the Five Step Test!

Side Overhang

Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit date of manufacture label

Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit date of manufacture label is also available on the box

Date of Manufacture: The date of manufacture is listed on the left hand side of the seat’s base. A copy of the same sticker is also on the outside of the box.

Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit manual storage

Manual Storage: The manual is stored in a slot on the back of the seat under the recline handle.

4Ever Extend2Fit expiration notice

Expiration Date: The expiration date is also stamped onto the bottom of the base.

Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit FAA approval

FAA Approval: The 4Ever Extend2Fit is FAA approved for use on aircraft in harness mode only. The FAA approval label is found on the bottom of the seat.