The Evenflo Advanced SensorSafe Embrace DLX is an infant-safety seat designed to prevent caregivers from forgetting their kids in hot cars, which can lead to heatstroke. The car-seat system generates a chime once the car is turned off, reminding the parent there's a baby in the backseat. In our testing, the SensorSafe Embrace DLX worked well in four out of the five cars we installed it in, but in the 2015 Honda Odyssey, the car-seat system caused the minivan's safety system warning lights to illuminate in multiple tests.
Related: Too Many Kids Die of In-Car Heatstroke Each Year
The SensorSafe Embrace DLX rear-facing infant seat is for children from 4 to 35 pounds and from 17 to 30 inches tall. It comes with a chest clip transmitter and a receiver plug that's installed in the car's OBD-II data port (usually located under the steering column). The plug measures, among other things, whether a car is running or off; if the chest clip is fastened when the car is turned off, the data plug will emit a chime to remind the driver that a baby is still in the car seat. It also will chime if the chest clip becomes unhooked at any point while the car is running. The system only works in model-year 2008 or newer gas- or diesel-powered cars. Hybrids or cars with engine stop-start technology can use the car seat system after contacting Evenflo to get a different data plug.
Evenflo SensorSafe Car Seat Cars.com photo by Evan Sears
How It Worked
In Cars.com testing, the SensorSafe Embrace DLX worked well in the 2016 Hyundai Tucson, 2015 Chevrolet Traverse, 2015 Kia Sedona and 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan. However, we ran into problems when we tested the system in a top-of-the-line 2015 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite. In the Odyssey, the lane departure warning and forward collision warning systems' malfunction lights illuminated, and the driver info screen displayed alerts that both systems needed to be checked.
The SensorSafe Embrace DLX worked as promised, even though the warning lights illuminated; the system chimed to alert that the car seat was in use. Once the Odyssey was parked and turned off for a few minutes, the systems would reset and the malfunction lights turned off, but once I started driving again with the SensorSafe's data plug in the OBD port, they re-illuminated.
After alerting Evenflo about the problems I was experiencing in the Odyssey, SensorSafe technology creators Joe Siebert, John Glass and Michael William tried to duplicate the results in similarly equipped Odysseys and other Honda vehicles in their home base of Cincinnati, but without success. Glass then flew into Chicago, where we drove along Lake Shore Drive for hours so he could experience the issue in the Odyssey. We tried changing the forward collision warning system's sensitivity levels to see if that stopped the malfunction lights from illuminating, but it didn't. We also inserted a new SensorSafe data plug in the Odyssey. With it, the malfunction lights didn't illuminate. In further testing in Cincinnati by Glass' group, they were unable to duplicate what we'd experienced in Chicago.
After reporting the problems to Honda, the automaker took Cars.com's test Odyssey to a dealer to check the diagnostic codes in case there was a system problem in the car. None were found. Honda and the SensorSafe creators are continuing to work together to determine if this was an anomaly or a larger problem.
"We are still investigating," Glass said via email. "We haven't been able to duplicate the problem in multiple attempts. We are really hoping that Honda can provide access to that vehicle."
Evenflo SensorSafe Car Seat Cars.com photo by Evan Sears
The Traverse and Sedona test vehicles had lane departure warning and forward collision warning systems. I tested the SensorSafe Embrace car seat in both — with the original data plug and a newer one provided by Glass — and didn't experience any of the problems I had in the Odyssey.
"The SensorSafe car seat technology has passed not only each of Evenflo's rigorous product integrity testing protocols, but also field testing in more than 350 vehicles, including at least two identical model Honda minivans and numerous other Honda vehicles with similar crash avoidance technology systems," Evenflo said in a statement. "Because no root cause analysis was ever conducted to determine what may have caused the entirely anomalous result in this one of the numerous vehicles tested by Cars.com, none of the various other potential causes was ever ruled out. Due to the sheer volume of testing conducted on a wide variety of vehicles that employ the same or similar technology and the fact that this result has never been seen in any other vehicle test, Evenflo remains confident in the efficacy and reliability of its unmatched SensorSafe system and we will continue to strive to set the standard in such innovation that helps protect children."
Glass and his cofounders are also investigating if the original data plug could be the cause of the problem. I returned the plug to them after I finished testing in the Traverse and Sedona.
What Parents Should Know
- The SensorSafe Embrace DLX's chest clip contains a magnet and a small battery that's designed to last for six years, or the expected life of a car seat.
- The battery can't be replaced or removed, but if it's running low, the car-seat system will emit a chime that's different from the reminder chime. Evenflo will replace the chest clip for free if needed.
- To preserve the battery's life, parents should leave the chest clip unclipped when it's not in use. If you accidentally leave the clip connected, the battery will go into sleep mode after 12 hours. To wake up the system, simply reconnect the chest clip.
- The SensorSafe Embrace DLX and its data plug can be easily moved from one car to another. If Grandma is taking your little one for the day, remove the data plug from your own car and install it into the data port in her car. Then re-install the car seat.
- Installing the SensorSafe Embrace DLX was easy with its rigid Latch connectors. Simply push the connectors against the Latch anchors until you hear each one click into place. Then push down on the car seat base to tighten the seat into position. To remove the car seat, just give a hard tug on the Latch connector's release loops.
- The SensorSafe Embrace DLX's carrying handle acts as an anti-rebound bar, which helps control the car seat's movement during and after a crash. To use the handle as an anti-rebound bar, click it into the position that's closest to the rear seatback.
- The car seat without the base is lightweight, making it easy to carry your little one to and from the car.
Evenflo SensorSafe Car Seat Cars.com photo by Evan Sears
Worth the Money?
Parents need all the help they can get, and the Evenflo Advanced SensorSafe Embrace DLX is designed to do that: help remind exhausted or harried parents that their child is in the backseat when they turn their car off. With a price around $150 and its ability to move the whole car-seat system easily between cars, the SensorSafe Embrace DLX is a worthwhile investment. This car seat is available at Wal-Mart both in stores and online.
Evenflo plans to put this technology in a convertible car seat at a later date. Perhaps that'll arrive at stores just as infants are outgrowing the SensorSafe Embrace DLX seat.
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