marathon

marathon

Hello all, I'm seeking some concrete answers here.
I,ve been lurking at parents place board and there is a lot of discussion going on about conflicting advice from Britax CS regarding RF lockoffs and wether to route the seatbelt under or over the latch bar FF.

1. some say CS told then they must use the lockoff closest to the buckle, some say they were told to use the one farthest away. some say the were told to use both or neither if there seatbelt locked on its own. It was my understanding that it would install the same as the roundabout. In that case I have been told that it doesnt matter which lockoff you use and that you donot have to use either if the seatbelt locks, but that they recomend it for the sake of continuity. In other words do it the same way every time so you don't mess up.

2.latch bar. some people have been told to go under, some to go over, some to go over on one side but not the other. Having just got one for my ds I went over ont the same side as the shoulder belt retractor( you have to or the shoulder belt won't go into lockoff as it is held down by the bar) BTW I love the new lock offs, so much easier. And I went under the bar on the buckle side because the supplimental instructions said to. This created a bit of a problem as I had to force the latch plate through the tight little space between the bar and the shell. I could definately see a bigger latchplate not fitting. Mine is a lightweight locking.Ran into another problem as i tried to tighten the belt. the latchplate butted up against the bar and refused to tighten further. I had to twist down the female end to give it room. On the plus side the install was a breeze from this point. I didn't even need to put my knee in the seat or tether it to make it rock solid. Although I did of course, I just couldn't trust that it was that easy.

So my question to all of you, does anyone know if anyone at britax knows the correct way to do this.I understand they are working on reprinting the manual for several mistakes made (no weight limits, saying yiu could use a rolled towel under the seat FF, wrong belt path intructions) but I would really like to know now not a month from now. I don't want to give out misinformation to the parents that come to me for help.

thanks,
Kim McDaniel
CPSTech, CA

Re: marathon

Oh yeah, also people have gotten conflicting answers about the use of the hugs system, is it safe to take them off?

Re: marathon

I too have been lurking at Parents Place. I get the feeling that no one knows what to do with these seats. I have 2 of these installed rear facing in 2 different vehicles. I "think" they are installed properly, but I really wonder if my installation is correct.

I have been looking into having them inspected, but I don't know if the inspectors can tell me the correct way to install these seats. I must say I'm rather frustrated with a company I thought I could trust. What IS the problem. If they would tell us how they were tested we could all install them correctly.

Dave

Few concrete answers-

Unless they make an update to the manuals on the website, or issue a replacement manual, I think the best you can do is to call Britax personally and make sure to note their exact advice and the name of the representative with whom you talked. Even if it is true that they have given conflicting information, hearsay from second hand sources is no more reliable:-(

Some comfort is possible in that most of these types of typical misuse are thoroughly crash tested. I don't know if that is the case for these specific issues. At a check, it would probably be wise to educate the parent about the confusion, let them make the choice and have them help install it. I'd also have them contact Britax for their own comfort, and document everything

Darren

Please contact Britax on these issues.

I have not yet been able to get an official repsonse, so the best answer to any of these questions is to contact Britax at 704-409-1700.

Darren

Britax toll free number...

1-888-4-BRITAX

Re: marathon

I have contacted Britax and this is what I was told. 1. use the lockoff farthest from the buckle so that the buckle doesn't break the lockoff if they hit together. 2. Route the belt under both portions of the latch bar for a lap-only belt and over it (on both sides)for a lap/shoulder belt. If the lathplate on a lap-only belt doesn't fit under the latch bar then it is simply incompatible, you may not route it over it the bar as the pivot point is wrong without the additional restraint of the shoulderbelt. 3. hugs are optional RF but required FF.

My concern is with the many people who are saying they have been given different information. With so many mistakes in the manual(use a rolled towel forward facing?!?!) I wouldn't be suprised if the CS people are just as confused as I am. I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to try to speak to the enginneer of this seat for clearification.