Boulevard broken recline mechanism...investigated!

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HayleyCPST

New member

• Nov 13, 2010

• #1

So...today I was doing a check for a family I work for and they have a BLVD for their son. The parents decided to turn him back RF. :thumbsup: (and without convincing I swear-the mom asked me!)

The recline mechanism is broken. Like 2 of my other BLVD's and I'm sure lots of yours too. This seems to be a very common problem. It will not lock in the FF mode for the life of me. I know it's supposed to be in RF mode, I was just checking. I turned it upside-down, I tried rotating the base...etc. WILL NOT LOCK!

So, we got the dad to unscrew the base to see what was going on in there and I found something very very interesting. The mechanism that locks it into the FF mode extends over the base so that when the white plastic thing is on (which we took off) it pushes the black piece so it won't lock. It will ONLY lock in RF mode. Here are some pictures.

This one is just showing what I'm talking about. The black piece on the inside has 2 notches for RF and FF mode.

See what I mean? The black part extends over the base so it cannot lock in FF mode.

Does anyone think this is recall worthy? I'm going to call Britax on Monday but I'm wondering if I should also notify NHTSA. I'm sure tons of parents are having this problem but they don't know it happening. I'm concerned because you cannot use the car seat FF in recline mode after 33lbs. That's essentially half of the car seat that you bought thrown out the window. Well, at least to people who know about this problem.

By no means am I saying that everyone should go unscrew their BLVD, but I wanted to share what I found out and how this could possibly be a reason why it's not locking. This seat was used RF but was not tethered, so the theory of over-tightening does not apply to this scenario.

 

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HayleyCPST

New member

• Nov 14, 2010

• #2

Does anyone else have this problem or had in the past? I find it strange that I've encoutered 3 BLVD's ranging DOM of 07-09 with this problem.

Should I notify NHTSA? Is this recall worthy?

Any opinions would be great.

 

Baylor

New member

• Nov 14, 2010

• #3

Okay.. I know I am no expert or Britax veteran.. but When i read this last night I thought...

What about all the parents out there with maybe the same problem, And don't have your experience, would not think of taking it apart and are "rigging" it to make it work....

That is scary to me.. I can't say what is worth reporting or not...

just my nickel and a 1/2 worth of opinion...

 

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NVMBR02

New member

• Nov 14, 2010

• #4

I had the same problem with my Marathon. I believe it was an 06? Anyway, it was out of warranty when I went to use it forward facing. Britax replaced it for $100.

I know this is a common problem and Britax is aware of it. (eta: I have no idea if it was the same problem, but i suspect it was. I did not take my seat apart, just mailed it back to Britax)

 

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mrswh

New member

• Nov 14, 2010

• #5

Mommyto2 said:

I had the same problem with my Marathon. I believe it was an 06? Anyway, it was out of warranty when I went to use it forward facing. Britax replaced it for $100.

I know this is a common problem and Britax is aware of it.

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Same here. Older Marathon out of warranty but they gave me a new one - I think it was $125, though. They definitely know it's happening.

 

Baylor

New member

• Nov 14, 2010

• #6

mrswh said:

Same here. Older Marathon out of warranty but they gave me a new one - I think it was $125, though. They definitely know it's happening.

Click to expand...

don't you think that is a little scary? Maybe it is just me.

 

julia94115

Active member

• Nov 14, 2010

• #7

Same here- happened to me with a Marathon. But, I read in a thread here, a way to "pop" it back in to use it. I can't remember exactly but something like I had to push it really hard while holding the release bar. It was a PITA but it "fixed" it. Not sure if this is the same sort of issue?

 

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HayleyCPST

New member

• Nov 14, 2010

• #8

Baylor, I hope people don't take apart their car seats to investigate! I'd rather them call Britax and get a new one rather than risking not putting it back together the right way.

Julia, I have tried everything that thread said and no luck.

The 07 and 08 BLVD's I had replaced with the new ones but I had to pay 125.

Maybe I'll make a complaint with NHTSA.

 

Baylor

New member

• Nov 14, 2010

• #9

HayleyCPST said:

Baylor, I hope people don't take apart their car seats to investigate! I'd rather them call Britax and get a new one rather than risking not putting it back together the right way.

Julia, I have tried everything that thread said and no luck.

The 07 and 08 BLVD's I had replaced with the new ones but I had to pay 125.

Maybe I'll make a complaint with NHTSA.

Click to expand...

Me either!! I would never attempt to disassemble a seat.. Just taking the covers off to clean them and get them back on right is enough for me.

I know that you only took it apart because you KNOW what you are doing and looking at!

 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician

• Nov 14, 2010

• #10

That is, unfortunately, a very common problem among Britax convertibles.

To be honest, I can't tell what you're talking about from the photos, but I probably could if I had one sitting in front of me.

I have to ask: Has the seat been reassembled, and is the parent going to continue using it?

 

Cilia

New member

• Nov 14, 2010

• #11

HayleyCPST said:

Baylor, I hope people don't take apart their car seats to investigate! I'd rather them call Britax and get a new one rather than risking not putting it back together the right way.

Julia, I have tried everything that thread said and no luck.

The 07 and 08 BLVD's I had replaced with the new ones but I had to pay 125.

Maybe I'll make a complaint with NHTSA.

Click to expand...

Do that! I have an MA that expires next year that is really hard to lock to ff. I can, by using a lot of force, get it in place, but is that really safe?

 

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HayleyCPST

New member

• Nov 14, 2010

• #12

Jennie, yes the seat has been reassembled and is installed RF, which is the only mode it locks in. Should it not be used? They have an extra seat for the dads car but it's a Maestro. Honestly, I'd rather see him RF in the BLVD and not FF in the Maestro. What do you think?

Cilia, I probably will now that I have confirmation of several people with this problem.

 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician

• Nov 14, 2010

• #13

HayleyCPST said:

Jennie, yes the seat has been reassembled and is installed RF, which is the only mode it locks in. Should it not be used? They have an extra seat for the dads car but it's a Maestro. Honestly, I'd rather see him RF in the BLVD and not FF in the Maestro. What do you think?

Cilia, I probably will now that I have confirmation of several people with this problem.

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Mmmm... I don't know. *I* can't think of any problem with using it, but at the same time, doesn't Britax not even let you reuse the lockoffs once they've been unscrewed?

If I were the tech in that situation, I'd absolutely advise the parents to call Britax to see (although they'll probably tell them not to use it just as a CYA move).

Honestly, if I were in that situation, I would absolutely do everything I could to discourage Dad from taking the seat apart, and I would have been sure to document that he did so on my form.

It should be up to Britax or NHTSA (or, I suppose, people with spare seats who don't need them anymore) to diagnose the problem if it involves anything more than what would be apparent through normal use.

 

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HayleyCPST

New member

• Nov 14, 2010

• #14

Ok. I did note it on the form. I'm not aware of the lockoff thing. This is the first time I've actually seen people bust out their toolbox. I will call Britax soon and see what they say.

 

Louisa

CPST Instructor

• Nov 14, 2010

• #15

if i had encouraged a parent to take a seat appart (more than what is allowed for cleaning) which i can't think of a situation where i would outside of a recal fix, i would certianaly not condone putting it back together and using it.
do i think it would be ok , yeah probably, but i wouldn't do it anyway on the small chance that something was not tightened properly, or that we had caused some other kind of damage unknowingly. i would also be concerned that i have now given a parent the idea that is ok to mess with their seat like that kwim?

 

yetanotherjen

CPST Instructor

• Nov 14, 2010

• #16

I have encountered the problem once but I don't remember the manufacture date. I *think* I remember reading that the issue seemed to occur when the tether was used to adjust the angle, rather than adjusting the angle before attaching the rfing tether.

 

Judi

CPST/Firefighter

• Nov 15, 2010

• #17

Wait, you told the dad to take a car safety seat apart? I see taking the base off an Alpha Omega, I see teaching a parent how to take off the cover from an original Triumph, but this?

 

Minnesota

CPST Instructor

• Nov 15, 2010

• #18

I have to admit that I also don't understand the problem from looking at the pictures. How exactly does the black part interfere with the FF lock mechanism?

And I would be seriously uncomfortable with a parent disassembling a car seat and then putting it back together for use. We only take things apart if we know a child will not be riding in it, i.e. it's being destroyed after a crash and we want to investigate for internal damage, or a manufacturer has provided explicit instructions on disassembly prior to shipping it back to them.