reassure me about my unrecalled dorel seat

I have an avenue as a spare seat, it is a feb 2010 so it is not affected by the recall, I even called just to be extra sure...
I have always been a huge dorel defender, every company has recalls, which is a good thing, every company has a past, every company has a few sketch ball things in the closet.. BUT this time I am starting to doubt them.. this took a long time to get around to.. and we knew of this problem a year ago.. how come it took a year?

I know my seat is not on the recall list, but I am a nervous wreck that it will be recalled in the next year or two.. and in the mean time, what if something happens.. I used this seat a lot, I love our avenue.. and DH and I are on a mission to be frugal and stop shipping car seats as often and buying things we do not need ect..

So I really want to be good and resist the urge to replace our Avenue with something else.. it is the seat we use in DH's car right now. Am I the only one feeling concerned about using their none recalled dorel seat?

Reassure me that I am being insane.. I would be so grateful.. cause I want to use my avenue again.. I love the seat a lot honestly and hate looking at it with such distrust suddenly.
 
ADS

jourdysmom

CPST Instructor
You mean like my 2 Avenues I just bought from Louisa+3 and the CA I just bought from you... that I sold my 2 MA's to get... EEEEEK.... Definitely will be WAY more vigilant about pulling on the harness to make sure it is tight... :eek:
 

mamakc

Active member
I could have written this. :p Mine is 11/2009. All I can do is take extra care to make sure the adjuster is functioning properly. We are aware that there is potential for a problem, so we can keep our eye out for it. I'll also be watching the CA closely too.

I'm also still having to use my recalled maestro (with the fix in place).
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
Well, here's my take on it.

I have never made a secret of my dislike for Dorel. Not because of recalls but rather the lack of them, plus dangerously stupid design elements, deceptive advertising, and various other issues.

But then DD needed a new car seat. It needed to be tall, but under $200. Radian was out, True Fit wasn't really an option, so I was left with the Complete Air. (By the way, I looooove those air cushions.)

I couldn't bring myself to buy a Dorel seat, though. I agonized about it for weeks.

In the end, I bought the Complete Air. For better or worse, it was the seat that best fit my situation.

I decided that I trusted the integrity of the seat more than I distrusted the company.

That's not to say there might not be some horrible hidden defect, but that could be said of any seat.

I figure I know enough about seats that I'll be likely to catch something like a harness slipping. I figure I'm on here enough that I'm likely to hear of possible problems and can check my seat for them.

Do I have confidence in Dorel as a company? No.

Do I have confidence in my seat? Enough that I let my DD ride in it every day and will continue to.
 

Ninetales

New member
No, I'm worried too. I have a CA65 and a backup Scenera. I can't really justify buying anything else so I suppose I will just have to be vigilant about checking the harness.
 

lovemybabies924

New member
well we know what to look for so just check her harness and you should be just fine! i have used dorel seats since my kids' birth and have never had a single safety problem :)
 

NVMBR02

New member
If you replaced "Dorel" with "Britax" would you still feel uneasy about using the seat?


I am not a huge Dorel fan either, but I have bought and will likely buy other Dorel products if they meet my needs at the time. As always you should always check your seat frequently to ensure all parts are working properly and keep an eye out for recalls. :twocents:
 

DahliaRW

New member
It seems to me it's one of those things that might be hard to reproduce....

But, using a dorel seat, no biggie, IMO. Just verify the harness is holding correctly every time you buckle your child. Which you should do in ANY seat to be safe anyways.
 

lovemybabies924

New member
It seems to me it's one of those things that might be hard to reproduce....

But, using a dorel seat, no biggie, IMO. Just verify the harness is holding correctly every time you buckle your child. Which you should do in ANY seat to be safe anyways.

exactly :)
 

Kobain's Mommy

Well-known member
What about the Radian that has issues with the adjuster, but when contacted they "know nothing of this issue." Or what about the Marathons that the harness was ripping out FFing?

I have 3 Complete Airs and still have faith in them. If we distrust a brand because of a recall then I guess we are stuck at home or walking with our kids.
 

DaniChildcare

New member
I think you have to do what YOU feel comfortable with. If you don't feel comfortable using the seat, and can afford a new one, by all means, go for it. If you feel that your seat is fine, and that your adjuster strap works, and will be checked each time, then i'd say there's no reason to replace it.
 
Am I going to keep using the seat? yes... I like the seat, and honestly I need to keep using it, spending to replace it would be silly.. but I am sure I am going to be super paranoid to check the adjuster lock thingy each time I use it.. I always check them anyways but I am sure it is going to be hard for me not to really go nuts triple checking now.
 

ctbcleveland

Well-known member
I think it depends on what makes certain seats recalled versus not recalled. I suspect that certain seats aren't recalled because Dorel knows something about them that makes the harnesses different - maybe it is a different supplier, different design, etc.

I feel fine about using my unrecalled Maestro because I could SEE the difference in what was recalled versus not.

I personally have no qualms about using my radians, because I've not experienced any of the problems others have on this site with the harness.

I DID have major issues with my Britax seat (unreliable lock-offs) and wouldn't have used it as a FF seat after seeing the TC footage. I have since sold it.

My views are unique on these seats.
 
If you replaced "Dorel" with "Britax" would you still feel uneasy about using the seat?


I am not a huge Dorel fan either, but I have bought and will likely buy other Dorel products if they meet my needs at the time. As always you should always check your seat frequently to ensure all parts are working properly and keep an eye out for recalls. :twocents:

lol not a britax mama here but I know what you mean (heck DH would be so happy if I replaced our 18 doller avenue for a 200 britax lol...NOT)

Just going to have to keep my eye on it and be careful.
 

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