New Advocate falling apart!

bnsnyde

New member
I had to drive home from Target right after the screw simply fell out. This seat is almost brand new. Britax sounds like they will take care of the situation, but my issue is I have 2 of these seats and certainly expect them to um, not fall apart. Now I am worried about quality.

I am worried the seat can't handle my RF 29 lb. 23-month-old. It's his seat and he is kind of rough and braces his feet sometimes, or has a fit, etc. But if the seat can't handle that it can't handle a crash! (Not that he broke it; it could have been loose or defective, who knows!).

Britax had not heard of this happening before.
This stinks!
 
ADS

NannyMom

Well-known member
Uh, this reminds me of sk, who can't remember reports either. There are a few other threads about this. It certainly has happened before. I hope you get things taken care of.

:yeahthatmad:

This seems to be happening too much for my liking. I hope every that has this happen reports it to NHTSA.
 

cpsaddict

New member
It's not happened on my seat and my 2yr old is very rough on them. Maybe they have not heard of it happening on an Advocate, because I think most of the other issues are on Marathons. ????
 

mlohry

New member
Ok, this is making me nervous, we have a MA 70, that Britax sent me after I had issues with my RA 50. What should I be looking for? I just had the seat out and in the house, to wash the cover, didn't realize I didn't need to uninstall :(
 

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
I had to drive home from Target right after the screw simply fell out. This seat is almost brand new. Britax sounds like they will take care of the situation, but my issue is I have 2 of these seats and certainly expect them to um, not fall apart. Now I am worried about quality.

I am worried the seat can't handle my RF 29 lb. 23-month-old. It's his seat and he is kind of rough and braces his feet sometimes, or has a fit, etc. But if the seat can't handle that it can't handle a crash! (Not that he broke it; it could have been loose or defective, who knows!).

Britax had not heard of this happening before.
This stinks!

Britax lied to you, plain and simple. I'm sorry to say it that way, but I have personally seen a seat missing a bolt and told Transport Canada who would've told Britax. I know that Britax knows because I met the rep in store one evening and I saw him "discreetly" checking the bolts on the display models of the seats. Had I not known about the history of the bolt falling out I wouldn't have known what he was doing, but with knowing the history it was quite obvious what he was doing.

So yes, Britax most definitely knows, and I have seen other people post about it. I believe that it's an issue from the factory though - if you check the bolts that are in your seat and they're in there firm they don't just suddenly fall out. My guess would be that it's a quality control issue that really doesn't affect that many seats, but that's really just my own guess.

I'm sorry you've had this experience. I can't really give you advice about trusting the seat in the future, that's a judgement that only you can make for yourself.
 

msg221

Well-known member
I know that Britax knows about it because I called them back in April about the same thing happening to my MA70:

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=167109


I only found out when I removed the cover to wash and found the screw sitting in the middle of the seat! And this was for a seat that was only 7 months old and is only used maybe 2-4 times a month!

Britax's customer service was great and they sent me out a new seat immediately which so far has been used about six times since I got it. I am keeping a much closer eye on this one, that's for sure! It may be relegated to being a spare seat as I was able to snag one of those RN80SL's from strollers.com so I can move Zain to the RN, Nour to the TFP and the MA70 can be a spare seat.

I did report it to the NHTSA as well.
 

Chila88

New member
After your post MSG221 I checked my screws and they were really really loose....like spun around really easily. So I just tightened them a bit, and they've been fine (although I should check them again). Now I'm wondering if I should have done that, and maybe should have just contacted Britax instead. :confused:
 

luckyclov

New member
A couple months ago, I called CS because the screws on the sides of my MA70 base were loose. I was informed they were supposed to be loose because that's how the recline is accomodated. I was informed NOT to tighten them, but if they did fall OUT, to call right away and they'd send out a replacement seat. I asked, at the time, if they had had any reports and she said no. I believe them. Britax has superior CS and always has. They replace parts of products well out of warranty.

IIRC, there was another poster here who did have a screw fall out. I believe her seat was replaced. So, Britax has atleast one previous complaint. But either the issue isn't widespread or people are just "tightning" the screws or stuffing them back in, if they fall out.
 

luckyclov

New member
After your post MSG221 I checked my screws and they were really really loose....like spun around really easily. So I just tightened them a bit, and they've been fine (although I should check them again). Now I'm wondering if I should have done that, and maybe should have just contacted Britax instead. :confused:
They're supposed to be loose. It's how the recline works. You shouldn't tighten them. If you overtighten them, you may damage the seat. Both of mine (MA70) are loose right now. If they fall OUT, yes, it's an issue.
 

Chila88

New member
They're supposed to be loose. It's how the recline works. You shouldn't tighten them. If you overtighten them, you may damage the seat. Both of mine (MA70) are loose right now. If they fall OUT, yes, it's an issue.

I just pulled the seat out to check the screws and wash the cover, so I will make sure they are still loose and that I haven't overtightened them. Thanks!
 

abigaylebelle

Active member
I just checked my blvd70 and the screws are in tight. I've never tightened them myself.
I wonder if the people whose seats are losing screws have the same DOM or something?
 

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