spinoff to Dorel thread -- how old is Scenera design?

singingpond

New member
Does anyone know how long this design has been out?

I bought a Scenera about a week ago, and was all set to like the seat (who wouldn't like a usable carseat, 35 lb. RF limit, with reasonably high top slots, that might have solved my 3-across problem, for just $40?). As it turns out, it doesn't fit all that well where I need it -- it's narrow enough, but the base is causing trouble in a couple of different ways, depending on where I try to install it in my '96 Corolla.

However, details of install issues aside, it sort of bugs me that the seat feels so flimsy, especially at the top of the shell, where everything just bends around with very little force applied. I had the seat on the living room floor while I was reading the manual, and found myself yelling at the kids to be gentle with the darn thing, so it wouldn't break in case I had to return it. It then struck me that this is not a reasonable worry about a device that is supposed to be able to protect said kids in an automobile accident, LOL.

Then came the thread about the Chicago Tribune (I think that's the right newspaper?) article, and that made me more uncomfortable about the Scenera, and is one more reason I will probably be returning the seat to WalMart today. Not sure what I would have done if it fit perfectly in my car....

Now, I do own two AO's (and plan to continue using them), and I don't necessarily trust any carseat company to look too far past the profit motive, so it's not that I simply think Britax (for example) is wonderful and Dorel is cr*p. However, the article points out long-term willful disregard of known safety issues at Dorel, and that is disturbing. As another example, with the AO's, we got bitten by the unusable-for-harness top headrest position (oldest DS rode that way for over a month before I stumbled across the information), and, as far as I know, Dorel is still selling the same design years later, with the same built-in booby trap. Legally, I guess they're fine, since the warning is there (somewhere) in the manual, and in nearly invisible embossed plastic text on the back of the seat shell :mad: . Our first AO expires this year, so that makes at least 6 years of this blatant design flaw.

So, back to the Scenera -- how long has it been out on the market? Has it been long enough for reports of possible problems to filter back, despite Dorel's obvious corporate policy of stonewalling?

Katrin
 
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thepeach80

Senior Community Member
I'm not sure what to tell you. The Scenera came out mid-05 I believe. I know we bought ours in Sept05 and I don't think they had been out very long, but the design is very close to their old Touriva. We've never had problems w/ ours and the seat does have to pass the same testing as every other carseat on the market so theoretically it should be safe. For $40 though I really don't expect the seat to have the solid feeling of the high end $ seats.

ETA: I just read the article and it was scary, but I guess I'm a cynic is some sorts b/c I have to wonder what stuff they could dig up about other companies if they tried. I will have to go check my seat for that notch and I'm more determined now to have Evan back rfing while we're waiting for Ilana's new seat. Hopefully AJ can still get air in the back w/ him rfing. I will attest to the fact that Dorel is very profit driven, hence all the lovely after market products. We had a guy from Dorel speak for us this year and we asked about the aftermarket products and his reply was 'b/c that's what consumers want'.
 
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sb518

New member
I bought one January of 06 and that was probably a few months after I had first seen it. I agree with the PP, probably mid 2005
 

singingpond

New member
I guess I'm mainly wondering how much you trust the Scenera. 2005 is not very old, although if it is a close relative of the Touriva I suppose that counts as a longer history (sort of). On the other hand the problems with the seat discussed in the article were ignored and hidden by the manufacturer for over five years, so that makes me wonder. I would like to trust the Scenera -- such a nice, light-weight, relatively easy-to-install, and AFFORDABLE seat. However, I will be returning my Scenera tomorrow, in large part because of install issues, but also because this article made me more uneasy about Dorel's attitude toward safety.

Katrin
 

amy919

New member
I had a Scenera and was happy enough with it. Both my 18 month old and my 4 year old fit in the seat with room to go. I liked the seat in general, thought it made a good secondary seat, BUT, it was NOT easy to install in all of the cars I needed it too. It took a lot of effort and DH or I HAD to be the ones to do it. Just didn't trust anyone else. My DH was in an accident and the Scenera had to be replaced. I have been holding off because I'm feeling a little burned by the recent Dorel stuff. In addition to the actual issues, their attitude about it has really turned me off, I think they were just plain negligent. Even though Britax has had recent issues as well, I do think they have been proactive about making the information known. Maybe that shows them in a bad light to some people, and they admittedly could have done a better job to alleviate the mass confusion, but at least they did something.

I am having a hard time with Dorel's attitude about my kids safety right now. I've decided to make do with primary seats only and try the new Recaro's as back up seats when they become available, or upgrade my 4 1/2 year old to the Regent, use her MA as a secondary seat, get my 18 month old a new MA and use her RA as the secondary. Not sure yet, but it's pretty safe to say I'm not buying another Dorel seat.

Amy
 

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