News "breaking news" (that we knew) RE: Britax Next Gen Screws/nuts

lovemybabies924

New member
Got this from safe-kids in an email:

Here you will find some breaking news that we felt it was important for you to recieve right away.
Britax has issued a statement on their website and is making owners of their convertible seats aware of a potentially missing screw(s)/nut(s) at the base joint connector(s). This only affects Next Generation convertible car seats manufactured between July 2010 and August 2011.

U.S. Products affected are:

Roundabout 55
Marathon 70
Boulevard 70
Boulevard 70 CS
Advocate 70 CS

This missing screw/nut does not affect the performance or safety of the convertible seat. Technicians or seat owners with questions should go to http://www.britaxusa.com/convertible-statement to learn more. replacement screw(s)/nut(s) can be obtained by calling Britax customer service at 888-4BRITAX.

We have spoken at length with Sarah Tilton, Manager of Consumer Services and of the Advocacy Community at Britax. NHTSA, Transport Canada, and Britax have agreed this is neither a recall nor a product improvement campaign. Therefore, we are letting you know about the issue but will NOT be adding it to our recall list.
 
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LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
Who is the "we"? (The ones who won't be adding it to a recall list?)

ETA: In other words, what is the source?
 
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momtoo3

Well-known member
"The missing screw(s)/nut(s) does not affect the safety performance of the convertible car seat because the convertible car seat is attached to the vehicle via the reinforced steel bars on the seat shell and not the convertible car seat base. However BRITAX highly recommends that you replace any missing screws/nuts in order to ensure that your convertible car seat fully functions as originally designed."

Aren't those 2 sentences contradicting?
I had a screw that was really loose earlier this year and they sent me a replacement seat because I was told not to try to tighten the screw since they needed to be a certain tightness. Now they are going to send screws and have you tighen it yourself? I just noticed last night that the screw on the replacement seat was really loose again.
 

noahsmom24

Active member
"The missing screw(s)/nut(s) does not affect the safety performance of the convertible car seat because the convertible car seat is attached to the vehicle via the reinforced steel bars on the seat shell and not the convertible car seat base. However BRITAX highly recommends that you replace any missing screws/nuts in order to ensure that your convertible car seat fully functions as originally designed."

Agreed.

Aren't those 2 sentences contradicting?
I had a screw that was really loose earlier this year and they sent me a replacement seat because I was told not to try to tighten the screw since they needed to be a certain tightness. Now they are going to send screws and have you tighen it yourself? I just noticed last night that the screw on the replacement seat was really loose again.

Wow, sounds like they don't want to deal with a recall to me...
And it makes you wonder how THAT many car seats got through without them noticing loose screws/nuts. What a wonderful check they are doing.
(Coming the person who wants a FR85..lol)
 

rxmommy

New member
"The missing screw(s)/nut(s) does not affect the safety performance of the convertible car seat because the convertible car seat is attached to the vehicle via the reinforced steel bars on the seat shell and not the convertible car seat base. However BRITAX highly recommends that you replace any missing screws/nuts in order to ensure that your convertible car seat fully functions as originally designed."

Aren't those 2 sentences contradicting?

They sure sound that way to me.

What screws/nuts are we talking about? I have an RA55. What should I be looking for? I've only installed it twice and have never noticed anything loose at all about it/the base. I can uninstall it and look. I'm assuming this is something I should be watching for.
 

momtoo3

Well-known member
They sure sound that way to me.

What screws/nuts are we talking about? I have an RA55. What should I be looking for? I've only installed it twice and have never noticed anything loose at all about it/the base. I can uninstall it and look. I'm assuming this is something I should be watching for.

There are screws on the side bars on the base. I was told they should turn a little but not be super loose. The new seat they sent me had slightly loose screws but now about 4-5 months later they are very loose. I think I need to make a call tomorrow at nap time. It is too loud in here today.
 

kirst

New member
I called today and told them that the screws on the right side are loose and that the right are tight enough that I cant move them and she said that was normal. It seems weird that the same screws on diff sides would be diff. Anyone think she was right?
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
"The missing screw(s)/nut(s) does not affect the safety performance of the convertible car seat because the convertible car seat is attached to the vehicle via the reinforced steel bars on the seat shell and not the convertible car seat base. However BRITAX highly recommends that you replace any missing screws/nuts in order to ensure that your convertible car seat fully functions as originally designed."

Aren't those 2 sentences contradicting?

I think it is absolutely possible to have hardware that affects the function of convenience features or other features but does not impact the crash performance of an installed seat. I can't say if that is the case here or not, but it sounds like they have done testing with NHTSA and TC to make sure this is the case.

My impression from reading the press release is that this is a relatively isolated problem that is not affecting a large number of users. Those that do find this problem should not panic and should not assume the seat is unsafe. It appears that it is fine to continue to use the seat in the vehicle until the kit arrives.

Once someone receives a kit then I'm sure any differences will be obvious. Or maybe someone who has access to a newer production model that presumably has similar changes can compare it to a previous version.


I had a screw that was really loose earlier this year and they sent me a replacement seat because I was told not to try to tighten the screw since they needed to be a certain tightness. Now they are going to send screws and have you tighen it yourself? I just noticed last night that the screw on the replacement seat was really loose again.

The replacement kit may contain a different type of hardware and/or instructions that prevent you from over-tightening? Or perhaps they were just being cautious before when you talked to them until they had come up with an official policy for replacement.

Also, there is more discussion here-

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=209747

Thanks to Trudy for being one of the first people to recognize this issue and report it. It's also nice to see that this issue hasn't been ignored by Britax. It does take time for companies to resolve issues, even those that may not be safety related or otherwise require a full-fledged recall.
 

luckyclov

New member
This topic has been covered in previous threads, some very lengthy.

In a nut (pun intended:p) shell, the outer bolts/screw/washers on the sides of the Next Gen bases are *supposed* to be loose. It was manufactured that way as part of the recline mechanism. You should not tighten it. By over-tightning it, you risk damaging it, which CAN cause faulty performance. They are not supposed to fall OUT, no - but if they do, Britax should be contacted (and possibly NHTSA). There are either 2 or 3 (I can't remember) sets of the same inside the seat, serving the same purpose. I believe some of the more recent DOM Next Gens actually have covers over the outer parts.

I've never had an issue with either of my MA70s or my RA55. The washers spin freely and the bolt/screws are firm in their placement, but are not fully "in".
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
Still curious as to who the source is. (Mainly because SafetyBeltSafe has things on their recall list that aren't recalls, but are important for people to know anyway. So is this from them? Or who?)

I assume this is quoted from somewhere, and if you quote something, it really helps to give the source.

Sorry if I'm misunderstanding.
 

momtoo3

Well-known member
Still curious as to who the source is. (Mainly because SafetyBeltSafe has things on their recall list that aren't recalls, but are important for people to know anyway. So is this from them? Or who?)

I assume this is quoted from somewhere, and if you quote something, it really helps to give the source.

Sorry if I'm misunderstanding.

The link in the original post goes to the Britax website.
 

luckyclov

New member
Still curious as to who the source is. (Mainly because SafetyBeltSafe has things on their recall list that aren't recalls, but are important for people to know anyway. So is this from them? Or who?)

I assume this is quoted from somewhere, and if you quote something, it really helps to give the source.

Sorry if I'm misunderstanding.
Britax is the source. OP quoted from their statement.:)

http://www.britaxusa.com/convertible-statement
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
clov878 said:
Britax is the source. OP quoted from their statement.:)

http://www.britaxusa.com/convertible-statement

I realize the general information is from Britax, but is the entirety of what the OP posted from Britax? If so, why are they speaking of themselves in the third person? And why do THEY have a recall list?

It sounds like the OP's entire post is a quote from someone, and it doesn't sound like THAT is from Britax.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
Ah, thank you!

I do wonder if SBS will be including it on their recall ("recall") list. I would imagine so.
 

DaniannieB

Ambassador - CPS Technician
Safe Kids doesn't maintain their own recall list. They use the other recall lists.

Anyway, the email I got from Safe Kids indicated that it was the "HSRC CPS recall list" that was not adding it.

" This notice is being sent to subscribers to the UNC Highway
Safety Research Center (HSRC) CPS Recall list, but is NOT
about a recall. Instead, the intent is to share some news
from Britax with our subscribers. The last revision date for
the HSRC Recall List continues to be March 2, 2011."

"Based on this information, we do not at this time plan to
add this information to the HSRC list of child restraint
recalls and safety notifications."
 

momtoo3

Well-known member
I received my kit with the new screws today. I am waiting to see if the old ones fall out or stay put. One is super loose and the other is snug. I may decide to change them out anyways, when it is not snowing. Our first measurable snow of the year, we have almost 5 inches so far in 5 hours. Yuck! Here is a pic of the parts and instructions:
DSC07143.jpg
 

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