This is a partly a vent and partly a question. I bought the Britax Marathon 70 for my 7mo old daughter (who, while still under the weight limit is getting to long for her infant seat) to use in our 2006 Acura TL. She is about 20lbs, and sits up on her own quite well. We decided upon the Marathon 70 as it was highly recommended in just about every baby book we read.
First, the vent. The use of the Marathon 70 in rear-facing mode apparently "requires" a a tether. Trouble is, the only tethers that I know of in a 2006 Acura TL are behind the headrests in the backseat, so you have to pull the tether straps around the sides of the seat to anchor it. That is fine and well, but I am finding it IMPOSSIBLE to get my child into the seat with the tether straps in the way. You can't move the straps, or easily release the tether to get your child in and out. I called Britax and they said that you have to get your child in and out under the straps and that they can't guarantee their seat will be safe without it. They recommended using a floor or front-seat anchor point, but I am pretty sure that my car doesn't have them -- generally only SUVs and vans have this feature.
It is practically impossible getting her in and out now -- I can imagine it would be completely unusable when she gets even bigger. I wish I had known this before buying it -- I am so angry that I am considering returning it for a model that doesn't require a rear tether. I hate how carseat manufacturers just assume that people with kids only drive SUVs and vans these days! (OK, vent is over.)
So my questions are these -- are there tether anchors behind the front seat in a 2006 Acura TL that I seem to be unaware of? And, if not, is it *really* unsafe to use the Britax Marathon 70 rear-facing w/o the tether, considering most other convertible seats don't have them in rear-facing mode???
Thanks so much!
First, the vent. The use of the Marathon 70 in rear-facing mode apparently "requires" a a tether. Trouble is, the only tethers that I know of in a 2006 Acura TL are behind the headrests in the backseat, so you have to pull the tether straps around the sides of the seat to anchor it. That is fine and well, but I am finding it IMPOSSIBLE to get my child into the seat with the tether straps in the way. You can't move the straps, or easily release the tether to get your child in and out. I called Britax and they said that you have to get your child in and out under the straps and that they can't guarantee their seat will be safe without it. They recommended using a floor or front-seat anchor point, but I am pretty sure that my car doesn't have them -- generally only SUVs and vans have this feature.
It is practically impossible getting her in and out now -- I can imagine it would be completely unusable when she gets even bigger. I wish I had known this before buying it -- I am so angry that I am considering returning it for a model that doesn't require a rear tether. I hate how carseat manufacturers just assume that people with kids only drive SUVs and vans these days! (OK, vent is over.)
So my questions are these -- are there tether anchors behind the front seat in a 2006 Acura TL that I seem to be unaware of? And, if not, is it *really* unsafe to use the Britax Marathon 70 rear-facing w/o the tether, considering most other convertible seats don't have them in rear-facing mode???
Thanks so much!