Britax Marathon Adjuster Strap frayed & BROKE!

U

Unregistered

Guest
Has anyone else had this experience?

My husband went to tighten the harness on our Marathon (our oldest one, dated 3/05 - but should still be good I think?!) yesterday and it broke off in his hand! It's majorly frayed and looks like that was the cause of the break.

I called Britax and the "lady" on the phone told me that I was supposed to remove(!!) and clean the belt regularly and that I should have noticed the fraying.

Now, maybe I'm a bozo, but I don't see how one could remove that particular strap without cutting it somewhere? One end the metal T hook and the other is folded over and sewn.

I have hosted some pics and posted them here http://www.practiceboard.com/?7302969 so that you can see what I mean.

I have a few other Marathons and I'm very concerned about this!

Sarah
 
ADS

UlrikeDG

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Here's what the manual says (p 33):
Cleaning the Harness
SPONGE CLEAN, using warm water and mild soap.
TOWEL DRY
DO NOT: Bleach, machine wash, machine dry, or disassemble
the harness.

Cleaning the Harness Adjuster
Periodically check the adjuster area to be sure it is clean and free
of food, coins, dirt, and other objects. If debris is present, it must be
removed to prevent interference with the adjuster mechanism.
BRUSH AWAY LOOSE DEBRIS, using a soft bristled brush.
SPONGE CLEAN, using warm water and mild soap.
TOWEL DRY
DO NOT: Use solvents, abrasive cleaners, or disassemble the
harness.

Now, depending on where the fraying was occurring, it could have been visible from the front of the seat without even removing it from the vehicle (e.g., if it was occurring at the harness adjuster), in which case, you should have called Britax before it got that bad. If it was occurring under or behind the seat, that's not nearly as easy to see without removing the seat from the vehicle. Either way, a seat that has only been in use for 2-3 years should definitely still be in good working order unless there was some abuse going on. Have you identified what it was rubbing on to cause the wear?

You can report the issue to NHTSA. Hopefully, it was just a fluke, but if not, that could be a major issue.
 

daycaremom2002

Active member
That is scary!! I don't remove my seats very often at all. I don't think you are supposed to remove that strap either! I would never have seen this happening!! I hope they are replacing it!!

I am off to check my seats now....:eek:
 

UlrikeDG

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
You are correct. That strap cannot be removed. However, it is visible when you take the seat out of the car (e.g., to change the harness height).
 

southpawboston

New member
WOWEE!!! that is scary! :eek: a 2.5 year old seat, no less! i can't believe the CS rep at britax tried to throw it back at you and say that it was essentially *your* fault.

remind me again why britax is so great? :question: :scratcheshead:
 

sarahmomof2

New member
The break is somewhere on the back of the seat, under the plastic thingie in back, and I cannot figure out what was causing the rubbing. But once the little one wake from his nap I'm going to try again and see. It's so hard to see under that area of the car seat - before this I would NEVER have thought to look under it!

Only normal useage, we don't even drive in the car that often as I try to be environmentally friendly and walk when we can.

I frequently check the area for debris and dirt, I do try and keep the seat clean and we don't eat/drink in the car because I worry about the kidlings choking. I thought I was doing all I was supposed to according to the manual. Then this lady on the phone is telling me I need to take it off (once again, no clue how?? and check it regularly).

I did report to the NHTSA earlier, thank you for that link. :) I am so worried that there are other kiddos in these seats who might find out about this the hard way, KWIM? Luckily my DH gave it a good yank (although he's no muscley type either) and it broke in his hand, not in an accident.

I must say I'm really shocked by the response from Britax. Although I know every corporation is bound to have one bad apple, and maybe I was just unlucky. But the supervisors that were supposed to call me back still haven't.
 

sarahmomof2

New member
That is scary!! I don't remove my seats very often at all. I don't think you are supposed to remove that strap either! I would never have seen this happening!! I hope they are replacing it!!

Forgot to add, yes it's being replaced, but $25 out of my pocket for the new strap. And I don't know how safe I'll feel putting him back into it! :(
 

southpawboston

New member
just tell britax, FINE, charge me the $25 for the strap, but pictures are going up on an online forum for the scrutiny of 100s of CPSTs. it'll be their loss in the end. boy am i glad i didn't get that BV when they were on sale last month!
 

groovymom2000

New member
Man, that is some fraying. THere have been a few of us that have had some fraying issues on their MA adjuster straps, myself included. Makes me a bit uneasy to see that--guess I should check them. BTW--was that part of the recall, or was it afterwards(I can't remember). IIRC, when I replaced my old harness adjuster--I had to cut it off. You are not supposed to remove the harness adjuster strap!
 

nisi

Senior Community Member
Either you got a bad CS person, or there was a monumental misunderstanding (I'm leaning towards the former). Their suggestion that you remove the adjuster strap for cleaning is proof of that. If you feel that you should not be charged for a new adjuster strap (and I happen to agree with that), call back and calmly explain your position and if necessary, ask to speak to a supervisor. Britax has replaced more expensive parts for less important reasons. You don't deserve any less. Sometimes it's just a matter of speaking to the right people. In fact, even if you don't care about paying for a new strap, I'd still call back because the right people will want to know how that strap broke.
 

Mommy090804

New member
Wow! Thanks for posting that! I have posted a few times about fraying on our MA adjuster straps. I have one that is about 8 months old, and plan to order a replacement, while it is still under warranty. $25:eek: - I might have raised my voice a little!!
Let us know if you hear anything from the NHTSA...
 

sarahmomof2

New member
Either you got a bad CS person, or there was a monumental misunderstanding (I'm leaning towards the former). Their suggestion that you remove the adjuster strap for cleaning is proof of that. If you feel that you should not be charged for a new adjuster strap (and I happen to agree with that), call back and calmly explain your position and if necessary, ask to speak to a supervisor. Britax has replaced more expensive parts for less important reasons. You don't deserve any less. Sometimes it's just a matter of speaking to the right people. In fact, even if you don't care about paying for a new strap, I'd still call back because the right people will want to know how that strap broke.

Thanks for your advise! I did get in touch with a supervisor and emailed her the pictures. She just sent me an email saying they will be sending me a new SEAT and want to take the old one back to figure out what could possibly have caused the fraying. I am quite happily stunned.

I feel so much better about my Britax seats now that I know the company does stand behind them. Hopefully they'll find out the cause.

Thanks for your advice again!
 

Melanie

New member
I was shocked to see the photos. I agree with calling Britax again. From a customer service perspective they should be taking care of this. And you'd think they'd want to investigate further...it seems that this would be a liability for them if you'd been in an accident. Glad nothing serious happened from it.
 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
Thanks for your advise! I did get in touch with a supervisor and emailed her the pictures. She just sent me an email saying they will be sending me a new SEAT and want to take the old one back to figure out what could possibly have caused the fraying. I am quite happily stunned.

I feel so much better about my Britax seats now that I know the company does stand behind them. Hopefully they'll find out the cause.

Thanks for your advice again!

Now that's much more like it, yayy. :thumbsup:
 

ZephyrBlue

New member
So glad to hear that Britax took care of you! I've always had great experience w/their Customer Service. Now I'm waiting to see what Recaro is going to do about my twisty harness straps. I just hope they are as good as Britax, CS-wise!
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
Thanks for your advise! I did get in touch with a supervisor and emailed her the pictures. She just sent me an email saying they will be sending me a new SEAT and want to take the old one back to figure out what could possibly have caused the fraying. I am quite happily stunned.

I feel so much better about my Britax seats now that I know the company does stand behind them. Hopefully they'll find out the cause.

Thanks for your advice again!

Excellent! That's what they SHOULD have said all along. I'm glad they are taking care of you. :)
 

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