I asked the distributor if they would assure me the straps replaced by themselves and not the manufacture would be done correctly and safely and still meet safety standards. Well, I didn't get the response to that question at all.
But according to the protocol letter, they state: "After inspection and verification, we will then either replace the harness straps on your seat or replace your seat and send it back to you"
Therefore, if the do plan on re-selling the seat, one can only hope that they will sell it on to the next customer with the longer straps.
The harness on the Radian is not replaceable. Numerous people have been told this, and I've also been told the same by Russ. Plus the manual of the seat itself says to never remove the harness.
So none of the short-strapped seats would be able to have a different harness put on them, so if they were resold, they'd be sold with the shorter harness, with the hopes of the new owner not realizing the problem.
I also take issue with the receipt requirement. Most stores aren't even able to have that kind of info on a customer receipt for an in store purchase because of FOIPP and the other privacy protection legislation. So how many parents will do the best they can, send the seat in, and then not get a replacement seat, plus have lost their short strapped seat & all the shipping money. :thumbsdown:
I did a little math on their whole 48lb dummy claim... they would have had to tested the seat with the 6yr old 51lb dummy. The dummy has a torso length of 18.2" once you subtract the length of the head - not accounting for whatever distance might be the neck - I'm not sure if that's included in the height of the head or not... So basically, the dummy they've used to crash test the seat either wouldn't fit, or would barely fit in short strapped seats.
The other factor, is that seats pass standards separate from the harness. When a seat is sent in by a manufacturer to request permission to affix the CMVSS sticker, the seat is sent in barebones. This isn't a problem, because all of the harness components are regulated, as are the seat covers and padding. Since the seat passes standards independently from the other components, they're free to change harness length or materials at any time without having to submit the seat for recertification, the only requirement is that the harness or whatever else meets the related regulations be it abrasion or flammability or buckle release pressure.
I was thinking last night, and true recalls are only issued on things that affect the safety of a restraint in a crash. Harness length isn't going to affect the safety provided a parent doesn't just use the seat without buckling it up - I'd hope most parents would have enough sense to just not use a seat that they couldn't buckle... but along those lines, I'm doubtful that a full recall could be ordered - an information notice making consumers aware, yes. But I don't think TC could force a recall without any risk in the safety of the seat.
But what really gets me most is their all the sudden taking the stance that the seats with short-straps were purposefully designed that way & should fit a 48lb child just fine. They should pay to have the short strapped seat shipped to them, and then they can pay to ship the replacement seat back to the customer. The customer should never have to pay for a manufacturers screw up.
I'm not sure about the past, but I know at present Britax is issuing calltags to have seats picked up. In some instances now they're taking credit card #'s and placing a hold on funds, shipping the replacement seat & then issuing the calltag. Once they receive the old seat back at the warehouse, the hold on the funds is released. That way parents aren't without their seat, and they haven't paid any money in the long run. This is how it should be. (I'm not sure what procedure for Canada would be though. I do know the parts I've had replaced under the warranty of my seat have been shipped for free and when they sent me the wrong parts the first time they were going to issue a prepaid label to mail them back, but they never did... They certainly didn't ask me to pay for the extra straps or to pay for shipping to send them back though...)
Jewels - I'm thinking they're keeping a definite list based on what Russ told me... he said they're telling people to destroy the seats because they want to make sure someone else doesn't get their hands on it, contact them about the short harness and then SK have to tell the person contacting them that their seat had already been replaced and there was nothing they could do about it because the seat was officially written off as far as they were concerned.
I'm disappointed that we are being treated differently than previous customers. Not a whole lot we can do about it though.
