Short Strapped Radian

hipmaman · Nov 9, 2007

aidensmom02 said:
Not one single other carseat company will get all children (or even most of them) to the limits stated on a particular carseat.

Are you familiar with the built of the RA? The front of my RA opened up at the seam (where the 2 parts of the plastic shell met), I complained because it was a relatively new seat. Although it was not a safety concern (TC was involved at this point) but Britax replaced my carseat without hassle. Since it was in Canada and I said I didn't want to deal w/ shipping across the border, they arranged it with the retailer that I bought the RA from to replace with a new seat.

So please accept that I have big disappointment with SK in this regard as I only have 2 issues with carseats so far in the 8 yrs of having kids - 1 is a lousy service and the other was well.

BudgieStew · Nov 9, 2007

I realize having a short strapped Radian and the rules to get it replaced now are a complete pain in the butt, however, the seat is NOT unsafe with the short straps... it just won't fit your child to the limits of the seat, but then neither will 90% of the other seats sold on the Canadian market.

If you all are going to start jumping up and running to TC and BBB, then you had better be doing it for all seats... not just this one. There is *nothing* unsafe about it.

Does anyone besides me get this?

Its totally different from the 3-1's.

Here's why. I bought last May two Radian's.
One I bought from a Baby store local to me. The other I had my Mother pick up at a CT in my home province for my DC to use there.
The one I bought with a DOM of July 06 was fine..the one my Mother bought was a DOM of Aug 06(the display as well as the one other seat avaiable for sale was also a Aug 06. I had her check to try to get the newest one possible)
At that time I was aware of the short strapped but did not know the details or what DOM it affected. I didn't even know it was one of the short strapped ones until the end of June.

So two seats seemingly idential but one my son would most likely outgrow first due to the strap lenght..not really fair. On the other hand my DS outgrew all the 3-1 at the same time.

CDNTech · Nov 9, 2007

I have to tell you that as a parent of a child who is both tall and skinny and has outgrown every single seat by height well before both the weight limits AND the height limits... I could care less if it's the strap length or not, the fact is that he still fit the seat according to the parameters set out in the manual, yet he'd outgrown the seat due to his long torso. Once again, I was out purchasing a new seat due to whatever reason he'd outgrown it.

Aiden would still fit into the short strapped Radian (just barely) with the straps in the top slots, simply because he is so skinny... so, not all kids will outgrow a short strapped seat the second it hits the top slots.

SKJP has changed their story on different things at different times. They are no different than any other company out there... they've all done the same thing. Who is to say that the original story you were given is the correct one? If you don't believe anything else they are telling you, then why are you adamant that they told you it was a defect in the first place?

There are many, many ways to look at this issue. My point in all of these posts is that the seat is not *unsafe* and there is really not much you can do about it. I just don't want wide spread panic because of a few short strapped seats. Really, consider how many Radian's are out there, consider how many people have reported (looks to be about 35 or so between the people that own them and the people that have seen them in store) and it really is a small percentage.

Yes, it sucks for the people that *unknowingly* got short strapped Radians, but welcome to the real world. I have replaced 4 seats so far because my son outgrew them due to his long torso. Keep in mind that he was still well within BOTH the weight AND height limits for ALL of those seats (and none of those seats were a 3 in 1). It's just a fact of life.

canadianmom2three · Nov 9, 2007

aidensmom02 said:
I know I sound like I'm against all of you here, but did anyone actually see my last point?

Not one single other carseat company will get all children (or even most of them) to the limits stated on a particular carseat.

Yet everyone here is jumping all over SKJP and not one person has mentioned going to TC or the BBB for those other seats. The 3 in 1's are good seats to pick on since they state they are the only seat you'll ever need... yet we all know that's not even close to the truth.

aidensmom02 said:

True, but at least when you buy a 3 in 1, no matter WHICH ONE of the boxes you pull off the shelf, you are never going to find one that is any different from the next, they will all s@ck. OTOH, if you go into CT and pull a Radian off the shelf, it is like a gamble, you might get one that is short, and the next person to pull one, they might get a long one. They are not unsafe, but I certainly can empathize with people who are not getting a seat of the same QUALITY as other people, just by virtue of bad luck. Now, if ALL seats CLEARANCED for $99 came with short straps, and were clearly MARKED as such, that would be another story. Then customers would at least be going in with the expectation of getting what they paid for, not come out feeling like they have been 'cheated' out of what they are entitiled to.

Click to expand...

CDNTech · Nov 9, 2007

canadianmom2three said:
True, but at least when you buy a 3 in 1, no matter WHICH ONE of the boxes you pull off the shelf, you are never going to find one that is any different from the next, they will all s@ck. OTOH, if you go into CT and pull a Radian off the shelf, it is like a gamble, you might get one that is short, and the next person to pull one, they might get a long one. They are not unsafe, but I certainly can empathize with people who are not getting a seat of the same QUALITY as other people, just by virtue of bad luck. Now, if ALL seats CLEARANCED for $99 came with short straps, and were clearly MARKED as such, that would be another story. Then customers would at least be going in with the expectation of getting what they paid for, not come out feeling like they have been 'cheated' out of what they are entitiled to.

I'm not totally sure about the 3 in 1's since some people are reporting different slot heights on different models... all of them will still be outgrown too soon and not do what they promised, so it's kind of a moot point anyway.

The short strapped seats only seem to be at Canadian Tire and only *some*, not all, of the short strapped seats are from Aug '06. Tie into that the seats have reportedly come straight from the manufacturer in China and not from SKJP and that makes me wonder if they are indeed the same seat or if they just look the same.

snowbird25ca · Nov 9, 2007

aidensmom02 said:
The short strapped seats only seem to be at Canadian Tire and only *some*, not all, of the short strapped seats are from Aug '06. Tie into that the seats have reportedly come straight from the manufacturer in China and not from SKJP and that makes me wonder if they are indeed the same seat or if they just look the same.

Just to play devil's advocate, and because I know you love me anyways, I've gotta say it.

If they aren't the exact same seat, and were indeed designed with a shorter harness, how did they crash test it when they were in the design process? I'm really pretty sure the 6yr old AMD wouldn't fit in a short strapped Radian based on the measurements from the NHTSA site. :thumbsup:

The seats might be sent to TC bare bones, but they have to do a bunch of testing before reaching that stage. I'd think they'd have firmed up harness length info before ever submitting the seat to TC. And it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to sell different seats with the same name because it would do a disservice to the baby boutiques who likely lost some business due to CT seats being $30 less - if there was a difference, they could've used it as a marketing point.

(Although there could be a difference, I have no clue... just playing devil's advocate.

)

CDNTech · Nov 9, 2007

snowbird25ca said:
just playing devil's advocate. )

That's basically what I'm doing too... I just want to see all sides presented... no need to panic the masses.

Jewels · Nov 9, 2007

aidensmom02 said:
That's basically what I'm doing too... I just want to see all sides presented... no need to panic the masses.

Me too, and I know we are all out here to keep children safe.

But . . . .

I don't think we should have been advertising so much that SKJP would replace a short strap seat just to anyone who comes on the board.

I have a daycare child who's mom just bought a Radian, it is Oct06. She asked if I could check her install so I did and it was good. When I checked the straps I was worried that it was in fact a short strap seat, I tightened the harness and loosened and after a couple of tries it let loose and started to work properly.

Maybe instead of telling people right away to call have they'll replace the seat we should be trying other things first and then pm'ing the person if they really do need to have the seat replaced. If anyone is doing a search on the Radian this forum will come up. If I were the company and came across these threads I too would be very frustrated don't get me wrong I do feel for the parent as well but I feel for the company as well. :twocents:

CDNTech · Nov 9, 2007

Jewels said:
Me too, and I know we are all out here to keep children safe.

But . . . .

I don't think we should have been advertising so much that SKJP would replace a short strap seat just to anyone who comes on the board.

I have a daycare child who's mom just bought a Radian, it is Oct06. She asked if I could check her install so I did and it was good. When I checked the straps I was worried that it was in fact a short strap seat, I tightened the harness and loosened and after a couple of tries it let loose and started to work properly.

Maybe instead of telling people right away to call have they'll replace the seat we should be trying other things first and then pm'ing the person if they really do need to have the seat replaced. If anyone is doing a search on the Radian this forum will come up. If I were the company and came across these threads I too would be very frustrated don't get me wrong I do feel for the parent as well but I feel for the company as well. :twocents:

:yeahthat: I totally agree... I know some of us were specifically asked not to spread it around that we were getting free replacement seats and now we are seeing the repercussion of that. Like Julie's example, it's not always a short strap that is causing the issue.

dd9736 · Nov 9, 2007

I'm going to go back to the 3in1's point, and pretending I got a short strapped one

Ok, I bought my radian, because it had higher top slots than the 3in1, now if I knew I could only use them the same length of time I would have gotten the 3in1, it would have saved not one, but several arguments with my dh and the cost difference in fuel
I got a radian to use it longer than a 3in1, I bought my seat for $199 back in July, I cannot now afford to spend the extra $50 some people have posted for shipping the radian back, and the cost of a spare seat ($99 minimum) while I wait for the new one.
To almost quote someone previously, what am I supposed to do with my 1y/o in the meantime?? hold him? use an 11y/o seat, or how about the seat another friend just replaced, that the harness no longer tightens on.
because you and i both know ppl will do the last 2

Jewels · Nov 9, 2007

dd9736 said:
what am I supposed to do with my 1y/o in the meantime?? hold him? use an 11y/o seat, or how about the seat another friend just replaced, that the harness no longer tightens on.
because you and i both know ppl will do the last 2

See if a friend has one you can borrow?

CDNTech · Nov 9, 2007

Jewels said:
See if a friend has one you can borrow?

You mean like that Canadian Tire friend...

dd9736 · Nov 9, 2007

Jewels said:
See if a friend has one you can borrow?

oh, that's the only friend I have that I could borrow from.

thank god like I mentioned at the beginning of the post, I was pretending I had a s s one

Jewels · Nov 9, 2007

aidensmom02 said:
You mean like that Canadian Tire friend...

Well I was thinking of that friend but I didn't want to come right out and say that

smurf · Nov 9, 2007

Well, I ended up calling SK USA because I was getting nowhere with the Vancouver distributor.

And lo and behold Russ called me right back, saying he will send me a seat and the I can send mine back when I get the new one. Meanwhile they have my credit card # so they can charge me for the new seat if I don't return the old one.

This arrangement isn't perfect but it's definitely better than sending the seat and well, having no seat at all until the new one gets here.

CDNTech · Nov 9, 2007

I think that's a pretty great arrangement! :thumbsup: Sounds fair to all involved and sounds like great customer service.

supermommyof2 · Nov 9, 2007

:cool!: finally some good news!

snowbird25ca · Nov 9, 2007

smurf said:
Well, I ended up calling SK USA because I was getting nowhere with the Vancouver distributor.

And lo and behold Russ called me right back, saying he will send me a seat and the I can send mine back when I get the new one. Meanwhile they have my credit card # so they can charge me for the new seat if I don't return the old one.

This arrangement isn't perfect but it's definitely better than sending the seat and well, having no seat at all until the new one gets here.

This is more how it should be. I'd still like to see them pay the return shipping, but at least you're not without a seat at all. :thumbsup:

ladybug_mom · Nov 9, 2007

smurf said:
Well, I ended up calling SK USA because I was getting nowhere with the Vancouver distributor.

And lo and behold Russ called me right back, saying he will send me a seat and the I can send mine back when I get the new one. Meanwhile they have my credit card # so they can charge me for the new seat if I don't return the old one.

This arrangement isn't perfect but it's definitely better than sending the seat and well, having no seat at all until the new one gets here.

This is great to hear Smurf!

Honestly, I think they need to issue a warning or alert to those of us that have registered our seats as well as with Transport Canada to have these seats replaced at their cost!

I know myself, I purposely purchased this for the higher strap slots. I've been more than happy with my MA's, but needed this for my lightweight long torso'd 5 yr old. SK dropped the ball here allowing these short strapped seats to be distributed in the first place.

I'm appalled at how inconsistent their answers are at the Canadian Distributor, and just may take this to the press. I know I will definitely be blogging about it that's for certain!

A little update with me:

I did indeed have a short-strapped model, as did a friend who bought 2 for her twins. After visiting 3 different CT's today, I found 3 replacement Dec 2006 with LONG straps! I spoke with the CT manager, and he was sending all of the Aug 2006 seats back marking them as defective- harness straps too short! I pulled out my measuring tape for him, and he couldn't believe the difference! He also pulled the display model which was an Aug 2006 too.

So Thumbs Up for CT- Thumbs Down to SK for letting this all happen in the first place!

snowbird25ca · Nov 10, 2007

ladybug_mom said:
A little update with me:

I did indeed have a short-strapped model, as did a friend who bought 2 for her twins. After visiting 3 different CT's today, I found 3 replacement Dec 2006 with LONG straps! I spoke with the CT manager, and he was sending all of the Aug 2006 seats back marking them as defective- harness straps too short! I pulled out my measuring tape for him, and he couldn't believe the difference! He also pulled the display model which was an Aug 2006 too.

So Thumbs Up for CT- Thumbs Down to SK for letting this all happen in the first place!

Wow, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised with CT. Wonder if more stores will take that approach?

I'm glad you were able to find seats with long straps for you & your friend.

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