locking mechanism on Britax Advocate ClickTight - working properly??

Hi!

I have concerns about whether the locking mechanism on our Britax Advocate click tight seat is operating properly....

Specifically, the wheel that you turn to release is VERY difficult to turn to get the seat out. I know that when the seatbelt has higher tension that this can make the wheel more difficult to turn, but it seems like it's difficult even when the seatbelt tension is not high. Even when I press down while trying to turn I still have to wrestle with it and have a very hard time turning it hard enough to release.

There are two events that may have contributed to this problem:

1) My son dropped a small rock down into the seat (while it was installed) and it somehow got lodged into the bars that come together when you push the seat down. I *think* this may have been the first time we had a hard time opening the seat. We had to take pliers to it to get a grip strong enough to turn the wheel. We finally got it open and discovered the rock in there.

2) Our car was in for service and the mechanics took it upon themselves to take out the carseats to access something. They SOMEHOW got the Britax out WITHOUT unlocking the click tight mechanism. I have no idea how this is even possible but they manhandled it and somehow did it. I was so mad! I've lost track of whether this happened before or after the rock incident above, but I'm concerned about whether this could have damaged the seat somehow to make it unsafe in a crash.

I've called Britax to inquire about whether the seat may be damaged. They say that if the click tight clicks then it works and is safe. It seems silly that I would question them, but I don't understand how the click tight mechanism works so I don't understand how they can be so confident that the issues above, combined with the lasting difficulty in opening the seat, are not a sign of a problem. (granted, if the seat is so hard for me to release then why do I worry about it coming lose in a crash?? Good question, but I am just paranoid about safety and don't like that the seat doesn't seem to be functioning totally properly )

Thoughts or advice from all you experts are welcome!

Thank you!!!!!

Have you emailed Britax any pictures? A video would probably be even better. I would definitely be suspicious of the mechanics taking the seat out without releasing the CT mechanism.

Thank you! That's a great idea to send a video. It's helpful to hear that you'd be concerned about this too! (so I don't feel so crazy )

Are you unbuckling the seatbelt before attempting to unlock the panel? It makes it much easier for us to open ours.

Thanks! Yeah, I sometimes do forget that (which makes it TRULY impossible to get undone!) but the issue I was writing about is even when the seatbelt is unlatched. Am going to take a video this weekend and send it to Britax and hopefully get a final word. If anyone else has any other insights in the meantime I'm still all ears. Thank you!!!