Frayed Harness Question

tl01

New member
My True Fit harness is fraying where it threads through the buckle tongs. Is this a safety issue? I'll contact True Fit in the morning... but the last time I talked to them they didn't have any spare parts available. I'd love to know how hard I need to fight them on this issue. Would you switch to using a different seat until this is resolved?
 
ADS

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Could you post a picture? How much fraying are we talking about?

Harnesses have to pass some pretty serious abrasion testing so unless it's severe I'd have no problems continuing to use it.
 

dhardawa

Active member
I'd just like to point out that I called this. When I ordered the True Fit to play with I said the harness was too wide to fit smoothly through the buckle tongues and would fray. I'd most definitely call Learining Curve. They need to re-design the buckle tongues. I'd file a form with NHTSA too. Many people wouldn't know that it is a safety issue.
 

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
I'd just like to point out that I called this. When I ordered the True Fit to play with I said the harness was too wide to fit smoothly through the buckle tongues and would fray. I'd most definitely call Learining Curve. They need to re-design the buckle tongues. I'd file a form with NHTSA too. Many people wouldn't know that it is a safety issue.

The True Fit isn't alone in using narrower buckle tongues for the harness straps. In some seats it's a purposeful design - the Radian is one such instance. I've seen one case of fraying with the Radian that is something I would've been concerned about, but the other pictures I've seen haven't been anything I would consider more than fuzzing. The amount of strength the harness has to maintain after abrasion testing is very high, and abrasion testing is pretty serious - not anywhere near what you'd get from sliding the tongues back and forth on the harness during normal use over a short period of time. (And really the point of the narrower buckle tongues is that they don't slide down the harness, so that they're in the position you want them in all the time and you're not digging them out from under a kiddo's bum.)

So that's why I'm wondering if it's more fuzzing or serious fraying. :thumbsup:

I think at this point it's very early to jump the gun and say that the straps are going to become dangerous because of narrow buckle tongues. Sunshine kids moved to just giving people who requested them wider buckle tongues to not have to deal with the complaints, but most people don't replace the tongues on the radian and most people don't have problems with the harness fraying. Seems to me there was another seat that is narrower too?

Anyways, it's very premature to push any kind of panic button about this IMO. I'd still love to see pic's of what the OP is experiencing though - pictures could always change my mind about how serious it is. (Although I wouldn't immediately jump to the buckle tongs being the cause either.)
 

4boysmom

New member
I could see this happening with my former TF. I called it the potential to be twisty though and never had it long enough to start fraying if it was going to. It seemed as if the belt folded over for me into the buckle and it wouldn't lay flat it seemed to be just as wide if not sliiiiiightly narrower than the buckle opening. Having been a former Britax owner it just seemed weird to me. The EFTA I got to replace the TF doesn't do whateveritwas... granted the straps are soft not "starched" like the britaxs so now I see where the true twisties could happen vs. what I was seeing which I think was different than "future twistiness".
 

solmama

Active member
Our TF harness is not fraying, yet at least. Funny, though, I purchased the TF to replace the EFTA. We like the Truefit a lot better. But, our reasons were different...the red tabs at the top of the EFTA hurt my ds' neck.
 

ZephyrBlue

New member
Mine is fuzzing, too. Am going to call again either today or tomorrow- whenever DS stops shouting at the top of his lungs long enough for me to make a phone call and actually be able to HEAR what's being said :rolleyes:

I had tried calling before, but was on hold for over 15 min and had to hang up and take kids to school.
 

lauralou

New member
Maybe they will adjust everything and basically call recalls and send updated parts to the registered owners.I have one coming and I hope The probs will get worked out of them .It is new So maybe theres hope.:thumbsup:
 

lauralou

New member
I have also noticed alot of the cosco seats I have owned fuzzed up after a while.Wonder if has something to do with the thinner nylon versos the britax nylon on harnesses:confused:
 

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