TC videos re: FF marathon- am I putting my child in danger?

[todzwife]

I'm trying to figure all of those videos out, but to my untrained eye, I'm not sure what is considered a "failure". Currently, I have my almost 4 YO FF in a marathon. She weighs about 30 pounds with her clothes on. She can't be RF because she gets really sick, and this seat is the ONLY one that I have been able to get to sit correctly in a 3 across situation in my stupid car. I COULD buy her a cosco scenera, and I have a CarGo that would probably work as well. Are either of those safer? Am I putting her in danger by continuing to use this seat or is it ok because she's way under the 65 pound weight limit, it's installed with the seatbelt AND is tethered in the back?

I'm kind of freaking out.

 

[ginny4]

i'm struggling with "freaking out" & if it is warranted or not. right now the FPSVD (still basically a marathon) is what my son uses. when possible i move the seat in front of him as far up as possible so he has more head excursion room. i'm just nervous everytime i drive with him......i wonder if anyone has called britax on this yet & what they say about it. technically the seat was misused but it just doesn't sit well with me.

i don't knwo if changng seats is any good either. i think the cargo failed too?

 

[Pixels]

Look at the Marathon forward facing in the Honda Civic (x2), Dodge Caravan, or Ford (Fusion?). The harness rips out of the shell. That's what we're talking about when we talk about it failing.

1. All of the Marathons that failed catastrophically were using lower anchors (one was using both lower anchors and seatbelt). You are using a seatbelt.

2. All of those installations were using lower anchors over the stated limit.

3. All of those scenarios were using a dummy much heavier than your child is.

4. Are you driving a Honda Civic, Ford (Fusion?), or Dodge Caravan, specifically the model years that TC tested? If not, you're comparing apples to crabapples. Similar, even related things, but not the same. The Marathon did rip out in certain scenarios. It did not rip out in 14 other scenarios.

 

[ketchupqueen]

Also of note: TC reused these seats in some instances. Seats are, we know, only designed to hold up in crash forces ONCE. We don't know how many times a particular seat was re-used before the test in which it failed.

 

[todzwife]

Thank you Ketchupqueen and pixels. You both make very good points

 

[Dillipop]

If a seat failed after being used in another test, that result was tossed out. The seats that are in the videos failed on the first test. That said- even with the harness ripping out, the results were within acceptable limits.

 

[carseatcoach]

Also of note: TC reused these seats in some instances. Seats are, we know, only designed to hold up in crash forces ONCE. We don't know how many times a particular seat was re-used before the test in which it failed.

Actually, we do. If a reused seat failed, that failure was eliminated from testing. Any failures we see were on the first use.

 

[Raegansmom4]

Aren't they meaning the seats may have been crashed in other tests but held up and then failed in the one we see? So, the harness may have ripped out but it was the xth time it had been tested? I don't know - I'm just trying to figure it out...

 

[carseatcoach]

No.

If a reused seat failed, that failure was eliminated from testing.

Any failures we see are on the first use of that seat. No failed seat is a reused seat.

 

[Splash]

Every single seat that you see failed was the first time that seat was tested. So those ripped out harnesses were ALL first time uses.

Did it freak me out? Oh yeah. Because really, that should.not.happen. But, I try to look at the science of it and take deep breaths and realize that even though it LOOKS horrendous, the dummies still "survived."

What you have is basically all you can use. So you're good there. I've thought a little more seriously in the past few days of buying him a Radian and making him deal with it. But here is my thing- I hate my vehicle (Subaru Forester). I bought it because it is very safe. The ONLY reason. I've had it for 3.5 years, hated it that whole time, and never been in a wreck. So I could have been in a cavalier and been just as safe because there was no wreck. Why does that matter? My kids LOVES his Marathon. He LOVES it. He hates the radian. He LOVES his Marathon. Can I really make him use what he hates, take what he loves , on the extremely (extremely) small chance that I would be in that severe of a wreck with him in the car? Or is it gonna be like I am with the car... hating it forever when he would have been just as safe bouncing around in nothing (because there is no wreck?)

I'm not gonna kill the Marathon right now. It's still a great seat and remember- it is one of the longest lasting seats on the market right now, THE longest lasting HWH seat, and widely distributed. It has, undoubtedly, been in many wrecks. It has, IMO, held its own that way, essentially unchanged since its birth.