Help with Problem with Britax Marathon

[Shelsi]

Jake is just turned 2 years old last month. He's 28.5 lbs and is rear facing in a Britax Marathon. Our problem is that he has discovered that he can pull the lever for the harness adjuster and lean forward and then he can climb out of his seat!! Now I consider myself to be quite the carseat guru but I've never run into this issue before. His harness is definitely nice and snug against him, chest clip at armpit level, etc, etc. However I guess he just has long arms!

So the first thing I tried was I used 2 safety pins and pinned the flap down. He did ok at first but then we got home the other day and he was climbing out of his car seat and SUCKING on the safety pin. Not cool at all!

So then I sewed the stupid flap down. All the way around and it was hard to do because all I had was this little sewing kit and I had to get the needle through the velcro. I have the strap coming out from under the cover instead of through the flap so he can't mess with it. Well turns out, even through the fabirc of the flap he can lift the lever!!! He's always been very nimble with his fingers so this doesn't suprise but it does anger me with this issue!

I called Britax and they told me it was a discipline issue. The thing is I don't even know when he's doing it. Nor do I feel like at barely 2 he understands that he shouldn't mess with it, he needs to stay nice and tight and secure, etc.

I'm really not sure what to do. I've got 2 marathons so we've spent over $400 on these seats! I have an old, but not expired, triumph I could use but I'd have to put him foward facing as he outgrew it rfing ages ago. Tell me there is a fix for this and I don't have to go out and buy more car seats yet again! This is just so frustrating. They should have a fix for it. I'm sure my kid is not the only one who can do this and it's a serious safety issue! What do I do? Or who can I report this to other than Britax since Britax doesn't seem to care?

[alegna]

Okay- I've not used a marathon, but I've used a wizard and boulevard. Is the tightening/loosening a little metal lever? Do you need to tighten and loosen every time? What about a little piece of duct tape taping it down?

good luck!

-Angela

[Shelsi]

Originally Posted by alegna

Okay- I've not used a marathon, but I've used a wizard and boulevard. Is the tightening/loosening a little metal lever? Do you need to tighten and loosen every time? What about a little piece of duct tape taping it down?

good luck!

-Angela

Yep it's that metal lever. I sure wish it had the push button like the roundabout..although I wouldn't put it past jake to figure that out as well!. I don't need to tighten and loosen every time so maybe duct tape would work. I didn't think of that. Dh talked about DRILLING into the seat and putting a screw in there to which I, of course, told him there is no way we could do that and it still be a useable seat! Men, they always want to use their power tools!

[lasciate]

I know one other person who had this issue with her 18-month-old and the only solution that worked for her was to turn him around forward-facing so that when he did loosen his straps then she could reach back and yank on the strap to tighten them back up. It's so hard to make them understand at this age.

[boongirl]

I was going to write the same things as the above post. Put the kids forward facing, keep checking on him and you can pull the strap to tighten it when he loosens it.

This may also be a situation where, for extreme safety reasons, you need to institute a reward or punishment system. You could keep a chart of your trips and put a star next to it for every trip he does not pull the lever and when he has five stars, he gets a small treat, and when he has 10 stars, he gets something else, etc. You could keep impressing upon him how important this is for safety reasons, how children get hurt very badly when they are in a loose strap or not in one at all, and how proud you are of him to keep his strap on tightly. You could keep going with the reward system or stop after a while, when you feel he is finally understanding it and able to follow the rule. If he pulls the strap once during a trip, he does not get a star. Also, you could pull over immediately and or go home if he pulls it. Or go even more hard core and cancel all trips everywhere until he stops this.


Or you could do the reverse and take something away from him when he loosens the lever but that might be for a 2 year old to understand.

[Shelsi]

Originally Posted by boongirl

I was going to write the same things as the above post. Put the kids forward facing, keep checking on him and you can pull the strap to tighten it when he loosens it.

This may also be a situation where, for extreme safety reasons, you need to institute a reward or punishment system. You could keep a chart of your trips and put a star next to it for every trip he does not pull the lever and when he has five stars, he gets a small treat, and when he has 10 stars, he gets something else, etc. You could keep impressing upon him how important this is for safety reasons, how children get hurt very badly when they are in a loose strap or not in one at all, and how proud you are of him to keep his strap on tightly. You could keep going with the reward system or stop after a while, when you feel he is finally understanding it and able to follow the rule. If he pulls the strap once during a trip, he does not get a star. Also, you could pull over immediately and or go home if he pulls it. Or go even more hard core and cancel all trips everywhere until he stops this.


Or you could do the reverse and take something away from him when he loosens the lever but that might be for a 2 year old to understand.

That's the thing though. He's not at a comprehension level to care about stars on a chart. He doesn't even like stickers, he throws them away lol. I can tell him not to do something until I'm blue in the face but he's 2 and he just doesn't have that self-control yet.

I don't see how it's safe to turn him ffing and then have to turn around while driving to tighten his straps. That's not a good situation either. What I'm really angry about is that we paid over $200 for two of these seats so we could do extended rfing and then extended harnessing. We had to really scrimp and save for these seats. $400 is a HUGE expense for us but we wanted ds as safe as possible and now, because of this flaw on the seat, he's less safe than if he were just in a regular seat belt and no seat at all!

[TortelliniMama]

How about velcroing something (like the lid to a small plastic container, or some sturdy cardboard) to the seat, under the cover, over the lever area?

[kirei]

Hey, I just had to respond -- my 18mo does the SAME EXACT THING! The stupidest part is that we have only had this seat for a few weeks before she figured out how to loosen it.

I will certainly call Britax and complain as well.... maybe if enough people speak up, they'll realize they need to do something about it! Sheesh.... a discipline issue??? These are BABIES.... and carseats are meant to keep them safe -- a child is not supposed to be able to figure out how to get out of one!

Unfortunately, I have no advice.... I have dd forward-facing, and I just have to keep an eye on her. I didn't put her FFing because of this problem (its just what worked for us anyway)... but yeah, its pretty much essential to making sure she stays in her seat.

[Ravin]

I would duct tape it. Not just one bitty piece of tape, but run the duct tape over it horizontally around the edges of the seat, then vertically so that it starts under his butt and stops under the edge of the seat. Not too tough to get undone to adjust, just peel it off or cut it. But I doubt little fingers will get past it.

[ameliabedelia]

We have a Britax Marathon too, so I know exactly what you mean about about the lever and the cloth. I can't really see duct tape or taping it down or sewing it or anything really working..plus it seems major inconveient as I frequently loosen the harness straps to make it easier to put dd in, and then tighten them again. I find it somewhat hard to put her in it, when the straps are as tight as they need to be, so that means loosening and tighteneing most every use.

I would turn him forward facing. I know rear-facing is safer..but having him loosen the straps without you knowing it is not safer. Foreward facing is much easier to keep an eye on him. Then if I saw my chld loosen the straps I would speak to them *very firmly* and let them know that is unacceptable and you will need to pull over and re-tighten them and evertime he loosens you need to pull over. Honestly, I do think this is a discipline issue and in this case he just has to learn that he needs to leave the lever alone. No matter how much stopping, and pulling over and repeating, he needs to learn that.

I would not buy new seats, as I think you would have the same issue with any seat and a child nimble and smart enough to figure it out, will figure any seat out.

[mom2evan]

Thanks for posting this. Within the last week, my just-turned-2 DS has started doing the same thing. He lifts the lever, leans forward and loosens the straps, slides the chest buckle down to his waist, and slips his arms out of the harness.

In a 10-minute trip, this can occur up to half a dozen times (after I stop, turn around, get him back into the harness, and tighten the strap).

It's driving me batty, and I don't have a good solution. DH and I are also more than a little irritated that we spent so much money on a carseat because it was considered to be one of the safest available, and DS is now extremely unsafe.

As for the company's response, they are dead wrong. I am a lawyer, and would argue that there is a significant products liability issue here for the company. This is a design flaw - I am betting the seat could be made safer with minimal investment in a change of design.

If three out of the ten or so people responding to this post have children who loosen the straps, I'm willing to bet there are a lot more people out there with kids who can do it. Some day, some one will get hurt, and Britax will end up being sued.

One idea might be to try to reach the general counsel's office at Britax and put them on notice that your/our children can do this, and that we consider it a design flaw in the product that easily be remedied by the company.

Another would be to contact an outfit like Consumer Reports and report the flaw.

You can also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Defects Investigation at
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/complain/

They issue recalls of carseats upon finding that they fail to meet federal safety regulations.

There is a number to call, or you can use an online form.

If they receive a number of complaints in a short period of time, they might be convinced to investigate.

Other people have filed complaints about the Britax harness. I'm not sure how many, or whether an investigation has been opened. Here's a quote from one complaint form:

"The seat belt release lever is located in between the child's legs and can be easily accessed by a child. Not only is it within easy reach but my child who is 2 1/2 years old can easily lift the handle and release the seat belt. My child can not be the only child who can easily access and lift the lever. She's a sharp girl, but I'm sure there are other children just as clever. My pregnant wife has had to pull her SUV over several times a day to put my daughter in her seat. Britax's response was that I need to discipline my child. My response is that the reason I purchased the child seat is for safety which apparently is not the case. Please look into this matter."

Expecting a 2-year-old to have the self control NOT to loosen the straps, or a person driving the car to be in a position to "discipline" a rear- (or forward-facing) child in the back seat, is just crazy.

[mbhf]

if you don't need to tighten and loosen the straps very often, go ahead and get them tight before you install the seat. then install the seat with the strap you pull to tighten it tucked under the front of the seat. then put a big piece of tape (duct tape or fat masking tape will work) over the opening, under the cover. if he does manage t0o get through the tape, he should have a hard time loosening the harness since the strap is tight under the seat. sewing the flap totally shut should keep him away from the tape, too. maybe cutting a piece of thin cardboard (think cereal box) to go under the tape would help too.

hope that made sense!

[shannon0218]

Hmmm, I'll have to keep my eye out for this. I will say, we've used other seats where we don't adjust the straps but with the Marathon we loosen and tighten the straps EVERY single time and I can't imagine getting her in or out comfortably without loosening

[ryansmom02]

Ok let me tell you how I fixed this issue...

I first put a safety pin on the strap under the chest clip and taped it so that he could not slide the chest clip down...Oh and I put the safety pin on the inside of the strap touching him so he could not see it... he doesnt even know it is there and he has sensory issues so I was surprised he didnt feel it...

then I took the strap out of the car seat cover... the strap that adjusts and I put it under the seat so i could still get it but he could not...

My son could lean forward and kick the strap up then pull it to loosen the straps and there for make himself unsafe....

Now He can not do that... once the straps are tight and the chest clip is up and the strap is hidden it has not been an issue....


I hope that makes sense....

[sequoia88]

we had the same problem with this seat with our [then] 20 month old. i got on a carseat forum for help and the women there agreed with britax that this isn't a design flaw but a problem with my child! they proceeded to give me their advice on how best to discipline my son. the thread went on and on long after i stopped posting.

anyway, i was pissed off and stressed out about never being able to leave the house again unless we bought a new seat. my husband put a small piece of metal across to hide the latch from our son's little fingers somewhat. (it doesn't affect the function of the seat or the release. and he got to use his drill!) my son can't see what he's touching, he can just feel around under there. anyway, if he really tried, he might still be able to get it open, but i also told him that daddy fixed it and it's locked now. he doesn't bother trying anymore. he is almost 2 1/2 now and it's not an issue anymore, and he certainly has longer arms than he had back then.

i have a 4 1/2 month old baby who is growing fast. he's long, so i know he will outgrow his infant carrier in height before he reaches the maximum weight, probably in a month like my first son. i don't know if i can buy another britax product since they obviously don't care at all about their customers and their children. anyone have any suggestions for a convertible seat? we don't need cupholders and pillows. i just want a safe seat that has a position where his head doesn't flop forward when he falls asleep. any help would be appreciated...

[mbhf]

Originally Posted by sequoia88

my husband put a small piece of metal across to hide the latch from our son's little fingers somewhat. (it doesn't affect the function of the seat or the release. and he got to use his drill!)

are you saying he drilled into the seat? i think that should probobly be avoided..

[lasciate]

Yeah, the drill was a bad idea. Not only is it voiding the seat's warranty but it has potentially weakened the seat which may now crack in an accident.

If you want a seat without the lever for adjustment, the Britax Decathlon uses a push-button adjuster that kids can't press while in the seat:

http://www.babyage.com/products/e9l4...e_car_seat.htm

[tangozulu]

I have a similar issue with the Roundabout. My son can push down the chest clip and get his arms out. His legs are tight, but no matter how tight I put it without hurting him, he can get at least one arm out. I am going to try the pin and duct tape, but it does seem a little ridiculous to have to do this with a $200 car seat...

[mommy_e]

Honestly, every carseat has its issues and there will always be a child that can get out of them. I think a combination of discipline (stopping the car EVERY time it happens and explaining very seriously why it it not acceptable) and some of the fixes (cardboard cover, sewing the flap, tucking the strap away, etc) are what is needed. Also try finding something for him to do with his hands instead of messing with the seat. I know both the Cosco and Graco seats I have both have the same type of adjuster lever, but they don't even have the fabric flap to cover them.

The chest clip issue is a problem on every seat out there, not just Britax. In EU they don't even have chest clips on any seats - they will tell you it is a discipline issue from day 1.

[julesmom]

Just wanted to add that my son has undone his Marathon harness in the same manner.

He can undo the strap and then pull it tight again (well semi-tight). After a few times of doing this the novelty has seemed to wear off, but I am really disappointed. I really felt confident in our choice of the Britax seat and liked it in every other way.

I think I'll be working on a letter/e-mail to Britax also.