Fairly urgent Britax WWYD

[Edensmum]

I have the Boulevard a 05 model and I am 8 hours from home. I noticed a couple of times recently that dd's harness was not closed as we drove. I thought we needed to be more careful to make sure it was latched. A couple of times on the way here it was unhooked despite checking and making sure it clicked and yanking on it, it was closed and great a yet a few minutes later each time it was undone.
I called Britax, and they said this is a common issue! You have to run it under hot water every couple of months to clean it or this can happen. I see it in the maintenance section under how to clean but it never seemed dirty or to need it. They are sending a new buckle but I have my doubts that it will reach us before we leave for home. They would not over night it. I have done as suggested but there is really no way to test our buckle, only to use it and if it becomes unhooked then we know it's broken. I am really uncomfortable with this and Britax says the seat is safe if we clean it. WWYD for you child? Would you drive like this? Would you go and buy a cheap seat in the mean time? I am kind of freaked out by this. Have you ever had to clean you buckle to make it work? They said this is basic maintenance that should always be done.

[Melaine]

Wow! I've never heard of this!!!!! I'm very interested to hear the other responses, especially from the car seat techs. I'm not sure what I would do....I'm sorry, 'cause I'm sure it's stressing you out!

[Edensmum]

Yes I'm stressed, I feel like I have broken seat and have to drive 400 miles in a few days one of which is a holiday and UPS won't be coming that day.

[Edensmum]

Should we decide to drop money on anothe seat, dd is 4 yrs and 29bs, and 37 inches tall, what would be the best bets for long time 5pt harness, top safety? She is long and really narrow.

I am just worried about how I know this is a dirt thing and not a malfunction thing. I don't know how to know I can trust this seat.

[DietCokeLover]

I have never heard of this either! I think I would get another seat for peace of mind. I know if it were me, I'd be a nervous wreck the whole trip. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

[Melaine]

I wonder if anyone of your friends might have a car seat you could borrow for the trip?

[brigeet]

I'm a cautious girl, I'd probably fork out the money and buy a cheaper new one since the there's an 8 hour trip ahead. I'm all about peace of mind! That is too bad. I was going to buy a Britax Boulevard for my son in the next few weeks, just waiting for a deal or good coupon to pop up.

[mom2binsd]

I have 4 Marathons and 2 Regents, never had this problem with any of those...is this just a Boulevard issue? I had never heard of "routine maintenance" discussed before. I'd be concerned, but the problem with getting a cheap seat is your DC will probably be uncomfortable sitting for such a long time, can you clean the buckle and then use the seat in the next day to see if the problem is resolved. Do you know anyone with a Britax who isn't using their seat or someone with a seat you could borrow that DC would be comfy in?

[WatchingThemGrow]

I would clean it per their instructions and check the functioning afterward. I'd check it out and if it didn't work, I'd pick up a spare seat on the way home - like a Nautilus or something at Target.

[o_mom]

Should we decide to drop money on anothe seat, dd is 4 yrs and 29bs, and 37 inches tall, what would be the best bets for long time 5pt harness, top safety? She is long and really narrow.



The Graco Nautilus would be a great seat for her. Available at Target, Walmart and BRU, so you should be able to get one quickly if you need to.

[Joolsplus2]

This really IS common (well, enough that *I've* heard about it a couple dozen times in all my years... lol), and rinsing it really DOES fix the problem.

:)

[vonfirmath]

If you buy a new seat, I'd get a Graco Nautilus.

[lorinick]

This is common. I returned a Britax seat with this issue. I replaced with the same seat. I never tried the water thing. I just returned and purcahsed another. It happened twice. One to many. I still really love Britax and bought another. It has never happened again. My seat was newer at the time. I think you said your seat was from 04. So it could be just dirty. I would try the water thing and try the seat in house with your dc in it. See if it happens again. If so if the package doesn't get there before you leave I would get another seat. A natui or a Frontier. I would feel better with one of those than a cheap seat for a 400 mile trip.

[Fairy]

This seems really wack to me, too, being a Britax fan, but from other posters, I guess it really is common. Eep! I, too, am the freaky outy type and would absolutely fork out the dough for a seat in this situation. Cuz that's me. I'd get a backup level seat, not another expensive Britax, but that's becasue the amount that the backup would be used is limited. However, if I used two cars extensively, then I'd pay the big bucks, not backup bucks.

Good luck!

-- Fairy

[niccig]

This seems really wack to me, too, being a Britax fan, but from other posters, I guess it really is common. Eep! I, too, am the freaky outy type and would absolutely fork out the dough for a seat in this situation. Cuz that's me.

It is common. If you let your kid eat in their car seat, crumbs from cheerios etc can get into the buckle. DS had been eating and as I undid the harness and was getting him out, a pretty big crumb went into the buckle. I was able to fish it out with something rather than uninstall and rinse with water.

[Edensmum]

So the new buckle arrived today after being told yesterday that it would not come until next Tuesday, so I am not sure what happened. I hated the idea of trusting the old one, not knowing for sure it was dirty and not broken.
I am not thrilled with this whole thing. I understand that things get dirty, but dirt making a seat buckle not functional should be a big bold thing in the manual. It says how to clean it, but unless I am mistaken it does not say that you should clean it regularly. I have cleaned this seat once before after a vomit incident. I don't regularly do anything to it, though like I said the seat is very clean overall. I was told something entirely different by each of the three people I spoke to at Britax and the contradicted the manual on more than one occasion. I am just trying to make sure dd is as safe as possible and I feel like I can't trust this seat anymore.

[nfowife]

So you don't feel okay after the replacement buckle is in place? I'm not sure what you think would be an appropriate resolution to this situation. I think Britax has done their part by sending you a new buckle and that should fix the problem (though rinsing it may do the same). If you still feel uneasy, then by all means you should buy a new seat. I'd be okay with using the new buckle.

[Joolsplus2]

I think once one gets a grasp of the simple mechanical functioning of a buckle, there's less to fear. There's just a simple little hook in there holding the tongue...the moving parts can get a bit gummed up, and rinsing the buckle, per the manual's instructions, dissolves the gunk (my mom's car was full of dog spit or salt water or something once and barely worked...i put a little lubricant in it and it works fine...the lube won't make the metal unhook from the buckle tongue, it just makes the moving parts work properly). If you have a completely new buckle that works fine, that's great. There's no reason to distrust the rest of the seat altogether. :)