Marathon straps

[carryingandstrollingabout]

I know Britax Marathon had a recall a while back. They sent me new straps. My friend said it was nearly impossible to redo the straps and she thought she was going to ruin the seat, and since my seat seemed fine, I just never fixed the straps.

Well, there have been a couple of occasions lately when I've found my daughter in loose straps. Did I forget to tighten them? Did she manage to loosen them? I kept retightening and tugging on them, and they seemed tight and fine.

Well, today, I looked back and found her hanging all the way forward. So I pulled over and checked. I was able to yank the straps all the way out. I retightened to get home, and yanked again--this time they were tight and secure.

So why do they work sometimes but not always?

So I'm working up the nerve to redo the straps. Luckily, I have a spare old non-latch Roundabout seat, which I'm using until I can fix up the Marathon.

So I guess this recall thing was serious! But it did take almost 3 years to show up as a problem.

Just letting you all know, in case you didn't bother doing the recall straps either, and 3 years has now gone by...

[momtoB]

Just thought you should know that there is a instructional video on their website showing you how to redo the harness:

http://www.britaxusa.net/support/recall.aspx

[writermama]

You'll do fine. I managed to do it (though I also waited a long time and still saw no problems with the function of the seat) and I'm a complete klutz.

My tip, when they say to cut the old strap, you really need to do it to get the old strap out of the seat.

[Joolsplus2]

I've done at least a dozen, and really I'm not an expert craftsman by any means (ie, it's really not that hard). Yes, definitely cut the old strap to get it out. Also, definitely get familiar with everything before you do... loosen and tighten and see where everything is going so you won't feel lost when you are trying to put the new one back. And yes, watch the video. And one tip I have, since I messed up my first seat (mine, fortunately!) is to make triple sure you are installing the strap so the 'britax' logo is the side that's 'out' away from the seat once installed. If it's facing down, you'll need pliers to get that black tab through the adjuster and it seems WAY harder than it needs to be. (it'll be obvious what I mean when you look at the strap, I think).

You'll do fine!
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx