Piece missing on Britax Marathon - PICTURE ADDED

[Lori810]

I inherited a used Britax Marathon in otherwise great condition, only 2 years old and never in an accident. I was taking the cover off to wash it and I noticed that there is a piece missing...and now I am wondering if the whole thing is garbage. On the very bottom of the carseat, there is the flat part that has the incline adjuster on it. On the outsides of that piece is a connector that holds the bottom in place with the rest of the seat. One connector is missing. The bottom is still attached by a main metal connector that holds it together, but the side piece is missing (it looks like a plastic snap piece, from what I can see on the other side. I would be attaching this using the seatbelts if that has any bearing on the question (I don't have latch).

On the one hand, car seat safety is very important to me and of course if a piece is broken it must be garbage. On the other hand, I am not sure how this particular piece matters - the carseat will be attached at a completely different area, and the bottom base IS attached, just not in one specific spot.

Any thoughts, ideas are appreciated!

Here is the picture - see the hole? On the other side, there is a black plastic thing in there holding it together-

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cf38b3127cceb0b9d0f8039c00000026108AcNW7Rm3atE
Lori

[o_mom]

Can you post a picture? I'm having a hard time picturing what you are describing.

If it is broken, I would call Britax and tell them you got it as a gift and it broke. They may fix or replace it for you or they may offer you the option of paying to have it fixed. From what people have said, the repair rates are pretty resonable. Shipping to them will be $15-20 if you are paying yourself.

[BillK]

Definitely get it fixed.

It may be hard to notice unless you already own Britax seats - but in that pic it's very noticeable to me as the owner of 2 Boulevards that the seat is not positioned properly because of that missing piece.

The rounded off convex top part of the base should be fitting within the concave rounded out part of the seat shell.

[o_mom]

I agree. Looking at the picture, it appears that the entire seat could come off the base. Not a good situation at all. Call Britax and see what your options are.

[Lori810]

Actually, the seat is attached to the base in 2 other places - there is a metal bar that connects the whole thing together, and then the piece on the other side that is not missing. But I can see how it looks that way in the picture.

I did call Britax and they were unhelpful. They said I can't buy a part to fix it. I'd have to send it in and she couldn't fathom a guess as to how much it would cost to fix it.

This stinks. I am throwing it away, I guess. Too much hassle to try to fix a used seat. I'm going to just buy a new one. :(

Lori

[o_mom]

Aww, that sucks. Save the parts, anyway - the cover, harness, buckle, pads, etc. That way you will have a spare if it ever gets puked on.

ETA: I don't have my MA here, but this is a picture of my DC and what the base should look like:
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p58/o_mom2/Carseats009s.jpg

[Lori810]

Good idea. :) Thanks for your help.

[o_mom]

I think you are doing the right thing. We cross posted, but if you look at the picture I posted above, you can see that there is something really wrong with your base.

[tjham]

I'm just persistant and curious enough that I would probably take everything off it and send it in, just to see what happens! I'd bet they would fix it or replace it for free! If not, tell them to throw it away and you're out $20. But I, personally, would take the gamble!

[Lori810]

Yep, I can see. There is too much wiggle in the seat. It doesn't seat in the base firmly.

Thanks for posting that.

[Lori810]

Eh. I don't have the energy to deal with it!