problem with Valco Runabout locking swivel?

[nfowife]

I've already contacted Valco about this, and am waiting for them to call me back (hopefully on Monday!), but I wanted to see if anyone else had this issue with their runabut. I used the "hex lock" last week for the first time on a walk to keep the wheel in the fixed position (over our very bumpy sidewalks) and it kept popping back up and reverting back to the swivel position. No matter how hard we pushed it down, we (me or my husband) could not get the wheel to stay locked. Are there any tricks to getting it to stay locked or is mine defective? Valco said that if we couldn't fix it via a consultation with the repair people they would send a new front wheel so I'm not hugely upset, just wondering how easy it is supposed to be to get the wheel to stay locked. Thanks!

[kath0469]

I have the Runabout and didn't even know the front wheel could be locked! I read the directions and didn't see anything about that ... guess I didn't read well enough. lol
I will go out in the garage and check it out and get back to you.

[kath0469]

Well .. there it was, right in black and white. I looked at the directions a little more closely and read how to lock it. I went in the garage and tried it. I locked the wheel and bounced the stroller around to see if it stayed locked and it did. One thing I noticed is the wheel has to be perfectly straight to get the lock to do down far enough. It slid down VERY tightly about an inch or more. A few times I tried to relock it and it didn't work properly because it didn't line it up and push the lock down far enough.

Does the "hex lock" fit tightly? Also, how far does it slide down?

[lhklynn]

I would guess that your stroller is most likely defective like ours was. We had the same problem with our Runabout but in addition to it popping out of locked position it also tracked severely to the left while locked. Does yours have a tracking problem as well?

I have posted previously about my rather long and difficult saga to get our stroller fixed. Long icky story..

ETA link to previous thread:
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=14&topic_id=57207&mesg_id=57207&page=5


I think the people at Valcobaby (specifically Shalom) should be able to help you. If you dont mind me asking where did you buy yours? Your retailer should help you deal with Valco to find a solution or to get a replacement. Unfortunately for me the retailer I purchased mine from was less than helpful (to say the least, lol)!

Even worse, I suspect that my returned stroller is being resold by the retailer we bought it from (who finally took it back two months after the problems began). He has it listed as a brand new, unused, return in his close out section. He is being very misleading as this stroller was used and it is defective. I hope that no one buys it and goes through the same nightmare I did!

My advice would be to ask for Shalom when you call on Monday and also to contact the retailer you originally bought your Runabout from.

HTH
Lynn

[nfowife]

Thanks, Lynn. I called them again today and spoke with Shalom. They are sending me a new hex-lock and hopefully that will be all I need. If it doesn't resolve the problem he said to call back and they'll send me out a new front wheel. So we'll see!

[rardnek]

I've got a similar problem with my stroller. I purchased mine from the same retailer as you Lynn -- I just sent R an email and hope to hear back from him.

If I am unsuccessfuly, do you ladies know how I can go about contacting ValcoBaby (Shalom?) directly?

Thanks,

Kendra

[nfowife]

If you go to the valco baby website (valcobaby.com) and click on "contact us", there is a 1-800 number you can call to speak to Shalom and customer service.

[nfowife]

Just wanted to update that we got the replacement hex-lock piece about a week ago and I put it on yesterday. It was easy to put on (Shalom had told me how on the phone). Also the new piece looks different than the old one- maybe they've made improvements since it seems a few people had the same problem? Also I noticed that you need to put the sticky-out part on the top when you put it back on. If you put it on the bottom it doesn't stay up and will slide down while you're walking, inadvertently locking the wheel. We'll see how it does this evening on our walk!