IMPORTANT: READ THIS IF YOU OWN A BRITAX MARATHON!

[Booklety1]

I have two Britax Marathons. I purchased one of them in the fall when they first came out. It was manufactured in August 2002 (probably one of the first ever made). I purchased a second one about a month ago. It was manufactured in January 2003. I had always found it VERY difficult to tighten the straps on the older one. I thought it was just the design of the seat, but was surprised to find that my newer Marathon is much, much easier to tighten. The older one even sort of squeaks like an old hinge when I tighten it.

Anyway, yesterday I had them both out of the cars because I was washing the covers. I had them side-by-side on my living room floor when I noticed something really strange. The strap that you pull on to tighten the harness is routed under the metal hinge thing completely differently on the older one as compared to the new one. The way it is routed is obviously contributing to the difficulty tightening it. I was also very concerned that it could be a safety issue. I went to a store this morning that sells the Marathon to see how the floor models were routed. I found that all of them (there were 3 or 4) were routed like my newer model.

Armed with this information, I called Britax. Their response surprised me. They said that either way of routing it is acceptable and safe. They said they had tested it both ways. I told them that even if this is the case, I am not pleased to have spent $250 on a seat that does not tighten easily because of the way it was routed. They said I should not change the routing, and they are not willing to fix the problem. It would take maybe a minute for them to fix this, but I am too afraid to mess with it myself (plus, they said I shouldn't).

I took pictures of the two seats and can attach them here and explain the differences if anyone is interested. Just let me know. It's really hard to explain without pictures. I can’t do it right now because the baby just woke up.

[Joolsplus2]

This has been a big issue over at the parentsplace/ivillage carseat board...you hit the nail on the head...the one threaded one way is near-impossible to tighten, and the one threaded the other way is much, much easier, and no, Britax is not *yet* doing anything about the situation. Lots of folks who bought their seats at BRU just took them back and traded them in, with no questions asked, thankfully. I don't know what the answer is....but the current story from Britax is pretty unsatisfying :( Julie

[Booklety1]

Thanks. Where did you find a discussion about this on their board? I can't find it, and there doesn't seem to be a search feature. If everyone complains to Britax, maybe they will do something.

[Joolsplus2]

It's been a few boards ago that it kept being brought up, you just have to scan the archives :( (yeah, no search feature...ugh!). Here's a page someone made with her findings http://www.geocities.com/cpsadvocate/adjuster.html Aside from returning the seat to the store, I don't believe anyone has gotten a replacement or even a satisfying answer from Britax *yet* (A lot of people have complained, I can't imagine they won't do something to remedy it eventually....) Julie

[Booklety1]

I just looked at those pictures. That is exactly what I'm talking about. It is infuriating that they could make this kind of mistake and are now failing to correct it. It is a safety concern when parent cannot tighten the straps without feeling like they're in a tug-o-war. It's one thing to mess up the intruction manual (which they did royally), but I didn't think the seat itself would have glitches of this nature.

[Joolsplus2]

I hear you...those manuals are a pretty bad quality control issue all their own...they even have a more udated one online now at http://www.britaxusa.com (hopefully it's better.....) Julie

[mama2be]

I would call Britax and tell them you are active on the boards and will talk everyone who even mentions Marathon out of one if they don't get you a new one...or even Britax all together...

I had one on hold at BRU the first week they were out, and something told me to wait. I did just get one a few weeks backa nd love it!!!
But am saddened that you are having trouble with the first edition. They should fix that!!!

[Booklety1]

I did sort of say that to them (though not as strongly as you suggested). They said I should put my concerns in writing to them. Instead, I filed a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. (NHSTA) today. They are the agency to contact if you have a car seat safety concern to report.

The link provided earlier refers to a problem with the velcro being too high on the strap so that you can't tighten it fully. I think my older one has that problem too. Unbelievable! Does Britax ever even try these seats out before they put them out in stores? Do they follow their own installation instructions even once to see if they make sense? I have lost faith in them big time, but the Marathon has no real competition and it's what we need right now.

[akc]

Durn it. I have been biting my tongue, but I have not been a fan of the Marathon. I'm kicking myself because we returned our roundabout for the marathon, and everyone with a roundabout seems to love it. I just find the whole seat hard to deal with. I will say that we have a Subaru Outback and her seat is rearfacing, which leaves me little space to manuever.

But, that said, the seat is so frustrating that I actually climb in from the other side to try to get her in and deal with the straps. My daughter is not squirmy at all - just sits there looking at me struggling with the seat.

Here are some of my other complaints:
1) the rubber things that are supposed to protect her face are a nice idea but mine are always in the way. They affect where the chest clip is and the don't seem to wrap around her shoulders well - instead the kind of poke her cheeks. I'm thinking about taking them off altogether because I have always pull them down or adjust them each time.

2) The leg clip doesn't really "clip" to me. My graco used to snap in and this clip sort of just latches. I actually had it unclip once. I'm wondering if there is something defective about the one I have.

3) I have to look at my model to see what the deal is with the pulling mechanism, but it is durn near impossible to pull the strap to tighten it those last inches. We are really conscious of the correct tightness because the hospital we delivered in had an expert who showed us that the baby should be really snug in there or else it's not working right. It was tighter than we would have thought. In the last month, I can't seem to get hers that tight ever. I attributed it to the rubber things, but it may be this problem. B/c I am climbing in on the other side, I am pull with my right hand (and I am a righty). I thought maybe it was b/c she is still rear facing, that I just have less room to pull. I got it in January '03, so it should be the newer model according to the info out there. But, who knows how BRU keeps stock around.

I am so bummed. Since we only bought one seat for now and will need one for my husband's car, I was actually considering getting a roundabout and waiting to use the marathon later.

Grrr... Maybe I will call about that leg clip problem and they will give me a return. I'd actually prefer to exchange it for a roundabout, but that would probably not fly.

Thanks for alerting me to this. Does anyone else have the "problems" I have?

Alexa

[ismommy]

I also own a Marathon. I do find that tiughtening it isnt as easy as my snugride was though it is alot easier than the Graco sport in my DH car. What did you mean about the Velcro being too high up and stopping it from tightening. Also the other day I tried tightening teh strap without my daugher in teh car and found it tightened with one pull not the pull and stp action that I get with her in the car. Any idea of why that happens? Also are teh Marathons safe even with teh harness routed differently if its tightened all the way? And my last question is the straps dont seem to tighten around her hips they are tight on her chest though - am I doing soemthing wrong? Thanks for answering these questions. My daughter and I are dring up North to stay with my parents while DH is in Iraq so I want to make sure the seat is as safe as can be.

Helene
mommy to Isabella 9/19/01