Back in November, Consumer Reports published an article detailing safety concerns over the new Britax Boulevard ClickTight and Marathon ClickTight convertible seats. The Advocate ClickTight convertible model is also potentially affected.
We covered that story in depth here:
Consumer Reports on Potential Britax ClickTight Boulevard & Marathon Convertible Carseat Safety Issues
We want to emphasize that this only applies to the new “ClickTight” convertible models. All other Britax convertibles, such as the “G3” or “G4″ models, are NOT affected. Frontier 90 ClickTight and Pinnacle 90 ClickTight Harness-2-Booster seats are also NOT affected.
Today Consumer Reports shared an update on that issue: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/11/two-britax-car-seats-could-pose-safety-risk/index.htm?loginMethod=auto
3/31/15 update: Responding to a follow-up inquiry, Britax informed us that it they had shared test data and information with NHTSA and “confirmed the performance” of ClickTight seats. The company also shared that the problem we noted—that the restraint harness was not securely attached to the hooks on the lower harness anchors—was “an initial assembly issue” affecting all Marathon ClickTight, Boulevard ClickTight and Advocate ClickTight seats manufactured between August 15, 2014 and November 7, 2014.
Action Required: Owners of all Britax ClickTight convertible carseats (Marathon CT, Boulevard CT & Advocate CT) manufactured between between August 15, 2014 and November 7, 2014 need to check their seats and make corrections, if necessary. The sticker label with the date of manufacture can be found by peeling back the cover on top of the CT compartment.
If the harness straps are properly secured to the anchors they should NOT be able to loosen or work themselves free all on their own. Please note that the straps come from the factory set in the smaller harness length setting for children under age 2. For kids over age 2 you must detach the hip straps from the anchors and re-attach them without looping them under the bar. Britax has instructions that clearly demonstrate the correct way to secure the hip straps onto the anchor in both the longer and shorter harness settings here: http://www.britaxusa.com/uploads/products/additional-resources/43.pdf
FYI – owners of newer CT convertible models will notice that the metal anchors have been slightly bent in at the opening which makes it harder to get the straps on and off.
Please share this info with your friends and family so we get the word out to as many Britax CT convertible owners as possible. It only takes a minute to check the harness straps and fix them if they are loose or detached. In this case the only thing we need to keep children safe is information on what to look for and how to fix it!
They make you change the harness for kids over 2?
That’s way too complicated for parents. It’ll never happen! I am amazed. I would hate that seat.
Most parents put in a seat, and that’s it.
Hi – it’s actually pretty common to have to adjust harness strap length on a carseat. Many carseats have a separate loop sewn into the webbing that you attach to the metal splitter in back of the shell. This allows a smaller length of webbing so you can get a nice snug fit on a small newborn baby but then adjust the length so you have plenty of harness length to secure a big 6-year-old. Britax just took a different route to accomplish this. It’s very easy to adjust the length and most parents will only need to do it once unless they reuse the seat for a second child who needs to smaller harness setting initially. You are correct that most parents put a seat in and that’s it. But that’s one of the reasons that our misuse rates are so high. Carseats need to be adjusted as children grow!
Lengthening the harness is optional for kids over two who need more length; you may want to change that “must” to “may”. 🙂