Please school me on carseats

orange682

DD is 24.8 lbs and 34 1/2 inches tall (as of February). Her Britax Marathon has been having some seatbelt latch issues, and no matter how many times I have cleaned out the seat belt,  it give me trouble and randomly opens.  It snaps closed and then 15 minutes later on the highway, DD tells me her seatbelt opened and she didn't do it.  I doubt she's strong enough to open the belt on her own, and I'm thinking it's the seatbelt.  I don't feel safe with her in that seat since and I'm leaning towards buying her a new one.  I've called Britax and they said I can buy a new seatbelt, but I'm wondering if it is even worth it since she will need a new seat eventually. 

Should I get her one of those 5 point harness carseat/booster seats that she can grow with?  Obviously I wouldn't put her in a booster because of her size, but for  those that know about carseats/booster seats, what is the next step? 

 

monkeyqueen

Olivia went from a marathon to a frontier recently.   But, she is 36 lbs. and around 40 inches tall.    The only reason we moved from a the marathon is that her little brother was ready to move from the infant seat to a convertible.   Otherwise, she would still be in the marathon.

Have you contacted Britax about the latch issue?   Maybe they could send out a replacement part?    I have to call for the same reason.   I'm hoping they will send out a part.  It doesn't quite come undone on its own, but it just doesn't seem as secure as our other marathon. 

AZ_Erica

I'm not really sure what you are talking about but is it the crotch buckle?  If so have you tried cleaning it.  We had issues with ours so i did buy a new one.  is your DD still rear facing?  Do you plan on keeping her that way?  Based on DS's stats it seems like you can keep her in that seat quite a bit longer.  He is 35lb and 40" and still fits.  DD is the size of yours and I don't see her moving out of it any time soon. 

orange682

I called Britax about the latch issue and they told me that I can send them $30 + S &H and they will send me a new seatbelt. 

I reminded them that I spent over $200 on the car seat and have used it for less then 2 1/2 years and this is not my first call about seat belt problems, and they have continuously been unable to help  me.  They told me that they were sorry, but my only option was to purchase another seat belt. 

orange682

AZ_ Erica- It's the buckle with the red square that's in between DD's leggs.  I tried cleaning it out numerous times, and I even used a meat injector to use pressure to clean out the buckle.  I still have issue with it and DD never eats in my car.   We turned her forward about 2 months ago since I can't get her in backwards anymore. 

Another factor to consider is that I am expecting twins in October and if I can get the seat working would put one of the babies in it.   

Was the seatbelt easy to install? 

lmdbww

How much longer is the seat good for?

If not long enough to make buying the replacement worth it, i'd get a 3 in one seat (one that goes from convertible seat to booster to backless booster).

AZ_Erica

Is the $30 quote for a whole new harness or just the buckle?  If there is nothing wrong with the harness straps I would think you only need the buckle.  I really don't think we paid that much for ours.  But it was very easy to reinstall.  I would call and see if you could talk to a manager.  But for me it would probably be worth it if you have twins coming that could use the seat as well.

ghm

I would think that britax would replace that. I'd go on car-seat.org and ask this same question--you don't have to register to ask a question.