So I'm trying to install Toodle's carseat forward facing with the LATCH, and I can easily do it in a way that SEEMS right, hear the click, nothing twisted, etc., except the picture in the manual of how the LATCH connecters need to be oriented to be "upright" is the opposite of the direction our LATCH connectors are. The way they are attached to the bar/seat as manufactured, when forward facing, they are automatically NOT upright when pulled behind the seat to attach a forward facing seat, unless you twist them (and it specifically says they shouldn't be twisted, not to mention that it's counterintuitive to twist them). Anyone else have this issue? Thoughts?
I can't call customer service b/c it's Sunday.
ETA: Or by "upright" do they just mean not oriented so the clips are horizontal, but so they're oriented vertically, regardless of which is top/bottom? I'm so confused.
ETA Again: For anyone else with this issue, see my response below, where I figured it out.
Re: Installing Britax Marathon FF with LATCH? [ETA: Solution Inside!]
This has been our problem and it is the reason why our LATCH straps have become twisted
It is also the reason I will never buy another Britax.
We have tried to untwist them to make it work and we can't figure it out.
BTW.....customer service will be no help. I have called several times on this and they have no advice. I even asked if we could purchase new LATCH straps to attach on the right way (or just new ones in general to get the twists out....) and they said they don't have replacement parts for them????
It is really, really annoying. We still use the LATCH and it connects the right way, but the strap is a bit twisted.
We also have 2 Evenflo Symphony 65's and they are SO much better. The LATCH straps are retractable (like seatbelts....) so they never get twisted and you move them in a different position when you go from RF to FF, so they work properly depending on which way you are using it.
Thanks, ladies, I figured it out. Reem, ours don't come off, but you can swap them which changes the orientation. For preheatedoven and CMM05, what you need to do is pull the LATCH connectors inside the cover of the seat, then slide one over the other and swap them to the opposite side. Then when you pull them back for FF install, they'll be upright instead of upside down. It's not in the Marathon manual, but I found it in a manual for a different seat (Boulevard) and it worked on the Marathon as well. Lord knows why they didn't include this info in the Marathon manuals:
https://www.britaxusa.com/uploads/products/user-guides/3.pdf (see page 27). Hope this helps!
I had that issue, too. DH had installed the seat but didn't do the tether strap. I went to tether it and couldn't get the seat back in. I found that he had attached it with the LATCH upside down - and found the solution in my manual (but it took a LOT of searching for it)!
I just bought a sunshine kids radian for DD, and installing that seat (still RF) was a 1000 times easier than the Britaxes. It took more prep work to set it up out of the box, but once I was putting it in the car it was super fast.