britax marathon question

[tinkerjess]

i just bought a BM and my 3 yo looks like her head is almost touching the roof of my explorer. I have it ff and it is straight up ,but everytime i go to put her in the car i hit her head on the roof. she is 37 inches and weighs 32 pounds so she is not to big for the seat. well has anybody elese had this problem?

 

[KEH113]

We just purchased a Marathon last week for our SUV and haven't had any issues. My DD just turned 2 and is about 36 in. & 29lbs. She seems to have plenty of head room. We also have a Decathlon in our Acura which has a lot less head room than the other car and she has plenty of space as well. I don't have any experience with an Explorer unfortunately.

 

[savvy?71]

Hmmm....my 4yr old son is in a Britax Marathon. He is 37 lbs, 42 inches and plenty of headroom. We drive a Honda Odyssey mini-van.

The specs for the BM are more than adequate for your daughter, no doubt. Do you have a car seat technician in your area ? I'd consult just to make sure everything is in place correctly.

It's not necessarily an issue of install or seat issues; maybe try letting your daughter get used to climbing in the seat herself, (with you there, of course)--or is her head that close to the roof at all times?

 

[justhat]

My 4.5yo is in a Britax Marathon in my Ford Explorer and my husband's Ford Edge. She's 42 inches tall and we never have a problem of her head being near the roof. In fact, her head isn't over the top of the seat at all, so she's got plenty of room. The carseat doesn't go much higher than the headrest of the seat, maybe an inch or so, so it's pretty far from the roof. She always climbs in herself and has for a couple of years, so I'm not sure about hitting her head if I put her in the seat or not, as I don't do that.

Are you sure it's installed correctly? Make sure that the entire base of the carseat touches the bottom of the seat completely. I've seen many seats installed so that the back of the carseat is against the seatback, but then the base is partially raised off of the seat. That will make the seat taller than normal.

I would go to a carseat check and have them take a look at it if at all possible. We also have a Decathalon in our Explorer for our son and that's nowhere near the roof either, so my guess is that it's a problem with the installation.

 

[bumbershoot]

If her height is mainly torso, you need to make sure she really does fit in the seat. If her head is that close to the roof, then the seat would be really close to the roof too. Check your manual for where her head can be in relation to the top of the seat. It's possible she's just too tall in the torso for the seat and it needs to go back.

Since you already have her FF (I *think* the new Marathons go to 35 RF), if the Marathon doesn't give a good fit for your car (an important part of the "what seat is best" decision), you might look into the new Graco Nautilus. It harnesses to 65 lbs like the Marathon, and then if you're ready to move on to boosters (I say "if" b/c for us, when DS hits 65 we'll just look and see what Britax has made beyond the beast of a Regent that harnesses to 80, rather than move to a booster at that point, but not everyone does that), it is a booster to 100 lbs. Many car seat experts, as well as carseat expert followers (me), are using the Nautilus.

 

[caitty13]

I had the BM and drive a subaru Outback. I had to be very careful or I would hit my sons head off the door too. He is only 40 inches and 36 or so pounds. I didn't have a problem with him almost hitting his head when in the chair though. Now I have the Frontier and love it.

 

[justhat]

(I say "if" b/c for us, when DS hits 65 we'll just look and see what Britax has made beyond the beast of a Regent that harnesses to 80, rather than move to a booster at that point, but not everyone does that)

The Britax Frontier mentioned in the post directly below yours is the new seat that harnesses to 80lbs and then converts to a booster. Much smaller than the Regent. We don't own one yet, but we plan to get our when our son outgrows his Roundabout.

 

[GoofyG]

The Britax Frontier mentioned in the post directly below yours is the new seat that harnesses to 80lbs and then converts to a booster. Much smaller than the Regent. We don't own one yet, but we plan to get our when our son outgrows his Roundabout.

I have the Frontier and LOVE IT! My DD loves sitting in it, and we won't have to get a new one for her. She will stay in that. The seat isn't as high as the other. I also have a BLVD for the 2yr old. The 2 yr old sits higher then the 4 yr old. I would look into the Frontier over the marathon. You are going to get more use with the Frontier and it's pretty close to the price of a Marathon. My DD's have a long torso, and that is where they outgrow. If I went off of weight they would be RF for ever. (4yr od is 28lbs) Measure them sitting down, go from the floor to the top of their shoulders and you have the torso height. Again I would look at the Frontier, I really like that seat.

 

[jessica52877]

Yep, had that exact problem (but I had bought the Boulevard). Anyways, I sold it and got the Recaro Young Sport, NO big base and I LOVED it! Sadly my son hit 40 lbs, he used it until he was 5 though and I replaced it with the Regent and Nautilus and Apex. I also bought the como to try out, but same issue, not quite as bad as the britax, but sets up on too high of a base.

ETA - The frontier was not out at the time. I am sure it would be great too, but have never seen one and can't justify yet another seat!

 

[zoemurr]

both of my kids have an identical small scar on their foreheads above their left eyes. I mentioned it to my DH once.. and his response was, "That's where I hit their heads when I put them in their carseats"!

(They are 7/9 now.. so I guess they're ok)

 

[Jewelane]

Our 3 year old has always been off the growth chart (Birth weight 11 lbs, 6oz). Now, he's tall and thin. He outgrew his Britax Marathon. We bought the Regent. It still has a 5 point harness which was important to us. It sits lower than a traditional carseat and is a bit wider. We call it the lazyboy. Our son has never complained and has taken 6 and 8 hour trips in it. It is heavy so if you were planning on moving it back and forth to cars that might be an issue.

 

[TravelinGal]

From my research, I'd recommend the Britax Frontier too! Since it's a harness your little angel will be nice and safe and have plenty of head room.

I can't see buying a seat like the Marathon for a 3 year old. They're going to outgrow it too fast - especially for that much money.

(DS is in a Britax Roundabout and we're getting ready to get him the Frontier - he's 39" and around 32 lbs {25% for both height and weight - so on the small side})

 

[savvy?71]

(DS is in a Britax Roundabout and we're getting ready to get him the Frontier - he's 39" and around 32 lbs {25% for both height and weight - so on the small side})

My 3yr old daughter was 5th%, finally 'jumped' to 8th recently

We turned her ff in her Britax Roundabout right before her 3rd bday (June) and suspect we'll be able to drive her to college in it

 

[CDNTech]

I am a tech.

The Britax Marathon sits up higher on a base (typical of most convertible seats) and does have a learning curve for not hitting children's heads on the vehicle roof when you are not used to it... especially as kids get older/taller.

With your daughter's age/size, I would actually recommend returning it and purchasing something like the Graco Nautilus or Britax Frontier. Both harness to 65lbs and 80lbs (respectively) and then turn into *great* boosters later on. They both have nice tall top slots, so the harness will not be outgrown in height before they reach a good booster age (5 - 6 years old). The Frontier has a 9 year expiry date. The Nautilus has a 6 year expiry date on the harness and high back booster and 9 year expiry on the low back booster. Both should be the last seat your daughter needs.

The Frontier is the same width as the Marathon (even though it looks bigger ). It has more interior shoulder width room than the Nautilus. We personally have the Frontier for my just turned 3 year old and he loves it.

On a side note... I see a few people stating their children are small and will be in their seats forever. Both my children are lightweights, but they are on the tall side. They outgrow seats by height long before they are even close to the weight limit.

With that... basic rules for when a seat is outgrown...

A seat is outgrown forward facing when *one* of the following happen...
1. Weight limit exceeded.
2. Shoulders go above the top slots (harness needs to be at or above the shoulders).
3. Tips of the ears go above the top of the shell.

A seat is outgrown rear facing when *one* of the following happen...
1. Weight limit exceeded.
2. Head is within one inch of the top of the shell.

Hope that helps.

 

[savvy?71]

On a side note... I see a few people stating their children are small and will be in their seats forever. Both my children are lightweights, but they are on the tall side. They outgrow seats by height long before they are even close to the weight limit.

Agreed. Glad a tech chimed in

My 4yr old son is in a BM, which goes to 49"/65lbs. He is currently 37lbs and 42". Btw, I do think you mentioned a good reminder about the seated shoulder specs as I think that gets overlooked.

My dd3 at 25lbs and 35" in the Roundabout (which is 40 and 40, IIRC?), so again, height max will be reached first.

 

[ammeador2]

I have 2 Britax Marathon's in my Honda Civic and both of my kids are pretty tall..and their heads are no where near the roof of the car. So I dunno!