Consumer Alert: NHTSA Announces ‘Marathon’ Child Safety Seat Recall from Britax

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today announced that Britax Child Safety, Inc., is recalling more than 34,000 Marathon child safety seats because the seats fail to meet federal standards.

The specific Marathon seats being recalled are model numbers E9L06, E9W06, and E906, manufactured between May 23 and June 28, 2006.

During compliance testing with child dummies weighing more than 50 pounds, the upper tether hook in some of the Marathon models bent, failing to secure the seat back properly. This could result in an injury to the restrained child in a crash.

All registered owners of the Marathon seats will receive a safety notification, along with a replacement top tether hook.

NHTSA recommends that parents who have the affected seats contact Britax about what precautions may be necessary with regard to continued use of the seat while they are awaiting the replacement top tether hook.

Additional information can be found at www.MarathonRecall.com. Owners may contact Britax’s toll-free number at 1-800-683-2045.

NHTSA said that the recall is being conducted after it denied a petition by Britax that the top tether hooks were not a safety concern.

Consumers with questions about this or any other safety recall campaign should contact the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); or go to http://www.safercar.gov.