BeSafe Stretch – Update regarding defective harness

Two weeks ago we wrote about BeSafe Stretch and the problems with a defective harnesses. Much was then new and unclear. It was a post in the large group “Bilbarnstolar” on Facebook (56k members) that started it all. The post shared a picture of a Stretch with a damaged harness, others shared more pictures and quickly there were 200+ comments from concerned parents.

The problem with the damaged harness is interesting for a number of reasons. General knowledge about harnesses is also limited. Most parents know basically nothing about a harness  and its function. For those who don’t want or can’t bear to read the entire text, it can be summarized quite briefly:

• Has BeSafe done something wrong? – NO

• Is BeSafe responsible for the problem? – YES and NO

• Could BeSafe have done anything differently? – NO (maybe a little more information)

• Does the harness issue affect safety? – NO (but the reason is not what you think)

• Should I replace a damaged harness? – YES! (it will be arranged by BeSafe or your store)

• Do we know how damage to the harness occurred? – NOT REALLY (slightly different theories)

BeSafe have done nothing wrong and were as surprised as others. Attempts were quickly made to analyse the problem and reassure worried customers. But are BeSafe responsible? They are interestingly 100% responsible but if you dig deeper BeSafe has nothing to do with the problem. I know, very confusing.

Seat is produced by BeSafe but consists of many different components. Some produced in-house, while others are purchased elsewhere. And that brings us on to the harness which is produced by a large Swedish company.

Harness for Stretch is produced by Holmbergs. They dominate the market and are known for simply being the best. Holmbergs are more expensive than other solutions and stand for safety, quality and reliability. Exactly what you want for a car seat that will save lives. BeSafe have not used cheap Chinese crap for Stretch.

Well known brands among our “Swedish rear facing seats” such as Axkid, Britax, Klippan and Maxi-Cosi all use Holmbergs. The problem really has nothing to do with BeSafe, but is 100% due to Holmbergs. A little further down we discuss what might have gone wrong

The situation is of course causing concern among users of Stretch. Not fun to buy a very expensive seat and then worry about safety. BeSafe have handled the situation well and not panicked. Personally I think more information could have been provided through the website to reassure customers. When information is missing it leads to rumours and speculation.

Safety is of course the most important thing in a (rear facing) car seat. It’s not at all affected by this problem which must sound strange. Doesn’t the notch in the plastic affect safety? Isn’t the harness important? Shouldn’t it be 100% intact? Isn’t fraying of the harness dangerous? Can it break in an accident?

What is the purpose of the harness in a rear facing car seat? Harness is simply explained there to keep child roughly in place. In a frontal collision, which is most common, child is pushed into back of car seat. Harness will absorb some forces when car seat bounces backwards (rebound).

In collisions from the side forces on the harness are different but not high. Flipping the car is unusual and it’s then of course good to have a tight harness. Regardless of the situation total forces on the harness in a rear facing seat are extremely low.

Tough to explain just how over-engineered a harness really is. Even if half the webbing has worn off it will still perform like a champ. There is a giant margin of safety and that’s exactly how it should be. Even if margins are large we always recommend replacing harness even with minor damage to be on the safe side.

The problem with Stretch has been the notches in the plastic which look terrible. The plastic is there for good fit, make it look nice and be easier to use. Underneath the plastic the buckle itself is made of steel and will never break regardless of circumstances. Notches therefore do not affect safety at all.

Continuing to use the seat with notches might possibly lead to fraying of the harness. It’s ugly and annoying but doesn’t affect safety. It seems completely impossible to wear through the harness so far that it becomes relevant.

If you have a BeSafe Stretch with notches in the plastic or a frayed harness then contact your dealer or BeSafe directly for replacement free of charge. An expensive premium rear facing seat  should of course be flawless and also nice with a seat in good condition if you are going to sell it later on.

So how did the notches occur? We’ve had a long and interesting discussion directly with BeSafe and cause is so far unclear. The problem lies with Holmbergs, not BeSafe. Understandably frustrating to be responsible for the seat with another company doing the investigation.

Harnesses from Holmbergs can be customised with details that fit a specific seat. If we look at our popular “Swedish” rear-facing chairs then harnesses are very similar regardless of brand. How come Stretch is having issues but no other seats with a harness by Holmberg? We don’t have a good answer for that.

We have not measured harness of Stretch but it has been speculated that it could possibly be slightly wider and/or thinner than other seat. Even if true it doesn’t feel relevant. Angle of the harness when tightened has also been mentioned but that doesn’t feel like a cause either.

Stretch has been on the market for almost three years and tens of thousands of seats have been sold. The number of seats affected has so far been extremely low. In addition, relatively new seats are affected. If the issue was common we should have seen many older seats with problems. One can therefore speculate that a smaller batch from Holmbergs possibly had issue with plastic during production.

Holmbergs has good control of their products and all harnesses are marked with a batch number. Upper part of the harness usually has a white label and the crotch buckle has both a label and a stamped number. It should be easy to check serial number/batch for troubleshooting.

This is an interesting situation which has created lots of concern among parents and less than great PR for BeSafe. Continue to use your Stretch as usual but check the harness and replace if there are notches in the plastic or fraying of the webbing. Further updates will come when we know (even) more.