Britax Max Way Plus discontinued?

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Does anyone know why the Britax Max Way Plus has been discontinued? (I'm thinking of you @BertieBotts!)

I have this seat and I think it's brilliant. Bought a few years ago and was planning to use it for another few years for DC2 (still in 18kg swivel seat but was going to move her into the max Way plus soon).

The only info I could find is this post about the new lower height restrictions: https://www.carseat.se/2022/10/06/new-terrible-height-restrictions-on-britax-max-way-plus/

It's being replaced by the Max-Safe Pro - 125cm height limit/36kg weight limit.

But it's not being replaced as such. That's an entirely different seat (higher limits) and it's much more expensive, too.

i want to know if I can continue to use my Max Way Plus and if so how long for.

Britax are calling it the 'successor'. You can use the MWP for as long as your child fits in it - it's no longer being produced because it's R44, but they can still be used as long as R44 is legal to use (which it is).

If you read the link I shared, you'll see that the issue appears to be about how long it fits for. It's supposed to be a long-lasting seat but apparently Britax has said it's the seat not the headrest height that counts, which means it won't last so long at all.

No issue to keep using it, they are just stopping producing them as they are shifting their focus to their new product. DD2 has just moved into DD1's MWP and will be in it till she reaches the size limits.

Pretty sure that link is bogus. They were discussing it on car safety pages a while ago.

Thank you

Actually I looked back to see, and it seems that Swedish customer services were giving that information to some people but the manual and a Q&A with Britax with one of the car seat business owners didn't agree.

Yes you can keep using it.

A lot of companies are discontinuing their older R44 regulation seats because Europe has now stopped sales of R44 seats except for existing stock that shops have in currently. It has to be R129 only for new stock. So a lot of the manufacturers just aren't continuing to make their older R44 seats.

UK is continuing sales with no planned end date. But you'll see fewer and fewer R44 seats for sale as manufacturers don't make just for the UK market generally.

It will likely continue to be legal to use these seats for ages - certainly beyond the (10ish year) lifespan of the seat anyway.

Car seat SE seem to have this idea that Britax have changed the height limit but none of the UK Britax retailers have that info, so no idea - but I would ignore it.

Thanks so much @BertieBotts

FWIW I think it's a real shame it's been discontinued, because it's such a great seat.

Yeah, I don't really get why they didn't just recertify the same seat (or even something more basic like the TWE?) to R129 instead of going with the high weight limit expensive model. There's definitely a market for more basic ERF seats with a 125cm limit for a lower price point.

Good point; why didn't they?!
I've been looking (for a friend) and there is no good alternative at a similar price point.
The closest I've found is the Avionaut Sky Q but I'm reluctant to recommend it, not having seen or used it.

Axkid did it with the Minikid, didn't they - v2 is R44 but v3 is R129. So why didn't Britax do a Max Way Plus 2 that's R129 certified? Boo.

Axkid Move is probably the closest to the MWP now. Same price point, 25kg ERF. We have one of those too. I prefer the MWP but both are good seats.

We also looked at the Move when we bought the MWP... definitely preferred the MWP but I guess you're right; the Move is the closest option now.

The new minikid is closer to the new Britax and Besafe ones really - all 36kg weight limit, all around the £480 (😱) price point.

I've heard that the Avionaut is not that great for higher centile children, because it doesn't last as long for height as some of the others.

It's a bit like we've gone back 10/15 years to before Joie where the only ERF seats were out of reach of most ordinary people, but at least back then you had the Two Way Elite.

It's a shame because if the Move goes, and even TBH when the Move isn't on offer (I think £280 is a lot for a car seat) it means that ERF is quite significantly more expensive than the FF options for higher centile children.

I think 18kg is likely to become a cut off for a lot of people.

Ironic isn't it, if the new legislation is supposed to make car seats safer, but it actually leads to ERF seats becoming less and not more affordable

I guess the Avionaut Sky would still last longer than the 105cm / 18kg seats, even if it is outgrown by height before the child reaches the 25kg limit.

Also, what's with the new trend for ERF seats up to 36kg?! That seems unnecessary to me. By the time a child reaches 25kg or 125cm they are ready for a HBB.
(I'm talking about most children, although I realise some children with disabilities might need a harnessed seat beyond 25kg and up to 36kg.)

Even avionaut Sky is £380, which I wouldn't consider affordable. It will be possible for some but it's not widely accessible.

The Avionaut Sky Q is £299 which is a bit more affordable. I think that's the version without the newborn insert?

@BertieBotts, do you know anything about the Britax Multi-tech III? It looks like that's been discontinued too (presumably because it's also R44) but I have found it still available to buy. Wondering about suggesting it to my friend.

Slightly missing the point but what kid of car seat age is 36kg??? My dd is 44kg as an adult (ok she's very light but still) 25kg already seemed too big to be rear facing, mine were heading into secondary when they reached that