Since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urged Graco to recall the first 3.8 million toddler and booster seats back in February, that figure hiked to 6.1 million after further investigations. The Graco safety campaign involving defective latches marks the largest recall of kiddie car seats in history.
By good luck, nor the NHTSA or Graco have received reports of injuries or unsafe use of children car seats related to this problem. Speaking of which, the problem resides with the harness buckle that may become difficult to open if your little angel spills food or juice on it.
Some 26 models of infant and toddler car seats are involved in this recall campaign. If you've experienced any kind of issue with the latch of your Graco seat, we advise you to take a look at the specific models affected by the sticking buckles by visiting the following link.
Even though Graco was adamant at first that the unbuckling difficulty was not of mechanical nature but a product of consumer "perception and frustration," 6,100 complaints sent to the NHTSA aren't to be taken lightly all things considered. Heck, some parents or caretakers resorted to cutting the harness or called 911 to free their children from the badly designed seats.
According to an official statement from Graco, owners affected will be sent repair kits consisting of a redesigned harness and latch along with written replacement instructions. If you happen to have difficulties following replacement how-tos, Graco has released an instructional video showing every step of the operation.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News