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Millions of Graco child safety seats recalled for defect

On Behalf of | Feb 19, 2014 | Uncategorized |

Child safety seats are not only required by law, they also keep your precious cargo safe in the event of a automobile accident or another emergency. That is, if they work effectively.

Graco, one of the biggest names in children’s products, recently announced a major recall on child seats after a safety defect was discovered.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says the buckling mechanism on 11 of 18 of Graco’s car seat models manufactured between 2009 and 2013 need to be replaced.

Graco reported that the bucking mechanism can become extremely difficult to unlatch if food or liquid spills into the harness buckle and dries, which can be very dangerous in an emergency situation.

However, the NHTSA says the car seat buckles are defective even without spills. The NHTSA has also advised Graco to recall its seven remaining models, which are rear-facing infant seats, for the same issue.

Graco has received more than 6,000 complaints from customers about the buckle, including from 74 customers who said that the car seat straps had to be cut to remove their child from the seat.

So far, Graco has recalled more than 3.7 million car seats, which represents the fourth-largest car seat recall of all time. The company began using a different harness buckle last May, which is expected to be safer.

The car sear models included in the recall are:

  •   Cozy Cline
  •   Comfort Sport
  •   Classic Ride 50
  •   My Ride 65
  •   My Ride with Safety Surround
  •   My Ride 70
  •   Size 4 Me 70
  •   Smartseat
  •   Nautilus
  •   Nautilus Elite
  •   Argos 70

Graco could potentially face liability in personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits if children are injured or killed as a result of the defective safety seats. Hopefully parents receive this warning and get their recalled safety seats repaired before it’s too late.

Source: ABC News, “Graco Recalls 3.7 Million Child Car Seats at Request of NHTSA,” Carmen J. Cox, Feb. 11, 2014

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