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From Products Liability Law Daily, February 12, 2014
By Joe Bichl
Graco Children's Products Inc. has announced that it is recalling approximately 3,773,379 toddler and booster child restraints after determining that the buckles may become stuck and not unlatch. In such cases, the company warned, it may be difficult to remove the child from the restraint, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a vehicle crash, fire, or other emergency.
Models recalled. Included in the recall are model years 2009-2013 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, and Argos 70 child restraints, according to Graco’s recall notice.
Latch defect. Graco discovered, through its product testing process, that food and dried liquids can make some harness buckles progressively more difficult to open over time or to become stuck in the latched position. When this issue became apparent, Graco decided to conduct a voluntary recall on the harness buckles used on all toddler convertible car seats and harness booster seats manufactured from 2009 to July 2013, according to the company’s press release. Graco also indicated in its release that the latch defect “does not in any way affect the performance of the car seat or the effectiveness of the buckle to restrain the child.” Currently, Graco has received no injury reports as a result of the latch malfunction.
Remedy. According to NHTSA, Graco has not yet provided the agency with a remedy or notification schedule. However, Graco indicated in its press release that it is offering a new and improved replacement harness buckle at no cost to affected consumers.
Contact information. For more information, owners may contact Graco by phone at 1-800-345-4109 (toll-free) or 1-330-869-7225, or online at www.consumerservices@gracobaby.com. Owners may also contact the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
Companies: Graco Children's Products Inc.
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