Graco Children’s Products Inc. just issued a recall of nearly 25,000 car seats. Why? Well, according to a release issued by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), “the webbing that holds a child in place may not adequately restrain the child in an accident.”
When parents purchase a car seat, that purchase comes with a particular expectation that the investment will keep them safe in the event of an accident. The last thing on any parent’s mind is that the car seat they’re strapping their child into every day is actually dangerous and useless. Unfortunately, for owners of certain brands of Graco car seats, this is their reality. Graco Children’s Products Inc. just issued a recall of nearly 25,000 car seats. Why? Well, according to a release issued by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), “the webbing that holds a child in place may not adequately restrain the child in an accident.”
Graco manufacturers and sells quite a few different types of car seats, though? Are all of them affected by this recall? The answer is no. At the moment, only the “Graco My Ride 65 convertible child restraints manufactured on July 22, 2014” are affected, and only ones with the following “model numbers: 1871689, 1908152, 1813074, 1872691, 1853478, 1877535, 1813015, 1794334.” Additionally, the seats also have code 2014/06 on a tag on the harness webbing, according to the NHTSA Safety Recall Report.
The problem itself was found when the agency conducted a report and noted that “two samples of the webbing used by Graco did not meet the required breaking strength standards in a test conducted Jan. 29, 2015.” According to the NHTSA report, “these car seats fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 213, Child Restraint Systems. In the event of a serious motor vehicle crash, the harness webbing restraining the child may break.”
For now, customers and retailers are being contacted by Graco, and the company itself is offering “free replacement harnesses beginning July 17.” Anyone who has a recalled Graco My Ride 65 child seat is urged to contact Graco with any questions or concerns at 800-345-4109. Concerned consumers can also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or visit www.safercar.gov.
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More than 25,000 Graco child seats recalled because restraints can break in an accident
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