Graco adds another 400,000 seats to recall

DETROIT -- Graco Children's Products has added more than 403,000 child seats to last month's recall of 3.8 million to replace faulty harness buckles.

But the added seats won't end a dispute with the U.S. government's road safety watchdog. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration still wants Graco to add 1.8 million infant seats to the recall because they have the same buckles.

Buckles can get gummed up by food and drinks, making it difficult to remove children. In some cases parents have had to cut harnesses to get their children out. The agency says the problem increases the risk of injuries in emergencies.

Graco said in a letter to the agency that it found additional toddler and harnessed booster seats that should be recalled.

The 403,222 seats added to the recall include 2006 through 2014 Argos 70 Elite, Ready Ride, Step 2, My Ride 65 with Safety Surround, My Size 70, Head Wise 70 with Safety Surround, Nautilus 3-in-1, Nautilus Plus, and Smart Seat with Safety Surround, according to NHTSA documents.

In its letter to NHTSA, Graco said it didn't include the infant seats because they are used differently than the toddler seats, and because in an emergency, an adult can remove the whole seat from the car rather than unlatch the buckle.

"Graco looks forward to further discussions with the agency to resolve any remaining issues relating to those additional car seats," the letter said.

Atlanta-based Graco, a division of Newell Rubbermaid Inc., has until March 20 to explain why last month's recall didn't include infant seats.

A NHTSA spokesman wouldn't comment and referred a reporter to the agency's previous statements about why seven rear-facing infant seat models should be recalled.

The recall, now at 4.2 million, is the fourth-largest child seat recall in American history. If the infant seats are added, it would be the largest such recall.

Re: Graco adds another 400,000 seats to recall

Has anyone gotten the replacement straps in the mail from the original recall...I ordered three and still havnt gotten anything yet

Re: Graco adds another 400,000 seats to recall

nope haven't gotten anything yet either

Graco adds another 400,000 seats to recall

Where did you get this new info about additional seats? I dont see them added to the graco website. I have a seat from 2007, which was originally excluded, but with the new info would be subject to it.

Re: Graco adds another 400,000 seats to recall

My question throughout this whole thing is and was-
Can't ANY buckle get gummed up by food and drink?
And what about the replacement buckle will prevent them from getting "gummed up" if you are spilling food and drinks on them?

Re: Graco adds another 400,000 seats to recall

I think the food and drink thing is bs. The graco buckles stuck from day 1.

Re: Graco adds another 400,000 seats to recall

Re: Graco adds another 400,000 seats to recall

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Message edited 3/14/2014 12:44:45 PM.

Re: Graco adds another 400,000 seats to recall

Re: Graco adds another 400,000 seats to recall

Re: Graco adds another 400,000 seats to recall

We got an inexpensive graco my ride for my parents' car. My mom can't undo the buckle, and I can't seem to ever get the straps tight enough. I pull as much as I can, and they are still loose. I hate it!

I haven't received anything in the mail yet (haven't even looked to see if ours is part of the recall bc she uses that seat like 5 times a year and she's not allowed to eat or drink in the car.

On the other hand, britax automatically sent me safety parts for my stroller within 2 weeks of thieir announced recall. I did nothing - it just showed up on my doorstep!

Graco adds another 400,000 seats to recall

No one has gotten buckles yet.

I wonder if it may be a supply issue. The recalled buckles were made by AmSafe. The new buckles are made by IMMI. (almost all latch connectors, buckles, harness adjusters, tether systems are made by one of these two companies)

It doesn't seem as though Graco was really ready or prepared for the recall, and expediting a million or so new buckles to be made is probably causing the bottleneck. Many times when recalls are announced they already have the materials for a fix in place since they have been working on it.

Graco dropped the ball on this. They changed the buckle initially from the half moon design because parents were complaining they were too easy. These buckles were too hard for just about everyone though. I have 3 seats with them. Surprisingly the one that sees the most use and food particles is the easiest. The one which sees the least use is the one that got stuck on us. They quietly changed the design starting last summer but I don't think they intended to recall the seats until NHTSA got involved.

It's a shame because nearly all the affected seats are great seats otherwise and seats I will still recommend.

Graco adds another 400,000 seats to recall

Ive heard of ppl taking the seats back to Babies R Us and getting a credit. I no longer have my box and dont want to try this unless I know I can get a credit for a new seat.