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Evenflo Recalls 1.3 Million Sticking Child Seat Buckles

Following on the heels of the recent Graco recall, Evenflo has now announced a recall of over 1.3 million child restraint buckles.
Evenflo Carseats Recalled

Evenflo has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that they are voluntarily recalling certain convertible and harnessed child restraints, due to a defect that involves difficulty in unlatching the harness buckle. This recall could potentially affect more than 1.3 million seats.

The problem, indicates the NHTSA, is that the buckle could become stuck in a latched position. This means that the buckle would be rendered inoperable and unable to be opened by depressing the buckle’s release button.

The NHTSA is informing consumers that the affected seats include certain convertible and harnessed child restraints, models Momentum 65 (including LX and DLX), Chase (including LX, DLX, and Select), Maestro (including Performance), Symphony (including 65, LX, 65 E3, and DLX), Snugli All-In-One, Snugli Booster, Titan 65, SureRide DLX, and Secure Kid (including LX, DLX, 100, 300, and 400). The affected seats have model number prefixes of 306, 308, 310, 329, 345, 346, 371 or 385. However, for a complete list of affected seats, NHTSA advises consumers to visit the company’s website or call them directly.

If a restraint is affected by this defect, the risk of injury to a child in the event of an emergency is increased, the NHTSA explains, because it may be difficult to remove the child from the restraint, slowing down exit from the vehicle.

Registered owners of these affected products will be notified by Evenflo during April 2014. Additionally, the company will begin providing replacement buckles, as well as installation instructions for the replacements. According to Evenflo, the replacement kits will be available to consumers free of charge by placing an order with Evenflo at their website, or by calling them at 1-800-490-7591. Consumers should not return the product to retailers. The company also suggests that thoroughly cleaning the buckles will help alleviate any difficulty in opening them until the replacement kit arrives; cleaning instructions can be found on the Evenflo website at www.buckle.evenflo.com.

Consumers may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov if they have additional questions.

This is the second recent major recall due to faulty buckles on child restraints recently. Read more about the Graco Car Seat Recall here on TorqueNews.

Photo: Flickr CC

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