Graco Car Seat Recall Expanded; Dispute Remains Over Adding Even More

More than 403,000 car seats have been added to Graco Children’s Products recall. This is in addition to the 3.8 million that were recalled last month over concerns of faulty buckles.

After reports of parents having difficulty getting children out of their Graco car seats, the company voluntarily recalled millions of seats. Food and dried liquids can get caught in the buckles, raising alarm that parents would not be able to get a child out in an emergency. There have been at least 80 cases reported of parents actually cutting the harness or using other extreme measures to get their child out.

A letter from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that Graco has received over 6,100 reports from consumers about sticking or stuck buckles.

This latest addition to the Graco recall adds 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.

The previous recall included Graco 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.

At tissue are the buckles. The defective rounded red buttons are being replaced with square red buttons.

However, infant seats have not been included in the recall, which heretofore has only included toddler and convertible seats, and the NHTSA says that may be a problem. Graco has responded in a letter that “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 has until March 20 to explain the omission of infant seats from the recall.

Some parents are expressing dismay and frustration on Graco’s Facebook page over the length of time it is taking to get their buckles replaced. A number of people complain that they are still waiting even after several weeks. Others are not happy that the infant seats are not included in the recall. One poster laments, “I understand that in a perfect situation if I had an accident I’d just be able to unclick the seat from the base. But accidents are far from ideal situations — there’s a good chance that the seat would get stuck/that I wouldn’t be able to get my hand in the small space between the passenger seat and the click connect latch.”

If an affected car seat was registered with Graco, a notice about the recall should have been sent to the parents with information on how to replace the recalled buckles. Other owners may contact Graco at 1-800-345-4109 or at 330-869-7225.