Britax Recall 2016: Britax Recalls Over 70K ‘B-Safe’ Car Seats Due To Defective Handle

Britax has reportedly issued another product recall for over 70,000 infant car seats, according to U.S. News.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the cause of the recall was due to a defective carry handle found on certain models of Britax travel systems and infant car seats.

Quite a few models from the Britax “B-Safe” product line unfortunately made the list of recalled merchandise, including the Britax B-Safe 35 and 35 Elite models as well as the Britax B-Agile 3/B-Safe 35 and 4/B-Safe 35 travel systems.

According to the report, which was also confirmed by the company’s website, Britax is specifically targeting the infant car seats and products manufactured between October 2014 and July 1, 2015.

Britax confirmed the product recall on the company’s Facebook page Thursday with an official announcement and detailed chart identifying the specific product names and model numbers affected by the major recall.

“RECALL ALERT: Britax is issuing a recall of certain B-Safe 35 and B-Safe 35 Elite infant car seat and travel systems, involving the carry handle. All US and Canadian customers who registered their products will receive a free repair kit to reinforce the handle.”

According to the official Britax website, the company received numerous reports of cracks developing around and in the carry handle grip on the affected car seat models. Britax further explained that “if the cracks lead to the handle breaking, then the seat could be dropped, causing potential injury to the infant.”

AZ Central reports that Britax received 74 reports of defective handles that were either cracked, fractured or broke while being used. There was even a report of an infant that received a bump on their head after the defective handle caused the Britax carrier to fall to the ground.

Should consumers view the Britax car seat models affected by this recall as complete defects that need to be returned to the manufacturer? According to Britax, the answer to that question is “no.”

“This does not affect the safety performance of the seat when used in a motor vehicle. It is safe for consumers to continue to use their car seat when secured in a vehicle or on a stroller. The car seat should not be lifted or carried by the carry handle until the remedy kit has been installed.”

To determine if a particular car seat is affected by the Britax recall, consumers are encouraged to visit the Britax recall website and enter their product name and model number. The website provides a diagram to help customers find where this information is located on their car seats and travel systems.

However, consumers that took the necessary steps to register their car seats after purchasing them will receive a free repair kit from Britax automatically.

It did not take very long for past Britax customers to comment on the product recall announcement, especially after Britax announced the recall on Facebook. Quite a few Facebook users commented on that particular post directly, and Britax was apparently prepared for the feedback by having responses ready for many of them.

For instance, Mary Merrell posted a message claiming that she was “a bit shocked” that Britax “took so long to recall” these infant car seats in the first place. She further claimed that another consumer posted a picture of a broken car seat handle months ago. As a longtime Britax customer, Mary also stated that she “may look into other brands because of this” Britax recall.

Britax responded to Mary’s comment shortly after she initially posted it. The company stated that “it takes a certain period of time to fully understand the cause for any reported product malfunction” as well as to come up with a “suitable and permanent remedy to guard against additional issues.”

Britax also confirmed that they are “working hard” to resolve the issues that led to this Britax recall “as quickly and permanently as possible for all of [their] loyal customers.”

This is not the first time that a Britax recall has made headlines due to issues experienced with their infant car seats. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, there was another major recall of over 60,000 defective harness pads back in 2012.

[Photo by Mary Altaffer/AP]