Graco issued a recall for more than 25,000 child car seats over safety issues, as the affected models may not properly restrain kids during a car crash.
It's important to ensure that kids ride safely by restraining them in an adequate and approved car seat. When choosing the right car seat, there are a number of aspects to take into account such as the child's age and size, and whether it provides proper protection and so on. Proper installation is also a must, but it's paramount that the car seat meets all safety requirements in the first place.
NHTSA Imposes Graco Car Seats Recall
In Graco's case, some car seat models don't provide the proper protection as they may not keep the child safely restrained in the event of a car accident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that Graco's My Ride 65 car seat webbing was sub-par with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. According to the agency, kids who are not properly restrained in these Graco seats face higher risk of injury if they're involved in a car crash.
Graco Car Seat Models Affected By The Recall
Graco officially confirmed that it recalled 25,494 My Ride 65 car seats manufactured between May and August 2014.
"Over the past 60 years, safety has been and will continue to be our priority at Graco," the company notes. "As part of Graco's continuous process of reviewing the quality of its products, Graco is recalling the harness restraints on select My Ride 65 convertible car seats that were manufactured during the summer of 2014 and sold in the U.S."
Affected car seat model numbers include 1794334, 1813074, 1813015, 1853478, 1871689, 1872691, 1877535 and 1908152. All models with a 2014/06 webbing code tag are affected. However, models from the affected production date range that don't have that webbing tag code are not affected.
The NHTSA highlighted that in case of a serious car crash, the webbing designed to restrain the child could break, thus not properly protecting the child.
What To Do If This Graco Recall Affects You
Graco further notes that it is contacting customers who may be affected by this recall and is offering free replacement kits with new harness webbing restraints and installation instructions. The company adds that customers may keep using My Ride 65 convertible car seats until they receive their replacement kits.
At the same time, Graco says that no injuries have been reported in relation to the My Ride 65 car seats and their inadequate webbing. Customers with car seats included in this recall can contact Graco at 1-800-345-4109 to request the free replacement kit they're entitled to. Graco's customer service team is available at that number from Monday to Friday, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST. The recall should begin on July 17, 2017, adds the NHTSA.
Those who are not sure whether the My Ride 65 child car seat they purchased is affected by this recall can head over to Graco's dedicated webpage and enter the car seat number, webbing tag code and date of manufacturing to check.
