Graco Children’s Products, Inc. (Graco) recalled harness restraints on certain “My Ride 65” convertible car seats that were manufactured from May to August 2014 and sold in the United States and Canada.
No injuries were reported, but it is possible that the harness webbing could break in a serious motor vehicle crash. An estimated 10% of the car seats are defective.
The defect was discovered when the car seat harness did not pass crash tests by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). According to Graco:
During a test of the individual harness restrain component, the webbing on certain My Ride 65 convertible car seats did not meet federal requirements for breaking strength.”
The recall involves approximately 25,494 of the Graco “My Ride 65” convertible child restraints, model numbers 1871689, 1908152, 1813074, 1872691, 1853478, 1877535, 1813015, and 1794334.
To identify the model number, look under or on the back of your car seat and find the white label. Note the model number and date of manufacture. Next, identify the tag on the webbing of the harness on the back of the car seat. The manufacturing date is at the bottom of the tag.
Two samples of the webbing had a breaking strength of less than 11,000N, according to the NHTSA. Children who are not adequately restrained in a crash are more likely to be injured.
The tests were conducted in January 2015, but Graco was not notified of the failure until March 2016. In April 2017, Graco was notified of additional failed tests on the webbing. Graco issued the recall a few weeks later after linking the failures to a single batch of sewn webbing.
Graco will offer consumers a free replacement harness webbing kit as soon as they can be manufactured. For more information, contact Graco customer service at 1-800-345-4109.
Source: Graco recalls ‘My Ride 65’ car seats over flaw in webbing