Evenflo Car Seat Recall Issued for 1.4M Due to Buckle Problems

Evenflo is recalling about 1.37 million child car seats, due to problems with the harness buckles, which could become stuck and potentially trap a child in the vehicle during an emergency situation.  

The Evenflo car seat recall (PDF) was announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on April 3, following the manufacturers recognition that the harness buckle tracks may allow spilled food or drinks to solidify in the grooves, causing the buckle to become “unlatchable.”

Although no injuries or incidents have been reported to date, this could pose a serious risk in the event of an accident or vehicle fire, where it may become difficult or impossible to get the child out of the vehicle.

The recalled Evenflo convertible and harnessed child restraints include the Momentum 65 including LX and DLX models, Chase including LX, DLX, and Select models, Maestro including Performance, Symphony including 65, LX, 65 E3, and DLX models, Snugli All-In-One, Snugli Booster, Titan 65, SureRide DLX, and Secure Kid including LX, DLX, 100, 300, and 400 models. The car seats have model number prefixes of 306, 308, 310, 329, 345, 346, 371 or 385.

The affected child seats were manufactured by Evenflo Company Inc., of Miamisburg, Ohio from 2011 through 2014 and were sold at various retailers nationwide.

NHTSA recommends that customers with affected products contact Evenflo Company at 1-800-490-7591 or visit them online at www.buckle.evenflo.com to receive instructions on how to obtain a free replacement buckle. Evenflo recommends that customers with affected car seats clean the harness buckles regularly and continue use of the car seats until Evenflo can provide a replacement.

This is the second major car seat recall this year issued due to issues with buckles. Evenflo’s competitor Graco announcing a 3.7 million car seat recall in February, due to a similar issue with grooved buckle harnesses were prone to become stuck, with consumers complaining that they were unable to unbuckle their children’s harness.