Elmo is in danger! Safety First Vantage Booster Car Seat Failure!

[yronwyatt49b]

This vid is a favorite on Saint George's

[DUSSFUN]

I just got off the phone with NHTSA, they said the case is still open and are going to evaluate whether the remedy fixes the defective CFA or not. While I did receive my remedy kits from Dorel Juvenile Group, I no longer have my defective seats, they went to Dorel and NHTSA. Please post feedback about your experience with the remedy.

[lanalang14]

So glad they finally put through a recall! Thank you for uploading this video and bringing this to the attention of thousands of parents!

[DUSSFUN]

The recall is because or the exact seats you see in the video:)

[DUSSFUN]

@DUSSFUN I need some help from this forum. I just got off the phone with NHTSA, they said the case is still open and are going to evaluate whether the remedy fixes the defective CFA or not. While I did receive my remedy kits from Dorel Juvenile Group, I no longer have my defective seats, they went to Dorel and NHTSA. Please post feedback about your experience with the remedy.

[swtgi1982]

Here is a recall that just came down, not sure if these are affected, but if not I would definitely report it again.

[dieselrocks525]

Thanks. I was about to purchase this seat. So what car seat do you have now?

[jsrcamp]

hi Have a Question for you. When did you buy this seat? my friend has this same seat and Now I am sceard for her almost 3 year old daughter. I had told her not to get this seat just because it only Harnesses up to 40 lbs and I did not like the looks of it. no offence to the ones that do. I have the Graco Natulis for my 4 year old and we love that one.

also how did you find this out? thanks.

[DUSSFUN]

@jsrcamp These seats were purchased 6-14-09 and 12-05-09. to learn about the rest of the story, simply read the information on this blog or Google "Safety 1st Vantage car seat failure".

[DUSSFUN]

Great news! The Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) is upgrading this investigation to an Engineering Analysis based on information provided by Dorel and additional consumer reports on other model Dorel child seats. There will also be an update on the investigation on NBC Chicago Channel 5 News. Some interesting info available about the investigation provided on the ODI website, including the testing Dorel did on the seats I submitted to them for evaluation.

[DUSSFUN]

@DUSSFUN To find the defect investigation at the Office of Defects Investigations, search defects investigations for PE10009 then click on document search. You will get to see some interesting info, including the testing Dorel did on the seats I submitted to them for evaluation in the document with exhibits C, E, F & H. Pay special attention to exhibit H, it shows the forces at which the center front harness adjuster slipped.

[Ironpuha]

@DUSSFUN Just cheaked my Alpha Omega seat and it failed easily. I also have a Safety first seat and it worked fine. Thank you for this video and I am glad to have stumbled upon it.

[DUSSFUN]

@Ironpuha I'm glad you found the problem before it found you! Please do everyone a favor and report this to the Office of Defects Investigation as well as the manufacturer!

[pupsrule101]

Wow. Recently the woman who did this story on channel 5 NBC news, Lisa Parker, came to my school and explained about this story and I thought it was just great how you, a father, did this. Showing exactly how this carseat failed. She showed us part of this video. Now that I see all of it with you explaining it, it really makes sense. I think this video it just great.

[DUSSFUN]

I'm glad you liked the video! I hear it has helped several parents discover that they had faulty carseats installed in their vehicles. Pass the video along to people you know. Thanks!

[DUSSFUN]

For the record, I never doubted the Vantage seats they tested indeed passed all their tests. Had their tested seats failed, Consumer Reports would have never recommended them. I was simply disappointed they did not express more interest in my failing examples. I WANTED HELP!!

[DUSSFUN]

Finally, after one month of continued exposure and message spreading, Consumer Reports has publicly acknowledged my concern regarding the failing car seats. I also noticed that my Safety 1st Vantage car seat user review is back up on the Consumer Reports website.

[DUSSFUN]

While it is in fact one consumers concern over the ability of some Safety 1st Vantage child seats to keep the harness tight, I assure you other consumers have discovered the same failure when checking their own seats. This is not limited to just one Dad with a few defective car seats. To see the Consumer Reports (CR) article, go to the CR blog section and navigate to safety blog. I will continue to follow this issue and post updates here.

[DUSSFUN]

Well, the defective car seat story will air Wednesday, March 3 at 10PM Central on NBC channel 5 Chicago. I know I will be watching!

[GreenCastleBlock]

I just watched; it was a very good story. Nice work.

[bhailstone]

This is scary! Thanks for posting.

[DUSSFUN]

Great News!  NBC Chicago Target 5 Investigations will air a piece very soon regarding the seats shown in the video! Stay tuned for the specifics!

[DUSSFUN]

I find it quite unnerving that Consumer Reports Online removes or simply does not post my user review of the Safety 1st Vantage seat! I am simply giving an honest account of my experience with these seats!

[DUSSFUN]

I now see that my comment has been reposted on Consumer Reports Online. That's good news. Was is due to the media coverage? I wonder.

[ameliaandalice]

I checked mine and it has the same defect. Dorel is sending out a new seat to me, hopefully it doesn't do the same thing.

I posted this on facebook and sent it to everyone I know with children.

[DUSSFUN]

Just curious, what was the model number and manufactured date on the seat?

[ameliaandalice]

Model # is 22470 CTTN, Safety 1st Alpha Omega

Manufastured 2009/02/02

[DUSSFUN]

Did you file a report with NHTSA?

[ameliaandalice]

I'm in Canada

[DUSSFUN]

Do you report to any agency in Canada?

[megankdavid]

Thank you for posting this!

[goodgodzilla]

I have no time for badly designed stuff, kids seats should be bomb proof. Good call DUSSFUN

[momKO71]

Just got a failure on my 2004 vantage... it expires on december of 2010. Luckily, this was a seat that was rarely used... but NHTSA and safety 1st both got reports from me...

[1sarellano]

Scary! I'm glad you brought this to everyone's attention.

[DUSSFUN]

CHECK YOUR OWN CARSEAT(S)! Tips on how to do this have been added, click on (more info) upper right corner.

[petelang]

Thank you! I have passed the info along to everyone I know. :)  Diane

[DUSSFUN]

I highly recommend checking the integrity of the harness release lever if you own a SAFETY 1ST, COSCO, or MAXI-COSI car seat. I browsed the shelves at the store and saw the same part used on several models.

[momKO71]

Eddie Bauer too...

[NicolaMonk]

People should test their harness release lever regardless of what brand of seat they have ;) . Dorel isn't the only company to have harness failures (there's like 4-5 points of failure on a harness, so it's not uncommon).

[pixieemt]

Great video and good job reporting the safety issue. In the past I had an issue with my Scenera and reported it back in 08. There are two plastic spikes on the bottom of the shell that are supposed to keep the harness in position. The harness catches on the spikes and it tears or punctures the harness webbing. New sceneras the spikes deleted. I contact NHTSA and Dorel. A recall was never issued as far as I know. A "puncture proof" harness if you call with a complaint.

[sentner]

Were the 3 that you have that fail all come from the same dealer? And have you confirmed that others who have the same model have the problem?  Just in case the problem is that this is a bad batch (or possibly knock-offs).

[DUSSFUN]

Two units from Wal Mart, purchased 6 months apart from one another. One defective unit directly from the manufacturer as a replacement!

[anjomi1986]

Please do comment back and let us know if you have contacted NHTSA about this.

Who else thinks that Dorel as a carseat company should just go under and never be heard from again?!?

[DUSSFUN]

See updated text on video site.  Pass it along!

[waddlemom]

Wow!!! Thank you for making this Video. What has Dorel said about this?

[PixieFlttr]

That is pretty significant. Have you reported this to NHTSA?