Evenflo Child Seat: Harness/Crotch Buckle

Evenflo is recalling about 202,346 vehicles over a problem with the child seat. A buckle that does not release easily, or possibly at all, may make it difficult to remove the child from the restraint, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a vehicle crash, fire, or other emergency, in which a prompt exit from the vehicle is required.

Campaign
14C006000
Manufacturer
Evenflo Company, Inc.
Reported
20 October 2014
Vehicles
202,346
Built between
Not published
Models
1
Recall type
Child restraint
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
3 November 2014
Repaired
3%
Unrepaired
197,077

Does this affect my vehicle?

The manufacturer did not publish a build-date range for this recall, so the model and year list below is the only way to tell whether your vehicle is covered.

  • Evenflo Embrace 35

Repair progress

197,077 of 202,346 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q1 2016.

3% repaired — 5,269 of 202,346 reported

Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.

What the defect is

Evenflo Company, Inc. (Evenflo) is recalling certain Embrace 35 two-piece, rear-facing infant child restraints equipped with an AmSafe QT1 buckle. The affected model numbers include: 30711365 (Snugli brand), 31511040, 31511323, 31511400, 3151198, 3151953, 31521138, 46811205 (or 24502447), 46811237 (or 24502446), 48111200, 48111215, 48111215A, 48111218, 48111234, 48111235, 48111235A, 48111462, 48411391 (or 24502786), 48411391D (or 24502787), 48411392 (or 24502830), 48411504 (or 24507546), 48411504D (or 24507544), 52911307A, 52921040, 55311138 (or 24505003), 55311238 (or 24505000), and 55311292 (or 24505001) and were manufactured at various times from December 2011 through May 2013. Over time, use of the seat can make the harness buckle difficult to unlatch.

What could happen

A buckle that does not release easily, or possibly at all, may make it difficult to remove the child from the restraint, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a vehicle crash, fire, or other emergency, in which a prompt exit from the vehicle is required.

What gets fixed

Evenflo will notify registered owners and provide a remedy kit, including a replacement buckle and instructions for easy consumer removal of the AmSafe buckle and installation of the newly-designed replacement buckle. The recall began on November 3, 2014.

Timeline

  1. Recall reported to NHTSA20 October 2014
  2. Owners notified3 November 2014
  3. Latest repair reportQ1 2016 — 3% repaired

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 20 October 2014.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact Evenflo's toll-free number at 1-800-490-7591, or visit their website at www.embracebuckle.evenflo.com.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
Evenflo Company, Inc.
Recall initiated by
ODI

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Evenflo is conducting a separate customer awareness campaign to address Evenflo Embrace 35 models equipped with an AmSafe QT3 buckle, and that are not subject to this safety recall.Evenflo will, upon customer request, provide a replacement buckle and instructions for installation.Owners should contact Evenflo at the number above for further information.Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand