Freedman Seats

Freedman is recalling about 3,000 vehicles over a problem with the seats. In the event of a crash, if the seat back moves, the seat occupant has an increased risk of injury.

Campaign
18E076000
Manufacturer
Freedman Seating Company
Reported
3 August 2018
Vehicles
3,000
Built between
Jan 2014 – Jul 2018
Models
1
Recall type
Equipment
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
1 November 2018
Repaired
46%
Unrepaired
1,624

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between January 2014 and July 2018. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • Freedman GO-ES Foldaway SeatBuilt January 2014 to July 2018

Repair progress

1,624 of 3,000 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q1 2020.

46% repaired — 1,370 of 3,000 reported

Owners not reachable
6

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

Freedman Seating Company (Freedman) is recalling certain Freedman GO-ES Foldaway Seats, part numbers 43705, 45467, 48923, and 75719. When the back seat cushion is rotated from the stowed position to the upright position, the seat cushion may not remain locked into place when under load, such as in a crash or a sudden stop. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 207, "Seating Systems," and number 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages."

What could happen

In the event of a crash, if the seat back moves, the seat occupant has an increased risk of injury.

What gets fixed

Freedman will notify affected the vehicle builders, and dealers for those manufacturers will inspect and repair the foldaway seat, free of charge. The recall began November 1, 2018.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJanuary 2014 to July 2018
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA3 August 2018
  3. Owners notified1 November 2018
  4. Latest repair reportQ1 2020 — 46% 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 3 August 2018.

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 Freedman customer service at 1-800-443-4540.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
Freedman Seating Company
Safety standard
FMVSS 207
Recall initiated by
MFR

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

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