Century Child Seat

Century is recalling about 295,814 vehicles over a problem with the child seat. It has been determined that the lubricants can degradethe plastic material, causing one or more of the ears of the plastic button tobreak thereby jamming the buckle.

Campaign
85C019000
Manufacturer
CENTURY PRODUCTS
Reported
24 May 1985
Vehicles
295,814
Built between
Jan 1981 – Jan 1983
Models
1
Recall type
Child restraint
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
8 July 1985
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between January 1981 and January 1983. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • Century 200Built January 1981 to January 1983

What the defect is

Crotch strap buckle made of plastic requires 12 to 20 lbs. Release force which at times seems difficult to operate. To remedy this condition consumers have used lubricants to overcome the hard release.

What could happen

It has been determined that the lubricants can degradethe plastic material, causing one or more of the ears of the plastic button tobreak thereby jamming the buckle. This will discourage use of child seats.

What gets fixed

CONSUMERS WILL RECEIVE A REPLACEMENT CROTCH STRAP AND BUCKLE WHERE REQUIRED.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJanuary 1981 to January 1983
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA24 May 1985
  3. Owners notified8 July 1985

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 24 May 1985.

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.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
CENTURY PRODUCTS
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

System: child safety seat. ( previous recall number 85E019000)

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