Century Child Seat

Century is recalling about 732,523 vehicles over a problem with the child seat. Buckle release force which exceeds the FMVSS 213REQUIREMENT of 16 pounds may cause problems in removing a child from the carseat and vehicle in post accident situations.

Campaign
91C004000
Manufacturer
CENTURY PRODUCTS
Reported
23 January 1991
Vehicles
732,523
Built between
Mar 1987 – Dec 1990
Models
8
Recall type
Child restraint
Initiated by
NHTSA compliance test
Owners notified
14 June 1991
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between March 1987 and December 1990. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • Century 4353Built March 1987 to December 1990
  • Century 4365Built March 1987 to December 1990
  • Century 4366Built March 1987 to December 1990
  • Century 4368Built March 1987 to December 1990
  • Century 4450Built March 1987 to December 1990
  • Century 4460Built March 1987 to December 1990
  • Century 4470Built March 1987 to December 1990
  • Century 4475Built March 1987 to December 1990

What the defect is

Buckle release force may exceed 16 pounds when not used in appropriate forward latch position for a child weighing 30 pounds and more.

What could happen

Buckle release force which exceeds the FMVSS 213REQUIREMENT of 16 pounds may cause problems in removing a child from the carseat and vehicle in post accident situations.

What gets fixed

ISSUE NOTIFICATION, CHANGE INSTRUCTIONS AND LABELING TO INDICATE THAT THE REAR LATCH POSITION IS NOT TO BE USED WITH CHILDREN WEIGHING 30 POUNDS OR MORE.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtMarch 1987 to December 1990
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA23 January 1991
  3. Owners notified14 June 1991

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 23 January 1991.

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
Safety standard
FMVSS 213
Recall initiated by
OVSC

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.equipment description: 3000STE models 4353, 4365, 4366, 4368.5000STE models 4460, 4450, 4470, 4475.( previous recall number 91E004000)

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