Century Child Seat

Century is recalling about 78,000 vehicles over a problem with the child seat. The wrong red release button would not allow the strapto engage the buckle correctly, causing a false latch situation which wouldnot adequately protect the seat occupant in the event of a sudden stop oraccident.

Campaign
93C001000
Manufacturer
CENTURY PRODUCTS
Reported
15 December 1993
Vehicles
78,000
Built between
Sep 1989 – Apr 1992
Models
14
Recall type
Child restraint
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
21 December 1992
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between September 1989 and April 1992. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • Century 4353Built September 1989 to April 1992
  • Century 4365Built September 1989 to April 1992
  • Century 4366Built September 1989 to April 1992
  • Century 4367Built September 1989 to April 1992
  • Century 4368Built September 1989 to April 1992
  • Century 4369Built September 1989 to April 1992
  • Century 4380Built September 1989 to April 1992
  • Century 4450Built September 1989 to April 1992
  • Century 4460Built September 1989 to April 1992
  • Century 4470Built September 1989 to April 1992
  • Century 4475Built September 1989 to April 1992
  • Century 4476Built September 1989 to April 1992
  • Century 4480Built September 1989 to April 1992
  • Century 4490Built September 1989 to April 1992

What the defect is

Some red buttons shipped to repair buckle release buttons recalled under NHTSA campaign no. 92E017000 may have been incorrect.

What could happen

The wrong red release button would not allow the strapto engage the buckle correctly, causing a false latch situation which wouldnot adequately protect the seat occupant in the event of a sudden stop oraccident.

What gets fixed

CENTURY HAS ISSUED GRAPHIC INSTRUCTIONS TO ALL SEAT OWNERS WHO MAY HAVE RECEIVED THE WRONG PART. THE INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDE DETAILS HOW TO TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE PREVIOUSLY SHIPPED RED RELEASE BUTTON IS CORRECT. IF THE WRONG BUTTON WAS SHIPPED AND THE OWNER NOTIFIES CENTURY OF THE PROBLEM, CENTURY WILL SHIP THE OWNER THE CORRECT BUTTON.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtSeptember 1989 to April 1992
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA15 December 1993
  3. Owners notified21 December 1992

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 15 December 1993.

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.equipment description: century child seats models 3000STE, 3500 ste, 5000 STE,5500 ste. These seats are only those repaired with red buttons shipped torepair child seats recalled under NHTSA campaign no. 92E017000.NOTE: all seat owners with the wrong button have been notified by mail. Ownerswith the wrong button should call 1-800-554-5888 and a correct button will beexpress mailed to the owner immediately. Continue to use the child safety seatwith the original button.as of november 19, 1993 this recall campaign has been completed. Any furtherproblems with these child safety seats should be addressed in regard to RECALL92E017000.( previous recall number 93E001000)

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