Downunder Child Seat: Harness Retainer/Chest Clip

Downunder is recalling about 47,800 vehicles over a problem with the child seat. In the event of a vehicle crash, the occupant may not be properly restrained causing increased risk of personal injury.

Campaign
97X001000
Manufacturer
DOWNUNDER DESIGN, INC.
Reported
8 February 1997
Vehicles
47,800
Built between
Not published
Models
1
Recall type
Other
Initiated by
NHTSA compliance test
Owners notified
14 May 1997
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

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.

  • Downunder Kangaroo

What the defect is

This is not a safety recall in accordance with federal regulation 573. However, it is deemed a product improvement campaign by the agency. The shoulder belts may not be properly located when the child is placed in the restraint. The velcro seat belt guide on these booster seats helps achieve seat belt placement in all cases.

What could happen

In the event of a vehicle crash, the occupant may not be properly restrained causing increased risk of personal injury.

What gets fixed

DOWNUNDER IS PROVIDING REVISED INSTRUCTIONS TO ALL OWNERS OF KANGAROO BOOSTERS TO HELP CLARIFY SHOULDER BELT PLACEMENT. FOR OWNERS OF KANGAROO BOOSTER MODEL #3 (MODELS WITHOUT THE VELCRO SHOULDER BELT POSITIONER), A VELCRO SHOULDER BELT POSITIONER WILL BE SENT TO UPGRADE THESE BOOSTERS.

Timeline

  1. Recall reported to NHTSA8 February 1997
  2. Owners notified14 May 1997

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 8 February 1997.

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
DOWNUNDER DESIGN, INC.
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

Note:downunder has decided to conduct a product improvement campaign to clarify shoulder belt placement.owners can contact downunder AT1-800-459-5209.

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.

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