Britax Reacalls Frontier April 1- Sept 18

Two previous blog posts have talked about safety problems with some Britax Frontiers. We noticed in September, Britax had changed their seat to solve the problems. Now, they have finally recalled the ones that are unsafe.

Here is NHTSA's release:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/results.cfm?rcl_id=08C010000&searchtype=quicksearch&summary=true&refurl=rss

Child Restraint Brand Name / Model or Model No.:
BRITAX / E9L5490 (FRONTIER) APR 01, 2008 - SEP 18, 2008
BRITAX / E9L54E7 (FRONTIER) APR 01, 2008 - SEP 18, 2008
BRITAX / E9L54H6 (FRONTIER) APR 01, 2008 - SEP 18, 2008
BRITAX / E9L54H7 (FRONTIER) APR 01, 2008 - SEP 18, 2008
BRITAX / E9L54M6 (FRONTIER) APR 01, 2008 - SEP 18, 2008

Manufacturer: BRITAX CHILD SAFETY, INC.
Mfr's Report Date: DEC 10, 2008
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 08C010000
N/ANHTSA Action Number: N/A
Component: CHILD SEAT: HARNESS
Potential Number of Units Affected: 31492

Summary: BRITAX IS RECALLING CERTAIN FRONTIER CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEMS, MODELS E9L54E7 (FRONTIER RED ROCK), E9L54H6 (FRONTIER RUSHMORE), E9L54H7 (FRONTIER PINK SKY), E9L54M6 (FRONTIER CANYON), AND E9L5490 (FRONTIER SAHARA), MANUFACTURED BETWEEN APRIL 1 AND SEPTEMBER 18, 2008. IF THE HARNESS STRAPS ARE LOOSENED USING ONE STRAP AT A TIME, THEN THE HARNESS STRAPS MAY BECOME DETACHED FROM THE METAL YOKE LOCATED ON THE BACK OF THE CHILD SEAT.

Consequence: SHOULD THE HARNESS STRAPS BECOME DETACHED, THE CHILD WILL NOT BE PROPERLY RESTRAINED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN AN INCREASED RISK OF INJURY IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE CRASH.

Remedy: BRITAX WILL MAIL THE CONSUMER NOTICE AND REMEDY KITS TO ALL REGISTERED OWNERS FREE OF CHARGE. OWNERS WHO HAVE NOT REGISTERED THEIR SEATS WITH BRITAX MUST CALL BRITAX AT 1-704-409-1700 AND REQUEST A KIT. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR ABOUT JANUARY 7, 2009. INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS RELATED TO THE CAMPAIGN WILL BE POSTED ON THE BRITAX WEBSITE AT http://www.britaxusa.com/ NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 17, 2008. OWNERS WITH OTHER QUESTIONS CAN CONTACT BRITAX AT 1-704-409-1700.

Notes: CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO http://www.safercar.gov/ .