Evenflo to expand harness buckle recall

Evenflo has recently expanded its recall to address a safety defect regarding harness buckles to now include the “Embrace 35” rear facing infant car seat. The defect can cause the harness buckles on these seats to become difficult or impossible to unlatch. A sticking or stuck harness buckle in a rear facing infant car seat poses a significant safety risk to the child in the event of a motor vehicle crash or any other emergency situation where the infant must be quickly removed from the car seat.

Evenflo’s recall expansion addresses more than 202,346 infant seat buckles in the Embrace 35 model manufactured between December 2011 and May 2013. Evenflo previously recalled more than 1.3 million convertible and booster car seats for the same safety defect. 

What does this mean for me?

Letting parents, guardians, and caregivers know about this recall is crucial, and you’re a large part of that. Your spreading the word about the harness buckle safety defect to your followers can make the difference in a child’s life. If their car seat is affected by this recall, parents are encouraged to contact Evenflo to get the free replacement buckle as soon as possible. Follow these steps:

• Contact Evenflo for instructions on how to obtain a free remedy for your child safety seat;

• Always properly restrain infants and children in a car seat or booster until the child is big enough to wear a seat belt properly;

• Assess the operation of your child safety seat harness buckle;

• Consider acquiring or using an alternative car seat for transporting children until your Evenflo seat is fixed;

• Install the replacement buckle on your Evenflo seat as soon as you receive it.

• Register your child safety seat and file safety complaints with NHTSA at safercar.gov.

Over 7.4 million car seats have been recalled due to this harness buckle safety defect, including Graco and Baby Trend models. Share this with your followers and friends and encourage those affected by the recall to reach out to Evenflo.

You can read the full recall report on our website SaferCar.gov.