Owners of Kiddy World Plus child seats will receive a full refund of the purchase price of their seats as part of a recall program.
In May 2016, Kiddy USA, along with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), announced a safety recall of approximately 1,429 Kiddy World Plus toddler booster/combination child seats. The problem stemmed from buckles that would not fully engage, giving the false impression they were indeed latched.
The World Plus' unique design includes a shield-like panel that buckles to the booster portion of the child seat—in lieu of the traditional harness used to restrain toddlers that weigh up to 40 pounds.
The recall was issued because the buckles that connect the shield to the child seat may not fully engage, though they would appear to be fully latched. As the shield acts as the restraint in this seat, the lack of retention is a safety risk.
At the time the recall was announced, Kiddy was still working on a remedy to this issue. As a registered owner of our own World Plus model, we received a letter this week informing us that Kiddy's solution is to offer consumers a full reimbursement for the price of the child seat.
"Every single registered owner will get a full refund," Connie Sauernheimer, Kiddy USA's director of sales and marketing, told us. She added that owners who have not registered their seat can contact Kiddy at 1-855-92-KIDDY (1-855-925-4993) and speak with a customer service representative to receive the full refund.
Child seat recalls that offer full reimbursement of the purchase price, rather than a component fix, are rare, says Jennifer Stockburger, director of operations at our Auto Test Center.
"Though the safety of your child is the primary concern, the seat's $399 price tag is another reason to consider following through on the recall," Stockburger adds.
Kiddy is offering two choices for owners. After contacting customer service, owners will receive a prepaid shipping label so they can return the child seat to Kiddy free of charge. Once Kiddy receives the seat, they will reimburse owners for the purchase price. The refund should be issued within a week, Sauernheimer says.
Consumer Reports believes parents who choose this option should replace their Kiddy World Plus with some other harness or booster seat model before they ship their World Plus model back—as children should never ride without an appropriate restraint.
However, owners who use the World Plus seat as a booster for children weighing more than 40 pounds will be offered the choice of receiving the Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro belted booster car seat at a discounted price. Once owners send back the World Plus, they will be sent a check for the difference between that seat and the discounted Cruiserfix Pro.
See our full ratings of Toddler Booster/Combination child seats.
The recall was the result of compliance tests conducted by the government, which tested the performance of the buckles. No failures of the seat have been reported, nor injuries to children in actual crashes. The issue does not affect performance of the seat when used in booster mode.
According to the recall letter, affected seats were produced between Feb. 1, 2012, and May 1, 2013. Oddly this doesn't match the dates on the official recall notice on NHTSA's site of July 2, 2012, to Oct. 5, 2013. The buckles affected by the recall are also no longer in production. Sauernheimer said any owner of the seat should contact Kiddy USA, regardless of the date their seat was produced.
As always, recalls such as this bring to light the importance of registering your child seats with the manufacturer. Consumers can do so either via the registration card that accompanies all new seats or electronically at the NHTSA website.
