Britax recalls 19,601 Chaperone infant car seats due to brittle chest clip

Consumer Reports News: November 01, 2010 03:19 PM

Britax Child Safety is recalling 19,601 Chaperone infant seats in the U.S. and Canada due to a defect with the product's chest clip. The chest clip's purpose is to positions the chest straps across a child's shoulders. Britax recalled the child seats after receiving 400 complaints of broken chest clips, and four reports of minor injuries.

According to Britax:

The Chest Clip supplied with the Chaperone Infant Car Seat was incorrectly produced by the manufacturer which resulted in a more brittle chest clip than was intended. As a result, the chest clip which positions the harness straps across the infant's shoulders may break when the chest clip is engaged as the infant is secured into the infant car seat. The sharp edges of the broken chest clip create a risk of a skin laceration and the fractured components of the chest clip may present a small parts/choking hazard.

If your chest clip breaks Consumer Reports recommends that you discontinue use of the seat until you receive the remedy kit.

The recall includes the following models manufactured from April 2009 through May 2010:

E9L69N9 Moonstone
E9L69P2 Red Mill
E9L69P3 Savannah
E9L69P5 Cowmooflage

Britax is mailing consumer notices and remedy kits to registered consumers that include replacement clips and instructions. If your seat is not registered you will not receive a kit. You can register a Chaperone infant car seat on the Britax website. The safety campaign should begin around Nov. 11. Owners can also contact Britax at 1-888-427-4829 or NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236

For more information on car seats, see our Buying Guide and testing overview. Subscribers can view our car seat Ratings here.

Britax Recall Notice
NHTSA Recall Notice