Century Products
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Oct. 13, 2000
Four million infant car seats are being recalled because they have defective handles that can break and cause serious injuries to babies.
When the seat is used as a carrier, the handle can break, causing an infant strapped inside to fall out.
Century is providing free replacement handles. To get one, call the company's toll-free hot line at 1-800-865-1419.
The recalled seats have caused safety problems only when used as a carrier, not when it's in a car. Consumers can continue using the carriers as car seats.
More than 2,700 cases of handle-related problems have been reported to the company, including handles breaking, cracking, or not locking while the seats are used as a carrier. More than 200 people have reported injuries because of the problem, including concussions, skull fractures, lacerations and broken bones.
The recall covers all Century rear-facing infant car seats/carriers manufactured from January 1991 through July 1997. The defective seats have a molded plastic handle colored white, gray or tan.
The seats are labeled Century on the front and the date of manufacture _ written as month, date, year _ can be found on a label on the side of the seat.
(Copyright 2000 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
