And that kind of reporting is precisely why I keep coming back to this site. Thank you for all the work you do to help parents make truly informed purchasing decisions.

I am a Child Passenger Safety Technician and also have concerns about Dorel’s products. Some of their other seats contain defects that, in my opinion, should lead to recalls and have not. (Not to mention that their European division released a statement discouraging rear-facing, which is the safest way for children to ride.) I have followed this recall closely specifically because it is so odd--and so old.

I have to say though, that in this particular case, NHTSA is at least as much to blame for the ridiculous delay. Given this, the Toyota situation, and various other issues, I no longer have any faith in NHTSA’s ability to effectively oversee transportation safety.

Is there a company that makes car seats that has never had one recalled?  I do appreciate you providing information about the politics behind everything, but as a parent, bottom-line, I want to know whether or not a product is safe.  To my knowledge the Cosco Scenera (also made by Dorel group) has never had a recall in over 8 years.  I urge parents to look at a particular seat, and no trust a brand just because of the name. 

I’ve personally reviewed the Air Protect, and although there could be a few more features that make in/out access and applying the straps a little more user friendly, I do like the ergonomic and posture benefits for children who’ll spend a lot of time in a car seat. 

I agree with you that side-impact technology is the development of the future for car seats, and I would like to see other companies improve upon this for infant to preschool car seats.

I do applaud Safety 1st for taking the lead on developing side impact technology...this comes from a parent who’s child was in a regular infant carrier when we were involved in a snowy/icy side collision when my son was only 2 months old.  I saw first-hand how improved side-impact technology could have helped my older nieces avoid cervical injuries from their seats.

Thank you for this report, as we’re slowly searching for a second convertible seat for the impending arrival of the new bumpkin.  I believe that this one, along with most others made by Dorel, have summarily been moved to the bottom of the list.

@Jennie - in Europe, where RF is akin to bible?  (Curious - European cars are generally smaller, correct?  How the heck, or what the heck, kind of car seats are they using that two RF seats actually work?)

I do applaud you for being willing to ask the tough questions, but my first thought was:

“And posts like this are the reason why companies (and yes there are many - including Britax,) don’t like to recall things.”

If we all got off the mighty “shame on Dorel for having so many recalls” horse, perhaps there would be no delay in any company recalling a product to begin with.

For what it’s worth, do a little digging on the most recent Mico recall - which NHTSA got wrong on their site (the Transport Canada site http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/safedrivers-childsafety-notices-2010p01-1029.htm has the correct description,) and you may see that there was not even a NHTSA investigation open on the matter 2 months ago.

I think recall of 10yr old seats is crazy, but I have also seen company changes over the last few years.  EVERY company has recalls - don’t hang Dorel out to dry for other recent recalls unless you’re prepared to also criticize the others - Recaro, Britax, Evenflo - all have had at least 1 instance of cover-up, delay, or trying to avoid a recall.  I’m sure if I was inside the industry there would be dirt about others. Given that 2 respected names like Recaro and Britax are amongst the bad ones, perhaps there’s more to the story.

I am a parent and owner of the Air Protect.  And if I was shopping again today I would still choose it and NOT Britax.

Disgusting! Thank you so much for the heads up. Thankfully we don’t have any of their products and never will!

Come on folks! This recall was only needed as we all know, stupid people dos stupid things! To many people use car seats way past expiration dates (which they should never do, but they do) and buy them at yard sales assuming they are “new” which a lot of times they are expired or been in an accident. Way way to many people do not know better! So if this gets them to stop using their expired ancient seat then so be it!

@mominator- In most of Europe, kids only rear-face for 9 months. Parents in England have been begging Dorel to sell one of their Swedish seats (that rear-face to 55 lbs) in the UK, but Dorel won’t do it. They’re all certified by the EU, so there’s no issue with legalities.

Re: The Scenera: Some models have sharp plastic “spikes” on the bottom. The harness can get caught on the spikes and shred. (I have seen numerous photos of it, and had a seat myself on which I could replicate it.) Dorel should issue a recall, but has not. If you call them, they’ll send you a new harness, but of course you have to realize there’s a problem, and it’s usually not something that’s readily visible.

Re: other companies and recalls: Yes, they have had them. I don’t think recalls are, in themselves, a particularly bad thing. What I look at is the company’s overall actions, and the negative I have seen with Dorel outweighs the positive. This particular recall of the expired seats really doesn’t change my opinion one way or the other.

As a technician, I don’t let my personal feelings about the company keep me from recommending their seats when appropriate. I just refuse to buy them--on principle--for my own kids.

I used to work as a designer for a company that bought licenses to the kids products that they manufactured in China. It is so unfortunate that there are so many recalls, complicated logistics, manufacturing issues, and lack of responsibility taken for defective products. It seems like there are many issues to be addressed as to why we end up with the final product and subsequent recalls. This would include addressing why most businesses manufacture in China where standards (and testing) are known to be corrupted and in some cases non-existent.

I was surprised that Dorel owns as many licenses as it does and that these companies have felt Dorel a suitable manufacture under their names.

I thank ZRecs for this piece as it is eye-opening in terms of us parents searching for ever more information regarding products for our children and the manufacturers business practices.

Appreciating all of the conversation around this topic. Thanks to everyone for sharing your views.

We agree with all those who have stated that recalls in and of themselves are not a bad thing. But some companies have recalls that are more proactive and preventive, and others have recalls that follow on deaths and extensive outside investigations and considerable pressure to do the right thing.

I’d like to restate though that a company’s past safety record SHOULD impact how safe you assume their current products are likely to be. Why evaluate a product based solely on what you see in front of you? The company’s history provides context and a legitimate filter for competence and trustworthiness. This is where we part ways with views like Jennie’s, who seems to see no connection between a company’s past performance and likely future performance. I don’t really understand the disconnect.

If this were simply an issue of principle for us, we would not have written a post about it. We regularly decline to discuss products that we dislike based on factors external to the product’s specific strengths or weaknesses, rather than producing reviews based on personal biases. In this case, however, we feel that the company’s background make the actual millions of seats that will be produced in the product lifetime less credible than if they were under the management of a company with a better track record.

As they say in investing, past performance is no guarantee of future results.  It’s easy to understand a possible disconnect.  Management changes.  People are hired and fired.  Profits rise and fall.  Companies are bought and sold.  Any of these things, including just the promotion of one person could impact the philospophy of a company, positively or negatively.  Whose to say the person or persons ultimately responsible for this fiasco are still there?  Maybe they work for another child seat manufacturer or even the NHTSA!  I’m not defending Dorel in the issue of this recall, but I do believe there are quite a few factors that make a very large potential disconnect between it and the perceived safety of a new model like the Complete Air.

This docket has a lot of interesting information on the topic.  http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/e9-31334.pdf .  Harness system components are often made by third parties.  I don’t know if Dorel made these harnesses in house or if they were supplied by a vendor.  If it was an outside vendor, it would also be interesting to know if they were used by other manufacturers.  Ultimately, what I really want to know is how do these straps that didn’t pass the abrasion tests compare with others of the time in terms of complaints filed at the NHTSA in regard to injuries and fatalities.  Without that information, it’s hard to say if Dorel is at fault or if it is the standard itself.

I just noticed that the Safeguard Go seat is now made by Dorel too.
Now called Safety 1st Go Hybrid Booster Car Seat

http://www.safeguardseat.com/media/documents/news/safeGuard91309.pdf

“This is where we part ways with views like Jennie’s, who seems to see no connection between a company’s past performance and likely future performance. I don’t really understand the disconnect.”

Perhaps I didn’t do a good job of expressing myself, or perhaps you confused me with someone else, but I don’t think we disagree. I wholeheartedly agree that a company’s past performance is an excellent indication of its future performance.

As a technician, it’s not that I don’t WANT to let my personal opinions affect my choices--it’s that I can’t. Part of our certification actually specifies that we not recommend ANY particular seat. I do, in fact, generally make a number of recommendations (vs. telling a parent, “Oh buy this one!") for their particular situation, but I can’t NOT recommend Dorel seats just because I think they tend to be of poor quality. Fortunately or unfortunately, Dorel has some seats that are among the lowest priced on the market, and some parents need that option. They also make a couple seats that are very narrow, a necessity to many parents and a feature overlooked by many other companies. I don’t like that reality, but it is what it is.

I wanted to make one other point, but my last post was too long.

As much as I dislike Dorel, I still contend that in THIS case, most of the blame falls with NHTSA. I just finished reading the docket where NHTSA explains the process involved and ultimate denial of Dorel’s appeal in this case. Both sides actually make some compelling points. But regardless of who is right or wrong, the fact is that NHTSA spent so long implementing this recall that all of the seats affected are now expired. By issuing a recall NOW, they are opening the door to giving parents tacit permission to use these seats well beyond their effective life. That poses a much greater threat than a degraded tether, which most people don’t use anyway and which was not required for use on those seats anyway.