U.S. Examining Faulty Infant Seats
The government has upgraded its investigation into 3.4 million Evenflo infant combination car seats and carriers because of complaints that the handle can break while someone is carrying a baby.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also is stepping up its investigation into nearly a million Ford Motor Co. cars after thousands of owners complained that the vehicles can overheat and catch fire.
The government has been involved in several cases involving faulty baby seat handles in the last few years. Century Products Co., Fisher-Price, Cosco Inc., Hasbro Inc. and Kolcraft Enterprises have each issued recalls because of handle problems.
Evenflo Co. recalled 800,000 of its On My Way combination infant carrier-car seats in 1998 because of a faulty handle. The current investigation involves the Joyride rear-facing infant car seat-carrier, which has not been manufactured since 1998.
NHTSA and Evenflo have collected 240 complaints that the handle can break. Ninety-six babies are reported to have been injured.
Evenflo spokesman Brian Bloom said all carriers manufactured today can support at least 90 pounds, but many older models only met a 40-pound standard. He said the company was looking for a solution to the problem.
“As a car seat, it’s perfect, it’s OK,” he said. “It’s the handle we are investigating.”
NHTSA opens any investigation with a preliminary inquiry during which the agency and manufacturer exchange paperwork. The agency can then upgrade the recall to an engineering analysis to study the parts and see whether they are defective, as is the case with the infant seats. An investigation can eventually lead to a recall.
More than 2,000 people have complained to NHTSA and Ford about an electrical problem in the dash of the 1995 through 1998 models of the Contour and Mercury Mystique and 1995 through 1999 Cougars. Fires were reported in 93 cases.
The complaints involve overheating of the blower switch, resistor or wiring harness, sometimes including failure of the defrost system, and several owners said they returned to the dealer repeatedly because of the problem.
Ford also has received 12,899 warranty claims about the problem and offered extended warranty coverage for the Contour and Mystique but not the Cougar. NHTSA is investigating whether the company’s action is sufficient, and a Ford spokesman said the auto maker is cooperating.
The other cases that NHTSA upgraded to an engineering analysis recently involve:
* 1993-1995 Jeep Cherokees with doors that allegedly can fall off or sag because of a faulty hinge. There have been 2,598 complaints about the problem, including reports of two crashes and eight injuries. There are 364,480 of the Jeeps on the road.
* 1999 Ford Super Duty F-Series trucks. Nearly 1,300 owners have complained that the parking brake does not work, including 37 who reported their trucks rolled away and crashed. There are 460,300 of the trucks on the road.
* 1994-1995 Jeep Wranglers that also may have a faulty parking brake. There have been more than 2,400 reports of the problem, including 51 crashes and three injuries. There are 124,826 of the vehicles on the road.
* 1999-2000 Ford Super Duty F-Series trucks and 2000 Excursion with four-wheel drive. Ford has 4,068 warranty claims and 905 people have complained to NHTSA and the auto maker that the brake pulls, especially during hard braking, when carrying a load or hauling a trailer. There have been four accidents reported for a vehicle population of 525,238.
Recent cases opened by the agency involve:
* 1997-2000 GM C/K trucks with vacuum-assisted brakes that have reportedly failed. NHTSA has received 18 complaints, including reports of two crashes and four injuries.
* 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix. One person told NHTSA that when the driver’s air bag deployed during a crash, metal fragments flew out, injuring someone in the vehicle.
