Fri, Aug 24, 2007 (BabyCenter News) — Graco has announced a safety alert for the ComfortSport 5-point harness convertible car seat. About 277,000 units are affected.
On some ComfortSport car seats, the lower anchorage belt may have been misrouted during factory assembly. In seats that are installed rear-facing and are using the vehicle's LATCH anchors, the misrouted belt may cause the seat back to bend excessively in a crash, potentially increasing the risk of injury.
The car seats shouldn't be used in the rear-facing position with LATCH until the belt routing has been inspected and, if necessary, corrected. In the meantime, the seats can be used safely if they're secured with the vehicle seatbelt instead of LATCH.
Car seats installed forward-facing are not affected by this safety notice.
Car seats that may have misrouted belts include those manufactured from January 2, 2007, through July 31, 2007. They include the following model numbers: 8629TWL, 8630MTR, 8631DFT, 8631DRA, 8632PSO, 8635TAC, 8639COS, 8C00BLG, 8C00DMN, 8C00GRP, 8C00LNW, 8C00MID, 8C00TMB, 8C01SVD, 8C01WTN, 8C02MGI, 8C02MRC, 8C03HAL, 8C03WCF, 8C04FRR, and 8433FOF.
The model number and date of manufacture can be found on the label on the back of the car seat. These seats were sold by mass merchandisers and in department stores from January 2007 through August 2007 for $80 to $140.
Graco plans to mail or e-mail instructions to correct the misrouting to all known owners of the recalled car seats.