NHTSA ANNOUNCES SAFETY RECALL OF COSCO CHILD SAFETY SEATS

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today announced a safety recall involving 34,580 Arriva infant safety seats manufactured by Cosco, Inc., of Columbus, Ind., because the buckles are defective. "Properly used safety seats are lifesavers. We’ve seen time and again how well child restraints protect children, even in some extremely violent crashes," said NHTSA Administrator Ricardo Martinez, M.D. "By responding to this recall and working with the manufacturer to repair your child seat, you can be sure that your child is receiving the best possible protection from injury, if there is a crash."

This safety recall involves model numbers 02-751-DDF and 02-751-MMF of the Arriva infant child restraint seat manufactured from March 1 through May 31, 1995.

According to NHTSA, the seats are safe to use. The latch release button and spring may separate when the button is pushed to release the harness and remove the child. Once the button and spring separate, the buckle will not operate and must be replaced. Owners are strongly encouraged to have the buckles replaced immediately, before a failure occurs and renders the seat inoperable, NHTSA said.

Owners should contact Cosco to obtain a free replacement buckle housing assembly and installation instructions. They can do so by calling Cosco toll-free at 1-800-221-6736, or by writing Cosco, 2525 State Street, Columbus, Ind., 47201. Dr. Martinez said that owners should continue using the child restraint seat with its present buckle release assembly until it is replaced.

Owners of Cosco infant safety seats who have questions about this or other safety recall campaigns should call NHTSA's Auto Safety Hotline, (800) 424-9393. In the Washington area, the number to call is (202) 366-0123. Operators are on duty Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern time, and requests for information are recorded around the clock.