Graco recalling nearly 3.8M child car seats

Graco is recalling nearly 3.8 million car safety seats because children can be trapped by buckles that may not unlatch.

The recall covers eleven models sold from 2009 through 2013.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received at least 80 complaints about the seats. Parents reported having to use excessive force to unlatch the harness buckle. In some cases, the straps had to be cut to free children.

Affected models include Cozy Cline, Comfort Sport, Classic Ride 50, My Ride 65, My Ride with Safety Surround, My Ride 70, Size 4 Me 70, Smartseat, Nautilus, Nautilus Elite and Argos 70.

Graco said in a letter to the NHTSA that it had been monitoring the performance of the buckles since 2009 and had given owners advice on how to use and clean them and offered replacement buckles.

Graco hasn’t told the NHTSA yet how it will fix the seats or when it will notify owners.

Consumers can contact Graco at 1-800-345-4109 (toll-free) or 1-330-869-7225.