I am told Graco is shipping replacements as fast as possible and they are also working with IMMI and another manufacturer to increase production of replacement buckles to shorten the delays as quickly as they can. Ramping up manufacturing isn't something that can be measured in days or weeks, but the process is continuing to increase the supply.
The main issue is that Graco had a very short lead time, essentially a day, from when they were notified that NHTSA would require a recall to the time the recall became public. Even if they had some idea that a recall may be forthcoming weeks prior to that, getting a million pieces of anything doesn't simply come off someone's shelf, either at Graco, IMMI or anywhere.
So, they have estimated a 4-6 week lead time on replacements for orders placed now, and orders placed the days following the recall should be shipping very soon if they haven't already shipped.
They also advise that if anyone is experiences a buckle that is very difficult to release or has actually seized completely, they can possibly have their replacement expedited if you have already requested one by phone or online.
To do this, you can either contact Graco on Facebook with a message that your particular buckle has the problem and is not releasing normally, or send me a Private Message with the email/contact information you provided to Graco when you requested your replacement and my contact will personally expedite your replacement order.
Though a lot of us may roll their eyes at the suggestion, Graco is still convinced that cleaning the buckle with their recommended procedure will return the overwhelming majority of sticky buckles to their original operation. Granted, these buckles weren't all that easy for many of us to operate originally, so cleaning does not solve that problem! Cleaning should solve the secondary issue of the progressive worsening of the release mechanism due to food/drink spills, sand, dirt and other debris, to the point of the buckle seizing and not releasing at all. Of course if you have a lot of sand or other stuff stuck in there that doesn't dissolve in water or is too large to rinse away, then yours may be an exception to the cleaning fix!