ZephyrBlue
New member
This is what I sent to Katherine Hubanks this morning:
"Katherine, I was reading my Como's owner's manual and talking with several Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, and I believe the information that you gave me over the phone yesterday is incorrect. According to the manual, I should be able to tighten the vehicle seat belt using the locking clip so as to achieve an installation that allows no more than 1" of movement at the belt path. According to the revised Como manual that is online, the belt guides are designed to help achieve the same goal- no more than 1" of movement. The locking clips on my seat in no way help prevent the seat from moving- and it moves a lot more than 1" at the belt path. I have talked with other Como owners who have told me that their seat won't install properly with the lock offs, either. The belt appears to be held tightly by the clip, then as soon as you tug on the seat with one hand, the vehicle belt slips through the clip and the child restraint slides all over the vehicle seat. According to the technicians that I spoke with, a seat has to come furnished with either a built in locking clip to be used with non-locking ELR Lap-Shoulder Belts, or a separate locking clip with instructions on how to use it to achieve less than 1" of movement at the belt path, to meet government standards.
I am feeling very frustrated and concerned about my son's safety; we missed a doctor's appointment last week because I could not install his seat safely according to the instructions in my child restraint manual, and as it stands, this seat will not safely install in vehicles without ALR belts. The owner's manual clearly states that the lock offs can be used to secure the seatbelt and secure the child restraint with less than 1" of movement at the belt path, which is false. When I spoke with Gayle on Friday, she told me that I would be able to return my seat (without incurring the cost of shipping for myself) to the retailer where I purchased the seat; I would like Recaro to contact the retailer and arrange the return, if it's not possible to go directly through Recaro. At this point, I do not feel that trading my seat for an identical Como with an updated manual is in the best interest of my child's safety, unless the new seat has a totally differently designed lock off that is designed to lock and hold the seat belt so that the child restraint moves less than 1". At the urging of several CPST's, I have filed a complaint with NHTSA and, following NHTSA's advice, I have also filed a similar complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. I was told by the FTC to contact the State Attorney General's office in MI if I don't get a satisfactory response from Recaro, which I am confident will happen. Recaro appears to be a great company with cutting-edge products, but this issue is a huge safety concern and really needs to be addressed on a much larger scale than the individual seat that I purchased. I would like to resolve this asap, so if you could either contact Michelle at Baby On The Go At Home and arrange the return to her, or send me a prepaid shipping label to send the seat back to Recaro, I'd very much appreciate it. Thanks for your time and effort; you have been pleasant to work with and I hope to be able to purchase another Recaro convertible in the future, when this issue has been resolved.
Sincerely,
XXXXX"
Did I cover everything?
"Katherine, I was reading my Como's owner's manual and talking with several Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, and I believe the information that you gave me over the phone yesterday is incorrect. According to the manual, I should be able to tighten the vehicle seat belt using the locking clip so as to achieve an installation that allows no more than 1" of movement at the belt path. According to the revised Como manual that is online, the belt guides are designed to help achieve the same goal- no more than 1" of movement. The locking clips on my seat in no way help prevent the seat from moving- and it moves a lot more than 1" at the belt path. I have talked with other Como owners who have told me that their seat won't install properly with the lock offs, either. The belt appears to be held tightly by the clip, then as soon as you tug on the seat with one hand, the vehicle belt slips through the clip and the child restraint slides all over the vehicle seat. According to the technicians that I spoke with, a seat has to come furnished with either a built in locking clip to be used with non-locking ELR Lap-Shoulder Belts, or a separate locking clip with instructions on how to use it to achieve less than 1" of movement at the belt path, to meet government standards.
I am feeling very frustrated and concerned about my son's safety; we missed a doctor's appointment last week because I could not install his seat safely according to the instructions in my child restraint manual, and as it stands, this seat will not safely install in vehicles without ALR belts. The owner's manual clearly states that the lock offs can be used to secure the seatbelt and secure the child restraint with less than 1" of movement at the belt path, which is false. When I spoke with Gayle on Friday, she told me that I would be able to return my seat (without incurring the cost of shipping for myself) to the retailer where I purchased the seat; I would like Recaro to contact the retailer and arrange the return, if it's not possible to go directly through Recaro. At this point, I do not feel that trading my seat for an identical Como with an updated manual is in the best interest of my child's safety, unless the new seat has a totally differently designed lock off that is designed to lock and hold the seat belt so that the child restraint moves less than 1". At the urging of several CPST's, I have filed a complaint with NHTSA and, following NHTSA's advice, I have also filed a similar complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. I was told by the FTC to contact the State Attorney General's office in MI if I don't get a satisfactory response from Recaro, which I am confident will happen. Recaro appears to be a great company with cutting-edge products, but this issue is a huge safety concern and really needs to be addressed on a much larger scale than the individual seat that I purchased. I would like to resolve this asap, so if you could either contact Michelle at Baby On The Go At Home and arrange the return to her, or send me a prepaid shipping label to send the seat back to Recaro, I'd very much appreciate it. Thanks for your time and effort; you have been pleasant to work with and I hope to be able to purchase another Recaro convertible in the future, when this issue has been resolved.
Sincerely,
XXXXX"
Did I cover everything?