Question Alpha Omega Elite recall

Unregistered · Feb 26, 2011

Today in the mail I received letters that my Alpha Omega Elite car seats were recalled. The issue is that there is a potential for the harness adjustment strap to loosen during use, which would then loosen the straps. Their fix is to send a small vial of oil along with the letter, and we are supposed to squeeze 2 drops of the oil on each side of the Center Front Adjuster (CFA) pivot pin, press and release the CFA 5 times, then pull on the shoulder straps to see if they hold or slip. If they hold, it is all fixed.

I have a couple of questions about this...
First of all, maybe I'm just a paranoid mom but this fix just doesn't seem to do it for me. Is there anywhere I could see "proof" (study results, etc) that this will really work? Would you feel comfortable with this fix since it's what they say to do?

Also, I have three car seats (twins!)...all the same affected model, but only one of them is actually within the affected dates. Should I also oil the other two just as a precaution or do you think I don't have to/shouldn't since they were an earlier manufacture date?

Thanks for any help or advice on this!
Mary Ellen

jourdysmom · Feb 26, 2011

murphydog77 · Feb 26, 2011

Hi Mary Ellen. Manufacturers aren't required to release any proof that their fixes actually fix the problem, but I don't recall (heh) a seat needing to be recalled a second time because the original fix didn't work. Sometimes the fix is a PITB, like the strap to keep the Evenflo infant seat on its base that has to be attached/unattached each ride, but the manufacturer does test each fix.

Since you received an official letter from Dorel, just follow their instructions. There's some confusion about which seats are involved because Dorel follows such an overly complicated naming scheme for their carseats that putting a seat name to a model number is difficult. Don't oil a seat that isn't involved in the recall--we don't know what manufacturing change was made, but there was one and you may make that particular seat unsafe by oiling it.