CPSC, NHTSA and Century Announce Recall of Infant Car Seats/Carriers

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #01012) was formally reported on October 13, 2000. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. Century Products (Century), of Macedonia, Ohio is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate About 4 million units are affected.

The documented reason for this recall is: When the seat is used as an infant carrier, the handle can break. An infant inside the carrier can fall to the ground and suffer serious injuries. "The break can happen unexpectedly and the seat can drop to the ground,"… Distribution information was not included in the agency filing, so consumers should assume broad potential exposure until the firm publishes point-of-sale details. The remedy documented by the agency is: Graco, which now owns the "Century" brand name, will provide consumers a free easy-to-install replacement handle. Consumers should not carry the seat by the handle until it has been replaced. Consume… — consumers holding this product should act on that instruction rather than relying on general guidance.

To put this record in context, PlainRecalls indexes 83,949 recalls across the FDA, CPSC, NHTSA and USDA FSIS going back to 1995. Within the same product category, the database holds 6 closely related recalls, of which 1 were also issued by CPSC. That clustering is a signal — repeated actions in a narrow category often indicate a systemic quality-control issue, a supplier-wide contamination, or a design defect that has propagated across product lines. This recall is roughly 26 years old; older recalls can remain relevant because many units enter resale, rental, and secondary-market channels where the original warning never reaches the end user. Always cross-check the recall number against the official agency page before relying on any summary.