Child Car Seat Complaints

The central front adjuster lever (the release mechanism located at the front bottom of the car seat shell) has suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure. The lever is physically stuck in the "open" position and fails to snap back down or engage. Because the lever remains stuck open, the internal metal locking teeth cannot clamp down onto the harness adjustment webbing strap. Consequently, the child restraint harness completely fails to lock or hold tension. In a vehicle collision, sudden braking event, or even under standard manual pressure, the harness straps pull entirely loose. This defect prevents the seat from securing the child, posing an immediate risk of severe injury or ejection during a crash. The manufacturer (Graco) was contacted regarding this critical component failure under reference case #[XXX]. They refused a structural replacement or shell exchange, offering only a minor $40 purchase rebate, effectively leaving the vehicle occupant unprotected unless a new seat is purchased out-of-pocket. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The harness loosens after being tightens. I have noticed on several occasions after a drive significant slack. We are discontinuing use after seeing online that this is a common problem.

I am filing a safety complaint regarding the Evenflo Revolve180 LiteMax NXT infant car seat (purchased as part of the Shyft Intuiti travel system). My infant daughter is experiencing chin-to-chest head slumping specifically when she falls asleep in the seat, posing an immediate airway restriction hazard. I have attempted Evenflo’s official interim recall instructions—including fully extending the load leg and utilizing a tightly rolled towel to adjust the angle—but due to my vehicle's tight seat configuration, these approved fixes fail to correct the upright recline when she is sleeping. Furthermore, Evenflo customer support has been unhelpful, refusing to provide an adequate solution unless I put my infant child back into the seat to take and send photographic proof. I was told something along the lines of “everyone’s head does that when they sleep” and to just send more pictures but with my child in the seat.

The same issue that is described in the recall information for the Evenflo Revolve360 Slim car seats. We were finding bits of Styrofoam on our child unaware of where it was coming from. Upon observation and inspection, while seated in the Extend model car seat child is reaching behind the cushion, picking at, and dislodging the foam from the headrest. Carseat manufacturer has been made away of the situation.

ANGLE INDICATOR ON BASE: I am CPST and worked with a family today. The car seat was perfectly installed, using lower anchors, lock off, angle indicator in the green, less than an inch movement. With that said I do not like the new indicator. It showed perfectly green however the seat was very upright for a newborn. I wish I had taken a photo of the seat before we adjusted it with the foot to recline the seat more. The previous indicator on the the litemax seat had a specific color (blue) for more reclined newborn setting. This indicator only shows green even in the most upright position. Is it possible for Evenflo to color the bottom section of their green indicator blue for this purpose? So, parents can better see where the indicator should be for newborn babies? There is no way a regular parent looking at this seat and looking at the indicators would have noticed it was too upright. A seat too upright could affect the newborns airway. The all-green indicator allows for mistakes and more upright installs with newborns and parents feeling certain it is installed properly when it's too upright. The indictor has too much leeway for appropriate levels.

The carrying handle snapped from one side. It is available for inspection. The child was not at risk because they were not in the car seat at the time. It has not been inspected by anyone. It was returned to our office.

FOREGROUND: The pivot point lock of the base failed. Images attached. If a hard stop occurred, the shell and secured child within would be a flying projectile. The failure is only seen if the shell is lifted off the base, which only occurs during reinstallations. The failure can also be completely missed if the pivot point lock stays lodged in the shell during reinstallation rather than being seated within the base assembly. The car seat is being sent back to the manufacturer as soon as I receive the new one they promised. I am willing to hold onto it for inspection if requested. INCIDENT: Car seat was being moved from one vehicle to another. During reinstallation, the locking pivot point stayed lodged in the shell and "locked". For the consumer, nothing looks missing, because the lodged pivot point can still fit back into place on the base, while still lodged in the car seat. When double checking the belt tightness on the base, the lodged pivot point fell out of the shell. It was then noticed that the keys on the pivot point that lock and hold the shell to the base are completely fatigued. If it had not fallen out of the shell, I would not have noticed the failure. If we had come to a complete stop with it installed broken, the shell would have flown with child secured inside. Death or injury could have occurred for the child, and injury for those that could potential be hit by the shell in a side impact crash.

Shell foam is folding inward, like melting inward. This was found on 4 Nuna Rava Next LoveShackFancy editions.

My Graco Gomax in the Orchid color had the rigid latch system. The rigid latch broke after a month of use and wouldn't lock anymore. The latches stayed open.

The Nuna RAVA Next convertible car seat has developed significant deterioration and separation of the internal foam/energy-absorbing material along the side of the seat. The foam appears to be pulling away from the surrounding structure and has areas that look compressed, deformed, or broken down. This appears to be occurring during normal use and is not the result of a vehicle crash. The damage is concerning because the affected material is part of the car seat’s protective structure. I am concerned that the deterioration could compromise the seat’s ability to provide proper protection in a crash.