News Maxi-Cosi Mico Infant Seat, Base Release Handle

Maxi-Cosi Mico Infant Seat, Base Release Handle TP 14566 – Public Notice
Child Restraint Systems
2010-P01 E
February 5, 2010
Road Safety
Information: 1-800-333-0371 1-800-333-0371


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Manufacturer:
Dorel Juvenile Group, Inc.
2525 State Street
Columbus IN 47201
U.S.A.
Website: www.djgusa.com

Importer and Distributor:
Dorel Distribution Canada
873 Hodge Street
Montreal QC H4N 2B1

Consumer Contact:
1-877-657-9546 1-877-657-9546

Media Contact
Rick Leckner 1-514-731-0000 1-514-731-0000

Model and Model Numbers Affected:

Maxi-Cosi Mico: 22371CJUC, 22371CLMD, 22371CORE, 22371CPNG
Separate Base: 22515CBLK

Dates of Manufacture:
March 8, 2008 to June 28, 2008 inclusive

Number of Units:
6,930
298 additional bases sold separately

Geographic Distribution:
Across Canada


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Issue:
Dorel Distribution Canada and Transport Canada wish to inform the public of a potential problem with the Maxi-Cosi Mico infant seat base. In a small number of cases, it has been found that, when the seat is installed onto the removable base, the seat will latch into the base, but it may not always fully lock. When the seat is latched but not locked, the base release handle is not completely retracted.

Safety Risk:
There is a potential that the seat could separate from the base in the event of a collision if the seat is not locked into the base. However, there have been no consumer reports of separation or injury to date.

Background and Company Action:
The issue was first identified through Transport Canada research testing where a seat released from its base during a vehicle crash test. Further investigative work found that, in some instances, the base release handle would not always return to the fully locked position. However, it has been noted that, if one pulls on the seat to check for appropriate installation, as instructed by the manufacturer, the locking mechanism normally falls into place.

During the investigation, it was noted that the manufacturer had made design changes that influence the operation of the base locking mechanism in subsequent models of the Maxi-Cosi Mico base sold in Canada. Dorel Distribution Canada was informed of Transport Canada's findings and has cooperated with Transport Canada.

While Dorel Distribution Canada has not determined that the condition described is a "safety defect" within the meaning of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, they are voluntarily conducting a public notice campaign as a result of Transport Canada's findings. Dorel Distribution Canada will voluntarily notify its customers of this campaign and will conform with Transport Canada's recall procedures. The company had redesigned the base unit and started using different springs after June 28, 2008. The new bases do not exhibit the non-locking situation.

Consumer Recourse:
All registered owners will receive a letter from Dorel Distribution Canada outlining the steps they should take to receive a repair kit. Non-registered consumers should contact Dorel Distribution Canada at their toll free number ( 1-877-657-9546 1-877-657-9546) to receive, free of charge, a repair kit consisting of new springs and a tool to be used to change the springs. In addition, the company is supplying ease of use information with a label that can be affixed to the base.

Until the repair kit is received, Dorel Distribution Canada and Transport Canada have indicated that the public may continue to use the product. However, users must verify that the base release handle is fully retracted each time the seat is placed onto the base as depicted in the diagrams that follow. Consumers may visit Dorel Distribution Canada’s web site at www.djgusa.com to verify if their base is covered by this notice. Users should also follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions.


Link

I was thinking about this last night and wonder how easy it is to change out the spring provided in the recall kit. Anyone knows?

Can/should this be added to the TC Recalls and Safety Info thread?

Yeah, it's up there now.

-N.

I have an affected Mico (DOM: April 4, 2008). I'm going to call to get the repair kit, BUT...

I'd like some advice.

I took the car and the car seat to a clinic, where the techs required about 2 hours to get the base installed (we went through 3 sets of techs, tried every single method and then went back to the UAS and, by dint of the two most senior techs there, finally managed to get it installed correctly). It was hellish.

However, the thing does.not.move; you can rock the car, but there's no movement at the belt path whatsoever. While they showed me how to install the base, I'm not at *all* confident that I could install it nearly as tightly myself.

My question assumes that exchanging the springs will require uninstalling the base. Given that this problem seems to be manageable, which would you choose:

1) a rock solid installation, with the possibly problematic springs managed by by making sure that - every time - we check for base release handle retraction and then pull up on the seat

2) a less solid installation with a known-good set of springs from the repair kit.

Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!

If YOU cannot get a good install of that base in your car, then it's not a good fit for you. Those techs weren't doing you any favours by spending two hours wrestling with the base. If it takes a tech that amount of time to get a seat/base in, then there's an incompatibility there. If those techs didn't advise you to return the seat for something more compatible, they did you a disservice. Short of promising to be there each and every time you need to reinstall, that seat needed to be returned if you wanted a base install.

I'm really not sure what else to tell you. Does it install without the base?

-Nicole.

QuassEE said:

If YOU cannot get a good install of that base in your car, then it's not a good fit for you. Those techs weren't doing you any favours by spending two hours wrestling with the base. If it takes a tech that amount of time to get a seat/base in, then there's an incompatibility there. If those techs didn't advise you to return the seat for something more compatible, they did you a disservice. Short of promising to be there each and every time you need to reinstall, that seat needed to be returned if you wanted a base install.

I'm really not sure what else to tell you. Does it install without the base?

Click to expand...

I've never tried it without the base, to be honest, since it's the base (to my mind) that makes infant seats in general worthwhile (as opposed to just going to a rear-facing convertible).

hel said:

My question assumes that exchanging the springs will require uninstalling the base. Given that this problem seems to be manageable, which would you choose:

1) a rock solid installation, with the possibly problematic springs managed by by making sure that - every time - we check for base release handle retraction and then pull up on the seat

2) a less solid installation with a known-good set of springs from the repair kit.

Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!

Click to expand...

What is your seat like? Have you experienced the handle not fully retracting and the seat not fully clipping on to the base?

And the other question - was that length of time spent moving between different installation methods and trying to figure out what worked best? If it can be gotten in tight, then chances are you can get it in tight too - it likely just took them that long to figure out the right combination of things. My experience with the Mico is that it's not a matter of brute force when installing it, it's a matter of positioning the base properly in relation to the seatbelt buckle or the UAS adjuster before tightening it up. When the seat does install well, it usually does go in tight quite easily - but it's a matter of knowing where to position the base before you start tightening it up. (Which 2hrs is a very long time to figure that out, but if there were new techs involved at the beginning, it would take them longer to figure out what install method and seating location to use. Even if they weren't new techs, if they'd never seen a Mico before that could've also contributed to the length of time it took. The important thing is how much of that time was actual tightening time, vs. how much was just trying to figure out what to do.)

My other question is wondering how old your baby is? Is baby close to moving in to a rf'ing infant/child seat anyways? One other thought - depending on where you bought it, you may be able to return it due to it being recalled - different stores have different policies in this regard... and you'd be looking at store credit, but it would give you the option of getting a different seat anyways. (Though if you bought it because it's the only one that attached to your stroller, then you're out of luck in terms of getting a seat that would still attach to the stroller.)

Interesting. I have had two (US) Micos come through my clinic that had the release handle stuck retracted, making it difficult to get the carrier in the base. I thought it was user error because pulling out on the release handle fixed the problem and the seats were brought in by men each time. I thought they were squeezing the handle too hard because it didn't happen when the handle was squeezed gently, only when the dads tried really hard.

I'm betting it won't be long before we have a recall here as well.

QuassEE said:

If those techs didn't advise you to return the seat for something more compatible, they did you a disservice. Short of promising to be there each and every time you need to reinstall, that seat needed to be returned if you wanted a base install.

Click to expand...

The problem may be that are many stores don't allow parents to return seats even if there is a compatibility issue. After parents have left the store with the seat they are stuck with it they aren't always willing to fork out for another infant seat .

safeinthecar said:

Interesting. I have had two (US) Micos come through my clinic that had the release handle stuck retracted, making it difficult to get the carrier in the base.

Click to expand...

We had this exact issue today on a 2009 DOM which isn't included in the recall :thumbsdown:.

snowbird25ca said:

What is your seat like? Have you experienced the handle not fully retracting and the seat not fully clipping on to the base?

Click to expand...

No, I haven't, and I've always pulled up on the seat.

snowbird25ca said:

And the other question - was that length of time spent moving between different installation methods and trying to figure out what worked best? If it can be gotten in tight, then chances are you can get it in tight too - it likely just took them that long to figure out the right combination of things. (Which 2hrs is a very long time to figure that out, but if there were new techs involved, it would take them longer to figure out what install method and seating location to use.)

Click to expand...

It was a combination of starting with new techs (who were older ladies in their 60's that, frankly, seemed lacking in not only experience but strength and dexterity) and who did spend time trying to put in the middle (and not really listening to me when I told them that Chevy doesn't allow borrowing and that the middle seatbelt in that car - an Optra - is problematic, given that it has two male buckles on the belt and a female stalk on either side of the wearer), trying everything, and then the two most senior techs working on it, both of whom had upper body strength and one of whom actually has the seat.

I'm sure I can get it in tight, where tight = >1" movement on the belt path. But I'm not entirely sure I can get it in so solid that you can rock the car with it, and I rather like that security.

snowbird25ca said:

My other question is wondering how old your baby is? Is baby close to moving in to a rf'ing infant/child seat anyways? Depending on where you bought it, you may be able to return it due to it being recalled - different stores have different policies in this regard... and you'd be looking at store credit, but it would give you the option of getting a different seat anyways. (Though if you bought it because it's the only one that attached to your stroller, then you're out of luck.)

Click to expand...

She's going to be 3 months this week, and is currently 23" and ~11lbs. She's got about 3 inches, I'd estimate, before her head hits 2" below the top of the shell. I suspect she has a while in the seat.

I have no idea where the receipt is, at this point, and I did get it because it's the only one that attaches to the stroller. :/

I helped to install a Mico today. :dizzy:

A '09 not part of the recall with an extremely sticky release handle.

The adjuster on the UAS strap smack dab on the edge of the beltpath. Stuck like a duck the best way to describe. Anyone who has ever installed one probably knows exactly why this happens... it's thisclose to being a major design flaw.

After dad gave it a good go I had no choice but to get down and dirty. After about 20 minutes I managed to work the adjuster past the edge of the beltpath... little smidgens of webbing at a time, holding the adjuster at one angle, guiding the webbing along. Couldn't use any recline foot on the base to aid in getting the adjuster down and out of the beltpath... using any recline foot over-reclined the seat per the level line. (I'm not comfy not following the manual on these particular seats to a T, so please don't lecture me on the level lines. ).

Would have tried a seatbelt install but in my experience it's no easier and far harder for a parent to replicate. Edge of beltpath issues either with the latchplate or a locking clip, or both.


Anyway, just wanted to vent, mostly.

To date, it's still the only seat that I've told a parent to return for something else. Flat out.

-Nicole.

QuassEE said:

To date, it's still the only seat that I've told a parent to return for something else. Flat out.

-Nicole.

Click to expand...

So many baby boutiques have a no return policy, and for good reason.


That said, there has been one occasion where I refused to sign off on a Mico, and spoke to a store manager about sending the seat back to Dorel as defective. The family was able to exchange for a KF. This was by the skin of my teeth though.

My hope is that the Mico might be discontinued. Is that wrong?

canadiangie said:

My hope is that the Mico might be discontinued. Is that wrong?

Click to expand...

We can hope

canadiangie said:

So many baby boutiques have a no return policy, and for good reason.


That said, there has been one occasion where I refused to sign off on a Mico, and spoke to a store manager about sending the seat back to Dorel as defective. The family was able to exchange for a KF. This was by the skin of my teeth though.

My hope is that the Mico might be discontinued. Is that wrong?

Click to expand...

Not wrong. But I don't see it happening. Parents love the bright colors, and the strollers that they attach to - and no other carseat will attach to those strollers... I am very strong with parents to try the Mico in their car before deciding on that stroller though if they want to use it as a travel system. I've had easier success with it lately than I expect most of the time, but it is a design flaw in those vehicles that have either long buckle stalks or have very flat back seats. If you can use the recline foot it's much better, but if not, all bets are off. :thumbsdown:

SAfeinthecar - This recall is actually what was supposed to be released on Friday, but from what I was told the wording isn't quite right on NHTSA's site. Hopefully they're back in the office tomorrow and the wording will get corrected.

Toni and Angie - Especially if it's a case of the seat not being able to be returned and you're seeing this problem, encourage the parent to contact TC. I think both of you have BB's email, and it's fine for you to give it to a parent for them to contact her and explain the situation and ask what to do. If the problem is wider spread than the recall was issued for, then the only way to have the recall extended is to have those seats outside the recall period which display the problem investigated. :thumbsup:

snowbird25ca said:

Not wrong. But I don't see it happening. Parents love the bright colors, and the strollers that they attach to - and no other carseat will attach to those strollers... I am very strong with parents to try the Mico in their car before deciding on that stroller though if they want to use it as a travel system. I've had easier success with it lately than I expect most of the time, but it is a design flaw in those vehicles that have either long buckle stalks or have very flat back seats. If you can use the recline foot it's much better, but if not, all bets are off. :thumbsdown:

SAfeinthecar - This recall is actually what was supposed to be released on Friday, but from what I was told the wording isn't quite right on NHTSA's site. Hopefully they're back in the office tomorrow and the wording will get corrected.

Toni and Angie - Especially if it's a case of the seat not being able to be returned and you're seeing this problem, encourage the parent to contact TC. I think both of you have BB's email, and it's fine for you to give it to a parent for them to contact her and explain the situation and ask what to do. If the problem is wider spread than the recall was issued for, then the only way to have the recall extended is to have those seats outside the recall period which display the problem investigated. :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

Oh, that's a great idea. :thumbsup:

I had another one come through today with a '09 DOM and the release lever was super sticky. Parents assumed I would be able to tell them what they were doing wrong. Seat not returnable and baby due in two weeks. Was completely incompatible with UAS due to adjuster mechanism on the edge of the beltpath. Dad and I worked like dogs to get it installed with a locking clip. 20 minutes later and fingers nearly falling off we managed to get a rock solid install. Good grief. I'm starting to want to run and hide when I see a Mico coming my way.


Trudy, I am lucky. Where I work the Foray is the only Dorel stroller on the floor. No Zapps, no Buzz's. It's not a popular choice, so I can easily steer people towards the KeyFit, SR32, Chaperone, etc, and into a multitude of other compatible strollers. We have 1 non recalled Mico in stock (in Lily), the other 7 are recalled and pulled right now, and to my knowledge no additional Micos are being brought in.

I guess I can count myself lucky to have never seen a Mico?

hel - I would definitely take a picture of your install from both sides so you can try to replicate the positioning. But I would do the recall fix because you just never know when something will come up and you will be rushed or have to lend your car to someone who needs to take the baby while you attend something or other, or for when time comes to pass on your seat (would you remember then to apply the fix?). I would correct the issue for sure. An acceptable install is still acceptable even if doesn't rock the car (although I totally understand the feeling that you would rather have it do so - I know I do despite knowing it isn't a big problem). If you have major issues we can help troubleshoot, or maybe someone here is near you and could meet to give you a hand.

canadiangie said:

Oh, that's a great idea. :thumbsup:

I had another one come through today with a '09 DOM and the release lever was super sticky. Parents assumed I would be able to tell them what they were doing wrong. Seat not returnable and baby due in two weeks. Was completely incompatible with UAS due to adjuster mechanism on the edge of the beltpath. Dad and I worked like dogs to get it installed with a locking clip. 20 minutes later and fingers nearly falling off we managed to get a rock solid install. Good grief. I'm starting to want to run and hide when I see a Mico coming my way.


Trudy, I am lucky. Where I work the Foray is the only Dorel stroller on the floor. No Zapps, no Buzz's. It's not a popular choice, so I can easily steer people towards the KeyFit, SR32, Chaperone, etc, and into a multitude of other compatible strollers. We have 1 non recalled Mico in stock (in Lily), the other 7 are recalled and pulled right now, and to my knowledge no additional Micos are being brought in.

Click to expand...

RE: Starting to want to run and hide when you see a Mico... this is the universal seat that if we saw come in to seat checks (when they were still happening anyways,) we knew the car would be there for a good hour or longer.

We carry the Foray - which people seem to love, and also the Buzz and Zapp, so yeah - people get the darn Mico. Unless of course they talk to me first who makes them try it in their car and they realize it's a PITA to install.

snowbird25ca said:

We carry the Foray - which people seem to love, and also the Buzz and Zapp, so yeah - people get the darn Mico. Unless of course they talk to me first who makes them try it in their car and they realize it's a PITA to install.

Click to expand...

I have to say that my love for the Foray remains true and real.. and until one of the other manufacturers sells a stroller in which the *seat* (not just the attachable car seat) rear-faces at a lower price point than the Foray, my stroller loyalty, at least, is going to remain with it. Honestly, that's the sum total of why I got the Foray: it's the least expensive stroller available in Canada that allows me to interact with my child during walks, and when I was looking, neither the Uno nor Pliko Switch Completo were available. Even those are a hundred dollars more than the Foray, and it was difficult enough to get dh to not choke on the price of the Foray (which I got on sale, so it was even more than $100 less than the PP strollers).

Ok, I *love* the brake mechanism, too, and that's why I chose it over the same-price-on-clearance Buzz. But I think it's significant that my only semi-reasonably priced choices were both only-Mico-compatible.

I ordered the repair kit this morning. Hopefully, between my father, partner, and I, we'll be able to get it back in. Wish me luck.