MaclarenBaby.com
The 1 million-unit Maclaren baby stroller recall is the second largest since 2000, having resulted in 12 finger amputations among toddlers.
Maclaren stroller recall: What to do if you have one
By David Grant | 11.09.09
If you own a Maclaren umbrella stroller, stop using it immediately. That’s the advice of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) after it announced a voluntary recall Monday of an estimated 1 million strollers made by Maclaren, a British company.
The reason: When parents unfold the strollers, children have been reported putting their fingers in a side hinge, causing 12 fingertip amputations, according to the CPSC. Parents can contact Maclaren in the US to get a free hinge cover, which is easy to install and deals with the hinge issue effectively, says CPSC spokeswoman Patty Davis.
Monday’s action marks the second-largest recall of strollers since 2000, according to a review of CPSC data. Only the 2005 recall of almost 1.15 million strollers by Graco Children’s Products was larger.
Here are details on the current recall and how to get a replacement:
What: All nine models of Maclaren’s double and single umbrella strollers, including Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, Techno XLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno, and Easy Traveller purchased between 1999 and November 2009.
Where: Sold at Babies”R”Us, Target, and other retailers nationwide for between $100 and $360.
Solution: A free hinge cover from the company.
Who to contact: If you have one of the above strollers, call Maclaren USA toll-free at (877) 688-2326 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. You can also visit the company’s website here. If your child has been injured by one of these strollers, the CPSC wants to know (click here).
Press release from the Consumer Product Safety Commission
UPDATED: So you’ve filed your information with Maclaren for the required repair kit. Should you still use your stroller in the mean time? That and other questions investigated in a subsequent piece on the Maclaren stroller recall.
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See also:
Googled: The End of the World As We Know It
The home-buyer tax credit: the time limit and other questions answered
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— David Grant is a Monitor contributor. Let us know how the recall process goes for you on Twitter.
Comments
2. Tn Thompson | 11.09.09
What do you do if you have been trying to contact customer service all day long with no resolution? The website is not even available to type in a request for the hinge kit.
7. editorial | 11.09.09
Dear Monitor readers,
Thank you for sharing your experience with us here in the comments section. After receiving a few comments from readers with full address and contact information requesting that we send them their replacement part, we think it is necessary to make sure to remind you that we are not a conduit to Maclaren and so it is imperative that you connect with the company directly.
If you experience any problems or further delays in this, do let us know. We have heard multiple reports that the phone line is extremely busy and the Web site is down. If this changes or if we find more information we will make sure to post another piece on the subject.
Thank you for reading,
David Grant
8. Hugh | 11.09.09
The click here link above should be:
“https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx”
not:
“https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx.”
9. Trinh Nguyen | 11.09.09
My son finger was caught in one. Had to take him to the emergency room. Is there a class action suit going on. His finger is just now starting to heal. Its been 2 months.
11. Heather | 11.09.09
Who is opening and closing their strollers while their children’s fingers are anywhere near the hinge?? Hello!!?!!
12. yu888 | 11.09.09
please note that other media have indicated that teh recall was set to be announced tomorrow so best if we wait until Tuesday to try and contact them. That said, stop using the stroller if you feel you cannot be cautious enough to keep your kid away far enough when opening or closing the stroller. Wont stop us from using ours until we get the kit.
14. Mimi Menei-Lovallo | 11.09.09
Can not get through by phone or website. Very frustrating. It takes 12 amputations for a recall. It should have been recalled a long time ago.
15. Linda | 11.09.09
I have also been trying all day both by website and phone and nither of whitch are working.. I have a 10 month old and will not use my stroller untill I receive the replacement parts.
16. Liesha | 11.09.09
I have two maclaren strollers a twin techno and a single triumph I am trying to get in contact with the website by web and by telephone but so far I cant get through to either.
17. Donna Bennett | 11.09.09
My daughter purchased her stroller Sec. 2005. She can not find the 21 digit serial number. Can you help?
18. Amy | 11.09.09
I did get through to the website, submitted my claim and got a confirmation that the replacement part would be sent in 5-7 days. The connection was a bit slow and I have broadband and a new, fast computer. I also phoned and it seemed the phone tree was not functional.
19. Maria | 11.09.09
I did get through to customer service and they said that we can request the part online through their website by tomorrow morning.
20. Gavin | 11.09.09
Have had our stroller for over 4 years and are now using it for our second child. When the child is still secured in their car seat one has more than enough finger clearance to open or close the stroller. I will acquire the kit but continue to use until it arrives. With over 1 million units sold being opened and closed countless times a day only 12 reported injuries use caution.
21. Cathryn | 11.09.09
I am with Heather. If you are stupid enough to open or close your stroller with your kids fingers anywhere near it…well hello!!!
22. Pietro | 11.09.09
This batch of strollers was originally planned as a French Revolution anniversary edition. However, due to litigation concerns, the company resorted to a less radical design. How unfortunate the Cuba Union of Cigar Cutters blew the whistle…
23. fran | 11.09.09
It is a tragedy that the children have to suffer for their caregiver not being careful enough. I agree with Heather, who would open and close stroller with their kids fingers anywhere near it.I believe sometmes people are in a hurry and don’t always use proper caution..
|This is not a case of the stroller clasping because of defect.I am glad the company is sending a kit.But parents please be careful it is not always the manufacturers fault.
24. Twee | 11.09.09
So if your child’s finger was caught between the door’s hinge, should the doors be recalled? This is ridiculous!
25. unknown | 11.09.09
Hahahha
The solution: Watch your kids while opening the stroller or be careful while doing so.
Can you recall 1 milion perfectly fine strollers because 12 kids got injured and it’s not actually the strollers fault?
26. Adam Ray | 11.09.09
Everything can be dangerous to unsupervised children. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that over 275 children have drowned in buckets since 1984. Of course children’s finger can get caught in a hinge if you’re not careful when closing the stroller. People need to also take a little responsibility for supervising their children.
27. San Diego | 11.09.09
I have to say I agree with Heather’s comment, who in their right mind is letting their children put fingers in a hinge while you are opening or closing the stroller?? Maybe the parents of hurt children should be cited for child endagerment??
28. Maria | 11.09.09
I alredy did it through the website. They said that i’m going to get my replacement part between 5 to 7 days.
29. SSB | 11.09.09
Seriously…just keep your child away from the stroller when opening it until you receive the replacement/repair parts. It’s no reason to stop using the stroller.
30. nancy | 11.09.09
I agree with Heather. Why are your kids fingers anywhere near the stroller? I will continue to use mine. I will be more cautious (although my kiddo is never near it when opening and closing it - he is in his carseat). Class action lawsuit? Give me a break. Is there a class action lawsuit against furniture makers? My son still has a scar near his eye from falling and hitting the night table. We had to go to the ER and someone should pay for it. Yes those children who lost fingers have a right to a lawsuit, but an injury? I wish I could have a class action lawsuit against people w/o common sense - I would be loaded.
31. Gutterpan | 11.09.09
I too think that 12 injuries is about 11 too many before issuing the recall. However - Heather is right on here. Our guy is never near the stroller when we’re closing it - I don’t think that’s too hard to avoid. Great all-around stroller and will install the kit when available.
32. Joe | 11.09.09
I think instead of recalling and replacing millions of strollers, Maclaren should just send t-shirts to the kids that say, “I’M WITH STUPID” and an arrow pointing directly at their parents!
34. LB | 11.09.09
I have the Maclaren Techno XLR and my stroller came with a warning about hinges amputations and it also came with hinge covers. I still don’t understand why would you just pop open the stroller if your child is resting his/her little fingers on the hinges?!
35. Bumpty | 11.09.09
Yup, I have to agree with Heather. All collapsible pieces of equipment have hinges. All would jam a little finger. Keep children AWAY when opening or closing the pushchair….
36. Over reacting | 11.09.09
Maybe parents shouldn’t let their kids put fingers in a mechanical device while they unfold it?
Come on, these things can’t be anywhere as dangerous as Phil and Ted’s. Unstable and the bottom kid can put their hand in the wheels as it rolls along. You can’t tell me those haven’t mangled more kids hands.
And you can’t really expect them to answer 1 Million calls in one day.
37. Sophia | 11.10.09
I can easily see a small kid insert their hand when an adult try to open the stroller. Why wouldn’t the kid be near the stroller? You can’t make a toddler stand in a perfect spot while you open up a stroller. Honestly people, have some kids first before you judge.
38. Cynthia | 11.10.09
Maclaren set to issue major stroller recall: http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/13794#more-13794
39. Kat | 11.10.09
Why are your childrens fingers any where near the hinge when your opening the stroller, open stroller and then place child in it not rocket science people, i love my maclaren techno xt and i think its a joke how people above have gone into total panic relax people be more careful untill your “hinge cover” has arrived. law suit??? seriously thats an even bigger joke!
40. Cindy | 11.10.09
I wish news reports showed more details on the faulty product. Zoom in pictures of exact locations of concerned would be nice. The picture provided here is nice. But would like to see a folded product. I researched everywhere trying to find what is wrong with the product. Limited details concern me since I think I own the Quest Sport. Sometimes on busy subways I ask my 1.5 yr old son to hold onto me. But instead he holds onto the stroller while I’m folding it. Good thing his fingers where nowhere near the hinges.
41. Tracy | 11.10.09
I have to agree with many others, here. I open and close the stroller so rapidly that I don’t let my children near it when doing this. Sadly, common sense can’t be taught and so many people lack it.
42. Another Concerned Father | 11.10.09
The hinge hazard is not just when opening the stroller. Our 2005 Volo loses its tension going over bumpy ground, kerbs, steps, when inadvertently hit by a toe. My 3 year-old had two fingers crushed and one of those fractured in a hinge in 2008 when she was already sitting and I, as had been necessary for 3 years, locked the stroller by kicking down the tensioner.
43. Brooklyn | 11.10.09
Once again people have to blame someone else for carelessness.I have the quest sport very happy with it the way my phone rang about the recall I thought the strollers were bursting into flame!!Next we will be suing concrete companies and bicycle makers because the kids fell and broke their leg or arm ect.Common sense people!!!!! Got the kit anyway!
44. Carla | 11.10.09
My daughter lost the tip of her finger last year… I contacted the company several times and never heard back from them.
Is there a class action lawsuit going on?
45. Ian | 11.10.09
It’s all fine and good to call parents “stupid” for letting their children get too close to an opening stroller, and it does look money grubby for those parents looking to form a class action lawsuit. My son lost the end of his finger to our volo last Christmas, and we took full responsibility for the accident. We felt like the worst parents in the world, and I don’t need anyone to remind us of that. The thing that gets me steamed is the fact that Maclaren knew about this safety issue for TEN YEARS and did nothing to remediate the hinge. If a company is as committed to safety as its website states, this would have been addressed in 1999 and my son would not have had to be rushed to the hospital with his precious little finger on ice. We have moved on and my sons hand is fully healed, but SHAME on Maclaren for not fixing this sooner. And SHAME on anyone who makes blanket judgments on other parents.
46. Kate | 11.10.09
My mom accidentally pinched my son’s finger in his Volo last year, and it had nothing to do with negligence. He was trying to pull himself up on the stroller, which was only partially set up. To keep him from falling over, my mom quickly set up the stroller the rest of the way, and his fingertip was almost severed. We rushed him to the ER and had four stitches put in. He kept the tip of his finger, but I don’t think he can feel with it anymore. He also has a fine motor delay.
For those of you who think this is negligence, you probably haven’t spent much time around kids. Things happen fast, and strollers should not be capable of severing children’s fingers. We’re not talking about a little pinch here. And we’re also not talking about an obvious known hazard like a car door or even a bucket of water. Instead, we’re talking about a supposedly child-safe product, a split-second event, and blood everywhere. This is a baby product, and it’s going to have kids around it. If your kid were playing with a knife, you’d run over and take it away. This stroller was as sharp as any knife, and products like that have no business being around kids.
From what I’ve heard, Maclaren has known about this problem for years, and they’ve been waiting to recall until they developed a replacement part. That isn’t right. They were knowingly selling something they knew could and did seriously injure children.
I’m interested in a class action suit too.
47. ALJO | 11.10.09
TOTALLY AGREE WITH HEATHER: WHO WOULD (UN)FOLD THE STROLLER WITH THE BABY’S FINGERS ANYWHERE NEAR IT?
48. alan | 11.10.09
I have to say, some of you aren’t seeing the whole picture here. My daughter, 3 at the time, grabbed hold of the stroller when my wife was opening it. It happened very quickly. 1/5 of her pinky is gone now. If they weren’t dangerous, then they wouldn’t be recalling them. Some people are just ignorant about this kind of stuff, until it happens to them. too bad. I called MacClaren back in 2008 and tried to tell them and they told me that they would look into it. They never got back to me.
49. Marie | 11.10.09
Go to where you bought the stroller! They are being sent the “covers” for the hinges! Isis Maternity of Massachusetts should have them in within a week. Call to make sure! 781-429-1500. They will take care of you.. awesome company! In the meantime make sure your child isn’t around the stroller when you open or close it.
50. Christina | 11.10.09
Once i found out about this defect i immediately checked out my strollers. I noticed that Maclaren is not the only company that has a product that can be dangerous to your child. If any one has purchased an umbrella stroller from Babies “R” Us i highly recommend that everyone review your personal strollers immediately!!! Besides the Maclaren stroller that i currently own i also have a simple umbrella stroller that closes the same exact way as the Macalren. Every umbrella stroller currently out on the market needs to be looked over as well. Please don’t take this matter lightly….
51. Miguel | 11.11.09
For those of you that are with Heather, could you please put in the shoes of one of the parents whose child got a finger amputated for a second? Kids are curious by nature and I don’t think you should be judging.
I have one of this recalled strollers and my wife and I just analyzed how the child’s finger would get trapped in the hinge and it is pretty bad. I really appreciate that the word for this recall got spread and we can be extra careful when opening the stroller.
I agree it is a shame that Maclaren hasn’t done anything about this before.
52. Michelle | 11.11.09
Kids being kids may never touch the stroller or put their fingers near the stoller hinges, but then the day you happen to not pay attention or your child is mucking around near the stoller may just be the day that an ACCIDENT happens… you can never be to careful.
53. michele | 11.11.09
this happened to my son. oh yeah (heather and others) i am a bad parent. i had a squirmy exhausted 3 year old who was trying to sit in the stroller as i was opening it and then turned around in the stroller and got his finger stuck.
i am a bad mother; he is a bad kid; he got exactly what he deserved; a permantly scared finger; sorry i’m not perfect like so many of you.
kids are fidgety; accidents happen even when you are trying to be safe; obvously there is a real problem here or there wouldn’t be a recall!!
54. Gitanjali | 11.11.09
See my bad luck…I bought this stroller after reading good consumer report over the web only couple of days before it was recalled !! Do you think I might run the same risk of amputation if I buy another (Chicco I think C6) stroller now and return this Maclaren Volo. The reason all have the same mechanism of unfolding
56. Pillai | 11.12.09
Keep the stroller AWAY from the kid while opening it. And do nothing else at that time. No eating/drinking, no yakking on the cellphone, no carrying anything else. Take the stroller out, open it while paying attention to it.
Kind of like - umm I dunno - vacuuming? You want to recall vacuums because of your tired by decided to stand next to you and you run over his feet?
Jeez. Ppl. The cut/amputation is on you parents. Don’t try to pass the blame.
57. Mary Baechler | 11.12.09
Hi,
I was the ceo of a stroller co.(Baby Jogger)for many years. Children move fast and it is the manufacturer’s responsibility to provide a safe stroller. We always checked for finger/hinge problems.This was a well-known problem years ago.
Mary Baechler
58. Tasha | 11.15.09
I agree with Kate, accidents can occur. I bought my stroller in June of 09, when I went to Disney World. We caught the busses they have to go back and forth to our room. Which means I had to take my daughter out of the stroller each time, YES she was near me and the stroller, what do you think I would tell her to go ahead on the bus by herself sit down while mommy close the stroller? The accidents that happen, people don’t know the situation so don’t be quick to judge by saying why would you have the kids near the strollers when opening and closing it. I’m sorry my two yr old was right by my side, thank goodness I was cautious, because I pinched my finger several times opening and closing the dawn thing.
59. Me | 11.18.09
All you have to do is hit the here button read the artical to get your hing come on people things happen
60. Double Maclaren Stroller | 11.19.09
im pretty sure the businessmen and innovators didnt design the stroller to get ran over by a train and let babies survive with only scratches…u might want to rethink that….
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1. AP | 11.09.09
FYI - the MacLaren web site is non functional and the toll free # above is busy, both of which I assume is caused by an overload of activity.