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: Should you still use your stroller?
By David Grant | 11.10.09
After Monday’s Maclaren stroller recall of about 1 million units , owners should order their hinge cover right away, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says. But until it comes, is it OK to use the pricey stroller?
The CPSC urges the utmost caution, because 12 toddlers have suffered fingertip amputations in dangerous side joints of nine models over the past 10 years.
“If you have one, you ought to consider this a hazard to your child and take immediate action,” says Patty Davis, a spokeswoman for the commission. “You don’t want this to happen to your child. It’s already happened to 12 other children.”
Others say parents just need to use more caution while they wait for the safety cover to arrive.
“If you’ve been using a stroller for that many years and you haven’t had a folding incident, I would have to say not to worry too much about it,” says Dorothy Drago, head of Drago Expert Services, a consumer-products consulting firm with expertise in children’s products. “I would get the retrofit, that would enhance your security, but I don’t think it’s something where I would say ‘I’m not ever going to use the stroller again.’ ”
The danger occurs when users open up the umbrella strollers and children get their fingers in the hinges, the CSPC says.
Maria Milani, a grandmother in Hopewell Junction, N.Y., says that while she certainly wants the repair kit, she’s not particularly nervous about using the stroller with her young grandson.
“I’ve been through it before,” Mrs. Milani says of past stroller recalls. “I will be very careful putting him in and out of it so that he’s not near it” when it’s being opened.
Consumer anxiety soared Monday when the CPSC announced the recall. Maclaren’s website crashed as concerned stroller owners tried to get information. Mrs. Milani says she attempted calling the company’s hot line at different points for more than six hours, getting a busy signal at each attempt.
The volume was so large since the recall’s announcement that nearly everyone at the company’s Norwalk, Conn., office, including the director of Maclaren USA, was fielding calls to get customers hinge covers. Director Bahman Kia says the company was preparing for a Tuesday recall but had its plans short-circuited.
“We were supposed to announce the recall on Nov. 10 but because there was a leak of the recall over the weekend, the consumers started calling our consumer line instead of the recall line,” he says. “Our consumer line was not set up to take these calls. The consumer line just overloaded.”
For details on the current recall and how to get a replacement, click here or watch the CPSC video below.
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See also:
Mclaren stroller recall: What to do if you have one
Post-Depression first: Americans get more money from government than they give back
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. anastasia | 11.10.09
Actually My family is stationed in Germany, where we bought our Maclaren. The hinges on mine do NOT look like the hinge on the demo. So your comment about British babies being expendable MAY be an exaggeration, the strollers are NOT identical. Neither are our Britax car seats or or or……… I will check on my model personally but I suspect it’s not included because of where I bought it.
4. Jamie | 11.11.09
I assure you the companies are NOT sacrificing their economies of scale in production to manufacture a stroller with a cheaper hinge for the US exclusively. If there is a problem it is globally. If the hinge is different yours is probably not an affected model. I have no idea how any design can last 10 years without a revision or how this hasn’t been addressed as a problem 11 years ago in safety testing. Worse, how the recall can be leaked. If there is a problem of that magnitude one would hope that any company would put their consumers before mitigating damage to their public relations.
5. Cohen79 | 11.11.09
FYI - Maclaren Has Posted the Below on their Facebook Page:
Maclaren USA has led the headlines this week due to a safety concern with their umbrella strollers. Maclaren has noticed an increase in the number of incidents over the last year where children have trapped their finger in the hinge joint of the buggy whilst their caregiver is opening or folding it.
There’s a lot of confusion swirling around, so here are the facts: there is no product defect and Maclaren is distributing free hinge-cover kit that child proofs the stroller to prevent a potential injury during opening and folding by the caregiver. Visit Maclaren USA at, http://www.maclaren.us\recall or call toll-free between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST, 877-688-2326 if you would like to obtain the free hinge cover kit.
Maclaren stands behind its product which has been in existence for over 40 years. It is the safest umbrella stroller on the market. Parents and owners of a Maclaren stroller can attest to this statement personally.
Maclaren has had ZERO reports of stroller injuries in use [when a child is properly fastened into the stroller according to the owner instruction manual]. No other stroller manufacturer has a better safety record.
The risk is eliminated when children are kept away from the buggy during opening and folding. Similarly, when the buggy is properly opened there is no risk involved.
The issue regarding the stroller joints are not restricted to Maclaren but to all strollers and all stroller companies that have similar folding mechanisms. Maclaren, through this voluntary action in the U.S. has agreed to take the leadership and ensure that it is the first in the industry to address this issue to communicate important safety information.
6. Rosalind | 11.11.09
For those of you in South Florida having trouble reaching Maclaren or simply don’t want to wait for the hinge covers to be mailed to you, there are locations in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach where you can have the hinge covers installed for free.
Details here:
http://www.strollinginstyle.com/index.php?main_page=maclarenrecall
and here:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-stroller-repair-20091111,0,500228.story
7. Alex | 11.12.09
There is no problem with the hinge other than it is a hinge by default. All hinges in all items can have fingers trapped in. If you open and close the stroller without any childrens fingers being close to the hinge there is no problem. Just like when you close a car door a childs fingers should be no where near it. Common sense really
8. claire | 11.12.09
why would the parents let the child put their fingers in the pushchair while it is opening and closing. their obviously gonna get hurt somewhere a long the lines whilst the pushchair is being opened and closed!!!!
9. Common Sense? | 11.12.09
It’s a hinge… Keep your child’s fingers out of it.
This sounds an awful lot like parents not keeping a close enough eye on their children. The car door analogy is a good one… If your child gets their hand slammed in a car door you don’t blame the car manufacturer… If your child sticks a sharpened colored pencil in their eye you don’t blame Laurentian… If your child sticks their tongue in an electrical socket you don’t blame the hydro company.
Ah, the demise of personal responsibility…
10. Cocoa | 11.13.09
I’m from Malaysia, I had just called up the shop where I bought the stroller, I was disappointed by the answer - they told me that the repair kits are only for USA consumers, WHY? Malaysian babies have no fingers????
11. Rosy | 11.14.09
I would think Malaysian fingers are very important. Who would sew our cloths in the future if they all had no fingers.
Doesn’t anyone want to take responsibility for their lack of parenting anymore?
12. Veronica | 11.14.09
You can get the FREE hinge to fix your Maclaren stroller at liapela modern baby store located at the Village of Merrick Park Miami, FL …. http://www.liapela.com
Village of Merrick Park
358 San Lorenzo Ave # 3227
Coral Gables, FL 33146
http://www.liapela.com
13. CJ | 11.15.09
They need to start recalling parents. Why would a parent close a stroller with their child’s finger in the hinge?
14. latinamami69 | 11.16.09
I BELIEVE, THAT EVERYONE THAT HAS GOTTING A STROLLER BY MACLAREN SHOULD BE REFUND OR GIVING A NEW ONE UP TO DATE MODEL N MAKESURE ITS SAFE FOR KIDS IT TOOK SOMETHING TO HAPPEN LIKE ALWAYS FOR A RECALL ON THING PEOPLE BUY WHY IS THAT WILL I HOPE N PRAY MY BABY DNT GET HURT CAUSE I FEEL SORRY FOR THEM MY STROLLERS A MACLAREN QUEST SPORT RED N BLACK ONE OF THE 1 THEY RECALL ON WOW WHAT DO I DO ABOUT THAT IM CALLIN N GOING TO SEE WHAT THEY GOT TO SAY TO ME N MY HUSBAND WE PAID OVER $$225:00 HUNDRED FOR IT. I FEEL SORRY FOR ANY KIDS THAT GOT HURT OVER THIS STROLLER DNT GET M WRONG ITS A NICE STROLLER N N ROLLES NICE DOWN THE STREET N EASY I CAN USED 1 HAND TO PULL N IT GOES ITS A SHAME ITS UNDER A RECALL WOW WHAT DO WE DO BOUT GETTING A REFUND OR TO GET MONEY TO BUY A NEW 1 SINCE THIS HAPPENS TO OVER 12 KIDS SO FAR N I BET MORE TPO COME I HOPE NOT BUT U KNOW HOW S.. HAPPENS IN LIFE GOD LUCK EVERYBODY THAT HAS THIS STROLLER N ESAFE N BLESS THANKS ALOT LORRAINE AKA LATINAMAMI69
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1. trashspam | 11.10.09
It is now acknowledged in the US that a range of Maclaren strollers are unsafe. And to address this, free safety kits are being provided to all owners. These are the same models that are sold in the UK. Are Maclaren more worried about a litigious US consumer who may join together for a class action? Or are UK fingers just cheaper than US ones? Just one accident to any child anywhere is an issue these are children we are talking about.