Today Consumer Reports released information on a safety issue they identified during testing of the Recaro Performance RIDE convertible. In crash tests using their new test protocol, the harness support hardware in the back of the Performance RIDE shell broke. This allowed the harness to pull through the seatback and loosen as the dummy moved forward. This structural failure occurred in three of four Performance RIDE tests using the 35 lb 3-year-old dummy. In all three cases, the seat was installed forward-facing on the test sled using LATCH (lower anchors and tether).
According to Consumer Reports:
The potential risk of a harness that loosens in an actual vehicle crash would be the increased forward movement of the head and added potential for a child’s head to contact some surface in the vehicle interior. There also is increased risk for the child to be ejected from the seat, and for the harness to no longer secure the child for any secondary or subsequent impacts or events.
Read the full article here: Structural Weakness Found in Recaro Performance RIDE Child Seat
I think it goes without saying that we take carseat safety very seriously around here and while these findings are concerning (especially when you consider that these same seats were recently recalled for unrelated performance issues) we want to make sure that Performance RIDE owners have a full understanding of what is going on so they can decide for themselves what action, if any, they should take.
First and foremost, it’s important to know that the new Consumer Reports carseat crash test was developed to be more rigorous than federal standards. CR realizes that not all carseats are created equal even though they should all meet the basic safety standards of FMVSS 213. Therefore, CR set out to develop a test to try to determine which carseats provide extra levels of protection beyond the standards already established by NHTSA. The CR test is very different from the FMVSS 213 tests that all child restraints are expected to pass in this country.
With that said…
Since this is a new and more stringent test, we don’t automatically think that all seats that earn a “BASIC” rating from CR are unsafe in some way. On the other hand, no other convertible seats tested by CR using the new crash test protocol had these specific issues with the 3-year old dummy that weighs 35 pounds. Now, we are fully aware of the differences between running a test at 27-30 mph (FMVSS 213 speed) and running it at 35 mph (NCAP/CR TEST speed) but the fact that these convertible seats are rated up to 65 pounds forward-facing and yet may possibly experience issues with the 3-year-old dummy doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
CR reports that the Performance RIDE had similar failures with the 6-year-old, 52 pound dummy in their test, installed using the lap/shoulder seatbelt and tether. Four other convertibles of the 25 tested also failed with the larger dummy, though this is a much more extreme test in their new, higher speed protocol. Also, most Recaro Performance RIDE and ProRIDE convertibles were recently recalled for failing to meet certain FMVSS 213 performance standards. It was a failure unrelated to the issue CR encountered and Recaro is sending a recall remedy to all owners of recalled seats but it was a performance failure nonetheless and it affected most of the convertible seats Recaro had made in the last 5 years.
Our advice:
If you are currently using a Recaro Performance RIDE carseat in the rear-facing position you don’t have any cause for concern at the moment since both the recent recall and the concerns raised by CR are related to issues that may potentially occur when the seat is used forward-facing.
If you are currently using a Recaro Performance RIDE carseat in the forward-facing position, fix your tether strap with the recall kit if your seat has been recalled and continue to monitor the blog for further updates, if any, regarding your carseat. This issue reported by CR is not a second, new recall for your seat and there have been no public complaints made to NHTSA regarding this issue. As always, if your child is under 40 pounds and still fits in the rear-facing position, turn the seat rear-facing for optimum protection. Forward-facing, make sure the installation is tight and the harness is snug and continue to use it with caution until we learn more. If your child no longer fits within the rear-facing limits, please consider another convertible or forward-facing carseat from our Recommended Carseats list.
Recaro’s Response to Consumer Reports:
“The Recaro Performance RIDE convertible car seat has saved the lives of many children involved in a car crash and has never experienced a field failure after being in the marketplace for over five years. Recaro tests to meet and exceed all National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash test requirements. The research by Consumer Reports was conducted with a crash test at 40 percent more energy at its peak than current NHTSA standards. We want to reassure our consumers that we take all aspects of a child’s safety seriously and will examine these findings closely. Recaro appreciates Consumer Reports’ interest in child passenger safety.”
For more info see: New Crash Protection Ratings and Methods from Consumer Reports
I am thinking about buying the RECARO Roadster Convertible Carseat. Have you heard any issue with this model? Thank you
Hi Francoise – Recaro child seats has gone out of business so we don’t recommend buying any of their carseats or boosters at this point since we don’t know how long customer service and support will be available for their products.
We own a Recaro performance ride for over a year and we have a 3 year old. This is very disappointing to hear. Recaro had great reputation from the race car seating, thus influenced my decision to buy the seat. I hope Recaro will do something about this so its reputation would stay intact. At the mean time, we are shopping for a car seat for the 2nd child and I am likely going to choose Britax over Recaro because of this concern.
Has anyone contacted recaro and what has their reaponse been to the testing. Surely they are worried about the safety of the children in these seats. I own four of them.
Hi Melissa – yes, Recaro was contacted and issued a statement that is quoted in the article above. As they mention, the new CR crash test is much more challenging compared with the government’s test in FMVSS 213 that all carseats are required to pass. Unfortunately, the ProRIDE and the majority of Performance Ride convertibles were also recalled recently for failing to meet some of the performance standards in FMVSS 213. See: https://carseatblog.com/33789/recaro-recalls-certain-proride-and-performance-ride-convertible-seats/
If you own any of the models affected by the recent recall – at the very least make sure you obtain the recall fix kids that remedy the issue with the tether. If you are using the seats rear-facing right now then I wouldn’t be concerned. All the issues regarding both the recall and the failures in this new Consumer Reports crash test are related to forward-facing usage.
Is this just the performance ride or the proRIDE as well? The articles are not clear. We have one of these seats for our 4 year old who is too tall to rear face.
Hi Sarah, the ProRIDE is discontinued and was replaced by the Performance RIDE. Consumer Reports only tested the current model but it’s possible that the ProRIDE would have had similar issues since the seats are similar in many ways. But no one can say for sure. If you decide to continue using your ProRIDE please make sure you obtain the recall fix kit for the tether strap.
My husband looked over our seat tonight and I recorded his thoughts and impressions, and identifies the failure points. He is a racing enthusiast who uses Recaro race seats himself, and while he doesn’t claim to be a car seat safety expert, he did major in industrial and product design at Georgia Tech. He also authors the popular Tumblr Motomania. http://www.motomania.tumblr.com
https://youtu.be/1jt54yn2xEw
Thank you for the insight, Emily and Ian. We have had concerns about this platform that kept us from reviewing or recommending it over the years. Of course, we do not have access to expensive crash testing to compare with other products in terms of injury or head excursion measures. We appreciate your analysis!
We are obviously very concerned and disappointed. Thankfully our almost 3-year old is still rear facing, but we will need to find an alternative for any forward-facing she does in the future.
If you haven’t lost faith in Recaro, the design on the Performance Sport is visually much more robust in terms of harness routing. Jennie@CarseatBlog really likes hers. We have some good options for combination models suitable for a 3-year old in our Recommended Carseats list as well.
Agreed – we actually owned one for our older daughter, but sold it because our girls are almost 7 years apart, and it would have expired before the youngest got to use it. We really liked that seat!
This is a company that makes NASCAR seats. The fact they designed a seat that could have this huge of a safety issue boggles my mind. What kind of testing DID happen? I still feel they have probably the safest seats out there due to the depth and overall design. We have Recaro boosters we continue to love. But HOW can a company that makes NASCAR seats produce a seat that basically breaks in a crash? What if I did have a 65 lb. child in it, too? Ouch.
These are questions that need to be answered.
Our Pro-sport was always unusual in that it had a very high weight limit FF (crazy high!). We no longer use those seats, but now I would worry. Would those break too? The brand can be tarnished with issues like this, even with seats not affected.
Hi inthecar. The Recaro convertible and combination products (like ProSport) are very different designs and I doubt they would have similar issues. In fact, until last year, we included the Performance Sport combination seat on our Recommended Carseats list. We also like their Performance Booster and continue to include it on our Recommended Carseats list. We have never included the ProRIDE or Performance RIDE convertible carseats on our list for various reasons. Also, keep in mind that Recaro Automotive Seating is a different division than Recaro Child Safety. I do not know how much engineering and technical expertise they share, if any.