The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced a recall of more than 4,500 WAYB Pico car seats because the headrest can potentially detach, leading to an increased risk of injury in a crash.
WAYB has received 11 reports of headrests that have detached from their carseats. The problem seems to be that in WAYB’s original design, a 2-pin system holding the headrest can fail. No injuries have been reported.
Defect: The headrest can detach from the carseat.
Seats recalled: All seats manufactured between 3/1/2019 and 5/12/2019. After that time, WAYB began using a new design with a 1-pin system and a reinforced headrest.
Remedy: WAYB plans to replace the headrest on recalled seats, but as of this writing, the details of this plan have not been released. We will update with more information when it becomes available.
What to do: WAYB says that the safety risk is low. The company says it will be obvious if the headrest has detached, and that the product is fine to use as long as the headrest is still in place. However, in a Safety Recall Report, WAYB states, “In some cases, consumers noted that the headrest was loose, causing them to inspect the headrest, at which time it separated from the rest of the product. A loose headrest may indicate that a breakage of at least one of the tubular frame members has occurred. If both tubular frame members in the headrest are broken, pulling up on the headrest will likely lead to a separation of the headrest, making the breakage clear to the consumer.”
This makes it sound like a broken headrest might not be immediately noticeable to the consumer. Because of this, CarseatBlog recommends that owners of affected models contact WAYB at [email protected] or text or call them at 888.924.9292 if you have any concerns prior to receiving additional information from WAYB on the recall. If you are still concerned, you should discontinue use of an affected Pico carseat until the headrest is fixed.
We will continue to update this report as more information becomes available.
Official Recall Notice:
Headrest May Break or Separate From Car Seat A broken or separated headrest increases the risk of injury during a crash.
NHTSA Campaign Number: 19C001000
Manufacturer ForB dba WAYB
Components CHILD SEAT
Potential Number of Units Affected 4,558
Summary
ForB dba WAYB (WAYB) is recalling certain WAYB Pico child restraints manufactured between March 1, 2019 and May 12, 2019. The headrest’s aluminum tubular frame can break allowing the headrest to detach.
Remedy
The manufacturer is still developing a plan to replace the headrests on the affected seats, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin September 30, 2019. Owners may contact WAYB customer service at 1-888-924-9292.
Notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
Child Seat
| BRAND | MODEL | PRODUCTION DATES |
|---|---|---|
| WAYB | PICO | 03/01/2019 – 05/12/2019 |