Uppababy audit query AQ21001
Failure to report under 49 CFR Part 579. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this audit query about the child seat. Opened Feb 23, 2021 and still open — 5.7 years so far. open
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedNHTSA is opening this AQ to better understand and evaluate UPPAbabys process for required reporting under 49 C.F.R. Part 579. NHTSA received a report from the public in April 2020, regarding the 2020 UPPAbaby KNOX child restraint. NHTSA discussed this issue with UPPAbaby and the manufacturer claimed that it did not have any information to report about the KNOX child restraint system under any part of 49 C.F.R. Part 579. On October 30, 2020, UPPAbaby submitted documentation to NHTSA regarding complaints it received about the performance of the KNOX child restraint. Upon review of the complaints, UPPAbaby may have failed to report injuries, foreign recalls, consumer complaints, and manufacturer communications under 49 U.S.C. § 30166 and49 C.F.R. Part 579. To date, UPPAbaby either failed to report and/or untimely reported death or injury incidents, consumer complaints, manufacturer communications, and foreign recalls reports under 49 C.F.R. Part 579. This AQ is opened to seek information from UPPAbaby relating to its compliance with 49 C.F.R. Part 579.
A Audit Query is an audit of whether the manufacturer met its early-warning reporting obligations — the data and reports it must send NHTSA — rather than of a vehicle condition. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the resumes carrying the full reasoning are linked below.
The paperwork NHTSA filed
Source: every document on this action, at nhtsa.gov- Opening resume — ODI’s own summary of why it opened this — the subject, what prompted it, and the vehicles in scope.
| Document | Code | Filed | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening resume | INOA | 2021 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2021 | |
| Memo to the investigation file | INME | 2021 |
These are NHTSA’s own files, served from the agency’s site — the resumes are what ODI wrote when it opened and closed the action, and the rest is the correspondence behind them, including what the manufacturer sent when the agency asked. They are linked, not copied: where a document names the people who wrote in, that redaction is the agency’s to make and its copy is the one you should read.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one is open. Nothing is owed on the vehicle today; if it becomes a recall, owners are written to and the repair is free. The moment to know is the day the campaign number appears — Recall Watch checks each VIN against every new NHTSA campaign and emails you when one lands, or take a free one-line alert by model year.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themNHTSA filed this action against UPPAbaby without naming a model year — an equipment or manufacturer-level query.
An investigation is not a recall. Yet.
If NHTSA’s questions become a recall, the campaign lands in the federal file first. Recall Watch checks your VINs against every new campaign the night it is filed.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs AQ21001 a recall?
No. A audit query is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one has not produced one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is AQ21001 still open?
Yes, as of NHTSA’s latest file: opened Feb 23, 2021, 5.7 years ago.
Which vehicles does AQ21001 cover?
NHTSA filed it against UPPAbaby without naming a model year.