Graco preliminary evaluation PE12031
Child Seat Harness Buckle. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the harness/crotch buckle on 5 model years (2009–2012). Opened Oct 15, 2012, closed Mar 4, 2013 after 5 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe investigation has been upgraded to Engineering Analysis EA 13-001 for further study. The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation based on 25 reports from consumers that alleged difficulty in unlatching the harness buckle on their subject child seat. Since opening the investigation, ODI has received 55 additional reports. Consumers state that excessive force and/or effort is required to push the button to unlatch the harness. Some reported not being able to unlatch the buckle at all and were forced to remove their child by pulling them through the still buckled harness, or in some cases, by cutting the harness straps. The subject child seats utilize two different types (designs) of harness buckles, the Signature and the QT types, both of which are subject to the investigation. Each buckle type operates differently and has dissimilar latching and actuating mechanisms. The Signature buckle has a sliding release button that must be pushed downward to release the harness, while the QT buckle has a button that must be pushed inward to be released. The ODI reports can be reviewed at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification (ODI) numbers: 10361369, 10366522, 10366645, 10366950, 10383056, 10397307, 10397449, 10406827, 10410574, 10413648, 10413817, 10414471, 10418155, 10421053, 10428246, 10430498, 10433600, 10444493, 10444593, 10454295, 10454393, 10454450, 10455029, 10456547, 10463507, 10466250, 10467797, 10473717, 10475529, 10475529, 10477267, 10478809, 10481182, 10481219, 10481233, 10481236, 10481243, 10482654, 10482941, 10483551, 10483732, 10483940, 10485417, 10486165, 10487751, 10487824, 10488855, 10489296, 10489536, 10489662, 10490292, 10491819, 10493243, 10493351, 10493614, 10493620, 10493649, 10493668, 10493716, 10494411, 10494567, 10494580, 10494635, 10494769, 10494876, 10495042, 10495130, 10495301, 10496034, 10496063, 10496146, 10496344, 10496470, 10497637, 10497771, 10498293, 10498308, 10498468, 10498529, 10499325
A Preliminary Evaluation is the first formal stage: NHTSA has decided the complaints and other information it screened are worth a closer look, and asks the manufacturer for its own data on the condition. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
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 closed without a recall. That means NHTSA found no defect trend it chose to act on at the time, or the manufacturer addressed the condition another way (a service campaign or a bulletin, which have their own pages). A closed file can be reopened if new reports arrive.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2009 Graco 175166 (nautilus); 2010 Graco 1761306 (nautilus); 2012 Graco 1763461 (nautilus); 2012 Graco SIZE4ME 70; 2012 Graco Snugride Oasis 1802503.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs PE12031 a recall?
No. A preliminary evaluation is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is PE12031 still open?
No. It closed on Mar 4, 2013 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE12031 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 5 model years: 2009 Graco 175166 (nautilus), 2010 Graco 1761306 (nautilus), 2012 Graco 1763461 (nautilus), 2012 Graco SIZE4ME 70, 2012 Graco Snugride Oasis 1802503. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.