Cybex preliminary evaluation PE21014
Choking on/Ingestion of Car Seat Foam. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the insert, padding. Opened Jul 2, 2021, closed Jun 3, 2022 after 11 months. It led to safety recall 22C001000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation (PE21-014) after receiving four complaints from two consumers and identifying Early Warning Reporting (EWR) Death & Injury (D&I) claims alleging injuries involving production year 2018 Cybex Sirona M car (child) seats. According to the reports, child occupants were able to access a foam material, used in the seat headrest, via an opening in its covering material. When doing so, the child subsequently places foam in their mouths thereby resulting in coughing, gagging, vomiting, or passed by means of bowel movements. No severe injuries are alleged in any of these reports. On August 9, 2021 ODI sent an Information Request (IR) letter to Cybex Sirona M distributor Columbus Trading-Partners (CTP) USA Inc. requesting information related to the subject seat. On September 20, 2021, CTP responded with the requested data and provided their position that the concern did not represent a substantial hazard to children. CTP stated that although they were aware of children having picked small pieces of foam from the subject child seat and ingesting it, they were not aware of any claims of serious injury or death. CTP also stated that after learning of the claims of children having access to and picking off pieces of headrest foam, they made a change in production on August 31, 2018 that would prevent the problem from occurring. CTP claims they have not received any complaints on seats manufactured after that date. Following a review of the IR response data and related precedent recalls, ODI conducted multiple meetings with CTP to explain the agency concerns. With this information CTP decided to submit a voluntary safety recall to remedy the subject child seats manufactured prior to August 31, 2018. On April 20, 2022 recall 22C-001 posted recalling certain Cybex Sirona M Convertible Child Car Seat, model numbers 518000385, 518002153, 518000387, 518002145, 518002149, 518002151, and 519000211, manufactured prior to August 31, 2018. With recall action 22C-001 taken by CTP, this investigation is closed as further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted. The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID using the following complaint identification numbers: 11113133, 11150030, 11150031, 11150032
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 became a recall. The campaign page carries the manufacturer’s filed defect, risk and remedy, the build window and every model year covered; whether one specific vehicle is included is settled by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themNHTSA filed this action against Columbus Trading-Partners USA, Inc. without naming a model year — an equipment or manufacturer-level query.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs PE21014 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 22C001000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE21014 still open?
No. It closed on Jun 3, 2022 and led to recall 22C001000.
Which vehicles does PE21014 cover?
NHTSA filed it against Columbus Trading-Partners USA, Inc. without naming a model year.