GRACO EXTEND2FIT Complaints

When cleaning and adjusting the seat to move it to forward-facing, we discovered that two of the child harness straps (the crotch strap and one of the shoulder straps) had significant grooves cut into them, presumably by the plastic edges of the base. Given that this damage was not visible before moving the cover and adjusting the seat, and given that Graco advertises this seat as rear-facing from 4 to 50 pounds and forward-facing up to 65 pounds, a consumer wouldn't see or have any reason to expect this level of damage after about 3.5 years of use. I have to assume that this sort of severe wear compromises the strength of the straps and thus the safety of the seat if there were an accident (thank goodness we didn't have one). I have the seat still, and I contacted the manufacturer with pictures of the damage, and they did not seem to think it was out of the ordinary or alarming at all, just told me that they could send me a rebate for a discount on a new seat if I wanted since this one was out of warranty. I cannot believe that this is an acceptable and safe amount of normal wear. I can attest that we followed manufacturer instructions for care and install and did not use any cleaning products on the seat, submerge the seat, leave it outside, or do anything else that I can think of that would have constituted inappropriate care of the seat.

The contact owns a Graco Extend2Fit CNV car seat. The contact stated that while removing the car seat from the vehicle it was discovered that the stitching on one of the two safety buckles had detached and that the car seat had been secured by only one of the two safety buckles meant to be secure the unit to seat of the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The local dealer was not contact.

Upon removing the car seat fabric cover we found a damaged strafoam for the child’s head rest. This is the second Graco extend 2 fit car seat with this issue we have owned

UNKOWN strafoam head rest has started to crack and remove from car seat backing. Contacted manufacturer who claims the seat is still safe for use even though it’s separating.

The left side of the styrofoam padding on the headrest of the Extend2Fit 3-in-1 has broken off. It is a piece that is integral to the seat as it’s glued on and cannot be replaced. It is unknown at what point it became unattached because the seat cover holds the broken piece in place. I only found out it was broken when removing the padding for cleaning. The seat is installed in the second row, rear facing on the passenger side of a 2007 GMC Acadia. The seat has not been in any accidents and is rarely moved from this install position. The child passenger is 23 lbs. I have contacted Graco and they have stated they will send a replacement seat as a one time courtesy but I have not received confirmation or tracking since submitting photos of the damage two days ago. Attached photos are the email response after phone conversation with a Graco representative and the photos I submitted in response.

Harness strap frayed below car seat base pad where strap is not visible or accessible during routine use. Discovered during cleaning of the seat. This weakens the harness and puts the child at risk. Car seat has not been inspected. Manufacturer has not responded to warranty claim.

The Graco extend2fit car seat harness and buckles are always getting stuck. Once my son is clipped in. Sometimes it’s impossible to unbuckle him because it just won’t come undone. Which scares me if there was an emergency I can’t get him out. Secondly one strap never lose a which is on his right side and the one on his left shoulder is so loose and never tightens. He has to wiggle into the right arm side and it hurts his neck. I’ve tried calling Graco and been on hold for hours and and hours and cannot get through. We have uninstalled and reinstalled the seat several times to make sure it not something we are doing wrong and so it seems to be a default in the harness in this seat.

The styrofoam impact pad broke apart and fell off. This is the impact styrofoam for the head

The area in between the child's legs where the harness would be tightened releases and does not maintain a tight, secure harness on the child. It slips it's grip, rendering the seat belt useless.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS AN GRACO CAR SEAT, MODEL NAME: EXTEND2FIT, MODEL NUMBER: 1992118, MANUFACTURED DATE: 12/25/2020. THE CAR SEAT WAS BEING USED IN A 2018 FIAT 500X. THE CONTACT STATED THAT UPON FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THE CAR SEAT, HE NOTICED THAT THE CAR SEAT WOULD TIP OVER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE CAR SEAT WAS LATCHED REAR FACING IN THE CENTER OF THE VEHICLE, THE CAR SEAT TIPPED OVER TOWARDS THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT IT WAS NORMAL FOR THE CAR SEAT TO DO SO.*DT