NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE21-014: Choking on/Ingestion of Car Seat Foam
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE21-014 on July 2, 2021 and closed it on June 3, 2022. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Cybex Sirona M for it and links recall 22C-001 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE21-014 (also written PE21014)
- Investigation type
- Preliminary Evaluation The first stage of most defect investigations: NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation gathers basic information about a possible safety defect, including from the manufacturer.
- Status
- Closed June 3, 2022
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Columbus Trading-Partners USA, Inc.
- Component
- Insert, Padding
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 22C-001 (NHTSA record)
- Vehicles and equipment
- Cybex Sirona M
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE21-014.
The 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
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE21-014. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Cybex
Cybex Sirona M
- model year not given
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE21-014
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.