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Darlene of Baltimore MD (08/30/08)
We got a stroller car seat combo as a present when my son was born. It worked great for a month or two. At first I noticed the straps were becoming loose frequently, but I would adjust them and think nothing more of it. However, when the problem continued and gradually got worse I realized there was a serious problem.
We finally had to go out and buy another car seat after I went to get him out a few times and the straps were completely loosened from there holders and laying in the seat. My son enjoyed the extra freedom from the straps, but I shudder to think what could have happened if we had been involved in an accident during one of these incidents. My husband and I will never buy another cosco product.
Autumn of Suwanee GA (06/16/08)
the info off carseat #1 is: model # 22-120-WAL L# 15B 007156 manufacture date: 04/15/05
the info off carseat #2 is: model # 22-120-POL L# 14C 059325 manufacture date: 12/07/05
The above carseats have large elastic loops that attach the fabric cover to the seat. These loops are located by the child's head when seated. My three year old son pulled one loop over his head and had it wrapped tightly around his neck. I was so lucky that I caught it fast enough that all I found is a panicked toddler.
I have been contacting Cosco and receiving no help- their company even claims to have a repair kit, but I haven't been able to get one of those either. At this point, I just want new carseats, but they refuse to recall them. I have talked to two other people whose children have become tangled in the elastic loops.
Thankfully, I caught it fast enough, so my son was just scared- not injured.
Barbara of Wellington FL (03/23/07)
I have dealt with this company twice with no avail my son choked twice on his car seat. I bought him a Cosco Touriva overhead car seat that pulls down and locks at the crotch well the seat pad started pulling from the sides and he pulled them around his neck twice once I couldn’t get them off and if I cut them the seat is no good. I want a replacement seat.
Mary of Baltimore MD (03/17/07)
We received a Cosco car seat as a gift from a relative for my son, we have put it in my mom's car, and have had nothing but problems with it. The latch part that goes between my son's legs is extremely hard to buckle into the shoulder harnesses, I LITERALLY have to stand and push down with all my might on each buckle to get them to snap in!!! There is hardly any padding to protect his head should we be in a crash, and it WILL NOT stay secure (it wobbles from side to side tremendously - so much so, I have to sit in the back seat with him to hold it steady!!).
Christine of Zephyrhills FL (09/01/06)
I wish i would have read this site before i bought my daughter hers in 2004. The car seat was great in price and fit her well and easy to latch and unlatch. even for my mom with bad arthritis in her hands. I was plased with it, that is until the day we were on the way to the zoo and got in a side impact car accident. The carseat held up but did not have enough padding to protect my little girl;14 months of age.
She died 3 days later in a coma (in and out of cardiac arrest I might add) of brain injuries because the padding in the headrest wasn't to standard.we are presently in a multimilion dollar lawsuit with the company. I have a son now who will be 1 next week, and i can't tell you how scared i am to take him out of his infant carrier.
Rebekah of Brandon FL (04/07/06)
I brought a Eddie Bauer car seat made by Cosco back in March of 05. I paid about 169.00.By the time my son was 16 mths old he was able to figure out how to undo the chest harness. All you have to do is push the button in the middle of the harness and it easily comes a part. This is very dangerous when driving. So I called Cosco to see if there was another type of chest harness available that was compatible with the car seat. The customer service person I spoke with told me there was not another harness available. So I ask that if she had any recommendation of placing something over the harness to prevent my son from opening the harness.
I am very displeased with the lack of service and the lack of concern that the customer service person had over my complaint. I know if my child is able to open the harness I am sure there are other children that can do the same. I recommend that Cosco change there chest harness to it make them a little harder to open, so a toddler can open them so easily. I usually pull over and reattach the harness but sometimes you are not able to do that.
Mackenzie of Pacolet SC (04/06/06)
My aunt purchased a Cosco stroller / carrier combination for my newborn. The carrier is also approved to be used as a carseat upto 20 or so pounds. I noticed that once my baby was old enough to start moving her arms around that the shoulder straps would come completely loose. Once I started looking at the back of the seat where the straps are secured I noticed that the only thing securing the straps was a metal piece on each strap. The straps are in no way secured to the seat to keep them from coming loose.
If a 2 month old infant could pull the straps out so easily there is no way that the straps could secure the child on impact. I started reading the warnings labled on the seat and they state that the seat meets all federal requirements, but I believe that this carrier needs to be recalled and pulled of the shelves before a child is seriously injured or even killed.
In addition, the carrier comes with a base that can be anchored in the car and the carrier snaps into it instead of having to buckle the carrier in every time. The first time I used that base I went to get my baby, at that time only a few weeks old, out of the car and was shocked to see that she was completely slumped over her neck in a very compromising position. The base is too elevated and causes the seat to sit almost straight up and in the result the baby slips dangerously forward.
Once I discovered the problem with the seat I immediately went out and bought another carseat that had secure straps and anchors. Luckily I noticed the problem before my child had the chance to become injured.
Crystal of Waterford PA (09/21/05)
I received the Spirit Travel System by Cosco at my baby shower. The shoulder straps on the carseat part of it wont stay tightened down. They always come out, and my 5-month-old son has nothing holding him in. Because of this, he turns around in his seat, and I'm afraid of him falling out. Also, he wouldn't be safe if we got into an auto accident.
Honey of West Sacramento CA (09/15/05)
We were on our way to my older child's football game and when we got there and got out our 10 month old daughter we noticed that the are on the left side of the car seat had broken. This car seat that isn't even a year old and is a issue to my childs safety.
Julie of Huber Heights OH (10/25/04):
I purchased my Cosco Touriva Car Seat car seat for my now 2-year-old son about a year ago. We went to dinner on Saturday night, my son was in the backseat with my brother-in-law who fastened him in. As we were driving down the street the arm (where it is attached into the car seat) popped out on the left side. Luckily we were right down the street from my home and my brother-n-law was in the backseat and able to hold the arm in place until we got here.
My husband is military and right now is in Iraq so I spend a lot of time driving to see my family who are about an hour away and with just myself and my 2-year-old. I don't know what I would've done had this happened and we were alone in the car or God forbid we were in an accident!
You expect that your car seat will last until they grow out of it! It's only a year old.
Natashe of Boise ID (6/23/04):
At the end of 2003 I had to buy my daugher a new carseat due to her hitting a growth spurt sooner then we figured. I went into Target and was looking at their carseats when I spotted a carseat that was in my price range (I think it was $50). After a few months the straps started to break off so now the carseat cover won't stay on. Now after washing the entire thing down (straps, cover and buckles) the main buckle won't clasp the 5-pt harness. There is a piece inside that is stuck. So my daughter can"t use it because it wont allow me to buckle her in.
We were driving down the freeway and my daughter was able to get out of the seat because the buckle came undone down by her crotch.
Mike of Sherman Oaks CA (5/9/04):
I recently purchased a Cosco Eddie Bauer Car Seat/Booster Seat. Model# 22-859-HML Maufactured 11/20/02. I purchased it at Target. I have had it for about 7 months now and about 3 months ago the 5-point safety latch started sticking and recently, every time I strapped my daughter in I had to literally push the red button down manually to latch it in.
Last Friday I was driving down the street and I had to brake suddenly and my daughter said the seat felt loose. I pulled over and sure enough the latch had disengaged. If I had been involved in an accident she could have been seriously hurt. I feel that after 7 months of occasional use, this should not have happened. I would like to have this replaced, but I cannot seem to reach the right person to speak to about it.
Antonio of Queens NY (3/25/04):
The left side of the shield that protects the chest area broke making the chair totally inoperable during a family trip where we were on the road for approximately 8 hours.
We decided to spare no expense on the value of our car seat so we paid a lot of money for our Eddie Bauer car seat. Not only were we disappointed with the chair but how quickly it broke down on us.
Racheal of Mineral Wells WV (6/21/02):
My daughter was wanting out of her Cosco car seat (high back with arms, and cup holder). She was throwing a little tantrum and was moving back and forth, then the snap that holds the two straps together broke. She did not get hurt, but if we would have been in a wreck, it would have never held her straight, and could have resulted in injuries I don't even want to think about. Now we have to go buy a new car seat. This seat is rather new and in excellent condition.
It scared me because we still had to drive home with her unprotected. We were a good ways from home and this was not safe.
Samantha of Round Rock TX (11/13/01):
The arm on the car seat broke and my baby is only 9 months old. My sister also has one that has broken in the same place. The coil on the arm came off and now I need to replace the seat. Car seats are expensive and I cannot afford to just go out and buy a new one. I paid $80 the first time around.
Melissa of Lowell MA (2/12/01):
I bought a Cosco Olympian Car Seat for my daughter who is 18 months old. On 2/12/01 I put Madison in the seat to drop her off at my mother's so I could go to work. When I tried to get her out the seat wouldn't come unlocked, My brother-in-law and myself tried for about 25 minutes, still nothing. SO I had to cut the straps to get her out.
I called Cosco when I got to work and explained my situation. First I pointed out the seat is less than a yeat old and she has only been in it 7 months. Marlene told me to unscrew where the lock is and make sure that there is nothing stuck so I did and there was nothing. She also said that she would send me a new starp and tray which I had to put on myself.
I don't see why they just dont send me a new seat. It's still under warranty and I don't feel comfortable building a car seat on my own. What if I do something wrong? What if it happens again, maybe its the lock itself.
So today I need to go buy a new seat because I have nothing, the parts wont be in for 14+ days.
Gail of Columbia CA (8/1/00):
We purchased a child car seat from our local Wal-Mart store in December of 1999. We did not use it until aprox. March of 2000 because we were still using our infant carrier. In the first part of June (after 3 months of use) the shield arm assembly broke, causing the seat to be unusable because the seat safety harness straps are attached to it.
We called Cosco's consumer number and they were very nice. A replacement was sent but it took a month to receive it on 7-7-00. Today on 7-31-00 the shield arms broke again in the same way. That is less than a month after receiving the new arms. Needless to say we will call Cosco in the morning but I think this model should be recalled because if the shield breaks with no pressure on it I can not believe it would hold in an accident and I fear for my childs safety!
Mary of Center Point, TX, writes:
I purchased a Cosco/Eddie Bauer overhead shield infant seat for my child from a Target store in San Antonio. On 2-15-00 the left hand side arm broke. I called the Target Store I purchased from and explained I no longer had the receipt.
The person I spoke with said she had one in stock and all I needed to do was switch them out, she would have one at the service desk for me the next day.
When my daughter went to do the exchange she was put though several hours of waiting with a not-quite one-month-old child and had to call me several times because the service lady was rude and disputing my claim.
Finally they exchanged the product but after a wasted morning with a child in tow. She was harrassed and disappointed in the treatment and service she received and frankly so am I.
If I had been in a accident and my child was injured because this car seat did not stand up to normal wear and tear and the store who supports the product can not exchange the product and understand child safety then I do have a problem with keeping them as a place to shop.
Plus a company who manufactures product for children should be closely watched for the child's sake.
Misty of Fridley, MN:
We purchased two Cosco car seats, both are Eddie Bauer, just in different colors. Neither is the recalled model. We paid $80 for each one. They are just junk. My daughter is 9 months old and weighs 16 pounds. She is very small and we have 2 seats so we don't put much use into them, but they are already almost useless.
The side latches stay locked so you can't move the handle into any other position; it stays up all the time, but you aren't supposed to drive with it up. They are also very heavy and awkward. It also seems like she's almost outgrown it, but it's supposed to be up to 25 pounds. I definitely won't use them much longer, not that they would last.
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