By Christine Frietchen on October 20, 2010 in
Do you own a Graco MetroLite or Quattro Tour stroller purchased prior to December 2007? If so, it's time to check the label and verify the model number -- Graco is recalling 2 million of these strollers in cooperation with the Consumer Products Safety Commission. The danger is a result of the distance between the bottom of the child's toy tray and the seat bottom. When a child isn't buckled into the harness, the child could slide down between the tray and the seat, becoming trapped. Four deaths by strangulation were reported between 2003 and 2005, along with several injuries.
Affected models include the Graco Quatto Tour stroller made sold between Nov. 2002 and Dec. 2007, along with Quattro Tour Travel Systems sold between Oct. 2002 and Oct. 2007. The Graco MetroLite stroller, also included in the recall, includes models sold between Nov. 2000 and Dec. 2007, as well as MetroLite Travel Systems sold between Dec. 2000 and June 2005. (See the CPSC website for a complete list of model numbers.)
All of these models pre-date the Jan. 2008 adoption of a voluntary standard for the tray-to-seat distance measurement, so currently available Graco MetroLite strollers are not affected; they include a larger distance between the two components, so children cannot become trapped. In fact, we just top-rated a MetroLite stroller in the latest update to our full-featured strollers report. Currently available Quattro Tour strollers and travel systems are not affected either.
If you own one of the recalled Graco strollers, stop using it and call Graco for a repair kit: 877-828-4046. The CPSC notes that parents can continued safely using the stroller as a travel system in conjunction with a car seat.