Recall on Peg Perego Travel Systems

[babytoluv]

I'm going to be a first time mother in two months and after thoroughly shopping around for a stroller, my husband and I decided on the Peg Perego Pilko Travel System. Yesterday I heard that the stroller was being recalled which disturbs me greatly. I called Perego today and was told that it was the infant car seat and not the stroller. I don't know what to do. The Company told me that they plan to issue a statement in five days and that the problem was very minor. Should I wait to see what happens? If they offer a repair kit, will the stroller still be safe? I'm putting my baby's life into this stroller and I'm torn between returning it or keeping it. Out of all of the strollers my husband and I saw, this was the best one in quality and durability but now we are questioning their durability due to the recall. What would you do? I'm due at the end of August and don't have much time to shop around again for another stroller.

Thanks!

Ilana

[Geebee]

Personally, I'd keep the stroller if it is not the problem and return the infant seat for one with more of a track record in the US, like the Century or Graco. You can purchase the adapter bar for the Plikos separately to use the other brands of infant car seats. I wouldn't worry about the quality of the stroller if it is a Pliko. These have a good track record. Since this was Pegs first run at infant seats in the US, it is understandable that they might have a little trouble with the infant car seats.

Depending on their statement, I'd definitely worry more about a "repair kit" for an infant car seat.

If it puts you more at ease, return the whole thing, purchase a Pliko and infant car seat separately (Century or Graco) as well as the Pliko adapter bar.

I have a Pliko, and it has been great. I haven't used it with an infant car seat (purchased the stroller when my child was 1 year), so I can't help you there.

I hope that helps!

[alandenisefields]

YES, the recall will focus on the INFANT SEAT not the stroller. Here is the info we mailed out to BABY BARGAINS readers yesterday:

1. Perego to recall Prima Pappa high chair, infant seat.

A sharp-eyed reader in Ohio noticed that Babies R Us has pulled the Prima Pappa high chair off its shelves, marking the product with signs that said "DO NOT SELL." The reader discovered a copy of an email left at the store that was addressed to all Babies R Us managers warning of the pending recall of high chairs because of an "entrapment issue." The email also said Perego will be recalling their infant car seat (the Primo Viaggio) and its associated travel systems.

We immediately contacted Peg Perego today to find out what was up. Their customer service department said the high chair recall will focus on chairs made BEFORE August 26, 1999. There have been no injuries associated with
this problem with the high chair, although Perego says some babies were "scratched or bruised" by the problem. Unfortunately, Perego would NOT tell us exactly what was wrong with the high chair, but we assume it has
something to do with the unit's restraint bar. Perego will be sending out a repair kit to parents who contact their customer service line at (800) 671-1701 for the US and 800-661-5050 in Canada.

An executive with Perego refused to discuss the details of the recall, because of a rule that bars manufacturers from discussing recalls before the government issues a press release on the matter. (Although, as always,
manufacturers seem to leak word of this to large customers like Babies R Us<this heads up gets enables the chain to pull product off the shelves a the recall happens. Yes, we are frustrated that Perego thinks leaking word
to Babies R Us is OK, while discussing the recall with safety advocates is forbidden.)

Details on the infant car seat recall are even more sketchy. Again, Perego refused to divulge details, but did confirm it will affect the car seat AND their associated travel systems. (There are NO problems with the Perego stroller; just the infant car seat). Our Perego source again referred to the
problem as "very minor."

We have decided to break this story early as we have recommended the Peg Perego Prima Pappa high chair in our book for several years. When we do get
the official word from the CPSC and NHTSA, we will send those along. Meanwhile, if you have questions, contact Perego at their customer service line (800) 671-1701 for the US and 800-661-5050 in Canada.
We should stress that these are NOT official recalls YET. It is unclear exactly what the government will do regarding these problems. Expect to hear more on this next week.

Alan & Denise Fields, Authors
BABY BARGAINS
Email: [email protected]. Web:

[babytoluv]

Thanks for the info but my husband doesn't want to mix and match the stroller with a different brand of infant carrier. He either wants to keep it together or trade it in for another travel system. I like Peg Preggo but I don't want a recalled product.

Ilana

[shandrin]

I agree with others since the stroller itself has NO recall, i'd buy the adapter bar and use a major brand of carseat.

Honestly their carseat(peg perego's) isn't all that great anyhow! but their strollers are excellent quality and very safe, the pliko has been made for years and as far as i know not ever had a recall.:)

[riostoker]

I posted this info on the car seat forum, but I thought I'd post it here too. It might calm some of your fears about the Peg car seats... This is what I was told when I called Peg Perego about the recall...

There are 16,000 of these car seats out there, and only 360 of them are affected by the recall. Just because your part number is listed in the recall list does not necessarily mean you are affected.

How to inspect:

Position the seat in front of you as if the baby is facing you. (out of the base)
tilt it up (as if baby looking up in the air)
You'll see two sets of latches. The first set have the red arrows above them.
Looking at the first set of latches, examine the latch to your right (the baby's left).

You should see ONLY the grey lever that snaps on to the frame... no metal. If you see metal, you are part of the recall. If you only see grey, and no metal, then your seat is absolutely fine.

When my husband and I looked at the Pliko and various car seats, it just seemed like none of the other brands fit in there as securely as the Peg seat. We had hoped to use the attachment bar and another brand seat for cost savings, but the whole Peg system just seemed to work much better. We bought it, and our seat was not affected by the recall.