Your child's car seat may not be as secure as you thought

Your child's car seat may not be as secure as you thought

One million cars are on U.S. roads with recalled child safety seat L.A.T.C.H. connectors that haven't been repaired, according to a CARFAX report.

HOUSTON - Your child's safety seat in your car may not be as secure as you thought.

By the numbers:

Nearly one million vehicles on U.S. roads have recalled child car seat L.A.T.C.H. connectors that haven't been repaired, according to a new CARFAX report.

Texas has the second-highest number of vehicles with defective LATCH connectors, at 61,200.

Why you should care:

This can put children at risk of serious injury.

These anchors are a critical safety feature that hold safety seats firmly in place, helping keep children properly restrained, especially in a crash.

Nearly 1 million vehicles recalled

Big picture view:

CARFAX analysis shows one million vehicles have been recalled in recent years for child seat anchor defects, including faulty welds, misaligned anchors, and coatings that could interfere with proper installation.

These recalls affect a wide variety of vehicle makes and models.

"L.A.T.C.H. stands for Lower Anchor and Tethers for Children.  It’s designed to secure child seats in the vehicle. So, if the anchors are faulty due to weak wells or misalignment, or interference from the coating, then that becomes a big problem.  The child seat then may not be properly secured and that increases the risk of injury in a crash or a sudden stop when you’re in the car," explained Em Nguyen with CARFAX.

And while you may not have young children who are currently riding in your car, you may have someone else's child with you at some point, or you may sell the car and a family with children buys it.

"These recalls we’ve seen over the past few years, from 2022 to 2023, and just last year thousands of L.A.T.C.H. recalls. But there’s not a lot of attention to these recalls even though they affect our most vulnerable," said Nguyen.

How to check for recalls

What you can do:

You can check for recalls for your vehicle for free by going to NHTSA.gov or Carfax.com/recall.  

Schedule repairs at your dealership or auto manufacturer.  Recall repairs are also free.

There are two types of anchors in vehicles: lower anchors and tether anchors.  Consult your owner's manual to find them.