Hi there,
We just wanted to let you know about a dangerous car seat - Jané Gravity.
We have had it for 18 months, and in January we noticed that the harness would loosen if you pulled it to test it once fastened. Also, another issue that we had is that when installing the seat into the isofix connectors the isofix base connectors wouldn’t latch properly and the indicators wouldn’t turn fully green. Again Jane blame this on debris getting stuck in the mechanism.
We contacted the retailer and they collected it and sent it off to Jané to be looked at. They said that debris had got trapped in the mechanism and they cleaned it out and it seemed fine when we got it back.
But once again, a couple of weeks ago, the harness would loosen again when pulled on. We took the car seat out to thoroughly clean it, but when we came to fit it back into the car to test it, not only did the isofix connectors struggle to fully latch again but the harness still loosened when tested. It was sent off to the manufacturer again, who said they tested it and said that it was working fine. We received it back with a written report confirming it had been tested and was working correctly. We immediately put it back in our car, and to our astonishment the harness would still loosen if pulled, after they had claimed it was working fine. We did a video of the harness loosening as evidence and immediately sent it over to Winstanleys Pramworld. We have included the video link in the post for you to see here -
streamable.com/016tj
This is obviously a dangerous car seat which would offer no protection if we had been in an accident whilst our 2 year old was in the chair.
The manufacturers response is that they tested the seat and that is was fine, and that there must be debris in the seat which can’t be cleaned out!
We regularly clean out the car seat and vacuum it but it’s a child car seat at the end of the day, we shouldn’t be expected to keep it in pristine condition!
This is the full response of Winstanleys Pramworld where we purchased the seat from -
Hi Adam
Please accept my apologies for the delay in getting back to you.
We have been liaising with the manufacturer regarding the issues that you are experiencing.
Your case has been investigated by ourselves and the manufacturer and has concluded that the issue reported with the seat is a none manufacturing fault.
The harness on the seat is not faulty, but the issue is being caused by the amount of debris stuck in and around the mechanism. I have attached images of the condition in which the seat arrived into the service centre to show the amount of debris within the mechanisms. I have also attached the service report form to show that the seat and harness were both in full working order when it left the service department.
The issues that you have reported are not covered under the warranty of the seat however they did try and resolve this free of charge by removing as much debris as possible. However, there is no possible way of completely removing all of the debris within this seat therefore cannot eliminate the prospect of more debris causing further problems.
The manufacturer has offered to have this seat back to attempt to clean it further as a gesture of good will but cannot guarantee that this will completely remove all of the debris causing the issues.
A replacement seat would be chargeable as the issues are not covered under the warranty.
If you require any further information regarding this please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind Regards
Nichola
Winstanleys Pramworld
So not only are they still trying to say that the harness is working as intended, despite the fact we sent them a video of the harness loosening the very next day after receiving it back, but they are also blaming us for allowing debris to get into the car seat - it’s a child’s car seat, of course there is going to be some debris and food around the seat.
It is a dangerous manufacturing fault if the safety mechanisms can’t be easily cleaned in a way that enables the said mechanisms to do their job.
We advise that you stay well away from Jané products especially their car seats as not only are they potentially dangerous, but their customer service is dreadful.
They have now renamed the Gravity Car seat to - Ikonic Rotating iSize Car Seat.
Many Thanks, Adam & Laura