Amazon has been forced to remove waterproof car seat covers after trading standards bosses discovered they potentially block life-saving airbags from deploying.
Motorists were told to return products made by the Waterproof Seat Cover Co in a recall notice issued on Tuesday [October 14th] after trading standards deemed them a hazard.
Car seat covers are designed to protect upholstery from dirt, spills and stains. Trading regulations require them to be fitted with a seam to allow the airbags to open.
But the Office for Product Safety & Standards deemed the seat covers ‘non-compliant’ as they did not have an airbag applicable seam as advertised.
This may cause the airbags to be blocked in the event of a collision – meaning the product does not meet the requirements of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.
The government body advised affected customers to stop using the product ’immediately’.
Customers who bought the product from Amazon were advised to follow the instructions emailed by the retail giant.
The recalled products include the following models manufactured by the Waterproof Seat Cover Co: PO 19141, PO 19161, PO 19209, PO 19229, PO 19242, PO 19276, PO 19285, PO 19305, PO 19308, PO 19329.
The Office for Product Safety & Standards said: “The product has been deemed non-compliant as it was advertised as having an airbag applicable seam, which is not present.
“If the product is fitted in vehicles with airbags, the seat cover may prevent the correct activation of the airbag during a collision.”
Amazon’s product safety team said: “Our Product Safety Team investigates and acts on reported safety complaints and incidents to protect customers from risks of injury related to products sold on Amazon.co.uk.
“If a retailer or European authority notifies us of a product recall, we’ll stop selling the product as quickly as possible.
“We’ll also email customers who have already bought the product from us.
“In this email, we’ll advise them of the measures put in place by the manufacturer or the authorities.”
A Waterproof Seat Cover Co spokesman said: “After a recent internal review, we discovered that some units shipped from April 2024 onwards were manufactured without the airbag-compatible seam.
“This means that, if fitted to seats with seat-mounted airbags, the covers may prevent the airbags from deploying properly, which creates a potential safety risk.
“If your seat cover is one of the listed POs and your seats have integrated airbags you should stop using these covers immediately.
“We are offering a full refund and free return of the covers to us or a replacement set of seat covers with the airbag seam.”
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