The defective child restraint seats can sometimes be minor or very serious. Regardless of what the problem with the product is, consumers should discontinue the use of the child restraint seat if owning another child restraint seat, until it has been corrected. Most of the defective child restraint seats can be fixed by replacing a part that the manufacturer should send free of charge, though in some instances the child restraint seats might need to be completely destroyed. It is important the unfixable defective child restraint seats be completely taken apart or destroyed so no else can use it and put other children at risk for serious injuries.

Upon purchasing child restraint seats, registration cards are included for consumers. It is easy to overlook this process, but the outcome can be deadly. In the event that the model has been found to be part of defective child restraint seats, the registration card will allow the manufacturer to alert the consumer by mail of any recall announcements. If purchasing a child restraint seat secondhand, consumers can get a registration form from the manufacturer or the NHTSA. Especially in secondhand situations, consumers should take the time to first check if an earlier recall was made because defective child restraint seats problems were found.

Parents discover many defective child restraint seats problems and by reporting them a potentially high number of lives and serious injuries can be prevented. Unsafe consumer products cost the U.S. over $700 billion per year.