While a brand often associated with celebrities, Bugaboo has been in the news for another distinction recently – a stroller recall. The Bugaboo Bee is the specific model being recalled. A front wheel sticks when swiveling, and when this happens, the stroller can tip over.
Unlike most stroller recalls, the Bugaboo Bee is still usable – just as long as the front wheels are locked to prevent tipping. For those that purchased the stroller between January and September 2011 and registered with the brand, Bugaboo will send out a repair kit to customers at no charge. If, on the other hand, you didn’t register, customers can fill out a request form for a kit. The repair kit will contain a wheel replacement set with metal bearing wheels to prevent non-swiveling.
The Bugaboo Bee experienced issues with its wheels nearly a year ago. Because of shimmying issue, the company replaced the Bee’s metal wheels with plastic. Some models on the market still have metal wheels, and if you own such a Bugaboo stroller and find that the wheels are shimmying, the brand will send out a washer ring set for fixing the problem.
About the recall and correcting the problem, Bugaboo released a statement to the press, stating:
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and their children is paramount to Bugaboo. Previously this year we found that, although non-swiveling wheels affect the driving experience, we believed it did not affect the safety of the stroller.
“However, the latest safety assessment by an independent expert concluded, following further tests, that there is a small chance that the stroller’s front wheels could jam, which could make the stroller tip over.
“In light of this we believe that the safety profile of this product is inadequate and not up to our quality standard. We take this very seriously and therefore we immediately stop shipment and sales of the Bugaboo Bee.
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“We believe that these metal bearing swivel wheels will be the solution to the non-swiveling issues some Bugaboo Bee customers are experiencing and remove any potential for tip-over and the risks associated with tip-over.”
