More than 447,000 infant car seat carriers have been recalled by the Dorel Juvenile Group because the handle to the carrier seat can break loose. The company has received 77 reports of the handle fully or partially coming off the car seat/carrier resulting in at least three injuries to infants including bumps, bruises and a head injury. The joint announcement was made by Dorel, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

This recall involves car seat/carriers branded Safety 1st, Cosco, Eddie Bauer and Disney that were manufactured from January 6, 2008 through April 6, 2009. (See the recall notice for the full list of model numbers.) The model number and manufacture date are located on a label on the side of the car seat/carrier. They were sold as part of a travel system. The stroller portion of the travel system is not affected by this recall.

The travel systems were sold at department and juvenile product stores nationwide from January 2008 through December 2009 for between $120 and $220.

The manufacturer is advising consumers not to use the handle of the car seat/carrier until a repair kit has been installed. Parents can continue to use it as a car seat when properly installed in a vehicle.  To receive a free repair kit, contact Dorel at (866) 762-3316 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.djgusa.com/safety_notice.