Do I Need New Car Seats?

I also got in a car accident with my son in the car and the pediatrician said that if you are in an accident you should get a new car seat. I didn't and sometimes wonder if I made the wrong decision. If I had known that the other person's insurance would have covered it I would have been all over that. My son's car seat didn't seem to be damaged at all but that is what his doctor said.

J., I was also in a low speed accident where there was no apparent damage to my car. I was told I needed a new car seat because even though you may not be able to see anything there could be hair line cracks etc. Insurance covered the cost of the new seat so there was no out of pocket expense for me. Also, something new that I learned was that carseats "expire" after 5 years whether they have been in an accident or not. I guess the normal wear and tear and the aging of the plastic makes them brittle after five years. Hope this helps.

K.

When I had my car seat inspected, the officer said that whenever you get in an accident of any type, the safety of the seat is compromised. He said to tell the insurance company and they cover the cost of a new one. If they don't, and you get into another accident and the car seat fails, they are liable.

I have heard that too, but didn't replace my car seat after a fender bender. That was nearly 2 years ago and the car seat still works fine.

i was in the same type of accident. when the police arrived i asked the same question and both officers said maybe but they are not sure. talk to your ins. agent. they will know a little more. i was lucky enough not to have to buy new ones. the speed of my accident was about 30-35 mph. no airbags just a fender-bender. hope this helps

Hi, J.. I'm glad no one was hurt in that car accident. You do not need to buy any new carseats. It's not like your car was totaled. Plus, you said that police officer spoke to your daughters and I am 100% sure, he would have told you that u needed to get new carseats. You can't believe everything someone tells you, but to be on the safe side check with your insurance company.

I was in a car accident with my children in car seats and didn't replace the car seats. It was a small fender bender and the car seats work just as well as the day I bought them. The police didn't seemed worried and when I asked he checked the car seats out and said they were fine. If the car seats are working and you still aren't sure call your local police dept and ask to make an appt to have the car seats looked at...they do it for free.

Did you contact your insurance company or the other parties? If so, call them back and let them know that and they will most likely replace it for no cost. As I think others have mentioned, the foam and plastic used to protect an infant or child in a crash is compromised by impact. Even if nothing is broken, the safety of the seat may be diminished. I was in a similar small crash (no internal damage and really just a nuisance) and the insurance company insisted on replacing the seat immediately.

Hi J.,
I am sorry about your car. That stinks. Good thing you're all ok though. I was in an incident when my son was 10 months old. There was no damage to him or his seat and I had heard the same thing about replacing the seats.

I called my insurance agent and was told that if its something that minor, then there was no need to replace it. I know there was some more legal mumbo jumbo, but that was the jist of it.

Call your insurance agent and see what they say. It may just be enough to put your mind at ease.

Beht

I'm sorry about the accident but glad everyone is ok!

We were involved in an accident too when somebody didn't stop and "bumped" into our car (it was also low speed). Nobody was injured only the car's bumper had to be replaced.

The driver's insurance company told us they would pay for the new car seats though, so we replaced them just to be safe.
Good luck!

YES, you need a new seat. Even in low impact crashes, the seats may have been impacted in places you can't see. You need to replace car seats everytime you are in any sort of accident, regardless of how minor. I wish there was more education out there about car seats, as I was not aware of that until about a year ago. Police are great, but they are not up to date, often times, on car seats. Plus, they are more worried about making sure everyone is safe. They often times don't think about car seats. They probably assume you already know that they need to be replaced if you are in an accident, or if the car seat is expired. (Yes, car seats do expire. Typically 5-7 years after they are manufactured)

I didn't see this mentioned so I though I would add it. If you don't replace your car seats after a crash, even a minor one, you void the warranty on it. So if somethings breaks, or it is recalled you may not get help from the manufacturer because most clearly states in the instructions/warranty that they are to be replaced after a crash.

The grandfather of one of my son's friends in preschool was in a minor accident and he has a carseat for picking her up from school. The insurance company paid for a new one, and it ended up being a nicer, safer car seat than he previously had. Definitely call the insurance company and see if they will cover the cost of this.

I had someone rear-end me a couple months ago and according to the Fire Dept. in my area I did not need to replace my car seat because there was no damage to the inside of the vehicle. Since nothing protruded into the interior then I was fine to keep it. This was the same person that did our child seat inspection when we first bought it and had them check it for proper installation. I am not sure as to the extent of your damage but it also helped that our seat is a Britax and it also says this right in their website about safety and that it need ot be replaced. You may want to ask the manufacturer if you have a lower end brand carseat because they may have different rules to abide by.
Hope this helps!

From what I have always heard, any type of accident usually you should replace the seats as there can be damage to the seat that isn't visibly obvious.

I don't know what kind of seat you have, but if you go to the Britax web site (www.britaxusa.com) they have a section on accidents and replacing your seat. It basically gives you a list of things that "need" to happen in an accident to damage your seat.

Also be aware that the insurance company is the one that will pay for the new seat. If the accident wasn't your fault the other driver's insurance will pay for it. I was in an accident in May and the other guys insurance had me buy a new seat and then send them the bill. I got a check in the mail right away.

Good luck!

Jessica

Call your local police dept and your insurance company, they both should know.