Infant Car Seats- Do They Expire?

YES! typically they last 5 years. go to the site of the manufacturer and see if it tellsyou where your models expeation/manufacturers date is. al of minre on the rear of the seat. they are either on a sticker or it looks like a timeclock stamped in the plastic and hands/arrows point to the number of the month year of man. or exp. date.

http://babyproducts.about.com/b/2006/07/12/reader-questio...

My now 7 year old daughter is using a car seat that was bought for her now 13 yo brother. Check the makers website to be sure that it has not been recalled, or that you can get the part fixed that it was recalled for. Other than that, I don't see why you have to go out and buy another seat when you have a perfectly good one to use.

Yes, C. they do expire. They usually have a 5 year expiration date from the date of manufacture. If you cannot find the date it was manufactured then play it safe and replace it. You also need to know if it has ever been in an accident that it needs replaced. You should also check to see if the seat you has is on the recall list. All of this information can be found on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website: www.nhtsa.gov
You can also check to see if their is a Child Passenger Seat Technician or Check Station in your area. That is what I am and that is how I know the info. Feel free to ask me any questions you have and I will do my best to help.
Congrats on the new baby!
J.<><

Car seats do "expire" - typically they are built to last 6 years, so as long as it is not that old you can probably use it. The other things that are important with reusing are seat are: make sure all the parts are intact, it should have never been in any type of crash, you can wash the fabric in the washer but should never wash the straps. If you have any doubs and want to be sure it is safe, bring it to a nearby fire station. They usually have car seat technicians or can refer you to a station that does. They can also make sure that your seats are installed correctly! Hope that helps!

Yes, carseats do expire. Along with the other websites mentioned, check out carseats.org. There is a formum there and some very useful tools to help you in determining whether your carseat is expired and how to decide on a new one. I just had to replace my son's car seat (he is now 3). I used it for my daughter also who is 5. Also, just a rule of thumb, there is a manufacture date on the carseat. 6 years from that date is the expiration date if you can't find one. Hope this helps and congrats on the little girl on the way. :)

you could always call the manufacturer

but i think that if you havent been in a car accident with the seat and it is less than 10 years old it should be ok but that is just my opinion. like i said you should call the manufacturer.

my son is almost 4 and i have 10 month old and they used the same baby carrier.

hope this helps.

Yes, there is an expiration... IF you are trying to resell the seat. 5 years from date of manufacture is the limit by law. NO, you do not need to replace your seat. If it has some serious wear and tear, sure, but if it hasn't been in an accident or had some sort of structural problem, do you really think it is unsafe? Those things will take forever to degrade in the landfills, I don't think you have anything to worry about after only 4 years of use.

We used our seats for 2 kids and then passed them on to friends. I have never known anyone to purchase a new seat due to expiration, it really just affects you trying to resell it.

You could contact the manufacturer if you want to feel more secure about the decision, but I'd get them to PINPOINT what they think the problem is with the chair before you get rid of it. I think it is a shame so many seats that are perfectly fine are in the landfills.

Take care,
Liz

p.s. My sisters used their seats for 9 years and cycled through 3 kids each and the seats were in good enough shape to pass on to friends. They are basically large hunks of plastic, as long as the straps are in good shape, you should be fine. They are built really sturdy.

Infant seats are good for five years or one car crash whichever comes first. When involved in a collision, the harness locks into place like it is supposed to, which stretches the webbing of the seatbelt.

As mentioned below car seats do expire. Try taking yours apart really well. I recently had to look for my expiration date and it was under the covering like embossed in the hard part of the seat -not easy to see. The person below recommended taking it to a firestation - my husband is a firefighter and I would recommend you first phone the fire station as they all do not deal with car seats, there are only a few that are actually trained and certified to deal with car seats. You can also contact the company of the car seat ie. Britax etc. they are usually very helpful.

I am pretty sure that infant and convertible seats have a 5 year expiration and the combo seat/boosters have a 10 year expiration. You should be able to look it up based on the model number. If your older child is only 3 then the seat should be good for the time your new baby would use it (unless you did not get it new when your first was born). Good luck!

yes, i thnk they have an expiration date...but......that doesn't mean you can't use them. like everything on the market they continue to find "new" ways of doing things and new items are being made to "flush" out the old items.
i used to be a medic in the fire department and we would install car seats all the time and the only thing you need to be concerned with is that is....that it has not been in an accident before, dropped from a certain height, that it fits your child properly, also that it is installed correctly.
Other than that you should be okay.
Hope this helps.

Hello,

Yes carseats do expire. All of them have dates on them they are usually on the sides near the bottom of the carseat. If you can not find a expiration date call the company and they should be able to tell you when you give them the model of the carseat.

Wow,this is informative -- I didn't realize there were expiration dates right on the seats! Besides the other advice I'd just add, whether you're figuring out whether to keep the seat or shopping for a new one, go to both www.cpsc.gov (Consumer Product Safety Commission) and the web site for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Check CPSC for possible recall information about your old seat (it's easy to miss a recall) and the Insurance Institute for its latest ratings on car seats.

I believe they are good for around 5 or 6 years , but as it is your own seat and you know it has been looked after , as long as it has not been involved in a car accident then you should be ok to use it.

In addition to all the other good advice you have gotten.. consider how you have stored your infant carrier seat. If it has been stored in an attic for example (or garage) where it has gone from extremely cold temps to extremely hot temps then this puts stress on the plastic. I had one infant carrier for my two daughters only 21 months apart.. but got a new one (borrowed from someone who had a baby closer to my sons age) when I had my son 3 and 1/2 years after my second.
Good luck