Infant car seat expiration dates

[Adrianne]

A friend recent told me about infant car seat expiration dates. She said they expire after 6 years. She also mentioned that if you are "caught" with an expired car seat the police can fine you.

 

I did some research on the internet about Pa state law since this is where I live and cannot find any such law.

 

Does anyone know about this? With a baby coming in 4 weeks, I feel I need to look into this thoroughly.

 

Thanks!

[lynn]

A friend recent told me about infant car seat expiration dates. She said they expire after 6 years. She also mentioned that if you are "caught" with an expired car seat the police can fine you.

 

I did some research on the internet about Pa state law since this is where I live and cannot find any such law.

 

Does anyone know about this? With a baby coming in 4 weeks, I feel I need to look into this thoroughly.

 

Thanks!

 

I do know that you should not sell or buy a car seat over 6 years. Now to get fined for this I don't think so.

[Shenan]

A friend recent told me about infant car seat expiration dates. She said they expire after 6 years. She also mentioned that if you are "caught" with an expired car seat the police can fine you.

 

I did some research on the internet about Pa state law since this is where I live and cannot find any such law.

 

Does anyone know about this? With a baby coming in 4 weeks, I feel I need to look into this thoroughly.

 

Thanks!

 

I don't know about police being able to fine you BUT car seats DO expire! The expiration used to be 5 years I didn't know it was moved to 6 yrs. The reason being is because the safety standards required for them change so frequently.

[Krista in LA]

I don't live in PA, but I have never heard of any police checking the expiration date on the seat. However, you don't want to use a seat that is too old because over time, with exposure to sunlight and high/low temperatures, plastic will deteriorate. An older seat might not hold up to the forces of a crash and can put your child at risk.

[chaik76]

I live in PA too...and I don't think you get fined. I called our carseat co. and they said to get rid of a carseat after 6 years. The research I read pointed to this too...the plastic degrades, leaving it not as safe in an accident.

ETA: Plus, how would they ever know your car seat was older than 6 years? They don't go looking at the expiration date on them!:D

[mommylawyer]

It seems as though individual seat manufacturers do put expirations dates on their seats and encourage the consumer destroys the seat (rather than resell it) after that expiration date.

 

Here is a link to an article.

 

However, in my brief research, I cannot find any state laws that say you will be fined if you are using a car seat past expiration.

 

It seems as though, beyond the manufacturers' recommendations, it is up to the consumer to heed this advice; not the states to enforce it.

[Adrianne]

I live in PA too...and I don't think you get fined. I called our carseat co. and they said to get rid of a carseat after 6 years. The research I read pointed to this too...the plastic degrades, leaving it not as safe in an accident.

ETA: Plus, how would they ever know your car seat was older than 6 years? They don't go looking at the expiration date on them!:D

 

Apparently in this situation they did look at the date and saw it was expired. Now this something that happened to a friend of a friend (you know how that goes)

 

I had the same carseats for both of other boys which I know was more than 6 years. We were in an accident and both those seats were discarded after the accident.

[Brigitte]

Yes, the rule of thumb for carseats is 6 years from date of manufacture. That date can be found on the side of the seat, usually on a label near all the warnings. Some manufacturers put and expiration date on the seat. There are some new ones coming out that are meant for extended harnessing and they have a longer useful life, but those are really recent.

 

If your seat is over 6 years old (not from when you bought it, but the manu. date) or was in an accident, destroy it.

[Caroline]

I donated mine to the local middle school to use with the smart babies they have for home ec. (A smart baby is like a robot doll.)

[sweetfeet]

It is 6 years. If you have a proper use clause using the seat past the expiration date can result in a fine. They degrade over time, parts are lost and safety standards change. If you aren't interested in spending money on a new infant seat I'd look into the cosco scenera, a convertible seat, that goes from 5-40 pounds and costs about $45. Otherwise I'd put feelers out to family and good friends to see if you can borrow one.

[Adrianne]

This may be a strange question but if the plastic in my carseat will degrade after 6 years making it unsafe for my child, what about the plastic in my car? It is not similar? Does it not degrade making it unsafe for everyone? Should I buy a new car after six years????

[lynn]

This may be a strange question but if the plastic in my carseat will degrade after 6 years making it unsafe for my child, what about the plastic in my car? It is not similar? Does it not degrade making it unsafe for everyone? Should I buy a new car after six years????

 

I think it has to do with the locking mechanisms.

[sweetfeet]

This may be a strange question but if the plastic in my carseat will degrade after 6 years making it unsafe for my child, what about the plastic in my car? It is not similar? Does it not degrade making it unsafe for everyone? Should I buy a new car after six years????

 

The plastic isn't the 'beef' of your car. It's sheet metal and a metal cage that protect you. The plastic panels are just there to hide wires and gauges. You could theoretically remove your interior plastic paneling. The plastic of a carseat is the carseat. It is what holds your child in place during an accident. There isn't much else to a carseat other than fabric.

Unless you drive a saturn like I do..:lol:

[~Tara~]

It is 6 years. If you have a proper use clause using the seat past the expiration date can result in a fine. They degrade over time, parts are lost and safety standards change. If you aren't interested in spending money on a new infant seat I'd look into the cosco scenera, a convertible seat, that goes from 5-40 pounds and costs about $45. Otherwise I'd put feelers out to family and good friends to see if you can borrow one.

 

Yeah that. But a cop 'catching' that is unlikely, in all honesty. They are not very car seat savvy. Even those who have gone through a required tech course.

 

Of course, I am by no means encouraging use of an expired seat. I'm just saying the likelihood of getting busted for such is slim. Now, if you were to pull up at a car seat check event..that's another story. ;)