would you buy a new car seat?

Question

We bought our infant car seat in October 2009, a month before my first son was born. We used it through his first year and a half, and then through m y second son's year and a half. I am now expecting another baby boy in December of this year. At that point, the car seat will be 4 years old. Before he hits a year old though, it will be 5 years old. I know they say that car seats expire at 5 years, but would it really be so bad to use it for 5 and a half years? Or would it be better to just buy a new car seat before he's born so I don't have to worry about getting a new one just before he grows out of it. If I did get a new one, I know I can get a convertible one that turns front facing when he is ready to turn around, but if I can get away with just using the infant seat until he grows out of it, and then getting one that goes from a front facing with harness into a booster, then I won't have to worry about getting another car seat for a long time. What do you think?

Answer 1

First of all every car seat has an expiration printed right on it, either on the bottom or on the base. The reason they expire, as some people do not seem to be aware, is that the plastic components can break down over time making a higher risk of failure in an accident. They give you a reasonably conservative time frame to use it and to replace it. It is often 5-7 years, so check your seat to see when it actually expires. The expiration date does not mean that the second you pass that month, the seat becomes unsafe. They are conservative with the estimate because they know many people will go longer. If it is a few more months I wouldn't worry about it.

Answer 2

A car crash is an extremely violent event. It needs to be able to hold onto several hundreds pounds of force at a given moment. Imagine a couple of 200 lb men hanging onto the harness straps. Brittle plastic during a crash could potentially crack near the harness adjuster strap. The harness could rip through the shell and eject the baby. This is a hypothetical situation, but it could happen.



A manufacturer also puts an expiration date because parts gets missing over time. Do you still have the manual? If you do not have the manual, can it be found online? Some car seats are incompatible with vehicles. Did you buy a new vehicle? Can this seat be correctly installed in the new vehicle?



I have not seen the car seat and I do not know how it was used or stored, so I do not know if I would use it in your situation. It depends.



Children should ride rear facing until they are at least 2 years old. Here is why: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8gU9zzCGA8



Saving money is extremely important in this economy. I can totally understand. Safety does not need to be sacrificed. In fact, getting a convertible car seat will be the best financial decision, better than getting a combination seat (forward facing harness to booster). Take a look:



If you want an infant car seat get the Cosco Comfy Carry Elite Plus ($70). After your baby outgrows that, buy the Safety 1st Guide 65 ($70) This is a convertible car seat that goes from rear to forward facing with the harness system. This seat should last you to age 3 rear facing (if you choose to rear face this long) and until age 5 forward facing. After your child outgrows that, get an inexpensive high back booster seat ($50).



A seat that goes from forward facing harnessed mode to a belt positioning booster usually do not make the best boosters as they do not allow growing room. In fact, one model, the Evenflo Securekid only gives you about an 1 inch worth of torso height room growth after outgrowing the harness by height. I find that booster seats whose only job is a booster, do a better job of positioning the seat belt. It is also much easier to move between vehicles.

Answer 3

Here is what I would do --- I would not waste one dime of money on a new 'infant seat' for this baby. You DO NOT have to change seats at age 1. In fact, you can switch to a convertible AT ANY TIME !!!! In fact, you do not even need to use an infant seat! All my boys were in convertible seats from birth on, the smallest at 5 pounds.

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But since you do have an infant seat, use that till outgrown or expired if you wish. Then, even if the lil one is a few months old go ahead and get a convertible seat for baby. or go straight to a convertible seat.

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We have the Diono Radian and First Years True Fit -- both fit a tiny newborn Rear facing till they turned forward facing at around age 3, our one boy is age 6 and just outgrown the harness. He is in the Diono with a seat belt. A highly rated seat for birth to booster is the new Evenflo Symphony. You usually don't find these seats at Walmart, but can be ordered online. Some convertible seats are a perfect fit for a newborn, some are not (some Britax do not fit newborns). The Evenflo seat is about $200, but will last you hopefully the full 8 years of needing a seat. (the seats I mentioned have an 8 yr life).

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New recommendations is to rear face to age 2 at the youngest / car seat until they outgrow the harness with youngest age for a booster is age 4 / and booster to age 8.

Answer 4

Where did you store the car seat? If it was in climate controlled storage, I would not have a problem using it. I bought a new car seat for my youngest because I had kept my oldest child's car seat in a storage building outside and read about why car seats now come with an "expiration date". There is an issue with the plastic not being as strong because the car seat gets very hot in the summer inside a car and then in the winter, it's exposed to the cold. Well, that's pretty much the same for an outside storage building and so, I threw my older child's car seat into the trash and bought a new car seat for my new baby.

By the way, most convertible car seats will fit newborns as well, so even if you cannot use the infant car seat, you can get away with just buying one car seat (provided that your new baby is not a premie or very small).

Answer 5

first - check your seat, it may not expire after 5 years! many have longer life expectancies. if it does in fact expire next year (and its not from date of purchase, its from date of manufacture, which is why its important to check the date on the seat), id go ahead and use it for a few months (while its still "good") then move the baby to a convertible seat that can be used rear facing till he or she is at least 2, as per the new recommendations.



most convertible seats will rear face to 35-40lbs (if not more!) and then forward face to 50-65lbs (if not more!) at which point, your child may be ready for a dedicated booster seat. i think a lot of people underestimate convertible seats. my son was always 95%+ and rode in a true fit convertible seat from around 4 months - he was rear facing till 2.5 years old when he hit the RF weight limit, then he rode FF till he was around 4.5 years old. at that time i bought a nautilus which is a dedicated FF car seat that will go to a booster - he's just over 6 now and still harnessed (with room to grow!)



some convertible car seats can be used from birth, but please check the specific seat just to be safe.



if, on the other hand, the car seat will be expiring soon, id buy a new baby seat or convertible.



better safe than sorry! i wouldnt want to find out why car seats expire at the expense of my childs life.

Answer 6

The seat should have an expiration date on it somewhere so that you can be absolutely sure.



As for convertible seats, while you can legally turn a child around at one year and 20 lbs, it's still not a safe option. And by height and weight, you usually can't go straight from an infant seat to an exclusively forward facing seat. They do have minimum size requirements. It's also worth mentioning that convertible seats have minimum size requirements for forward facing too. In our seat, she has to be 34" tall and 22 lbs. She's over the weight requirement, but even though she's fairly tall, she's hasn't hit the height requirement yet. As it is, we're going to rear-face until she's over the height or weight limit to do so. It's just safer.

Answer 7

That's a toss up. You have to weight the benefits of each and think which would work out best for you. I do have an infant car seat..... my son is know 8 months and we are going to have to get a convert able because he almost at the weight limit. The benefits of having a infant car seat..... is that when they fall asleep you don't have to disturb them. Such as when we would go to the grocery store.... my son would fall asleep on the ride..... and we could just put the car seat in the cart and he would sleep the whole time. This also applied to going other places too. And you need to think what you plan on doing with him when you go to the grocery store and such. He won't be able to sit up in the cart until at least 6 months........ but if you shop with your husband..... then you can easily bring along the stroller. What I really loved about our infant carrier is that it snapped into our stroller..... and I would take him for naps and he could face me when he was really little. If these things are important to you.... then go for the convertible. Benefits of a convertible is that they usually are cheaper then a infant carrier..... and you don't need to have the extra expense of buying two car seats.

Answer 8

I bought a new car seat with each child but that was because I didn't intend on having another baby and I gave away the old car seat. But, if I were in your situation I would keep the old one.

Answer 9

The expiration date is very much on the safe side, because the company wants to save itself from you suing if you're in a crash. For that reason, even using it a few months past the expiration date (which should be on the car seat), is almost certainly fine. They underestimate how long it will last, just in case.

Answer 10

I know "they say" car seats expire after X amount of years, ive heard that argument but really how is that possible? Short of a defect being found and a recall issued or damage being done to the seat itself if the seat was safe back then shouldnt it be safe today? They are built with the same standards and crash testing as cars. To say a childs car seat can expire is like saying a car itself can expire. That if you have a car 5 years old you shouldnt let a child ride in it. Thats just ridiculous if you ask me. As long as the seat looks in good condition, isnt stained or filthy, the padding has held up i would use it. Nobody will know if you dont tell them.



No offense but sometimes women can worry too much.My niece had a brand new car seat for her baby. Backed into my moms parked car-no damage done to either car. Not a scratch or anything. Just a slight bump when backing up They were such worry warts they trashed that perfectly good car seat and spend over $100 for a new one because of some rule about not reusing a car seat after a crash.

Answer 11

What brand? Most infant seats are 6 years, but I believe at least one of them is 5 years. If anything I would just want to replace the harness straps by now, I assume they've seen their fair share of spit up. Do you know you can't submerge harness straps in water to wash them?



If your children fit in this seat by height (like this http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=30201) and weight at a year and a half old, they still need a convertible seat to stay rear facing until at least 2, hopefully longer.

Answer 12

I would use it. I never even considered that car seats expire, unless they were damaged or recalled.

Answer 13

If I were genuinely concerned, yes. I would not be, however, as there are always cushions built into the guidelines.

Answer 14

I'm thinking that you are putting WAY too much thought into this. If a new car seat is SAFER than the old one, then you get a new one. It is as simple as that.



Since when do car seats expire? They aren't eggs or open cartons of milk.

Answer 15

I wouldn't buy a new one.