Car seats are key for ensuring maximum child passenger safety, but even though most parents know this, there is one fact about car seats that many people are not aware of, which can compromise their structural integrity. It’s the fact that car seats have an expiration date, with many parents having troubles determining how long they can use their child’s car seat. While some parents may think that car seat expiration dates are just an advertising trick from manufacturers to try and make a bigger profit, there is actually a pretty good reason why car seats are only recommended to be used for a certain amount of time.
Parents are advised to stop using their child’s car seat after 5 or 6 years, as it may not be able to provide the necessary level of protection because some of the materials will start wearing down after a while. The belts might loosen up and the plastic on certain parts of the seat might start to fracture, so your kid will not be properly restrained and the seat’s integrity will be compromised. Also, at the time your seat was built, there might have been different safety standards in effect, which have changed after several years and now your seat doesn’t meet the current standards, so you should consider getting a newer one that employs the latest safety technologies.
While all car seats do have an expiration date, it is often difficult to locate. In most cases, you can see the expiration date on the label that is usually underneath the seat or on its sides. However, the label might not show the date of expiration, but the date of manufacture. If there is only a date of manufacture, you should be aware that car seats are recommended to be used up to 5-6 years after the date of manufacture, and be careful not to confuse it with the date of purchase.
However, some car seats can be used longer than 6 years. The main reason why some seats have longer expiration dates than others lies in the materials used in them. Those that expire in 9-10 years after the manufacture date are most likely made out of a different type of plastic than those with shorter expiration dates.
Using an expired seat can be pretty dangerous, considering that if the plastic on it has become brittle and weak, and the belts are more stretchy, it will not protect your kid in case of an accident. A malfunctioning or a worn down seat will not absorb the force of the impact and won’t be able to prevent the child from being thrown into the dashboard or the windshield.
There are several car seat brands that last up to 10 years, with the Graco Smart Seat, the Britax Frontier, and Nautilus as the most prominent and most reliable ones.