is a 6 year old infant car seat

[Unregistered]

Is a 6 year old infant car seat still safe to use?

[papooses]

Maybe, maybe not.... It may have already expired or is at the very least very close to expiring. The plastic of car seats "wears out" after time ~ esepcially in extreme weather conditions.

My sister gave me my niece's 6 year old seat that had lived in both 100+ degree desert heat & 0- degree tundra. I tore off the shiled & put it in the dumpster because I was sure it was not safe anymore!

Plus, it's likely that there have been safer improvements to infant seats since then: 5-point vs. 3-point, easily adjustable harness, more secure base fit, EPS foam, etc...?

[UlrikeDG]

Fisher Price allows their seats to be used for 8 years. Pretty much everyone else has a 6 year limit. If there's not an expiration date on the seat or in the manual, call the manufacturer to ask. If you tell us what brand, we can give you the 800 number and save you from searching.

You should also consider:
1) Do you have all the parts and instruction manual?
2) Is there any visible damage?
3) Do you know the crash history? If it's been involved in a crash, don't use it.
4) Are all the labels intact?
5) Is it recalled? I like to use the recall list (http://www.carseat.org/Recalls/recall.shtml) on the SafetyBeltSafe USA website, because the format is very user friendly, and it tells you if a seat does NOT have any recalls as well as if it does, which reduces the risk of user error when looking.

[Robert]

The Juvenile Products Manufacturer's Association (JPMA) recommends 6 years as the life span for a child seat.

[mamamia]

Would you stop using a FPSE at 6 years, or go with the 8 yr manufacturer suggestion?

[UlrikeDG]

If I were the original owner, knew there was no damage, no missing parts, etc, I would feel fine about using a FPSE the full 8 years.

[Robert]

Bottom line is we follow the manufactors instructors. If in doubt give the manufactor a call to double check in case their thoughts have changed.