Expiration date question

[firemomof3]

I emailed a friend of mine who is convinced that expiration dates on car seats are not a "rule" and here is what she sited:
That is not because of danger that the plastic is degenerating, said David Galambos, compliance and safety manager for child safety systems with Graco, a unit of Newell Rubbermaid.

"It's not as if you'll hit the expiration date and the plastic will become weak," he said. "The plastic is good for at least 10 years. But regulations and standards are constantly changing."

What is your opinion on this?
Thanks!

[SusanMae]

I guess if she's willing to bet HER child's life on that...but she wouldn't be betting MY child's life.

I'll spend the money to replace expired seats...car seats are far cheaper than funerals, caskets, cemetary plot and headstone.

Susan

[Melizerd]

While I do believe that a seat that's good on Monday doesn't become a death trap on Tuesday, exactly WHEN between the expiration date and 10 years does the seat become a death trap?

I'm not willing to find out. We KNOW plastic degrades and there's the video of the 10 year old Britax seat with the harness ripping right out of the shell.

Besides the fact that if you're in an accident you have no recourse if there is a catastrophic failure because you've used the seat beyond the manufacturer's recommendations it's also illegal in many states that have a proper use clause.

:twocents:

[Ice Princess]

:yeahthat:

Its not that a seat will suddenly combust as soon as it expires in 6yrs, but when it starts breaking down and becoming weaker is not known exactly. I don't want my child to be the test object for that.

I don't understand why people think car seats should last forever. Technology and safety does change so why wouldn't you want you kid to be as safe as possible.

[KristiD761]

I agree with the above...in a perfect environment plastic may not degrade, but when repeatedly exposed to extreme cold/ heat/ juice drinks :) it can degrade.
Ditto on staying within recommendations from the manufacturer...and safety standards do change...hopefully for the better. Always advocate best practice

[Defrost]

While I do believe that a seat that's good on Monday doesn't become a death trap on Tuesday, exactly WHEN between the expiration date and 10 years does the seat become a death trap?


:yeahthat: Exactly. The problem is that we don't know WHEN exactly it happens. I've drank milk that expired the day before and didn't notice anything. It's not like it goes sour and lumpy an hour after midnight on the expiration date. It depends on how much heat it was exposed to on my drive home, how many of my kids drank straight from the carton, etc.

The expiration date is there so you know when to start thinking about a new car seat. Like someone else said, no, it's not going to explode. But it is starting to deteriorate. Maybe the "only" difference between a 10-year-old car seat's harness ripping through the shell and a 9-year-old car seat is that the shell holds up at 30 mph but fails at 33mph. Maybe the "only" difference between that and an 8-year-old car seat is that shell bends at the belt path the child's head slams forward farther. Maybe at 7 years the "only" difference is that the old-style tether was hard to adjust, so it wasn't as tight as it would have been on a newer car seat.

I have a Britax Marathon that will expire in Nov. of this year. Honestly, I can't tell much difference between it and the brand-new ones on the shelf at BRU. Oh, wait - the LATCH straps are longer on the newer ones. Gee, I wonder why they did that? An excellent example of how car seats are always being upgraded and improved. But in any case, this carseat has been through a lot of moving around. It's been loaned out to a friend, moved between more cars than I can count, stored in a variety of locations. Is it still a good seat? Probably. It's just not good enough any more.

There's just too many "maybes."