HELP Which is safer RE: Expired seats

steph_s

New member
SOLUTION FOUND! THEY WILL GET TOGETHER TOMORROW TO DO THE CAR SEAT SHUFFLE WITH ALL THE KIDS, SEATS AND CARS.

Here are the choices, there are no other choices at the moment. I just need to know the lesser of the evils please.

-Expired high back parkway booster seat (1.5 years)
-Expired chase (1 year)
-Expired no back turbo (no clue how long been expired)

This is for a 5 year old child. Child does fit in the chase harness but is above the weight limit. Child is about 45lbs. Child does not fit well AT ALL into a no back turbo booster so buying some cheap no back that isn't expired isn't really an option either.

Back story? The parents are REALLY hurting financially. There are no free seats in my area or theirs! The cheapest seat I can get is the Turbo for $40 at my local safe kids, but then I would have to ship it to them and then it gets pricey. Parents will have money after Christmas when they both return to work. (I'm glad mom shopped for christmas all year and didn't wait). Dad has lost his job, mom is laid off of hers also. They have sold everything they can to get money for their house payment so they don't loose their home. They have already lost one of their vehicles when his unemployment ran out. There are no relatives that can help. I can't help I'm broke so can't lend them seats and too far away anyways. (Already checked shipping costs they aren't pretty!) Mom will buy child a new seat with her first paycheck back to work. Dad has a lead on a new job also that starts in mid January, but they are both freaking out that none of their seats are safe! They had another seat (Nautilus) but it was involved in a bad car accident in a friends vehicle and can't be used anymore.
 
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ADS

kittykate

New member
Back story? The parents are REALLY hurting financially. There are no free seats in my area or theirs!

What area are they in? Someone here may know a resource that you/ they haven't found yet.

The cheapest seat I can get is the Turbo for $40 at my local safe kids, but then I would have to ship it to them and then it gets pricey.

If you are willing to help them out, have you thought about getting them a gift card to use for a carseat to save on shipping? Kmart, Walmart and Meijer often have the HBTB for $40-45ish. Our local Kmart had the "Lizards in a Line" turbobooster for $34.99 last night. You can also get a Turbobooster online at Kmart right now for $45.64 (plus tax) shipped.


(I'm glad mom shopped for christmas all year and didn't wait).

I know this sounds crappy, but can mom return some of the gifts to get a Turbobooster? Unless the holiday gifts are also vitally needed items, I would think that car safety would be more important than having a memorable holiday. :twocents:
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
I'm not going to chime in on other options that may be available, I'm just going to address the 3 seats in question. The Chase is a NO. The child has outgrown it in weight and it is dangerous for that reason alone, never mind the expired status. The no-back Turbo, you said it doesn't fit the child, then that is a NO. A booster that doesn't fit sets the child up for seatbelt syndrome, abdominal injuries, etc. which rules it out even before worrying about the expiry. Assuming the Parkway fits the child and the child is capable of properly using a booster, then it's really the only option out of the three.

ETA: Ugh, didn't realize the Chase had a booster mode, I thought you were implying they would use it in harness mode. Sorry. I still say the Parkway though, especially if it's not expired.
 
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joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
It's not possible for the Parkway to be expired, so that'd be my choice (first were made in 2004, so there's at least a year left on it). And the Turbo can't be too expired, they were first made in 2003, but I'd be worried that it doesn't have the screws in the armrests, which might be worse than being expired, if the armrests pop off in a severe crash because of it (and you said it doesn't fit her well, anyway... though I'm wondering in what way? Those tend to fit even smaller kids beautifully, unless the shoulderbelt in the car is really incompatible). Chase might be pretty old, though, and makes a pretty bad booster on most kids (fit 'ok' on my kids at that age/size, though, as a booster, but it's going to be wide for 3-across).
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
If jools says the Parkway isn't expired, I believe her. But even if it were, I'd probably default to that in this situation.
 

steph_s

New member
They are in Northern Ohio a stones throw from Michigan and Indiana. I am unable to help them out. If I do help them out I will not be able to pay my bills this month and I sort of like having electricity, heat and food. I have lost half my pay and only have part time hours at the moment. I'm hurting just as much as most in this economy. Mom can't really return the gifts. The only thing that would make enough money to get the turbo would be the 9 year old's bike. It's not even a new bike it's a used bike (in great shape) that she got at a garage sale over the summer not knowing what their finances would be, now I'm glad she got it! I swear that bike was never ridden because there isn't a speck of dirt, rust, or wear on the tires or handlebars. Otherwise she would have to literally return everything and have no christmas for the kids. Her kids don't really expect much on christmas, but they do the "Something you want, something you need, something you wear and something to read" every year which means 4 gifts per child. (They got sick of the commercialized Christmas and actually I do the same thing with my kids).

Perhaps it isn't the parkway, it's a high back britax booster seat. I know it looks like a parkway from what I can remember. Mom checked the date of manufacture and told me that it expired a year and a half ago. I haven't seen the seat in years since their oldest used it. Now I'm curious what seat it is? It look just like a parkway I can remember it. It had side wings, the narrow bottom like the parkway, a sort of denim or light blue cover, I know it was a Britax because that was the first time I heard that name before.

I have no idea about the Turbo. Mom told me that they put it away when it was "expired" I didn't ask more questions because 1. it's expired and 2. their child really should have a hbb and I figured that was likely the worst choice.

Mom said she look at the DOM on the chase in case they could use it as a crappy booster for now (not with the harness) and told me the expiration date was a year ago.

That said, what is the lesser of the evils? A High back expired booster? A no back expired booster or a combination seat used as a booster all expired?
 

steph_s

New member
O yeah the no back booster seat, she said she tried him in it and the shoulder strap in all seating positions cut across his neck. One of the seating positions the lap belt didn't even fit right (I'm not sure they could get any booster in that seat anyways).
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
If they're all expired, a good-fitting high-back would be preferable to an ill-fitting anything else, IMO.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
O yeah the no back booster seat, she said she tried him in it and the shoulder strap in all seating positions cut across his neck. One of the seating positions the lap belt didn't even fit right (I'm not sure they could get any booster in that seat anyways).

The backless probably came with a shoulder-belt adjuster thing, but that's likely long gone. If they can find it, it might help. (I'd probably still go with the high-back, though.)

A booster can NEVER be used with a lap-only belt. (Not sure if you meant that there is only a lap-belt in that particular position, or if there's a lap-shoulder belt and the lap portion didn't fit. But I felt the need to clarify that in any case, for lurkers if nothing else.)
 

steph_s

New member
Real quick before I have to take off for awhile, can someone please explain to me why booster seats expire? I know why car seats expire (plastic weak harness ripping through the seat), but her dh asked her why she was being so paranoid when it was just a booster seat. She said "there is an expiration date for a reason we aren't going to argue about it" but I wonder now. What are the risks for this child to using an expired booster seat?

As of right now they are fighting about this pretty bad because he wants to go to his parents house 3 hours away for Christmas and she doesn't want to put her child in the car at all! She said it makes her too nervous and the thought of it puts her into a panic attack?? She told him she would go if his parents took back some of the kids christmas presents and bought the child a booster seat, but the parents refuse. I hate to see them arguing, I've known them for years and have never heard of them fighting before!
 

Raegansmom4

New member
The plastic in the boosters degrade as well and can break in a crash. Primarily, if the armrests snap, the lap portion would not be positioned correctly. If the shoulder belt guide snaps, the shoulder portion would not be positioned correctly. The whole purpose of the booster is to position the seatbelt correctly, but if the booster fails, then the seatbelt is out of position and may fail to protect the child in a crash. That being said...I would feel safer using an expired booster over an expired harness seat, especially since none of the seats you mentioned were horribly expired (by several years). I'd go w/ the Britax hbb.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Might be the Bodyguard, then, or the Starriser Comfy, those have been around longer, and truthfully, Britax booster DO all look the same if you aren't fairly obsessed with figuring out the minor differences :thumbsup: I'd probably use it, still. (Boosters also expire because constant testing upgrades lead to far better designs...the Starriser does almost nothing for side impact protection, the Bodyguard was better, both are better than an ill-fitting backless, even if expired, IMO).
 

Andie

New member
If it is the Bodyguard, it would have lockoffs for the lap belt. Add me to the list of would use it as a temporary solution.
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
Is there a reason that insurance isn't covering a replacement for the nautilus that was in their friend's car during the accident? Maybe have her check into whether or not she can get some money to pay for a new seat that way.

Of the three seats available, I'd use the hbb before the others.
 

KirasMommy

Senior Community Member
Is there a reason that insurance isn't covering a replacement for the nautilus that was in their friend's car during the accident? Maybe have her check into whether or not she can get some money to pay for a new seat that way.

Of the three seats available, I'd use the hbb before the others.

Not sure about their situation, but when my Nautilus was involved in a car accident, I had to purchase a new one myself and the insurance company reimbursed me. It doesn't sound like this family has that option. :(

I think I would be more likely to use the hbb that fits over the other 2.
 

steph_s

New member
Yeah I have no clue what Britax seat it is. It looks like the old style parkway though.

The seat can't be replaced via insurance. It was in a friend's vehicle and the vehicle was smashed into a pole (ok wrapped around a pole). It was a hit and run accident and the friend only had liability insurance because it was his "work vehicle" not his primary car.

Ok... so here is the update on what is happening. (BTW Thank you for explaining why booster seats expire in a more technical way than me because her dh finally "gets it").

4 way trade until January, I'll try to describe it the best way I can.
My friend's youngest is in a EFTA
Their friend (now going to be called #2) has a cosco hbb with straps for her child.
Friend #3 has a Nautilus for their child
Friend #4 has a scenera for their child

So the plan (If it works, cross your Fingers!!) .... The scenera will go to my friends child. The EFTA that she has will go to #3 and the Nautilus will go to my friends 5yo (who has no seat). Friend #4 will get the cosco hbb. Now the person with the HBB (#2) has it for daycare purposes. She said she can swap a few seats and use parents infant carrier for one of her kids and tada problem solved. That is if everything works out the way it should.

They will get a new seat soon, everyone can trade seats back. Everyone who is trading seats has full coverage insurance that will cover seats if something happens to them (which was a concern for obvious reasons).

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP!!
 

emandbri

Well-known member
I'd go with the bodyguard/star riser. I agree it can't be parkway since they started making those after the star riser and I have a star riser that isn't expired yet, close but not there yet.
 

Gypsy

Senior Community Member
Are they near Toledo?

Toledo has a Safe Kids Coalition

SAFE KIDS Greater Toledo
Led by: Toledo Childrens Hospital
Coordinator: Erin Whitton
"2142 N. Cove Blvd., HMT Suite 940"
Toldeo, OH 43606
419-291-3391
 

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