AKTA GRACO Duoflex Comfort

S

Sweetypuffs

Guest
We are in Chicago. I have a 1997 BMW318is 2-door coupe. My Swedish in-laws recently shipped me the carseat we had been using when we visited them in January (In Sweden). They had borrowed it from friends. It is an AKTA GRACO Duoflex Comfort. I do not know what year it is from. It's kind of worn and their youngest child is about 7 years old so if it was used since that child was an infant it's quite old. I'm not sure if it's still usable. Also, I'm not sure about the recline issue. I have it in the middle of the backseat and rearfacing. It's just the right size that two adults could sit on either side. So it's a lot better than the Cosco Alpha Omega Elite we had in there (my mom sprung that monstrous thing on me as a surprise). Apparently the gauge that tells if the seat is reclined too much is broken, so that right there seems to indicate it isn't usable. I'm thinking of buying the most up to date version of the AKTA GRACO Duoflex Comfort from a Swedish website but am worried that they make them bulkier now. They look a lot cushier and I don't have room for that. So the basic questions: Is it too old? Does it need to recline for rear-facing? And is the most recent version the same size? Thanks.
 
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QuassEE

Moderator - CPST Instructor
It's expired, and also illegal to use in the US unless you're a visitor.

Purchase a new seat, and take a good look at the manual. Then if you have any questions, we look forward to hearing from you again!

-Nicole.
 

InternationalMama

New member
Swedish seats don't have expiration dates on them the way seats in the US do, but this seat sounds like it could be too old to use and even if it wasn't since you don't know how old it is or the whole history of the seat and it is showing some damage (and who knows how much more could be unseen since you don't know the history) I think you should definitely get a new seat.

As Quassee said, a Swedish seat isn't legal for you to use in the US. Are you Swedish? I know from experience that when you are familiar with seats in one country and move to another it can be overwhelming, but there are plenty of great seats in the US that will both be legal and as a bonus less expensive than one imported from Sweden. If you would like a narrow seat one suggestion is the Radian. (There are three models 65SL, 80SL and XTSL.) But if you posts the weight, height and age of the child you want to use the seat for we can give you some other recommendations that will meet your needs.
 

mommycat

Well-known member
There are many great seats available in the US now which will RF a good long time, with RF weight limits available up to 45lbs. I wouldn't use an illegal foreign seat except maybe if there was a very compelling reason to continue to RF (v. big young child or medical issues) and no legal seat would accomodate the child's size. And I tend to agree, the AOE would not be my first choice. Not sure how much room you have front/back in the 2dr, but if you want a narrow seat, take a look at the Sunshine Kids Radian models.
 

QuassEE

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Expiry date or not--the reason behind seats expiring is valid no matter which country a seat is from. Parts are lost (manuals, especially), seats are exposed to extreme conditions, seats are damaged, in crashes..seats are recalled for various reasons (difficult to follow-up on that one if you're in another country).. The fact that the seats we have today are far superior to the ones from 6 or 7 years ago is the biggest reason why seats reach the point at which they've lived their full useful lives. It's expired.

I do believe there must be some different mentality in Europe about seats. American parents used to hold on to carseats for their kids' kids to use (I remember this even in the early 90s!).. does this happen in Europe? I'm ethnically Swedish but being second generation Canadian I don't have enough links to the country to say.

-N.
 

Adventuredad

New member
Swedish seats don't expire, we recommend not using them longer than 10 years. This has nothing to do with plastic deteriorating etc which is a common myth. QuassEE pointed out that as the seat gets older it's hard to find the manual, simple spare parts etc. It's also a lot tougher to know the history of the seat.

Radian is a good seat, frequent complaints I hear from parents are ability to get a tight installation and that if often needs an enormous amount of room rear facing.

Your Akta seat is a low demand seat in Sweden. It's a very old construction, 1980-ish, which needs lots of room in the car and a seat shell which is just below standard height. It fits ok in the front seat (airbag deactivated) but it's never a seat we recommend. There are far better alternatives.

You're using it rear facing now which sounds fine. This seat can also be used forward facing later on as a high back booster. When that time comes I would strongly recommend not using it this way due to safety.

The fact that the seats we have today are far superior to the ones from 6 or 7 years ago is the biggest reason why seats reach the point at which they've lived their full useful lives.

I disagree with this regarding rear facing seats. Rear facing safety was excellent 10 years ago and is excellent today. Pretty much same things apply today as did in 1975 regarding rear facing. There are seats 20 years old which would offer great protection today. At least here in Sweden. A Britax Nordic Freeway from 1998 would for example be a great set today. Benefits of rear facing has to do with position in the vehicle. Type of seat is less important.

Using a 20 year old seat or even a seats from 1998 is not recommended but that's another story.
 
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QuassEE

Moderator - CPST Instructor
I disagree with this regarding rear facing seats. Rear facing safety was excellent 10 years ago and is excellent today. Pretty much same things apply today as did in 1975 regarding rear facing. There are seats 20 years old which would offer great protection today. At least here in Sweden.

OP is in the United States, and not in Sweden. There have been great advances in RF protection in the United States over the last 6-7 years, primarily as a result of an increased availability of higher rear-facing weight limits.

-N.
 

lenats31

New member
Swedish seats don't have expiration dates on them the way seats in the US do, but this seat sounds like it could be too old to use and even if it wasn't since you don't know how old it is or the whole history of the seat and it is showing some damage (and who knows how much more could be unseen since you don't know the history) I think you should definitely get a new seat.

As Quassee said, a Swedish seat isn't legal for you to use in the US. Are you Swedish? I know from experience that when you are familiar with seats in one country and move to another it can be overwhelming, but there are plenty of great seats in the US that will both be legal and as a bonus less expensive than one imported from Sweden. If you would like a narrow seat one suggestion is the Radian. (There are three models 65SL, 80SL and XTSL.) But if you posts the weight, height and age of the child you want to use the seat for we can give you some other recommendations that will meet your needs.

Actually Akta Graco seats have experiration dates. 6 years. Recently I read that car seats in Europe must have expiration dates on them now. So judging from my Duologic ll it is 6 years.

Lena
 

InternationalMama

New member
Actually Akta Graco seats have experiration dates. 6 years. Recently I read that car seats in Europe must have expiration dates on them now. So judging from my Duologic ll it is 6 years.

Wow. Thanks for the info. Is the date actually written on your seat? Where is it? I couldn't find anything on my Hi-Way, but didn't look on my Duologic because I thought/was told they just didn't have them. The Hi-Way does have a date of manufacture on it, but the manual didn't say anything about expiry.

Neither the Britax manual or the Akta Graco manual say anything in them about expiration, do they? I know that Dorel is now putting 5 or 6 (can't remember which) years from date of purchase in their manuals.
 

lenats31

New member
Wow. Thanks for the info. Is the date actually written on your seat? Where is it? I couldn't find anything on my Hi-Way, but didn't look on my Duologic because I thought/was told they just didn't have them. The Hi-Way does have a date of manufacture on it, but the manual didn't say anything about expiry.

Neither the Britax manual or the Akta Graco manual say anything in them about expiration, do they? I know that Dorel is now putting 5 or 6 (can't remember which) years from date of purchase in their manuals.

Yes it is written on my Graco Duologic seat. There is a sticker on the seat itself somwhere. As far as I can remember it is on the base unit of the Duologic.

I think that the Britax seats are 10 years. I saw it somewhere on the Britax. se or Britax.com site.
 

InternationalMama

New member
I think that the Britax seats are 10 years. I saw it somewhere on the Britax. se or Britax.com site.

Thanks for the Duologic info.

It wouldn't be on the Britax.com site since they expire much sooner in the US. I wish Britax would include more information in their manual! They put height limits on their website instead of in their manual too and it just seems like they are asking too much of consumers to go research safety information that is not found in the manual and they may not be aware exists.
 

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