How minor of an accident = not replacing seats?

livsmum · Jan 18, 2011

We were rear-ended Sunday evening. We were stopped at a red light, guy slammed into the back of us. Very little damage to our SUV, his Acura had more. We're both fine. I had an unoccupied Keyfit 30 and unoccupied Regent.

Do they need to be replaced?

DH thinks I'm crazy for even thinking about it, and asking if Insurance will cover it.

Advice please!!!!

jjordan · Jan 18, 2011

All seats except Britax and the Sunshine Kids Monterey require replacement after every crash. Britax goes by the NHTSA guidelines, found here and copied below:

BRITAX recommends that the use of a child seat be discontinued if it has been in a moderate to severe crash. We further advise of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) position that it is not necessary to replace a child seat after a minor crash.

A minor crash is one that meets ALL of following criteria:

The vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site; AND
The vehicle door nearest the child restraint was undamaged; AND
There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants; AND
The air bags (if present) did not deploy; AND
There is no visible damage to the child seat.

So, the keyfit needs to be replaced, and the Regent may need to be replaced, depending on how exactly the crash occurred.

Insurance should cover the replacement seats.

crunchierthanthou · Jan 18, 2011

jjordan said:
All seats except Britax and the Sunshine Kids Monterey require replacement after every crash. Britax goes by the NHTSA guidelines, found here and copied below:

The Coccoro follows NHTSA's guidelines. Not sure about other Combi seats.

carseatcoach · Jan 18, 2011

I personally would consider it a "crash" if the impact was such that my seatbelt locked. I would not replace for a 2mph bumper bump in a parking lot, but if somebody "slammed" into you, it's a crash and the seats need replaced.

jjordan · Jan 18, 2011

crunchierthanthou said:
The Coccoro follows NHTSA's guidelines. Not sure about other Combi seats.

Thanks, I didn't know about that one!

crunchierthanthou · Jan 18, 2011

jjordan said:
Thanks, I didn't know about that one!

I just looked at a handful of Combi manuals - Shuttle 33, Shuttle, Dakota, Centre, Connection - all say follow NHTSA's guidelines. :thumbsup:

livsmum · Jan 18, 2011

Thank you everyone.

My mistake; it wasn't a Regent, it was an Evenflo Triumph Advance. The Regent is in my car - we were in DH's SUV.

It certainly wasn't a 2mph parking lot bumper crash. I honestly can't remember if my seatbelt locked.

We filed the Police Report yesterday, will pick it up tomorrow. Will then visit the Insurance Co. and see how much of a battle it's going to be to get them to replace my seats.

Do all Insurance Companies know the guidelines for when a seat needs replacing or will I need to show them the manuals? I'm trying to locate the Keyfit 30 one. I think the Evenflo manual is in my car.

jjordan · Jan 18, 2011

livsmum said:
Thank you everyone.

My mistake; it wasn't a Regent, it was an Evenflo Triumph Advance. The Regent is in my car - we were in DH's SUV.

It certainly wasn't a 2mph parking lot bumper crash. I honestly can't remember if my seatbelt locked.

We filed the Police Report yesterday, will pick it up tomorrow. Will then visit the Insurance Co. and see how much of a battle it's going to be to get them to replace my seats.

Do all Insurance Companies know the guidelines for when a seat needs replacing or will I need to show them the manuals? I'm trying to locate the Keyfit 30 one. I think the Evenflo manual is in my car.

It depends on the insurance company. Some are easier to work with than others. But, persist and don't let them get away with not paying for the seats! Since you were rear-ended, most likely it should be the other guy's insurance paying. It might help to go through YOUR insurance though to get HIS to pay for it.

If you can't find the manuals, check the company's websites. Often they have manuals online, or they may have statements regarding seats needing replacements in accidents. They also will probably email you saying that the seats need to be replaced if you contact them.

Pixels · Jan 18, 2011

If you have body damage, filed a police report, and are making an insurance claim, it's definitely a crash.

The Evenflo also requires replacement after any crash.

livsmum · Jan 18, 2011

Yes, I think it constitutes a "crash".

We probably wouldn't have filed an Accident Report if the driver had given us his details.

What happened is DH and him were checking out his car, I was still in ours (we'd moved off the main road to somewhere safe). He said "I don't want the Police involved". DH replied with "That's fine, give me a second". He came back to the car to start writing details. The guy then drives off. Whether it was a misunderstanding on the guys part or he fully intended to drive off without giving us his details we don't know. We were annoyed to say the least. We got his plate and model luckily. So we filed an Accident Report. We didn't do the damage to our car, we're not paying for it. He can.

I'll update as to how it all goes.

livsmum said:
Thank you everyone.

My mistake; it wasn't a Regent, it was an Evenflo Triumph Advance. The Regent is in my car - we were in DH's SUV.

It certainly wasn't a 2mph parking lot bumper crash. I honestly can't remember if my seatbelt locked.

We filed the Police Report yesterday, will pick it up tomorrow. Will then visit the Insurance Co. and see how much of a battle it's going to be to get them to replace my seats.

Do all Insurance Companies know the guidelines for when a seat needs replacing or will I need to show them the manuals? I'm trying to locate the Keyfit 30 one. I think the Evenflo manual is in my car.

icnee · Jan 19, 2011

livsmum said:
Yes, I think it constitutes a "crash".

We probably wouldn't have filed an Accident Report if the driver had given us his details.

What happened is DH and him were checking out his car, I was still in ours (we'd moved off the main road to somewhere safe). He said "I don't want the Police involved". DH replied with "That's fine, give me a second". He came back to the car to start writing details. The guy then drives off. Whether it was a misunderstanding on the guys part or he fully intended to drive off without giving us his details we don't know. We were annoyed to say the least. We got his plate and model luckily. So we filed an Accident Report. We didn't do the damage to our car, we're not paying for it. He can.

I'll update as to how it all goes.

He probably drove off on purpose, I once had some one hit me (by me I mean me not my car) in the Walmart parking lot they had their window down I yell you hit me they said R U all right and drove off luckly I too got their plate number.

Im glad you are ok and hope you dont have too much trouble getting your seats replaced.

Artemis777 · Jan 19, 2011

It always amazes me that people don't realize how much worse off they will be, if they take off after an accident. This idiot's insurance company will still end up paying out, and he'll probably get some extra tickets for his trouble.

livsmum · Jan 19, 2011

Artemis777 said:
It always amazes me that people don't realize how much worse off they will be, if they take off after an accident. This idiot's insurance company will still end up paying out, and he'll probably get some extra tickets for his trouble.

They told me this morning they're not charging him with LSA (leaving scene of an accident). Whatever. I just want my car fixed and my seats replaced at NO cost to me.

Now, do they just give me a check for the value of the two seats? If so, I probably won't buy the same seats again as David is getting very heavy in the Keyfit 30 (5 months and 20 pounds) and Olivia was getting large in the ETA. Which seats should I get to replace them, at around the same price? I'm thinking a Nautilus for Olivia and I would LOVE a Smart Seat for David, or My Ride 65.

jdubsm · Jan 19, 2011

Sorry to hear about the crash.

We just went through the same thing. We were stopped at a light and were rear ended. The van had about $1500 worth of damage and three of us had whiplash. The other guys insurance was great about fixing the car but didn't want to replace my booster seats. It took two weeks of constant harping on them but supposedly there is a check in the mail from them. I purchased new comparably priced seats and sent them the invoice.

Good luck!

How minor of an accident = not replacing seats?

livsmum

New member

jjordan

Moderator

crunchierthanthou

New member

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants

jjordan

Moderator

crunchierthanthou

New member

livsmum

New member

jjordan

Moderator

Pixels

New member

livsmum

New member

icnee

New member

Artemis777

New member

livsmum

New member

jdubsm

New member

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics