Canada seats vs us seats

So I know u can not use a Canadian seat in the US or vice versa. But are they the same seats with different stickers and limits on them? I'm just curious

I'm not sure if that was a typo or not, but to be clear, you can NOT use a Canadian seat in the U.S. or vice versa.

Most of them are the same. Some have some minor modifications.

In some cases, they may be the same seat with different stickers and different limits. In many cases, we know that they are not the same seat.

Ya it was a typo. I was mostly wondering about the scenera. The height limits between the US and Canadian seats are very different.

Just to clarify - you mean if you LIVE in either country the opposite seats can't be used right?? If you're visiting the other country you're able to bring your seats over and use them correct??

Unregistered, yes, that's correct, you can use them while visiting.

Most of the Canadian market seats have modifications in at least the padding and/or energy absorbing foam of the seat because we have a standard regarding the amount of energy absorption required in the head area that the US doesn't have.

There are also some changes to standards that manufacturers will have to comply with come January 1st. Perhaps most notably, all CMVSS 213 and 213.1 seats will have to be tested with a lap/shoulder belt - a requirement that US standards don't have at present.

When it comes down to it we don't know all the differences. We know some seats aren't available on the Canadian market either because they don't pass or because the manufacturer never tested them to Canadian standards. There are some seats that have obvious differences, and others that we know of because there have been recalls when the Canadian seats have actually been lacking the extra foam in the head area. With the number of seats that we can identify a difference in, I think it's fair to say that there are probably differences in most of them.

As for the height limit differences, I don't really have an explanation for that one. With the abundance of seats out there that don't have such a low rf'ing height limit I tend to recommend other seats to parents if they are concerned about the height limit. In fact, with the exception of the Comfortsport, the Dorel seats are the only infant/child seats left on the Canadian market with a 32" rf'ing limit. Standards are weight based and not height based, so weight and the fit of the child in the seat is ultimately what is most important, but I fully understand that some parents may not be comfortable going past 32" rf'ing and I tend to recommend other seats in those cases.

Just to clarify, US standards are weight AND height based.

Pixels said:

Just to clarify, US standards are weight AND height based.

Click to expand...

This is the Canadian forum and Canadian standards are ONLY weight based and not height based. A seat passes or fails by the weight of the dummy. Height has nothing to do with it from a crash test/certification perspective. Manufacturers are required to list the size of child the restraint is designed to fit, but that is a labeling and manual requirement that is unrelated to the dynamic testing of the seat.

snowbird25ca said:

This is the Canadian forum and Canadian standards are ONLY weight based and not height based. A seat passes or fails by the weight of the dummy. Height has nothing to do with it from a crash test/certification perspective. Manufacturers are required to list the size of child the restraint is designed to fit, but that is a labeling and manual requirement that is unrelated to the dynamic testing of the seat.

Click to expand...

Hmm thats interesting. So pretty much they just slapped a height on there. It just doesn't make sense to me how the US sceneras have a minimum ff height of 34" but the Canadian says u can't rf past 32". I have a scenera I use for a spare for two kiddos the same size they have more than 3 inches above their heads but are about 32". I don't use the seat often but i feel it's safer to have them rf as ling as there is lots of shell above there heads. One is 21 months and 25 pds the other is 16 months and 27 pds. I rarely use the scenera for them but sometimes I need to when I have another child that u drive. I don't feel 100% comfortable using it past the 32" height but i also wouldnt feel comfortable ff any of them. And u can't get another seat right now especially for a kid that's not mine. Dh would not be happy lol since I already have 4 convertables and we have one kid

snowbird25ca said:

Manufacturers are required to list the size of child the restraint is designed to fit, but that is a labeling and manual requirement that is unrelated to the dynamic testing of the seat.

Click to expand...

krissybear25 said:

So pretty much they just slapped a height on there. It just doesn't make sense to me how the US sceneras have a minimum ff height of 34" but the Canadian says u can't rf past 32".

Click to expand...

They don't just "slap a random" height on the seats. I believe that the reason manufacturers often use lower height maximums for Canadian seats has to do with the need to meet "fitment" standards. The standards may have changed since then, but please see this 2009 post of mine for a better explanation of what I mean - http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?p=692474#post692474.

If the standards have changed since then, often manufacturers lag behind in changing their own internal standards. As long as the manufacturer is following something stricter/safer, that's up to them, even if they lose sales because of it!

You need to do your own research (like you are doing by posting here!) and decide for yourself if you are comfortable exceeding the 32" limit. If the kids are not your own (I'm not clear if that's the case), also make sure that their parents agree with your decision.