Car Seat Expiration--DOM vs. DOP

StillThankful

New member
We all know that seats don't magically turn dangerous at the appointed expiration date but there are specific reasons that seats even have an expiration date:

--Technology changes

--Car seat technology is always evolving,

--Materials wear out--Plastic stresses and warps from sitting in the car (as a result of facing heat and cold), can become brittle and develop cracks when stressed. Straps and fabrics fray and rip. Instruction manuals get lost or destroyed. Important instructional labels fade, tear or fall off completely.

--Manufacturing landscapes change--Your manufacturer may no longer stock replacement manuals and parts. Maybe the company has gone out of business entirely.


My question is, if you purchase a seat brand new from a reputable company, why can't you use it 6 years from the DOP (or whatever the specific expiration date is on that seat)? The seat has been packaged, not left in car facing extreme temperatures, not installed with child who can drop food on it, which can often compromise some of the operating functions, the labels and everything are in tact, you know the history of the seat (not used), etc....

:scratching my head:
 
ADS

Mom2Connor

New member
I would personally feel comfortable with it if I was the original owner and knew how it was stored for those 6 years (in my mind that would be inside a climate controlled house perhaps in a bedroom closet and not in a damp moldy basement or garage, etc).
 

Jessica61624

New member
While it sits on a shelf or even during shipping there are temp changes. Also I think its to avoid the date you THINK you bought it. Most people aren't as car seat crazy as us. It could also he misinterpreted when people buy used.
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
Your reasons 1, 2, and 4 still apply equally even if the seat is stored in a climate controlled environment its entire life. And 3 still applies, just to a lesser degree.

I have one more reason for expirations. The manufacturer can only be expected to monitor the performance of its product for so long before it is considered obsolete. Imagine if Graco were required to issue recalls because a car seat it produced 15 years ago has started failing in accidents. Nobody would manufacture car seats under those conditions, or if they did, they'd be astronomically expensive. I figure an expired seat is as good as a seat for which you haven't checked for recalls. Because the manufacturer is no longer watching for failures that would warrant a recall. As long as the seat is still in its useful service life, supposedly if it starts showing a pattern of failure the manufacturer will warn us and give us some way to resolve the problem. Not so for an expired seat, regardless of where it's been stored.

Would I fudge a month or two on a well-cared for seat? I might, in some circumstances. But not much longer than that.
 

StillThankful

New member
This would be a seat that's about 2 years old that has the latch and what not features.

As far as the temperature changes, I was thinking that a product that is sealed in plastic, some foam, cardboard inserts, and a box wouldn't be as exposed to extreme heat and cold as would a seat installed in a car--that would inevitably get a direct hit from the climate.

IDK, I'm just thinking out loud.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Bubble Bum is 4 years from DOP...

But really, for the others there just has to be a line, and the most obvious, trackable one is DOM. The manufacturer shouldn't have to figure the market fluctuations into their long-term responsibility. Lots of seats are pushing 2 years when people finally buy them (like from Albeebaby), so that would mean seat makers have to keep track of performance and recalls and parts for 8 years (or 10, or 12, given how some seats are good for longer periods now).
 

StillThankful

New member
Bubble Bum is 4 years from DOP...

But really, for the others there just has to be a line, and the most obvious, trackable one is DOM. The manufacturer shouldn't have to figure the market fluctuations into their long-term responsibility. Lots of seats are pushing 2 years when people finally buy them (like from Albeebaby), so that would mean seat makers have to keep track of performance and recalls and parts for 8 years (or 10, or 12, given how some seats are good for longer periods now).

Haha! :D The "reputable company" I was referring to above is Albeebaby;)

Good point. Just wondering if others would feel comfortable using a 2 year old seat past the expiration date if purchased brand new from a place like albeebaby.
 

lovemybabies924

New member
I would never use a seat past the date of expiration. My kids are worth more to than that :) plus my anxiety wouldn't allow it anyway lol
 

Jessica61624

New member
StillThankful said:
This would be a seat that's about 2 years old that has the latch and what not features.

As far as the temperature changes, I was thinking that a product that is sealed in plastic, some foam, cardboard inserts, and a box wouldn't be as exposed to extreme heat and cold as would a seat installed in a car--that would inevitably get a direct hit from the climate.

IDK, I'm just thinking out loud.

Some seats are in a box only. I work in a retail store and I know most stores turned heating/cooling off at night.
 

tiggercat

New member
Tracking DOM is much easier than DOP! Can you imagine the average parent trying to remember when they purchased a seat? What about a 10 year old NIB seat?

Sent from my iPod touch using Car-Seat.Org
 

StillThankful

New member
I remember talking to DD1 K teacher and her telling me that they teach "to the middle."

I really think that the 6 year expiration date is to reach the
middle. There are those who use seats for 10 years, wash the harnesses, never replace missing parts, drop the seats, never remove debris from seats which can hinder its operation, etc...and there are those who keep their seats in mint condition who probably upgrade their car seats before the expiration date approaches.

I think manufactures know that the older the car seat is, the more likely it will be mistreated, broken, missing pieces not replaced, lent to people, sold, etc...

That being said, the 6 year expiration date is good to reach the middle but I'm still questioning whether I will follow it if I purchased an older brand new seat from a reputable company.

Some regions don't even have car seat expiration dates: Makes me scratch my head: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=212097

Evenflo put an 8 year expiration date for some of the Feb 2010 EFTA seats and reverted back to the 6 year expiration dates on later models. Evenflo didn't give a reason as to why this was done but the rep just said to follow the DOM label. Same seat. DIfferent expiration dates. Will I use my 2010 seat until 2018? I really won't need to but if I had to, evenflo is saying "go for it" and I would be comfortable doing so. But if it happened to have a 6 year expiration date, seems like people would automatically think that the seat is dangerous to use past 2016 and would throw it away.

It also brings to question (in my head) when some of us store our seats in our house in a climate controlled environment. Would the time to be tolled for that period of time? Again, I know that manufacturers couldn't police all that. But I'm just thinking would I consider that in determining when I will stop using the seat.
 
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krystin_21a

New member
Haha! :D The "reputable company" I was referring to above is Albeebaby;)

Good point. Just wondering if others would feel comfortable using a 2 year old seat past the expiration date if purchased brand new from a place like albeebaby.

I just got two Blvds in from Albee Baby and they both had DOM's of May 2012. Before I bought my sons Monterey a few weeks ago, the last seat I bought was bought about two years ago. When I called Britax because of an issue that I was having with the seat, it turns out that i was way off on when I thought I bought it because I had registered it the day I got it and they had my DOP. So, for me even if recent, i would never remember when I bought the seat, so DOM it is!
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
StillThankful said:
It also brings to question (in my head) when some of us store our seats in our house in a climate controlled environment. Would the time to be tolled for that period of time?

As I said before:

LISmama810 said:
Technology and regulations change regardless of where/how the seat is stored.

If you have a seat that has a 6-year expiration, and a month after its DOM they increase that to 8 years, you could use that information to make your decision.

Frankly, I look at seats that are five years old and think, "Wow! That seat looks old!" I can't imagine feeling ok about using one that's 8 years old even if it were expressly allowed, but I realize there's no logic to that. Just a feeling.
 

StillThankful

New member
As I said before:
I can't imagine feeling ok about using one that's 8 years old even if it were expressly allowed, but I realize there's no logic to that. Just a feeling.

LOL!

I'm dealing with an issue right now. Hopefully Albeebaby will find a more current DOM for me. I was told that the seats in the warehouse for this particular seat were 2011 but received a 2009. They will send me out a 2011 if they have one or issue me a full refund. I won't know until Monday though.

As I am staring at the seat in the middle of my front room, all these questions started surfacing about car seat expiration dates.:p

Don't mind me at all.:p
 

rxmommy

New member
Bubble Bum is 4 years from DOP...

Is that new....and do you know if it's retroactive?

We have a BB and I read through the manual online and didn't see anything. On the bottom of the seat is a DOM and it says "Do not use 4 years after date of manufacture."

It would really only buy us a couple of months anyway but just curious if I can use it longer!
 

bree

Car-Seat.Org Ambassador
Is that new....and do you know if it's retroactive?

We have a BB and I read through the manual online and didn't see anything. On the bottom of the seat is a DOM and it says "Do not use 4 years after date of manufacture."

It would really only buy us a couple of months anyway but just curious if I can use it longer!

Posts 10 & 18 in this thread have the info that a manufacturer rep shared with a member here about the 4 years from purchase change. I'm not sure if Bubble Bum has posted that info elsewhere (like on their own webpage or a Facebook account or updated any manuals) yet.
 

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