What IS the expiration date on AO's??

singingpond · Aug 31, 2007

I know there have been several threads mentioning this lately. I have two AO's with 2001 and 2004 DOMs, and have been living under the impression that they have 6-year expiration. Since our older AO would expire this summer (under that assumption), I decided to double check. I have now had both seats out of the vehicles to look for an expiration sticker or stamp, and there is nothing on either seat. I even looked at the bases (stored in a closet) and there is nothing there either. Someone on another thread mentioned a little circle stamped in the plastic, with month and year of expiration; I see such a circle on the back of the 2004 seat I had out yesterday, but it has the date of MANUFACTURE, which is the same as what is on the paper sticker on the side of the seat. The manuals for both seats talk about a 7-year 'limited warranty', but there is NO mention anywhere of expiration. Should I interpret this warranty information as meaning the seat is usable for 7 years? I know several people here have mentioned a 7-year expiration date for some Dorel seats... No wonder uninformed parents have NO IDEA that carseats expire... Maybe I should call Dorel?

Katrin

azgirl71 · Aug 31, 2007

singingpond said:
I know there have been several threads mentioning this lately. I have two AO's with 2001 and 2004 DOMs, and have been living under the impression that they have 6-year expiration. Since our older AO would expire this summer (under that assumption), I decided to double check. I have now had both seats out of the vehicles to look for an expiration sticker or stamp, and there is nothing on either seat. I even looked at the bases (stored in a closet) and there is nothing there either. Someone on another thread mentioned a little circle stamped in the plastic, with month and year of expiration; I see such a circle on the back of the 2004 seat I had out yesterday, but it has the date of MANUFACTURE, which is the same as what is on the paper sticker on the side of the seat. The manuals for both seats talk about a 7-year 'limited warranty', but there is NO mention anywhere of expiration. Should I interpret this warranty information as meaning the seat is usable for 7 years? I know several people here have mentioned a 7-year expiration date for some Dorel seats... No wonder uninformed parents have NO IDEA that carseats expire... Maybe I should call Dorel?

Katrin

When you have the seats out look on the back of them. Usually on the left side it will say in Do not use after December____. It will be stamped into the plastic.

A general rule of thumb to go by it 6 years from the DOM. I have a AOE that I let my sitter use. It's DOM is 2004 and it says do not use after December 2012. So that is 8 years. However living in AZ with the hot weather I would not use it after 6yrs.

singingpond · Aug 31, 2007

azgirl71 said:
When you have the seats out look on the back of them. Usually on the left side it will say in Do not use after December____. It will be stamped into the plastic.

A general rule of thumb to go by it 6 years from the DOM. I have a AOE that I let my sitter use. It's DOM is 2004 and it says do not use after December 2012. So that is 8 years. However living in AZ with the hot weather I would not use it after 6yrs.

Nope, nothing on the back of either seat, other than the little (less than 1" across) circle with the DOM stamped in. Maybe they put the expiration information on the AOE's, but not on the plain AO's? I have had both my seats out of the vehicle, and have looked at their backs closely in sunlight, so I really don't think I missed such a stamp, if it is there. I'll look once more -- beginning to think I have a blind spot or something, since other people do report seeing expiration stamps in the plastic. I do know what I'm looking for, I think, as both my Snugrides have stamps on them, like the one you described.

Katrin

azgirl71 · Aug 31, 2007

singingpond said:
Nope, nothing on the back of either seat, other than the little (less than 1" across) circle with the DOM stamped in. Maybe they put the expiration information on the AOE's, but not on the plain AO's? I have had both my seats out of the vehicle, and have looked at their backs closely in sunlight, so I really don't think I missed such a stamp, if it is there. I'll look once more -- beginning to think I have a blind spot or something, since other people do report seeing expiration stamps in the plastic. I do know what I'm looking for, I think, as both my Snugrides have stamps on them, like the one you described.

Katrin

I just did a check for someone with an AO from 2004 and it was stamped on the back of the seat. That is weird.

Her DOM was 11/04

If you are still unable to locate the expiration, then I would go with 6 yrs from the DOM to be on the safe side.

ETA:It will be on the upper part of the shell

ETA: Depending on what slot you have the harness setting on it may be under the black piece of plastic that goes across the back of the harness bar. It will be below the "Top slot for booster mode only" I want to say it was below the second from the top on the left side.

joolsplus3 · Aug 31, 2007

Someone called Dorel once and was told 5-7 years... 5 years if you use it a lot, 7 if you don't use it much. With a 7 year warrantee, I'd feel comfortable using it for 7 years, personally. See if there's a FAQ on www.djgusa.com ?

singingpond · Aug 31, 2007

azgirl71 said:
I just did a check for someone with an AO from 2004 and it was stamped on the back of the seat. That is weird. Her DOM was 11/04

If you are still unable to locate the expiration, then I would go with 6 yrs from the DOM to be on the safe side.

ETA:It will be on the upper part of the shell

ETA: Depending on what slot you have the harness setting on it may be under the black piece of plastic that goes across the back of the harness bar. It will be below the "Top slot for booster mode only" I want to say it was below the second from the top on the left side.

Hmmm.... I checked my 2004 AO again today after reading this, and feeling I must be going blind -- however, I'm pretty much convinced there REALLY is no expiration stamp on the back of this seat -- I see the small circular DOM stamp, I see the 'top slot for booster mode only' text, and I see a stamp giving Cosco's US and Canadian phone numbers. There was nothing hiding under the black horizontal plastic bar. Mine is DOM 2/2004, and it is the basic AO, not AOE or Eddie Bauer or whatever. I guess I'll assume it is good for 7 years; otherwise, why would there be a 7-year warranty mentioned in the manual. I'll check Dorel's website also, to see if there is more information there. Very strange.

Katrin

singingpond · Aug 31, 2007

joolsplus3 said:
Someone called Dorel once and was told 5-7 years... 5 years if you use it a lot, 7 if you don't use it much. With a 7 year warrantee, I'd feel comfortable using it for 7 years, personally. See if there's a FAQ on www.djgusa.com ?

Yes, I'll go check at Dorel's website. I also think, if they say there's a 7-year warranty, that implies they expect that the product may be in use for 7 years. However, it certainly doesn't give the owner the information that the product EXPIRES after 7 years -- how is the owner supposed to figure that out? It's also strange that another poster recently saw an AO from 2004 with a stamp, and my 2004 seat doesn't have a stamp (I've looked three times by now, and I really think it isn't there). I wonder what explains such inconsistencies in the production line?

Katrin

CandCfam · Aug 31, 2007

singingpond said:
I wonder what explains such inconsistencies in the production line?

Katrin

Um, it is Dorel.

tjham · Sep 1, 2007

I sent this question:

Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 1:33 PM

I just want to know what the expiration time is for Cosco
seats. I have heard 6, 7, and 8 years! I want to know for the Scenera and the Alpha Omego Elite specifically but all seats if possible.

Thanks!

Terri

Model #:2345678
Manufacture Date:1/24/2005

And got this response:

Dear Terri,

The life of a car seat is 6 to a maximum of 8 years. We recommend replacing after 6 years; however the maximum time allotted is 8 years.

Thank you for your inquiry,

Chelsea
DJG USA
Consumer Specialist

Is that clear!?!

elle7715 · Sep 1, 2007

My Alphasport has a DOM of 12-21-05 and says it expires in December 2013. Mine is stamped about where the splitter plate and locking clip is. I'm probably going to go by the 6 year recommendation. I could see how a Radian could last 8 years because of the metal support frame but a brand new Dorel seat seems flimsy. Forget a 6-8 year old Dorel seat.

ETA: Are your seats affected by the recall? http://safetynotice.djgusa.com/alpha-omega-ha/press.php

singingpond · Sep 1, 2007

tjham said:
I sent this question:

Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 1:33 PM

I just want to know what the expiration time is for Cosco
seats. I have heard 6, 7, and 8 years! I want to know for the Scenera and the Alpha Omego Elite specifically but all seats if possible.

Thanks!

Terri

Model #:2345678
Manufacture Date:1/24/2005

And got this response:

Dear Terri,

The life of a car seat is 6 to a maximum of 8 years. We recommend replacing after 6 years; however the maximum time allotted is 8 years.

Thank you for your inquiry,

Chelsea
DJG USA
Consumer Specialist

Is that clear!?!

Haah!! Guess I won't be appealing to Dorel for clarification on this issue

. And you even gave a model number, so your question was pretty specific

.

Katrin

azgirl71 · Sep 1, 2007

singingpond said:
Hmmm.... I checked my 2004 AO again today after reading this, and feeling I must be going blind -- however, I'm pretty much convinced there REALLY is no expiration stamp on the back of this seat -- I see the small circular DOM stamp, I see the 'top slot for booster mode only' text, and I see a stamp giving Cosco's US and Canadian phone numbers. There was nothing hiding under the black horizontal plastic bar. Mine is DOM 2/2004, and it is the basic AO, not AOE or Eddie Bauer or whatever. I guess I'll assume it is good for 7 years; otherwise, why would there be a 7-year warranty mentioned in the manual. I'll check Dorel's website also, to see if there is more information there. Very strange.

Katrin

The seat I checked is a AO too. I wonder if they did not start stamping them until later that year.

Sorry I could not help

Please see the response another poster got from Dorel about this if you have not already

singingpond · Sep 1, 2007

elle7715 said:
My Alphasport has a DOM of 12-21-05 and says it expires in December 2013. Mine is stamped about where the splitter plate and locking clip is. I'm probably going to go by the 6 year recommendation. I could see how a Radian could last 8 years because of the metal support frame but a brand new Dorel seat seems flimsy. Forget a 6-8 year old Dorel seat.

ETA: Are your seats affected by the recall? http://safetynotice.djgusa.com/alpha-omega-ha/press.php

I probably won't be using the seats much past the 6 years, but I am contemplating some occasional use, if the manufacturer's limit is actually 7 years (8 years on your particular seat, I guess). Our 2001 AO is installed in the truck we use for plowing our driveway, so that DS#2 can ride with his dad while they crash through the snow. The kids also ride in the truck very occasionally (3 or 4 times a year) on public roads. So, if the seat is good for 7 years, I'll leave it there for that use for another year. The 2004 AO is currently in use RF for my 5 m.o. DD. Since we don't expect more children, it will also be unlikely to be pushed much (if any) past 6 years, as I expect she will pass the RF weight limit somewhere after age 3, judging by her older siblings. That would bring us to about 6 1/2 years on the carseat (and this is in our secondary, less used vehicle -- she is in a Radian in the primary vehicle).

I have the feeling my 2004 seat IS on the recall list -- one of the model numbers sounded familiar (since I have been looking at the darn seat so frequently lately)

. Guess I have to go out and check it again, but at least I don't have to uninstall to look at the label on the side. I've never noticed any problem with the adjuster, but I guess I'll be asking for the recall kit to be safe.

Katrin

elle7715 · Sep 1, 2007

Yes I would go ahead and order the kit. Eventually our seat will be used forward facing and I don't want the harness loosening on impact. I know it's a small risk, but since the fix is there I will definitely be using it. We'll probably keep our seat around for the full 8 years. I'd rather have a spare that's technically still good instead of nothing.

What IS the expiration date on AO's??

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