Replace car seats after a vehicle burglary?

Nedra

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
I think this may be a silly question, but I guess I'm just nervous . . .

Last night one of our cars (parked outside) was broken into. Someone crawled from the back window (which was smashed) up to the front of the car in order to steal an (empty) laptop bag. There was glass and snow on the car seats when my husband went out to the car this morning.

I'm guessing that whomever broke into the vehicle didn't do any more damage to the car seats than would be normally done by my kids climbing over them, but I really don't know. Obviously we will clean off the seats and vacuum up the glass, but does anyone have experience with handling a vehicle burglary as it pertains to their child restraints? Is there a standard procedure for determining whether significant damage was done?
 
ADS

Dillipop

Well-known member
When my oldest was around 2, the window next to his seat was shot out with a bb gun. We vacuumed out the seat, removed the cover and washed it, and vacuumed out the car. In hindsight, knowing how hard it is to get glass out of fabric and knowing the glass touched the harness, I think we probably should have replaced the seat. Mainly because the glass is hard to get out. We were finding it for months after in the crease of the vehicle seat and on the floor.

The person climbing on the seat probably wouldn't make me replace now, 3 kids later. But I think the glass probably would.

But I think it would come down to parental discretion.
 

murphydog77

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Oh ugh. Sorry to hear this! Everything I've heard about glass in carseats is that it's awful to clean up. Can you just replace the covers?
 

Nedra

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
Thank you both. We have been out of town (with our other car) so we haven't put the kids back in those seats for the last couple weeks. Thus far, it has been fairly easy to just avoid the issue and use our other vehicle, but I know I will have to deal with this eventually. They are both Graco seats, so I will give them a call and see if I can get replacement covers. Good idea, Heather!
 

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