Evenflo Triumph expired in less than 4 years?

As I said in another post, we moved our almost 4 year old DS into a Graco Nautilus this past weekend and we are very happy with it. His previous carseat was an Evenflo Triumph V, which he will outgrow soon. However since he still has some room in this seat (he is 37 lbs and his shoulders are about 1 inch below the top slots), we were planning to move this seat to DH’s car to use as a backup.

However, when I took the Triumph out of my car and looked it over, I discovered that the seat is already expired even though it is only 4 years old. There is a sticker with the model number and a DOM of 12Feb04. Below that, molded into the plastic it says, “Do not use product after December 31, 2007.” My first reaction is that I was horrified to learn that DS has been riding in an expired carseat. Then I was angry that the seat expired in less than 4 years. How can that be?

I fully understand that carseats expire and the reasons for that. But I thought carseats were supposed to have 6 year life spans. Even the Evenflo website says that the Triumph is good for 6 years after the manufacture date (in the FAQ). So why is my seat with a DOM of Feb04 already expired? Does anyone know?

I emailed Evenflo about this, but who knows if I’ll hear back from them. I’m really disappointed about this because otherwise we were very happy with this seat. It worked well for us, was comfortable for my son, and I found it easy to use.

Thanks for any insight anyone might have.

We must have the same seat! We purchased ours in 2004 after our dd was born and it expired this past December. We're no longer using it (but could have for our ds) because it says not to. We just decided it's better to be safe than sorry.

Here's what I *think* happens... the people at the factory have to set the stamped date right (December, 5 years after DOM) and in the early months of the year, it's like they haven't moved the date ahead a year. I don't know who's in charge of doing that job, but he is overworked, or asleep at the wheel, or something, and it seems to be wrong a LOT (like up till the May DOM's, from what I've noticed...this has been going on for literally years!).
If the FAQ says 6 years and the seat is in otherwise good condition, then I'd keep using it for 6 years (or at least till your kid outgrows it). There haven't been any significant changes in laws or labeling since 2004, and it's highly unlikely the plastic is broken down, and I'm sure since it's your seat you haven't lost any parts or missed any recalls, so there's no reason it suddenly became unsafe 2 months ago. :twocents:

I had the same issue with 2 out of the 3 Triumphs we had. I called Evenflo and they said that the seat was safe to use and to go by the DOM on the sticker and not the date stamped into the base.

I have a Triumph manufactured in 04 too, but the expiration is stamped as Dec 31st 2010. I just checked mine because I had read some weird things on here about them expiring sooner. So really they are supposed to be at least 6 years, close to 7 if you got one made in Jan right? I personally think that is highly irresponsible of Evenflo to be making those kind of mistakes, and even if they said it was okay to use for 6 yrs I'd prob feel weird about it. They should replace the seats IMO to give people peace of mind. I bet Britax would if they made that mistake.

Kimberly

joolsplus3 said:

Here's what I *think* happens... the people at the factory have to set the stamped date right (December, 5 years after DOM) and in the early months of the year, it's like they haven't moved the date ahead a year. I don't know who's in charge of doing that job, but he is overworked, or asleep at the wheel, or something, and it seems to be wrong a LOT (like up till the May DOM's, from what I've noticed...this has been going on for literally years!).
If the FAQ says 6 years and the seat is in otherwise good condition, then I'd keep using it for 6 years (or at least till your kid outgrows it). There haven't been any significant changes in laws or labeling since 2004, and it's highly unlikely the plastic is broken down, and I'm sure since it's your seat you haven't lost any parts or missed any recalls, so there's no reason it suddenly became unsafe 2 months ago. :twocents:

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Your theory is so crazy it actually makes sense in a strange way. But that guy must have asleep at the wheel for years, not months! It's good to know that you think the seat could still be used until 6 years past the DOM.

NatenMaddiesMommy said:

I had the same issue with 2 out of the 3 Triumphs we had. I called Evenflo and they said that the seat was safe to use and to go by the DOM on the sticker and not the date stamped into the base.

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I'm glad to hear this. I'm hoping to get the same type of response from Evenflo.

mamaofthree said:

I have a Triumph manufactured in 04 too, but the expiration is stamped as Dec 31st 2010.

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Do you know what month your seat was manufactured in? You get an expiration date that is 3 years later than mine the seats were made in the same year? That makes no sense at all. I guess that guy really was asleep at the wheel for years.

Thanks everyone!

Homer Simpson must have got fired from the power plant and got a new job at Evenflo, I guess...

Yeah, whatever system they are using now is just not acceptable for consumers, I don't know who needs to be complained to, but someone (at Evenflo? NHTSA? Another Consumer organization?....)..it's a mess!

Mine was made Oct 27 04. I *think* I bought it early in 2005, too bad I didn't know about DOM's back then. I should've looked for one made in Jan 2005, and gotten quite a few more months use out of it. Then again, considering how there is a prob with the dates, I might've gotten one made later and expired sooner. Ridiculous!

Kimberly

Wow - I checked my old Triumph last night after seeing this post. I vaguely remember buying it in Spring 05, but wasn't positive. Turns out it had a May 05 DOM and the expiration date is Dec 31, 2011. That's so strange that an 04 model would have expired already! Maybe you can get a replacement?

I got an e-mail back from Evenflo:

"Thank you for your inquiry regarding your car seat.

I will be more than happy to assist you with your question. Your seat has a lifespan of 6 years from the date of manufacture on the sticker, so it will not expire until 12/31/2010.

Evenflo adopted the practice of placing an expiry date on its child restraints in an effort to discourage the resale or extended reuse of units that may have been involved in a motor vehicle collision, are missing parts, have damaged or broken parts, etc. Use of secondhand car seats with a history unknown to the next purchaser may present unnecessary risks to children. There is no risk of deterioration if the seat is used past the date imprinted into the shell.

Thank you for emailing Evenflo. We appreciate the time you took to contact us."

Evenflo says it's OK to use the seat until Dec 31, 2010. I'm very glad because we actaully have 2 of these seats with the same DOM and expiration date. One we used for DS (and I can now put it in DH's car as a backup until DS outgrows it) and the second we lent out. We have a relative who had their toddler daughter in a third-hand, expired, outgrown, Century T-shield. I insisted on loaning her our extra Triumph so this child could be safe. I'm very happy to know that this seat is still safe for that little girl to ride in.

Glad you got your answer. I wish I'd seen this sooner I'd have replied right away. I have 2 2004s that say that. I called 2 months ago when I started to install as a spare in my mom's car and was furious. I called Evenflo and was told the same as you guys. Six years from date on the seat ignore the base. It is still frustrating to have the seat say one thing and the maker say another. Wonder if I had a seat failure if they'd say I shouldn't have used it?

This comes up frequently enough it could be an FAQ

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=18451&highlight=evenflo+expiration+december
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=14796&highlight=evenflo+expiration+december