Grrrr....expired carseats handed all around

misskerri

New member
I have several friends in Austin that I communicate with via a local chat board. This morning, one of them asked "what's the next step in carseats?" since his little boy is 7 months old and about to outgrow his infant carrier (a SnugRide, I think). So I told him a convertible seat is the next step, and defined that for him. He asked for examples, so I told him about the EFTA and the MA. Told him those would be the two that I would choose from, and told him the RF and FF weights for both, etc etc. One of our other friends (also my husband's ex-girlfriend...whee) piped up with "we have a spare RA you can use." I just casually mentioned then that carseats expire after 6 years. So she was like, "you're welcome to use it, but it's probably "expired."" Both of her kids are in Cosco Alpha Omega seats that were passed down to her (one of those seats is at least 6 years old b/c I know the little girl it came from).

Grr...I hate that people think that carseat expiration dates are just a ploy to get you to buy new seats.

And so now...this little boy is going to end up in the likely expired RA. The ex girlfriend said that the cover is navy with a white animal print. Anyone have any idea what pattern that might be or when it was made?

I shouldn't let it bother me, but ugh.
 
ADS

DaniannieB

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I don't know the name of the print, but a friend of mine has a RA w/ a cover that sounds like that (navy with white animals). I believe hers was made in 2003, which means it would expire in 2009. So, it might not be expired yet, but it's probably close to it. Another way to tell if it's an older RA vs a newer RA is to look at the base. Newer RAs have a smaller base like all the rest of the convertibles. The older RAs have a larger base.
 

4boysmom

New member
It may be puppies print which is was made in or before 2001. I don't know when they stopped making it but the little girl I babysat before having my son in late summer 2001 had one and it didn't seem to be brand spanking new then so I'd estimate it was a 2000 or maybe even late 1999 seat.
 

Pixels

New member
Have you tried explaining WHY seats expire? That the plastic breaks down, and the harness can rip completely out in a crash.
 

misskerri

New member
Have you tried explaining WHY seats expire? That the plastic breaks down, and the harness can rip completely out in a crash.


Honestly...I dropped it at that point. I could feel the snark coming on, and a couple of these people have questioned my authority when it comes to matters of my own occupation (I'm a librarian...they've gotten into arguments with me about withdrawing books that contain out of date material), so I had a feeling my words would likely fall on deaf ears. But I may email the father of the little boy off the board and tell him. Even though he's one of the ones who has snarked about my masters in library science in the past...heh.
 

skylinphoto

New member
No matter what they think of you and your knowledge, I'd try to explain it to them.
At least you put it out there. Post links to information and videos explaining what happens. Then you're not just talking at them KWIM?

It's worth a shot. They may not listen but at least you've tried at that point. It could really help someone to know the WHY about carseats expiring.

JMO.
 

SusanMae

Senior Community Member
And just because the info falls on 10 sets of deaf ears---doesn't mean that there isn't 1 set of ears listening, KWIM?

Susan
 

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