Question About Graco DOMs

ravekiss

Member
I know that car seats smade by Graco usually expires 6 years after its DOM but in December of that year. So I was wondering...if a seat is manufactured on December 30 2007 that means it expires December 2013. However if a seat is manufactured January 2nd 2008 (3 days later) it expires December 2014 even though the seats were made only 3 days apart. Am I making sense here?

I guess I'm asking why is it that they were made only 3 days apart but the latter have an entire year more life to it?
 
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lorismurph

Senior Community Member
I have wondered the same thing. I have a late December 2008 Nautilus that I would love to get that extra year out of.
 

Pixels

New member
Radians don't have a specific date of manufacture, just a month. So a Radian manufactured July 31 would expire at the end of July, and one manufactured August 1 would expire at the end of August. One day difference in manufacture, one month difference in life. It's pretty much the same thing.
 

momto4plustwins

New member
I know that car seats smade by Graco usually expires 6 years after its DOM but in December of that year. So I was wondering...if a seat is manufactured on December 30 2007 that means it expires December 2013. However if a seat is manufactured January 2nd 2008 (3 days later) it expires December 2014 even though the seats were made only 3 days apart. Am I making sense here?

I guess I'm asking why is it that they were made only 3 days apart but the latter have an entire year more life to it?
No it would expire January 2014. Where did you see that they only "expire" in december?
 

mommaon112903

New member
I do not have my GN any longer, but I remeber something about "Do not use after December 2013" Mine was on of the first ones to come off the line :)

I have also heard/read other places that Graco seats expire the December of the sixth year.

Where did you see that they only "expire" in december?
 

NannyMom

Well-known member
If it helps confuse you further, I have a Cargo DOM 5/2008 and it says do not use after Dec 2013. Giving it until Dec of the 5th year. But I called Graco and they said I could send it to them or use it until Dec of 6th year (I'd prefer to send it back to them).
 

Pixels

New member
Graco seats expire in December of the sixth* year following manufacture. It's in the manuals.

* The backless booster portion of the Nautilus expires in Dec. of the ninth year following manufacture.
 

ame0312

New member
off to check my safe seat manual, but i know the older snugride i have said dec of the 6th year.... same with my cousins... pretty sure the ss1 too.... but ill double check...
eta:

looking at my manual...
here it is word for word...
"STOP USING INFANT RESTRAINT AND BASE AND THROW IT AWAY after the date molded into the back of the infant restraint. "DO NOT use this car seat after December (Year)""

mine has a dom in july...
 
Last edited:

Nennib

New member
No it would expire January 2014. Where did you see that they only "expire" in december?

Evenflo seats are the same way, they expire (at least in Canada) at the end of the December of the 6th year. In my case it is stamped right in the back of all 9 evenflo seats I have ever owned. They always roll forward to the next December. Others are indicated it is clearly shown on their Graco seats.

Further, an Evenflo rep in an article in a Canadian newspaper a few years ago stated that their (Evenflo) do not use after dates were really only meant for people passing along car seats to friends/family, that really it had nothing to do with the plastic breaking down but had to do with new standards and features on car seats. If I wasn't a wiser consumer, I would have read that article to read that expiry dates are only there to get you to buy new seats.
 

Splash

New member
It's all a crapshoot and has nothing to do with safety, basically. What you're seeing is the humongous buffer they built in. Basically they've told you that every Graco seat is "good" for a minimum of 7 years. There is no difference in those two seats, it's possibly a CYA thing or, IMO, just there because. It's a good way to get people to spend more, though!
Should yo stop using them at some point? Sure. Would I search for a January seat vs a November seat to get "one more year" of use? Nope.
 

ravekiss

Member
Maybe someone should call Graco and hear what they say. I wish I could but I'm at work right now and cant at the moment. Anyone willing to give it a shot and update here?

Graco:
800-345-4109 (US)
800-667-8184 (Canada
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Maybe someone should call Graco and hear what they say. I wish I could but I'm at work right now and cant at the moment. Anyone willing to give it a shot and update here?

Graco:
800-345-4109 (US)
800-667-8184 (Canada

All they are going to do is tell you to follow the expiration date on your seat, no real reason to call...:confused:
 

Maedze

New member
Yeah, there's nothing to call about.

The seat is not going to turn to dust the day after its stated expiration, and would probably continue to perform just fine. We have the video showing failure of a Britax harnessed seat after 10 years, but we don't know anything about the severity of the crash or what kind of rigors the seat was subjected to in the intervening 10 years. We know NHTSA recommends not using a seat after 10 years.

We know that when manufacturers list expiration dates in, they are building in a very healthy buffer, because they don't want something like the britax 10-year crash test happening to a child in one of their seats. Bad publicity :p

Would I ever use a seat passed its stated expiration? No. Would I tell a parent who came in to a check with an expired seat that it was fine to continue using it? No again.

Would I worry too much about a 6 year expiration versus a 6 year, five month expiration? Not at all :D
 

bobbysgirl7103

New member
My 2 HB turbo boosters don't have expiration dates on them anywhere. The DOM is May 19, 03. So I figured that I would get rid of them next week. Does this mean that they are OK until December? I even took the covers off to see if an expiration was stamped anywhere and nothing, and there is nothing in the manual about it. :confused:
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
I'd just check the FAQ on their website for guidance. And...I have a Turbo that old, I'd toss it just based in it's having the shorter seat length and shallower side wings (less EPS for head protection).

(Edit...now that I think about it, mine might be older than that, I got it before I got my Marathon...wow, time flies... yours might not be quite the dinosaur mine was, lol)
 

valleyfam

New member
My 2 HB turbo boosters don't have expiration dates on them anywhere. The DOM is May 19, 03. So I figured that I would get rid of them next week. Does this mean that they are OK until December? I even took the covers off to see if an expiration was stamped anywhere and nothing, and there is nothing in the manual about it. :confused:

Call Graco. I called about my snugride and was told December. They answered pretty quickly and were very nice.
 

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