Question Used carseats / two different vehicles

jlburr3 · Sep 17, 2013

I have a two part question. A friend gave me her two car seats, Radian80. They have never been in an accident. Is there an "expiration" of when you should no longer use a car seat?

Second part of the question, my husband and I have very different vehicles. I have a 2010 Jeep Liberty and he has a VW CC (I think it's also a 2010). Will this car seat fit in these cars easily? I imagine they would fit in mine ok, but his just seems small for as tall as these seats are.

Thanks!!
Jen

mommyfrog · Sep 17, 2013

Radians expire eight years after they were manufactured. Is the sticker with that info still on the side? I only ask because my Radian sticker is coming off!! No crashes....that's good. Just make sure the straps haven't been washed(submerged into water, harsh cleaners used, or put in washing machine), that would be the other big concern with used seats. New straps can usually be ordered from the company though. I'm not sure about the fit in your cars. I'd just try them out.

Brigala · Sep 17, 2013

Also, if they don't come with the manuals, make sure you obtain new manuals and read them thoroughly, cover-to-cover. This is important with any seat, but I'd say it's 10x more important for a Radian. Radians have all sorts of parts and pieces which are unique to Radians and are necessary for their safe use - but you'd never know these pieces were missing if you didn't read the manual. If you don't have the rear-facing boot or the safe stop (for example) you should be able to obtain replacements from Diono.

Which brings up another important thing you need to know if you don't already: Sunshine Kids changed its name to Diono. So you'd call Diono if you have any problems with your seat.