How Long are Car Seat Bases Good for
Car seats are crucial components of your child’s because you need to know precisely when to dispose of the old car seat and buy a new one. There are various reasons for the expiration of a car seat. We have attempted to provide you with the necessary information and details about how long are car seat bases good for you to use.
How Long are Car Seat Bases Good for: extensive explanation
Like all good things, the good days of a car seat have to come to an end. We all know that everything has an expiry date and likewise so do the car seats that we buy.
Car seats are sensitive equipment because these are related to our child’s safety and safety comes first, as we all agree.
There is a multitude of reasons why this phenomenon occurs. In this particular article, we will take you through all the details and causes for the exploration of car seats.
For which reasons Car Seats Expire? Multiple valid causes.
Car seats expire for many reasons; one of the reasons is for your mind to achieve something new, thus prodding you to buy a new one.
But there are other legitimate reasons for buying a new car seat too. Three of the reasons are as below:
New safety features and innovations
As we have talked about before, the main concern with the car seats is safety. We tend to gravitate to new and more secure safety features.
The features manufacturers provide as new editions are often more effective in ensuring security for you and your children. Besides, we need more and more as the world around us changes more. The manufacturers are well aware of that situation, so they try to keep up with the world.
When a new car seat offers us more features and more safety standards, we often dismiss the older one for a newer one. After all, innovations have made our life much easier than it used to be. And this trend will continue to follow in the future.
Physical damage: tear and shattering
Like all good things, the days of a good car seat have to come to an end. After 2-3 years of extensive usage, the car seats become somewhat less qualified for extensive use.
The car seats are usually made with plastics or leathers; they typically get shattered and get fractures and hairlines. Extensive use search on a single car seat causing it to wear off is a normal phenomenon these days. Also, fashion is l constantly ever-changing, so people put a good amount of stress on the existing car seat so that when they migrate to the next, they don’t regret not using the previous enough.
We wouldn’t want to make our children sit in something that is not up to the mark in its total capacity. Because of this reason, people tend to buy a new one when the older one gets a little bit damaged.
Missing parts
Along with the usage, some parts go missing now and then of the car seat. If a crucial part is somehow lost, the whole seat becomes unusable, making another new car seat much necessary. This is a legitimate reason to buy a new car seat.
If a car seat is not installed and used with it being complete with all its parts, it is not recommended to be used and needs to be changed immediately. Even if changing is a bit more costly, the migration to the next car seat will likely cause you more gains than losses because security is an asset. We cannot deny the fact that the safety of our life comes first of everything.
For how long can we use a car seat? The most recommended usage period.
It is pretty tricky to tell a definite number, but 6 to 10 years of usage renders a car seat unusable. Different manufacturers have different expiry dates according to their manufacturing quality.
The expiry date depends on the material and the manufacturing process that the manufacturers use when building the product. The expiry date also depends on the number of buyers that a manufacturer holds at a particular time.
Manufacturers tend to give expiry dates to the products themselves to estimate how long they can use that product. We recommend you to check the expiry date provided by the manufacturer and stick to that time period.
Baby Trend
Baby trend products last a maximum of 6 years or so. If you have a manufacturer’s product, you can get a solid six years of usage out of your car seat.
Britax
Britax car seats, along with all its models, can even last more than 6 years. The infant model, toddler model, and booster seat model have shown extensive usage for more than 6 years.
In multiple cases, we have seen this product even be used one or two years more than the expiry date provided by the manufacturer.
Chicco
This particular brand has a lifespan of 6 years. Special series of models known as” nextfit convertible” can last up to eight years of service life. Although you should expect an average of 6 years, it would be best to check the levels for expiry dates before purchasing one product.
Diono
Diono car seeds are usually more rigid and more stable than other brands. They are known for their heavier engineering plastics and rigid steel frames, which sometimes grant these products more than ten years of usage time.
Depending on the model, you can find labels on these products to reveal your expiry dates.
Evenflo
Evenflo has a good reputation for being a moderate brand providing a good performance with an average price range.
Different models of this brand provide an average of six years of product service life. Model numbers and expiry dates are found on the care label on these products.
Graco.
Graco has a good reputation for a service life of 6 to 10 years. In some cases, they even lasted more than 10 years. Some particular products have lesser expiry dates which can be found on the levels of these products.
Maxi Cosi.
These particular products have expiry dates embedded in their shells all the base of the car. A conspicuous expiry date will tell you that you can use the device for six to eight years after manufacturing.
Orbit Baby.
Orbit baby is a brand that provides two types of car seats. For the infant model, the service life of the product is about 7 years and for toddler models, the service life is 6 years. You should check the expiry date on the care label of the device before purchasing it.
Safety 1st
Safety first is very concerned about the safety of the product, as the name suggests. They have a considerable service life of 8 years, although there can be a variance of service lives on different brand models.
UPPAbaby
This particular brand can offer you up to seven years of usage. You should not worry for at least 6 years about the usability and quality of the performance.
However, we recommend you check the level that will tell you the exact expiry date of the product you want to buy.
What can we do with a car seat that is expired?
If you want to change to a new car seat, there should be ample dumping the old one. You can sell your old car seat to the salvage guys. If your car seat is not unusable, then you can sell that thing on online marketplaces.
It is our responsibility to make sure that disposing of the product does not harm the environment in any way. We all need to find environmentally friendly ways to dispose of the old car seat.
Recycling the product is probably the best idea because the product has different kinds of material inside it. The metals and nylon, plastics, and other materials will be of good use for recycling farms.
Sending the car seat to recycling centers
The construction of the car seat consists of different kinds of materials that are useful for recycling business farms. The recycling farms dismantle the product and use every material that is found inside the car seat. This way of disposing of the older car seat is much more environmentally friendly, which is also essential for your child’s ample growth.
The more we recycle, the more we save nature, and recycling gradually decreases the manufacturing costs of new products.
Trading the old seat for a discount on the new one
Some manufacturers take the old car seat and give you an ample discount if you want to buy a new one. The manufacturers this way can benefit from cycling the old product, and you can benefit by having a discount.
The scope of recycling the old car seat for a new one for a discount percentage is not a feature that the brands provide all year long. So you should keep your heads up when these offers open, and you should take the proper chances.
Throwing it away, if you must:
The least environmentally friendly way is to show the car seat away. We should be careful in this process.
If you dismantle the seat, remove the forms and paintings, completely separate components that are made of plastic, and add a “NOT FOR USAGE” sign before throwing it in the bin.
Different other ways that necessitate a replacement of an old car seat
We have looked upon typical causes that usually make us decide to change the old car seat. But some other unexpected events may occur, which will lead to changes in your car seat. We have covered some of the causes below:
After encountering a car crash
If you have encountered a car crash accident, hoping you are safe along with your children, if the car seat is damaged somehow, then you need to change to a new car seat for your children immediately.
A damaged car seat cannot provide ample security. In this particular case changing the car state is not a matter of choice but a necessity.
When the children have reached the weight limit
When your child is growing and exceeding the recommended weight limit of the car seat, which thing it’s best if you change to a new and bigger one. This is a normal phenomenon that happens for all the parents who have a growing child.
Update from a manufacturer
Whenever there is a problem with a sold product or an immediate update needed to be installed on the products, the manufacturers recall all their sold products to give an updated effect instead to the consumers. Sometimes the manufacturers also give refunds of the product on the choices of the consumers. There are some known issues for which the manufacturers me record their products:
● An update regarding security
● An update of the product regarding a legal issue
● installment of a new module
● Government intervention to update.
The manufacturers care about their consumers. Giving them the best is always The outermost important objective in their business.
FAQ
How to know when the car seat has expired?
You can get a good idea of when the car seat will expire from the care level provided by the manufacturer. Or, if your usage has rendered some major damages on the product that has made it unsuitable for further use, you can change the product on your terms.
● What can I do with an expired seat?
We have provided various ways of disposing of the car seat. In short, You can recycle it to resell it.
● What should be done with the expired car seat?
We have provided various ways of disposing of the old car seat. Recycling the product is the best way. Please take a look at the details you have provided above.
● What is the reason for the car seat expiration?
There are various reasons, including wear and tear, accidental damage, the growing of children, and simply using it for a long time. There can be other reasons for the expiration of the car seats also.
● How can I tell if a car seat is expired?
There are some pretty easy ways to ascertain if a car seat is expired or not.
The first step is to check the care label for exploration dates, and you should also look if there is any permanent damage done to the car seat for the usage it has gone through and finally, you should also check if any accidental damage has happened or not.
After doing all the necessary checks, you should be able to give a verdict if the car seat is expired or not.
● What do I have to do with the expired car seat?
The best way to dispose of the car seat is to recycle it. You can also sell the car seat if it has some usable parts in it.
● What do I understand from the expiration date?
The first thing you need to understand is safety first!
The manufacturers provide you with an expiration date because they want you to be secure. If you continue using it beyond the expiry date, you can use it as a risky move.
It is better for you if you dispose of the product once it has expired.
● When is the time when car seats expire?
Different manufacturers have different lifespans of different models. You should check the care label of the car seat to know when it will expire.
● How do I know if my car seat has an expiration date or not?
The only way for YouTube no used to check the whole body of the car seat for any indicated information or care label.
Statistics
We have found some factual information across the internet that are worth mentioning:
● 42% of all the security failures during a car crash happens because of using an expired car seat.
● Only 15% of the parents change the car seat at the right time when there are expired.