In general, a car seat is good for the number of years stamped on it from when it was manufactured, or it can be expired. the fact that well over half our vehicles have been recalled in the last ten years may have increased this rule to 12-15 years instead. some models like the britax boulevard 65 and pallas 65 (which were designed and sold in canada and still sold today) are recognised for their durability while also having readouts of 10-12 years past manufacturers expiration vision upon opening while there's no expiration date inside either while they're not only an estimated 10+years old but also if properly taken care of would reach 13-14yrs old respectively yet very few parents seem concerned about these seat models
do carseats really expire?
a federal law enacted in 2002 specifies that child safety seats manufactured after september 1, 2009 must have a six-year expiration date stamped on it. these products are currently covered by the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa), which oversees their certification and should handle complaints about expiring seats.
years of use should be used as an approximation for safe replacement for carseats anyways. a carseat has an “average useful life” of approximately 6 years (or 72 months) but there is no standard to carry that out. you can't legally sell or give away or resell a booster seat that was intended for infants beyond its expiration date, used toddler seats expire when they're five years old, while convertible infant-
how many years does a car seat last before it expires?
a child booster seat has an expiration date. the typical life of a child seat is about six or seven years without issue. however, accidents can happen at any time so use your best judgement for when it's time to upgrade the device. typically, boosters are not intended for children beyond 50 pounds, which could put them well past the expiration date if they are well over the weight limit.
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