Car seat expiration

hmm... now that I've seen the transportation canada videos of the harness breaking loose on a NEW Marathon- this video seems kind of meaning less!

your car seat may still be ok after its experation date if it was say kept inside unless in use but do you want to risk your childs life on the chance that it may still be ok? i wouldnt.

Imagine my old car seat I sat in as a toddler. It's like 15 years old now. I bet it's thrown away lol

Why don't they just expire the whole car? I don't care if you have a 1 year old car seat or a 7 year old car seat, when your car was built in the 80's or early 90's...

because cars aren't made of plastic

what if the seat is about 7 years old, but has only been in a car, i.e., exposed to the elements for no more than a year? It's been in our closet the rest of the time, in a humidity and heat controlled environment.

It's not just the UV rays it's the EXTREME heat and cold that occurs in the car that causes the plastics to break down! Do some research on car seats and you'll understand more as to why the makers of the seats say after 5-6 years you need to replace the seat to avoid injury or death.

Age alone does not ruin plastic. Rough handling and exposure to the elements does. This can happen at ANY age (of the seat :)

In my opinion there's no substitute for just inspecting the seat very carefully. You know what plastic looks like when it's sun-baked, deteriorated or cracked. Inspect it when it's new, inspect it anytime you bang or drop it.

sun exposure is not all that breaks down the integrity of plastic. cold and heat do it as well ). unless that expired car seat was sitting in a humidity and temperature controlled place till it got past it's expiration date it is toast.

I'm in total agreement. A car seat left in a car for 6 years is going to see major temperature differences. Also, not all plastics are the same. Nor are all car seats made from the same type of plastic.