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How do I make sure a used infant seat meets safety standards?

A friend gave me an infant car seat it is really nice but someone told me they "expire" after five years and you're not supposed to use them. How do I find out about my car seat?

Public Comments

1. I would say just type in the make and model in Google and see what you can find. Honestly though if it's older than five years I would just invest in an up to date seat. Better safe than sorry in my opinion.

2. Usually the expiration date is listed somewhere on the back or bottom of the carseat. If you can go online and look up the brand and model to see if there have been any recalls.

3. If the seat was one that your friend used and she was never in an accident, then it should be fine. See below for things to check for in a used car seat. Cars seats don't expire; they can be recalled or improved, but manufacturers often come out with new ones for design.

The second link I included has a more thorough list of things to watch for in an infant car seat.

From source listed below:
The AAP also recommends that you don't buy or use a used car seat that:

* is too old, which generally means that it is more than six years old, although you should check the manual or call the manufacturer for a specific expiration date for that particular model of car seat.
* has visible cracks or is missing parts or its instruction manual.
* doesn't have a label with the date of manufacture and model number, so that you can check to see if the car seat has been recalled, and then, of course, don't buy or use the car seat if it has in fact been recalled.

4. Most car seats have a 6 year "life". There should be a manufacture date on a sticker somewhere on the seat. If it was 2006, then it will expire in 2011 etc, and is safe to use AS LONG AS:

1) seat (and/or the base) has never been in a car accident
2) the straps have never been submerged in water and or cleaned with a chemical product...this damages the webbing of the harness straps, and can lead to them failing in the event of a crash.
3) there is no evidence of damage or stress fractures on the plastic shell (remove the seat cover and look for white streaks or marks in the plastic) This is similar to squashing a plastic bottle then pushing it back into shape...all the stress lines that are left behind.

5. I'm not sure because I've read everywhere that you're not supposed to re-use car seats. That's why Babiesrus does that annual "trade-in" at their store---to encourage parents to trade in their used car seats and other gear for a discounted price on new gear so that parents won't sell safety gear to a second-hand store.