Yes. Car seat bases expire, usually 6-10 years from the manufacture date. It depends on when and how you purchased them. They’re exposed to extreme temperatures, sunlight, and abuse from children, so they eventually wear out. You should inspect your car seat base regularly to make sure it doesn’t need to be replaced before that date.
My wife and I love our car seat bases. Simple little things which allow us to easily and safely install or remove our baby’s car seat in seconds. No more trying to quickly push the seat belt through little straps while it’s freezing, raining, or the baby is screaming.
Soon though our son will outgrow his infant car seat and transition to car seats that always remain in your car. As we thought about storing the infant car seat and base for possible future children, we wondered if they would be safe.
We know car seats expire, with the expiration date listed on the seat itself. What about the car seat base though? There’s no expiration listed anywhere.
To find out the truth I made some calls, and this is what I found out.
What is an infant car seat base?
A car seat base is a semi-permanent device that says in your car. You use your car’s seat belt to attach it in the location where you want the car seat. You can remove the base whenever you want by disconnecting the seat belt, but the intention is that you’ll leave the base in the car for as long as you need the car seat.
Then when you want to use the car seat, you typically place the car seat on top of the base and press down. Latches in the base will automatically secure the car seat. When you reach your destination and want to remove the car seat, the base typically has a button or handle you use to quickly and easily remove the car seat.
Our car seat bases reduce the time it takes to secure our baby’s car seat from about a minute, to a couple seconds! With cold or rain or cranky kids, this can feel like a life saver.
Securing a car seat without a base
When you place a car seat into a vehicle, it should be secured to the seat. For this you either use your car’s latch system, if your car has one, or you use the seat belt.
Unfortunately without a base, you have to secure your car seat every time it goes into the car. If you are in a hurry, then you might go too quickly and make a mistake with places your child in danger.
Securing a car seat with a base
A car seat base solves this issue. It always stays in your car and is always secured by the latch system or car seat.
When you place your child’s car seat onto the base, the seat latches to the base. Now because the seat’s base is secured to the car, so is the car seat.
When you want to remove the car seat you just pull a handle or push a button on the seat or base, and the seat is immediately detached.
Over time through wear and tear the parts in them won’t work quite as well as they used to. Some reasons a car seat base wears down include
Why do car seat bases expire?
- Sunlight breaking down the plastic
- Extreme heat and cold swings stressing the plastic and other components
- Weight of the car seat repeatedly compressing the base
- Repeated latching and unlatching causing the springs to wear out
- Abuse from children causing small cracks
- Toys, food, or other objects getting stuck and jamming the latching mechanisms
- Incorrect installation of the base causing additional stress on weak areas
Damage or wear on the car seat base could prevent it from gripping the car seat effectively which could allow the car seat to become detached in an accident. On a regular basis you should inspect the base with and without the car seat to ensure it remains in good working order.
How do I know if my car seat base has expired?
The expiration of your car seat base depends on when and how you bought it. If you bought the base together with the car seat, then the base will expire when the car seat does. They generally expire seven years after the date of manufacture, but can vary from 6-10 years depending on the brand and model.
If you bought the base separately, maybe you received it as a gift, or for a new car you bought, then the base will expire seven years after the date of manufacture. Your car seat base should have a sticker somewhere, likely on the bottom, which states the date of manufacture.
However in addition to just checking the expiration date, you should also periodically check the condition of the base. It’s possible you will need to replace it before the expiration date. If you see any of the items below, you should replace the base. Be aware this likely isn’t a complete list.
- Any cracks or broken pieces
- Any stressed plastic. Stressed plastic will often look lighter than the plastic around it
- The car seat feels loose in the base. When you lock the car seat into the base it doesn’t feel secure
Is it ok to use an expired car seat base?
While it is not illegal to use an expired car seat base, it may not be safe. The expiration date of your car seat base was set based on the results of testing and research. Beyond that date they don’t guarantee that the base will operate as intended. In a car collision, the car seat base may fail to keep your baby restrained.
Consider asking the manufacturer
However if you have any uncertainty regarding this, or just to make sure what I told you is absolutely correct, I encourage you to ask the manufacturer.
All good manufacturers should have a customer support phone number and/or email address. I strongly encourage you to contact them and make sure you know when your car seat base will expire.
It’s possible that new regulations or information has come out after I wrote this article which changes the expiration date of your base.