Car seat expiration date Australia: How long do car seats last?

Do child seats last forever?

How long do car seats last? Well, physically, if stored in dry conditions, in the sun, they can indeed last for many years, but that doesn't mean you should continue to use them or pass them on to other parents, because the recommended shelf life of a car seat in Australia is 10 years.

This will come as news to a lot of people who probably thought non-milk car seats didn't have an expiration date.

(Interestingly, the shelf life of car seats varies from country to country—in the US, it's only six years.)

On the plus side, anyone who still has kids 10 years after they had their first and invested in their first car seat (and first time people tend to buy a brand new one because they're excited/paranoid to safety), clearly lives in the 1930s, when everyone had half a dozen children.

So you really only need two or three car seats to get you through your years of raising young children, depending on how many kids you have. 

Of course, the main thing to note is that the car seat expiration date is a recommendation and not Australian law or even New South Wales law. Not a single police officer, even the most fastidious highway patrol, will stop you and demand to know how old your child seat is. 

As noted by Infasecure, “The 10-year term is not a law, it is not an Australian standard, and it is not enforceable – this is something that the industry has broadly agreed upon and is generally used as a best practice guide. ".

But it's a recommendation for a reason, and it's wise to heed it. In many ways, it's all about common sense - child restraints and baby pods are designed to last, but shouldn't be used indefinitely.

To begin with, just like cars, child seats are constantly being improved both in terms of design and safety. A 10 year old baby seat just won't be as good or thoughtful as a new one.

ISOFIX anchor points are increasingly being used in vehicles sold in Australia.

Indeed, 10 years ago, Australians did not use the much more advanced ISOFIX seats that are so common now because they were illegal in this country until 2014. And trust us, you really want an ISOFIX child restraint for your kids.

Plus, there's the fact that wear and tear is obviously going to be a problem for anything your kids use regularly, especially over ten years.

Kids can't handle gear, just watch how fast they wear out their shoes.

There is also the problem of what experts call “material degradation,” which is slower and more passive. But be aware that the child seat will be stored in a car, where temperatures range - depending on where you live - from below freezing to over 80 degrees Celsius. 

The plastic and high impact foam in the seat just won't be as strong in 10 years as it was when the restraint was new, in part because it was made every summer. Belts and harnesses can also stretch or loosen during this period of time.

A 10 year old baby seat just won't be as good or thoughtful as a new one. (Image credit: Malcolm Flynn)

So how do you know how old your place is?

Some companies like Infasecure start their warranty from the date of purchase so if you have a receipt you will know it, but this is much more common among child restraint manufacturers like Safe and Sound, Meridian AHR, Steelcraft, Britax. and Maxi-Cosi to indicate that the child seat expires 10 years after the date of manufacture (DOM).

You will find this DOM either on the plastic shell of the product or on a clearly marked label attached to it.

If you're buying a used child seat, it's obviously extremely important to check that date first.

Indeed, Britax advises not only not to sell the restraint if it is more than 10 years old, but also to “cut off all harnesses and top cable, cut out the cover, remove or obscure the serial number and production date, and write “garbage, do not use” on the case car seats."

They really, really don't recommend you use them after 10 years.