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Quick List: Safety First Car Seat Expiration
How long are Safety First car seats good for? That depends on the car seat type. The year of manufacture is also an important factor according to Safety 1st company.
1. Safety 1st infant car seat expiration date – 8 years from the date of manufacture for models after 2014; 6 years from the date of manufacture for infant car seats before 2014.
2. Safety first convertible car seat expiration date – 10 years after the date from manufacture.
3. Safety 1st all-in-one car seat expiration date -10 years after the date from the manufacturer.
4. Safety First harness 2 booster expiration – 10 years from the date of manufacture.
5. Safety 1st booster seat expiration – 10 years after the date from manufacture.
When do Safety 1st car seats expire? That’s the common question if you have purchased a Safety 1st car seat. Some parents may not notice an expiry date on their car seats. If you’re one of them, you should read this article.
Evenflo is one of the manufacturers (others include Graco and Diono) that do not display the expiry date directly on the white sticker. Only the date of manufacture (DOM) is shown on the label, which is located on the side or back of a Safety 1st car seat.
As a result, you’ll need to calculate the expiry date for Safety 1st car seats with the DOM and useable life.
Don’t worry, we’ll show you how to calculate the expiry date for Safety 1st car seats later in this post.
Before that, I want you to know the exact meaning of the car seat expiration date and why car seats expire. Of course, you may also want to know how to deal with your expired Safety 1st car seats after six or ten years of useful time.
Infant
Safety 1st Infant Car Seat Expiry Date
Convertible
Safety 1st Convertible Car Seats Expiry Date
Booster
Safety 1st Booster Seat Expiration Date
What Do Car Seat Expiration Dates Mean?
The expiry date is given by the manufacturer. It means the maximum usable life after the date of manufacture. The real use time of a car seat should be shorter than the expiry date because it takes time to go on sale on the market since production.
So if you’re planning to buy a car seat, it’s better to find one with a long usable life. The longer, the better!
Safety 1st car seats expire due to various reasons, but you should not worry about it. The Safety 1st car seats expire between 6 to 10 years, depending on the types, models, and its manufacture year.
The more recently the Safety 1st car seat is manufactured, the longer its lifespan it has. Maybe the Safety 1st company improved their technology.
How Long Are Safety First Car Seats Good For?
How long is a safety first car seat good for? Typically, Safety first car seats (including the Grow and Go 3-in-1) are good for between six and ten years after the date of manufacture, depending on the car seat type and manufacture date.
It's important to check this manufacture date when you're buying a Safety 1st car seat. This is the only way to make sure how long it can serve you (if without accidents and in well-maintained condition).
Why Do Car Seats Expire?
Car seats expire, just like anything in daily use. Technologies improved, and standards changed, or thousands of times in and out; all of these take a negative effect on a car seat reaching its end of life.
Technological Improvements
Car seat manufacturers are always trying to improve their technologies for recently produced car seats to provide your child with better protection.
Parents would like to purchase a new car seat with new techniques. As a result, old models will naturally expire and retired from the market.
Standards Change
Car seat experts and governments always testing the car seat to find out what is best to protect your child. They’ll give appropriate anticipation and suggestions from statistically crash data, and improve the safety standards for your child’s safety.
Wear and tear
The car seat wears out every time you buckle, unbuckle, move it, leave it in the sun, and even when you store it. The materials, including the fabrics, plastics, padded foam, and metal weaken as the year goes. Like anything else, your car seat degrades with time.
Recalls
Though car seats go through intense testing, some faults could show up even after the product launch. If the manufacturers found that faulty will cause any potential risk for your little boy or girl, they recall that model.
If you have registered the car seat with the manufacturer (online or offline), you’ll get an update on the recall for a specific model.
Or you can check the 10-year recall list on NHTSA.
Where to find the DOM on my Safety 1st car seat?
*DOM means Date of Manufacture.
According to Safety 1st, this information can be found on a sticker located on the side or bottom/foot of your car seat shell. The sticker will state Manufactured in or Model #/Manufacture Date.
When Do Safety First Infant Car Seats Expire
According to Safety 1st, their infant car seats expire 6 or 8 years after the date of manufacture. Whether 6 or 8 years lifespan depends on the manufacturing year.
If you got a Safety 1st infant car seat that was manufactured before January 1, 2014, it had a 6 years lifespan and expired years ago.
If you got a Safety 1st infant car seat that was manufactured after January 1, 2014, it has an 8-year lifespan.
It’s supposed that all Safety First infant car seats have an 8-year usable life before their expiry date.
The manufacture date of Safety 1st infant car seats can be easily found on the white sticker on the side or back of the seat and underneath the car seat base, no expiry date is shown on that label.
But by knowing the date of manufacture on the white sticker and the lifespan that we list in the table below, you can calculate the Safety First car seat expiration date in seconds.
5 Safety First Infant Car Seats Expiration Date
| Model | Expiration Date | Location of Expiry Date | Online User Manual |
|---|---|---|---|
| onBoard™35 Air 360 Infant Car Seat | 8 years after the date of manufacture. | Label on back of infant seat | User Manual |
| onBoard™ 35 LT Infant Car Seat | 8 years after the date of manufacture. | Label on back of infant seat | User Manual |
| Disney Baby Light 'n Comfy 22 Luxe Infant Car Seat | 8 years after the date of manufacture. | Label on back of infant seat | User Manual |
| onBoard™35 SecureTech™ Infant Car Seat | 10 years after the date of manufacture. | Label on side of infant seat | User Manual |
| onBoard™ 35 LT Comfort Cool Infant Car Sea | 8 years after the date of manufacture. | Label on back of infant seat | User Manual |
It’s understandable that Graco infant car seats have the shortest 7-year useful time, they are designed for newborns and infants. The best is for toddlers younger than 24 months old. That’s not a long riding time, especially since babies won’t drink or play in an infant car seat.
When Do Safety 1st Car Seats Expire - Convertible
Safety 1st convertible car seats (including all-in-one) will last a bit longer than infant car seats. They expire 8 or 10 years after the date of manufacture, depending on the models.
Just like the infant car seats, the Safety 1st convertible car seats have different lifespan ranges according to their manufacture dates.
Safety 1st convertible car seats produced until a specific date in December 2013 and January 2014 have a shorter life of 6 or 8 years (these car seats probably expired).
Safety 1st convertible car seats produced after a specific date in December 2013 and January 2014 have a shorter life of 8 or 10 years (these car seats probably expired).
Actually, very few car seats have a shorter 8 year usable life and they probably expired years ago.
Safety 1st Car Seat Expiration Date - 6 Convertibles
| Model | Expiration Date | Location of Expiry Date | Online User Manual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grow and Go™ All-in-One Convertible Car Seat (Full review) | 10 years after the date of manufacture. | Label on back of car seat | User Manual |
| Turn and Go 360 DLX Rotating All-in-One Convertible Car Seat | 10 years after the date of manufacture. | Label on the bottom of car seat | User Manual |
| Continuum All-in-One Convertible Car Seat | 10 years after the date of manufacture. | Label on back of car seat | User Manual |
| Grow and Go™ Extend 'n Ride LX All-in-One Convertible Car Seat | 10 years after the date of manufacture. | Label on back of car seat | User Manual |
| Grow and Go™ Comfort Cool All-in-One Convertible Car Seat | 10 years after the date of manufacture. | Label on back of car seat | User Manual |
| Jive 2-in-1 Convertible Car Seat (Full review) | 10 years after the date of manufacture. | Label on side of car seat | User Manual |
| Guide 65 2-in-1 Convertible Car Seat | 10 years after the date of manufacture. | Label on side of car seat | User Manual |
When Do Safety 1st Car Seats Expire -Booster
The Safety 1st booster seats have the same long lifespan between the infant and convertible car seats. They expire 6 or 8 years after the date of manufacture.
Some old models may have expired and discontinued, for example, the Safety 1st Top Side, which has a 6-year useful life.
As long as Safety 1st applies new technologies to its car seats, the expiry dates of booster seats improve from 6 years to 10 years.
One Safety 1st Booster Seats Expiry Date
| Model | Expiration Date | Location of Expiry Date | Online User Manual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand 2-in-1 Booster Car Seat | 10 years after the date of manufacture. | Label on side of car seat | User Manual |
How do I know If my Safety 1st car seat is expired?
Where to find the expiration date for Safety 1st car seats? The expiry date for your Safety 1st car seat is printed on an adhesive manufacturer label that is located on the side or back or bottom of the car seat.
The manufacturing label does not have much information, only the date of manufacture, the model, and the line number. You don’t know the exact expiry date. Instead, you need to do a simple calculation with the below equation.
Date of Manufacture + Car Seat’s Useful Time = Expiry Date
For example, you got a Safety 1st Grow and Go 3-in-1 convertible and found its manufacture date written:
12 /21/2018 (month/day/year)
We know that convertible car seats with a 10-year lifespan, then you’ll know the expiry date of this car seat is:
12/21/2028
It should be safe to use this Safety 1st Grow and Go until December 2028.
It’s really easy, isn’t it?
Safety 1st provides a car seat expiration tool for you to check how long a Safety 1st car seat is good for. You don’t need to check the useable life for your Safety 1st by downloading the user manual and reading thousands of words to find that number.
Use The Safety 1st Car Seat Expiration Tool for Help.
What to Do with Your Safety 1st Car Seat When It Expires
Trade in the Expired Car Seat
If your Safety 1st car seat expires, you can bring it to a Target store during the Target’s Car Seat Trade-in Events. Since 2016, Target starts this trade-in event twice a year and has recycled millions of old or expired car seats.
During Target’s trade-in events (Sunday, September 11, 2022, through Saturday, September 24, 2022), you can bring the expired car seat and exchange it for a 20% discount coupon for a new car seat.
The coupon should be redeemed at the required time (October 8, 2022). You can use it to purchase a new car seat or other baby home gear if you don’t need another new car as your child is ready to use the vehicle seat belt.
Donate the Expired Seat
If you can’t wait for the Target car seat trade-in events to open, you can also donate an expired Safety 1st car seat to the Child Passenger Safety Technologicans. They can reuse the expired car seat in their training classes to show participants how to properly install a car seat.
Recycle Your Expired or Used Car Seat
If you keep your Safety 1st car seat in good condition but it expires, you may send it to your local recycling center. Better to check with the recycling center what parts they’ll accept.
Some may accept only plastics and you’ll need to dismantle the expired car seat before shipping it.
Trash Your Expired Car Seat
You can simply throw an expired car seat in the trash. Just make sure you break it down into several parts: fabrics, padding, metal, and plastics, and no one can reuse it for another child. Or mark the words ‘EXPIRED’ or ‘UNSAFE’ on it.
Does Safety 1st Car Seat Base Expire
Yes, Safety 1st car seat bases expire in 6 years after the date of manufacture. To get an expiry date for Safety 1st car seat base, the same way applies: find the manufacture date on the bottom of the base and the useful life in the user manual and then calculate it.
How long is a Safety First Grow and Go car seat good for?
Ten Years. According to the expiry dates list for convertible car seats, the Safety First Grow and Go expires 10 years after the date of manufacture. The useful life can be found via the Safety 1st car seat expiration tool, or in the user manual.
How long does a Safety First car seat last
The exact expiration date on Safety First car seat depends on the model. However, there will be a given year range for each car seat type. For example, Safety First booster seats expire ten years from the date of manufacture (not the date when you purchase them).
Safety 1st infant car seats have the shortest lifespan, around 8 years. Some old models that were made before 2014 have a shorter 6 year lifespan, but they should be expired till this post is published in 2023. Theritically, the Safety 1st infant car seats available on the market are all manufactured after 2014.