# Expired car seat questions



## texanatheart (Sep 10, 2007)

A friend of dh's gifted us a Marathon when ds1 was born, and it has worked wonderfully for us. As ds2 is arriving soon, we've been thinking car seats more thoroughly lately. I've been wondering when the MA expired/if it has, and I can't get dh to ask the original gifter when they bought the seat







:, but I figure it could still be expired, regardless of when they bought it.

*Question 1*: How can I tell when it was manufactured? I've looked all over for a serial number and for a date of manufacture, to no avail. Well, actually I've found some numbers at the bottom of the stickers on the seat that explain seat belt routing, etc (P222700-R1:05/02, P222500-R2:09/02 and P222300-R1:05/02) that lead me to believe maybe they were manufactured in 2002, but that's reaching, I think. Oh, and I see now that the RF limit is 33lb, in case that matters.

*Question 2*: What to do with an expired seat (if it is, in fact, expired)? We've already bought new seats for both ds1 and ds2, so if it isn't expired, we'll just keep it as a backup. Can you do anything with the non-plastic parts (cover/anything else)?

TIA!


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## ksera05 (Apr 14, 2006)

http://www.britaxusa.com/support/userguides.aspx

If you go there, and then click on the link in the " If you are unsure, you can find the date of manufacture on your product's serial label" sentence, it will show you where the DOM is on your seat.

Definitely keep the cover! If you don't end up using it as a backup cover, you can sell it


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## PassionateWriter (Feb 27, 2008)

def. keep teh cover!

as far as what to do w/ the seat, if you can completely destroy it. take an axe or saw to it. if you cant do that then write in permanent black marker that the seat is expired and unsafe for us. really really big. and keep the cover (making it unlikely that anyone at the dump would be able to use it..you can buy a good seat for less than a new britax cover).


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## texanatheart (Sep 10, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ksera05* 
http://www.britaxusa.com/support/userguides.aspx

If you go there, and then click on the link in the " If you are unsure, you can find the date of manufacture on your product's serial label" sentence, it will show you where the DOM is on your seat.

Hmmm...mine must be really old, because there's no serial label there. Of course, the link I went to said "The latest Britax...seats should have a white label..."

Any other ideas? Should I call Britax?

Quote:


Originally Posted by *PassionateWriter* 
def. keep teh cover!

as far as what to do w/ the seat, if you can completely destroy it. take an axe or saw to it. if you cant do that then write in permanent black marker that the seat is expired and unsafe for us. really really big. and keep the cover (making it unlikely that anyone at the dump would be able to use it..you can buy a good seat for less than a new britax cover).

Wow, I never would have thought to do all that, but it totally makes sense. Thanks!


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## JoyofBirth (Mar 16, 2004)

On the back of your Marathon, under the black seat belt guide dealy, there are two citcles that look similar to a clock moolded in the plastic. You have to look very hard. One is the month and the other is the year that the shell was molded.


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## BeckC (Nov 27, 2006)

Like everyone said, definately keep the cover, or sell it if you don't want it. Some of the older covers are really popular and go for quite a bit on ebay/CL

Destroy the seat if it's expired. Hack it to pieces. It's a good way to get out frustration and it's kind of fun.


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## Drummer's Wife (Jun 5, 2005)

Is there not a DOM on the strap at least? I know that can differ from the seat, especially if your was part of the batch that had to replace the tightening harness... but, Marathon's should have the date stamped on it a couple places.

I know for sure, mine expires in October of this year (DOM 10/03). We bought it when our 2nd baby turned a year old (so, almost 5 yrs ago--2004) but it had been sitting on the the shelf at babiesrus (or a warehouse) somewhere for a few months before then.

DH is looking forward to smashing it to pieces. He enjoyed doing the same when our Peg Perego was expired.


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## texanatheart (Sep 10, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *JoyofBirth* 
On the back of your Marathon, under the black seat belt guide dealy, there are two citcles that look similar to a clock moolded in the plastic. You have to look very hard. One is the month and the other is the year that the shell was molded.

I see one circle like this. The 'clock hand' points to 7, and on either side of the hand (inside the circle) are a 0 and a 3. Leads me to believe it was manufactured July 2003. Does that sound right?


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## jakesmama (May 9, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *texanatheart* 
I see one circle like this. The 'clock hand' points to 7, and on either side of the hand (inside the circle) are a 0 and a 3. Leads me to believe it was manufactured July 2003. Does that sound right?

That's what mine looks like on our Britax Husky (July of 2004 DOM). Sounds like you have until July of this year with this particular seat!


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## texanatheart (Sep 10, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jakesmama* 
That's what mine looks like on our Britax Husky (July of 2004 DOM). Sounds like you have until July of this year with this particular seat!









: Yay! Thank you!


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## My*Scorpio (Aug 15, 2006)

I have heard that Ikea has certain days that they take expired car seats for recycling. Just a thought since that's a lot of landfill material.

Another thought is to donate it to a local car seat tech for demo purposes.


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