Are car seats obsolete after 6 years really?

[cluelesswonder]

Hi,

I have read/heard that car seats/infant carriers should be "junked" after 6 years since the technology has changed a great deal or that the plastics may actually be degraded after this time.

Is this true!?! (We've already junked the hand me down infant carrier given to us since we were kid #3 to use it. ) I ask because I wonder if we should just sell it now while the seat is still usable and just buy another for a future second child. I believe the seat is now 2 years old (takes another 1.5 to 2 years for a second kid to arrive assuming we get pregnant immediately! : -) ) so it would be 4 yo for kid #2 and then the car seat would be done.

Can we actually continue to use the car seats after 6 years? I'm not sure if I should believe the manufacturer's website (britax).

Any information out there?

Karen

[Joolsplus2]

The thing is, it's hard to predict what's coming next. Recently, airbag warnings were added to RF seats, Tethers were mandated (and the head excursion limits allowable were changed), LATCH has been added, and side impact protection is in the wings next, not to mention new rules about the minimum backheights for infant seats (people will just leave those tall babies in there a full year, no matter how much their heads are sticking out over the tops, so they are just going to make seats bigger to accomodate that, rather than expect people to know they are supposed to start using a convertible earlier).
I suppose if it's YOUR seat and you are sure nothing's missing and it's installed properly, it might be ok to use a little beyond six years, but should the worst-case scenario occur and you try to take them to court to help pay for a child's injuries, the lawyer could say, "well, this seat is 7 years old, and you knew it expired after 6, so we can't be responsible" (like I said, totally worst-case scenario, but if it can be imagined, it could happen to someone, right?)
:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx