Do we need to buy a new carseat?

[TwoBees]

Although our Thanksgiving was wonderful, the 160-mile trip to my parents' house was not. While sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the highway, we were rear-ended. Thanks lady, for paying attention. No one was hurt, and there is no damage to our car. The person who hit us was going 5 mph, maybe 10 mph tops. Do we need to replace DD's KF30 and base? I don't know what the rules are for little fender benders.

[Joolsplus2]

With literally no damage to the car, I'd be inclined to say no, don't worry. Here's what NHTSA says, http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/childps/childrestraints/reuse/restraintreuse.htm It's possible that Chicco has a 'replace after any crash' rule, but it sounds like you didn't put any more force on it in the crash than you would have installing it.

[TwoBees]

It's possible that Chicco has a 'replace after any crash' rule,

How would I find out about this? Would it be in the instruction manual?

[BabyBearsMom]

How would I find out about this? Would it be in the instruction manual?

Call their customer service. I went through something similar with my True Fit Premier and the First Year's replaced my seat for free because it was less than a year old.

[TwoBees]

I called Chicco and they recommend replacing the carseat for ANY type of crash. I also took a look at the link that Jools posted, and the NHTSA states that the seat would not need to be replaced for a minor crash. So...WWYD? Replace or not replace? And if you would replace, would you go through your own insurance company, the other driver's insurance company, or just contact the other driver and ask him/her to pay for it?

[Joolsplus2]

I wouldn't personally replace it, I think Chicco is just trying to cover their own legal bottoms, by not expecting parents to think at all. If they say a crash is a crash, black and white, then there's no question, no gray area for them to wrangle with. If you decide that that's a good enough reason for you to replace it, then you have the at-fault insurance company replace it.
Why would I be comfortable still using the seat? I've spoken with crash test researchers who've used the same seats over and over, crashed them at 30 mph (a VERY high speed, dramatic crash) and they perform just as well, time after time...no damage to the seat, no excessive dummy injury statistics. (Of course, if the seat had actual damage visible, your car were damaged significantly, you were injured, obviously in the moderate to severe crash range, like NHTSA says, I'd replace it without question).