Car Seat Question

Everything I've seen and heard indicates that if your vehicle was damaged, there may be a chance the car seat was too. I'd check with your insurance company. If they'll cover it, go for it.

The State Police told me to replace the seat when my husband was driving our car and his car was hit by two cars following their collision. His air bags did not deploy and our son was not in the seat. My husband was sitting at a red light and the two vehicles slid into him following their crash.

There may have been damage done to your seat that you don't know. It has to do with the laws of physics (an object at motion tends to remain at motion, an object at rest tends to remain at rest...). Your car may have been going only ten mph, but if you hit something stationary, the force is considerably stronger than 10 mph. If your child was in the seat, then the stress on the seat was even greater.

I'd check with insurance. If they'd cover it, get a new one. If the seat was damaged (but not able to be seen by the naked eye) and you are in another accident and the car seat fails...

it is a scary thought. Here's hoping insurance will cover a new seat for you!

C., you should not have to replace the seats. The reccomendations to replace seats are for serious accidents.. more like frame damage to your car. As long as the frame is fine, your seat is fine...

Sounds like it was a very minor accident. 10 mph can't do much damage and scrapes on the car aren't major, so I'd keep the same car seats.

i was in a fender bender just a few days after we'd installed our new britax last summer. we did some looking online about if we needed to replace it and found we did not. i can't remember the exact perameters but there were 5 things that needed to happen in order to need to replace the seat--we did not. they included having the air bags go off, if the car needed to be towed away... stuff like that. i'd guess that from what you've said your seats are fine, but you might want to do some looking around just in case.

I dont know where some of you come up with your info, but you MUST replace the seats, even if its at 10mph.

You should contact your insurance company about this. Some will replace car seats if your car was damaged.

You should check with your car insurance, I know when we were in a small fender bender they made us replace my daughters car seat, they told me it was liability and of course they paid for a new one matched the price of our first seat.

I highly recomend that you call your car insurance and ask them what they think.

A.
full time working mom of 3yr old daughter.

I think you are fine to keep the seats! I was rear ended at a stop sign to the point where I blacked out for a few seconds, when the paramedics and cops came I asked them what they thought about the car seat and they said the car that hit me was not traveling fast enough to jar the seat any, and not to replace it. They said when you have major damage to your vehicle or if you or the other vehicle involved were traveling at a high rate of speed then replace them. Also a good rule of thumb would be if the insurance company offers to pay for them then take it. I think if they offer then the accident is considered bad enough to need it. Hope that helps!

I personally would rather be safe than sorry. I would replace the seat if it were me.

I most definitely would replace them. They did their job, now it's time to dispose of them and get new ones. Same as a helmet in a bike, motorcycle, horseback or other sports crash. your insurance should cover them.

ABSOLUTELY! Insurance should cover it now... there was a change in the law so contact your insurance company! If the accident was the fault of another driver, have your insurance call theirs and have them pay for new seats.

I would replace. There is nothing more valuable than your children.

Well first of all in an accident you have to combine both speeds of both vehicles. If you were going 10mph and the other vehicle was going 25 then it was probably around a 35mph impact - more if you were going opposite directions. If you hit a stationary object then the impact was probably only 10mph. I would say if that was the case a 10 mph impact doesn't warrant new car seats. I myself am of the "better safe than sorry" variety of parent and if you can afford it get new car seats. However if another vehicle was involved than the impact was more than you thought it was and if there is any kind of problem with the car seat you don't want to wait until a more serious accident to find out. I believe you can get your car seat looked at by some kind of professional to ensure it's safety - but that may cost more than a new car seat. Nothing is more precious than your children! A new car seat costs a lot less than a funeral. I may be an extremist but like I said - better safe than sorry. Hope you have a great day!

The insurance company is responsible to replace your car seats. You do not want to continue using them. You can not be sure the structural integrity has not been compromised: thereby for their sake have them replaced.

I was in a car accident where I rear-ended someone going about 15 miles an hour and the officer at the scene told me to replace my daughter's car seat. My insurance company (State Farm) covered the cost of replacement.

No matter how minor the accident, REPLACE THE SEATS! These seats are designed so specifically for your children's safety that there are points of potential damage that you will NEVER see. Even at 10mph, there is potential for damage.

I was in a bad wreck a year and a half ago, and my daughter was not in the car, but we replaced the seat. Granted, the car was totaled, but during the process, I learn that you replace the seats after an accident, ALWAYS, whether there was a child in it or not, whether it was a fender bender or total destruction.

The insurance company should reimburse you for a new seat. If not, get one anyway.

For those who advised not to replace the seats, check your facts again. And if you still get the same info, check the sources of that info.

IMO, it NEVER, EVER pays to take chances with safety. I don't cover my kids in bubble wrap, but I sure as heck make sure we take the proper safety measures when needed. Just think how many kids could've been saved "back in the day" when we didn't have all this "fancy stuff" (as my MIL calls it).

Finally, I'm glad everyone is okay. Accidents are scary--sometimes more so after the fact. Take care!

I was rear ended by a minivan who was rear ended by a small car- very minor bumper damage, no airbags deployed- and the cop told me to replace the seat, for sure. The guy who hit us both had insurance that paid for it. I just bought the exact same seat (or equivalent model), brought the old seat and a reciept for the new one to the insurance office, and they cut me a check right there. Replace them, it's better safe than sorry. You never know if the plastic parts in the seats have been somehow weakened or compromised.

Standard rule.... replace the car seats. Better to be safe than sorry.