Car seat expiration dates

[lipslovelylips]

I have a Cybex Sirona m2 that is only 18 months old that is no longer used, it was bought brand new . However, I have looked at the manufacturing date underneath which says it was made in the middle of 2016 although it was purchased near the end of 2017. I am planning another child in the next 2-3 years, would it be safe to store and reuse it? It seems such a waste to throw it away as it was so expensive! The only info online says you can only keep them for six years and which technically mean I probably couldn't reuse it.

It will be fine, European car seats don't expire. If anything they recommend no more than 6-10 years' active use, but even this is a guideline. You can use a car seat for 2-4 children (depending on duration of usage period, e.g. a baby seat would be used for about a year, but a group 1 or booster seat usually several years) before it would be considered unwise to keep it any longer due to wear and tear. For the seats which cross several stages and may be in use for a single child for 6+ years it's recommended you can use it as long as that particular child fits into it and then it should be discarded due to wear and tear. But it's up to you to make the judgement.

Of course, be sure to check for any recalls of that car seat, re-download the manual if it has been lost, re-read it to familiarise yourself with the usage once again, check for any small parts which may be missing (e.g. strap covers) and if a seat is very old it would be a good idea to check if it's still up to date compared to modern car seat standards/recommendations, but that's quite a modern seat. I doubt you'll find anything superceding it in the next 5 years or so.