Very Minor Accident - New Car Seat Necessary???

We're her in Buena Park and last December my sister, BIL and nephew were in an accident, no one else, but my 2.5 year old's car seat was in the car. A police officer at the scene saw it and said it would have to be replaced, and the Triple "A" agent asked if there were any car seats in the vehicle and when told yes said it had to be replaced. Both said there's no way to know what if any damage was done to it so it has to be chucked and replaced.

If I were in your situation, I would NOT get a new car seat. You were going maybe 2 miles an hour, tops? Call me cheap. Call me a bad parent. But no I don't think I'd go get a new one unless I had money to spend or if the one I had was faded/old anyway.

You were the only one who truly knows how much force was in the accident. Setting the cost aside, would you buy a new one? If you spend the next week driving him around in the 'old' one, are you completely fearful that the seat has lost it's integrity?? I vote for what puts your mind at ease. You wouldn't want to get into a bigger accident with him and wonder how well the seat will hold up.

No need to replace either seat. You weren't going fast enough.

Good luck to you and yours.

They are going to either replace both of them or none of them. Have you been told they won't replace the one that was empty, or are you assuming?

This is my understanding since I just went through this 3 months ago.

If a rear end or sideways collision, car seats are replaced (whether or not the child was in it).

If a front end collision (like mine) the seat is only replaced if:
*the seat is damaged,
*a person is injured
*the air bags go off
*the car cannot drive off (like mine)
There may have been one more reason....can't remember.

I had to fight to get both of mine replaced (one had a child, one was empty), and my car was totaled. Fight for it! Replace it regardless.

You might try calling the insurance agent and see if they know. Or the car seat maker even.

Better to be safe than sorry!

We had a minor crash w/o the baby in the car and the people's insurance covered the cost of a new one.

Go to the Britax website. They have very specific criteria regarding the use of car seats after a MINOR crash. They spell it out very clearly, so check there first.

Each manufacturer is different. I was hit from behind earlier this year. Had a Graco at the time, and when I checked with them, they indicated it needed to be replaced. In addition, the insurance company (Allstate) said it should be replaced and gave me no trouble at all about it.

Glad you are all okay!

Your insurance should cover the carseat regardless of if you child was in the seat or not. Technically, yes you should replace your son's seat...I believe it is better to err on the side of safety. In this case, you may be safe not to but I don't like to gamble w/ kids lives.

If the child isn't in the seat, I don't think that there is an issue with the seat being compromised. I think that the weight of the child plays a part.

I could be wrong - perhaps other moms know.

You might try googling it...

Glad you all are okay!
Dawn

Britax is one of the few that you don't have to replace after minor accidents. They have a few criteria and yours passes all of it. So, definitely no replacement needed for sun. If your daughter is also in a Britax, you probably won't have to replace that one either.

Read the car seat manual, I just got my daughter a new seat, a recaro so i recently read the manual, and it had different protocall for different type of accidents. I'm sure britax, which is comparable to recaro will have similar advice.

They will cover it whether he was in it or not. I would! Better safe than sorry.

I think it would be unnecessary... without a child in the seat, and in such a minor accident, I don't think there was enough force in play to stress the seat at all.

You could try looking at the instruction pack to it, and calling their question's hotline...