Is your car seat recalled? How to check in Canada

Most parents never find out their car seat was part of a recall or safety notice, simply because nobody told them. The good news: checking takes about five minutes, and you only need the label on your seat.

1. Find the label on your seat

Every car seat has a sticker, usually on the side or bottom of the shell, with the manufacturer, model name or number, and date of manufacture. Snap a photo of it with your phone so you have it handy. (It's also why we can't clean seats with a missing or unreadable label — those details matter.)

While you're there, look for the National Safety Mark. Seats without it aren't legal for sale or use in Canada, which is worth knowing if you bought online or second-hand.

2. Look it up with Transport Canada

Transport Canada keeps a page of safety alerts and notices for child car seats. It's split into three parts:

• Safety alerts — models with a safety defect or that don't meet Canadian standards.
• Model notices — non-safety problems, like a wrong expiry date or a manual error.
• General notices — broader advice for parents.

Search the page for your brand and model. If you see a match, open the notice and compare the model numbers and manufacture dates to your label — often only some production runs are affected.

3. If your seat is listed

Don't panic, and don't throw it out yet. Read the notice: many fixes are a free replacement part or a corrected instruction from the manufacturer. Contact the manufacturer directly with your model number and date of manufacture, and follow their instructions.

4. Make sure you hear about the next one

Register your seat with the manufacturer — using the card that came in the box or their website. That's how they reach you directly if a recall affects your seat. Bought second-hand? You can usually still register it.

Melanie Groves
Founder of Happy Seat