As Julian Davis was set to leave the hospital with her newborn baby, a car seat technician at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital noticed her car seat was counterfeit, according to a press release from the Utah hospital. 

The mother of four was gifted the car seat during her pregnancy from a family member who bought it online from a major retailer, the release says. 

“It’s completely shocking because this is my fourth child and I’ve never heard of this being an issue,” said Davis says in the release. “It’s scary to think I could have been driving around with my child in a car seat that’s dangerous.” 

Counterfeit car seats are typically purchased online, including from major national retailers through third-party sellers, the release says. 

“It’s hard to tell a car seat is counterfeit from a small picture online, and many parents think they found a great deal from a major retailer,” said Michelle Jamison, community health program manager at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, in the release. “Once they realize there’s a problem and try to return it, the site they got it from has already been taken down.”

Intermountain Primary Children’s has started identifying counterfeit car seats while staff completes car seats checks and proper installation services, the release said. 

Vanderbilt University Medical Center offers tips for how to spot a counterfeit car seat: 

• Missing labels or grammatical errors
• Missing parts
• Manual and/or Registration card are not included
• Issues with registering the car seat
• Using a third-party seller  

Intermountain Primary Children’s notes the label is found on the back of the car seat but is also required in the area near where the baby’s head rests on top of the seat. 

Some counterfeits have a label but it could be missing details such as date of manufacture, branding, model number and expiration date. The information is needed to register a car seat in the case of any recalls. 

The U.S. also requires warning labels on car seats to be written in both English and Spanish, the news release says. Sometimes counterfeit car seat labels are written in another language. 

A missing chest clip is another immediate sign that a car seat isn’t safe, the release said. The clips are required in the U.S. but not in every country. 

“If you determine that you have a counterfeit car seat, stop using it immediately and contact the retailer to notify them that they sold a counterfeit car seat,” Jamison said. “You may be able to recover the cost of the seat if you used a credit card or purchased through a major retailer.”

To find a car seat technician in your area visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Counterfeits can also be reported to NHTSA here or by filling out a form with the Department of Commerce here.

To become a car seat technician visit NHTSA’s list of training contacts in each state.

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