WESTFIELD, Ind. — SafeGuard has made changes to the service life policy for its STAR restraints in order to help distributors in providing customers with the lowest costs while providing current inventory.

In the past, the service life of a STAR was six years from the date of manufacture. Now, any STAR manufactured from November 2012 or later will have an option for service life to begin from the date of invoice.

Since the introduction of STAR restraints 10 years ago, the service life of the STAR has been based on the date of the manufacture, which is the standard method of determining service life for all add-on child seat manufacturers.

Effective immediately, the STAR service life will now be defined as follows:

• Six years from the date of purchase invoice with completed invoice label affixed to the STAR.
• Or six years from date of manufacture without completed invoice label affixed to the STAR.

The service life is based on the normal wear and tear an average add-on child seat can expect to see before it is considered unacceptable for safe use. The STAR, like other add-on child seats, needs to be frequently inspected and replaced if any of the key safety components are found defective. Also, officials said that regardless of condition, the STAR should be replaced at the end of its service life.

In addition, STAR will now have a label affixed to its side. The end user is responsible for writing the name of the distributor, the invoice number and the invoice date on this label. If the end user does not enter this information, the STAR service life reverts to six years from the date of manufacture.

If you have a STAR manufactured in November 2012 or later but there is no label attached, labels can be ordered from SafeGuardSeat.com. When requesting labels, you must enter the required information, and a copy of the invoice confirming purchase and quantity must be uploaded. Labels will then be mailed to the end user.