Infant Car Seat Safety: The Rising Danger of Counterfeit Car Seats

Bringing home a new baby is one of life’s biggest milestones. But UVA Health officials are warning parents to take a close look at one item that might get forgotten in the excitement: the infant car seat.

Across the country, hospital staff, nurses, and certified car seat technicians are reporting the same troubling trend: a rise in cheap, counterfeit car seats bought online that look like the real thing but fail to meet basic safety standards. UVA hospital staff in both Prince William County and Charlottesville discovered multiple unapproved and potentially dangerous car seats being brought in by parents.

Now, UVA Health officials are raising concerns with their communities. Here’s what parents need to know about infant car seat safety and the dangerous rise of counterfeit car seats.

Read this story in Spanish: Lea esta historia en español. While you’re there, grab our printable car seat safety checklist so you can double-check the install before the drive home.

At a Glance: Car Seat Safety

• Across the U.S. and in Charlottesville, hospital staff are concerned about the dangerous increase in counterfeit or unregulated car seats.
• Safe car seats should have sturdy construction, metal reinforcement, clear manufacturer labels, and a five-point harness system.
• Counterfeit car seats are often lightweight, don’t list an expiration date, and don’t have a chest clip or five-point harness.
• If you think you have a counterfeit seat, stop using it right away and replace it with one that meets federal safety standards.
• Have a child passenger safety technician inspect and install your car seat before your baby arrives.
• Low-income families in Virginia may be eligible for free child safety seats. (resources below) 

Increasing Rates of Counterfeit Car Seat Use

During a recent briefing, Teresa Baltuano-Post and LeeAnn Brown say the issue has become increasingly noticeable over the past six to eight months. Both Baltuano-Post and Brown are nurses at UVA Health’s Prince William Medical Center and certified car seat technicians.

In Prince William County alone, Baltuano-Post says staff have identified at least four to six questionable car seats. As employees have learned to better identify the counterfeit car seats, more unsafe products are being spotted before newborns leave the hospital.

“Talking this morning with one of our folks who’s based here at University Medical Center in Charlottesville…they’ve seen similar issues over the last year,” says Eric Swensen, the public information officer for UVA Health, who was also part of the briefing. “They’ve spotted about a half dozen of these unapproved seats here in Charlottesville as well.”

What Makes a Car Seat Safe? 

All car seats sold for use in the United States must meet federal safety standards. These are established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Approved car seats are designed and tested to protect babies in a crash. They include features such as sturdy construction, metal reinforcement, height-adjustable harnesses, clear manufacturer labels, and a five-point harness system.

“These are the things we’re looking for to make sure this [car seat] can take a baby home,” LeeAnn Brown says.

Many of the unapproved seats being discovered in hospitals are noticeably lighter than standard models because they lack metal support structures. Staff have also found seats with thin straps, missing chest clips, no expiration dates, and no listed height or weight limits.

In one case, a product marketed as an infant car seat online was labeled in-person that it was for use with a doll.

The Serious Risks of Counterfeit Car Seats

For newborns and young infants, an unsafe car seat can have devastating consequences.

“Babies have no protection,” says Teresa Baltuano-Post. “They get injured or they die.”

Health experts say unapproved car seats can increase the risk of ejection, injury, or even asphyxiation in a crash. A missing chest clip is especially concerning. A chest clip helps keep the harness positioned correctly on a baby’s body. Without it, babies are at greater risk of being thrown from the seat during a collision.

Not Just Virginia: A Growing National Problem

While UVA’s staff have been catching these seats locally, the problem stretches well beyond Virginia.

A pediatrician at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital recently gave testimony that child passenger safety technicians across the country are finding one to two counterfeit or unregulated car seats every month during routine safety checks. The warning signs are consistent wherever they turn up: no metal reinforcement, missing chest clips, thin straps, and no expiration dates or weight limits.

The same testimony notes that the issue has caught the attention of safety officials nationwide: in 2025, authorities in New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania each issued consumer alerts warning parents about counterfeit car seats sold through online marketplaces.

And the doll-seat discovery in Charlottesville isn’t a one-off. In late 2025, a NICU nurse in Florida intercepted a counterfeit seat during a routine hospital check, only to find a label revealing it had actually been manufactured for a doll, not a child, from a company called Hubei Dollbaby Children Products.

That name keeps recurring. Nearly a year earlier, in December 2024, the Nevada Attorney General’s office warned consumers about counterfeit car seats sold on Amazon by Hubei Children Products, calling them toy replicas not meant for use with children. This information is often in fine-print and easily missed, and hospitals across the country continue to encounter parents who have purchased seats that were never built to protect a child.

The problem has reached Washington, too. In March 2026, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Child Automobile Restraint Safety Education and Training (CAR SEAT) Act, which would direct federal transportation officials to launch a public education campaign on the dangers of counterfeit and noncompliant car seats and let states use highway safety funds to help families spot and avoid them. The bill is backed by child-safety groups including Safe Kids Worldwide and the Consumer Federation of America.

Where Are Families Buying Unsafe Car Seats?

According to hospital staff, many of the problematic seats have been purchased through online marketplaces. This includes social media platforms, discount websites, and secondhand sources. Some have been bought through TikTok advertisements. Others have come from Amazon, Temu, Shein, and resale stores.

Independent testing has shown how easily these products slip through. When ABC News purchased three car seats marketed under well-known brand names from Temu and Amazon, a child passenger safety expert found that none of the three were certified for use in the United States. Consumer Reports has similarly flagged knockoff car seats and other children’s safety gear turning up on major third-party marketplaces, including Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Temu, Shein, and Facebook Marketplace.

However, that doesn’t mean parents should avoid shopping online altogether. The key is purchasing from reputable manufacturers and trusted retailers. Part of what makes this so tricky is that selling a car seat that doesn’t meet the federal standard isn’t itself illegal, so these products sit right alongside legitimate ones online. The burden falls on parents to spot the difference.

“Best places to buy are the big stores, Walmart, Target,” Baltuano-Post says. “The car seats they sell meet the standards of safety.”

If you are unsure whether the car seat you are looking at is approved and safe, you can search by brand name or model on the NHTSA website.

Important: Car seats involved in a vehicle crash need to be replaced. Many auto insurance policies cover the cost of a replacement, so check with your provider. To prevent unsafe seats from being reused, cut the straps before disposing of a car seat that is expired, damaged, or otherwise no longer safe.

Infant Car Seat Safety: How to Spot the Real Thing

Before purchasing a car seat, carefully inspect it for safety concerns.

Ask yourself:

• Does the seat feel sturdy and substantial?
• Is there no visible damage, such as cracks in the plastic?
• Does it have a five-point harness with shoulder straps, hip straps, and a chest clip?
• Are height and weight limits clearly listed?
• Is there manufacturer contact information and an expiration date?
• Are the straps thick and durable? Are they adjustable by height?
• Does the car seat have a sewn-in manufacturer’s fabric tag?
• Does it carry the label stating it ‘conforms to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards’?
• Did it come with a mail-in registration card pre-printed with the maker’s info?

Once you’ve purchased a car seat, register it online or by mail. That way, the manufacturer can notify you of any safety concerns or recalls.

Get Your Car Seat Checked Before Delivery Day

UVA Health staff have learned not to wait until discharge day to check a newborn’s car seat.

Instead, they encourage families to have their car seat inspected well before the baby’s arrival. Parents can ask about car seat checks during prenatal appointments, contact local child passenger safety programs, or bring the seat to the hospital ahead of time. 

“Unfortunately, most of these [unsafe] car seats that we identify here are [brought in by] patients that don’t speak English,” Baltuano-Post says, highlighting the need for better outreach to non-English speaking populations.

What to Do If You Think You Have a Counterfeit Car Seat

If you suspect the seat you bought isn’t legitimate, don’t use it—not even for one more trip. An unsafe seat offers little to no protection in a crash, so the safest move is to stop using it immediately and switch to a seat you know meets federal standards.

From there:

Don’t pass it on. Don’t resell, donate, or hand it down. That just puts another child at risk. Cut the straps and dispose of it so it can’t be reused.

Report it. File a report with NHTSA at NHTSA.gov and notify the retailer or marketplace where you bought it. Reporting a counterfeit listing can get it removed and help stop other families from buying the same product.

Try for a refund. Contact the seller to request a refund or return. Many marketplaces will pull the listing and refund counterfeit or non-compliant products once they’re flagged.

Get a safe replacement. If cost is a barrier, you may qualify for a free or low-cost seat: see the resources below. And have your new seat checked by a certified technician before your baby’s first ride.

Free Car Seats for Low-Income Families in Virginia

If you need a child car seat or booster seat but can’t afford one, there are places to get free safety seats for your family. Talk to a provider at a prenatal appointment, or contact one of these local car seat programs.

The Virginia Department of Health runs the Low Income Safety Seat Program for eligible families. Visit the website or call 804-401-7970 for more information.

Charlottesville non-profit Stepping Stone provides car seats to under-resourced families, along with other essentials for children ages birth to three years. Visit their website or email hello@steppingstonecville.org.

Where to Get Your Car Seat Inspected in Central Virginia

For years, parents have been told to get the fire department to check and install car seats. However, not all firefighters are trained in car seat safety or able to recognize counterfeits. Parents should find a child passenger safety (CPS) technician to inspect and install car seats properly before a new baby arrives or when switching an older child to a new seat.

Here are resources Charlottesville parents can use.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Find a car seat safety inspection by zip code, plus get car seat safety tips and learn what car seat to use based on your child’s age and size.

Safe Kids Coalition

Safe Kids can connect you to child passenger safety (CPS) technicians in your community.

Virginia Department of Health

Find a VDH Safety Seat Check location near you, or schedule a remote appointment with a certified technician.

Charlottesville/Albemarle

Schedule a car seat installation and safety check through Albemarle County Fire & Rescue.

A Small Check That Can Make a Lifesaving Difference

For new parents, there are countless items to buy before a baby arrives. But few are as important as the car seat that will carry a newborn home.

“Car seats are a very Americanized idea, and we’re leading the forefront of car seat safety,” Brown says. Taking a few extra minutes to verify that a seat meets safety standards could make all the difference when it matters most.

Welcoming a new little one is an exciting journey for Cville kids and families. Explore our resources on healthy pregnancy tips, planning for labor and delivery, and choosing the right pediatrician in Charlottesville.

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SUZANNAH SPAAR is the editor of CharlottesvilleFamily Magazine, an accomplished poet, beloved teacher, and mom to two adventurous readers.