Carrier HVAC Age by Serial Number
Enter the serial number from your Carrier furnace, AC or heat pump's data plate to get its manufacture date, remaining life, warranty and recall status, and a repair-or-replace recommendation.
How to read a Carrier serial number
We can decode serial numbers from Carrier furnaces, ACs and heat pumps built 1993–2026.
1993–2026 format
The first two digits are the week of the year and the next two are the year, so a serial starting 0521 was made in week 5 of 2021. The fifth character is a letter for the plant, followed by a five-digit sequence number.
Worked examples
year month / week
| Serial | Built |
|---|---|
| 0521V10001 | February 2021 |
| 2993A00001 | July 1993 |
| 5211A99999 | December 2011 |
| 0106E00001 | January 2006 |
| 0196E00001 | January 1996 |
| 0118E00001 | January 2018 |
Where to find the data plate on a furnace, AC or heat pump →
How long does a Carrier furnace, AC or heat pump last?
| Type | Typical life |
|---|---|
| Heat pump | 10–16 years |
| Gas furnace | 15–25 years |
| Central AC | 10–15 years |
Ranges come from industry life-expectancy studies (NAHB/Bank of America, InterNACHI, DOE) and apply across brands. Your result adjusts for your state's climate.
Is my Carrier furnace, AC or heat pump still under warranty?
- Furnaces: 10-year parts warranty if registered within 90 days of installation; 5 years if not. Infinity furnaces have a lifetime heat exchanger warranty if registered (20 years if not). Performance and Comfort heat exchanger coverage is 20 years or lifetime depending on the model and when it was installed, so check Carrier's warranty lookup for yours.
- Air conditioners: 10-year parts and compressor warranty if registered within 90 days of installation; 5 years if not. Later owners get 5 years.
- Heat pumps: 10-year parts and compressor warranty if registered within 90 days of installation; 5 years if not. Later owners get 5 years.
Register within 90 days of installation to get 10-year parts coverage; without registration it is 5 years. Registration is not required in California, Quebec and some other places.
Carrier furnace, AC or heat pump recalls
- Upflow Horizontal Oil Furnaces Recalled by The Ducane Company (oil furnaces made by Ducane; Carrier, Bryant, Day & Night, Payne brands) (1996)
- CPSC, Carrier (Puerto Rico) Inc. Announce Recall of Air Conditioners Sold in Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico only) (2001)
- CPSC Announces Recall of Furnaces in California (furnaces sold in California; Sunburst by Carrier Southern California) (2001)
- Carrier and Bryant Recall Heat Pumps Due to Fire Hazard (Carrier Greenspeed and Bryant Evolution Extreme) (2017)
- Carrier Recalls Carrier- and Bryant-Branded Heat Pumps Due to Fire Hazard (ductless outdoor units; Carrier and Bryant) (2019)
Recalls come from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Decode your unit above to check whether its model and serial fall inside a recall.
Should you repair or replace it?
Once you decode your unit, we compare its age against its typical life, a typical major repair against the cost of replacing it, and, with your model and state, what a new unit would save on energy. A common rule of thumb: if a repair costs more than about 30–50% of a replacement and the unit is past mid-life, replacing usually wins.
Related brands
Carrier belongs to the same company as Bryant, Payne and ICP. Serial formats are often, but not always, shared.
FAQ
How do I tell how old my Carrier furnace, AC or heat pump is?
The manufacture date is encoded in the serial number on the unit's data plate. The first two digits are the week of the year and the next two are the year, so a serial starting 0521 was made in week 5 of 2021. The fifth character is a letter for the plant, followed by a five-digit sequence number. We can decode Carrier furnaces, ACs and heat pumps built 1993–2026. Enter the serial above to decode it automatically.
How long does a Carrier furnace, AC or heat pump last?
Typical lifespans: Heat pump 10–16 years; Gas furnace 15–25 years; Central AC 10–15 years. These ranges apply across brands. Maintenance, climate and water hardness move a unit toward one end.
How do I check my Carrier warranty?
Register within 90 days of installation to get 10-year parts coverage; without registration it is 5 years. Registration is not required in California, Quebec and some other places. Carrier's warranty lookup: https://www.carrier.com/us/en/residential/homeowner-resources/warranty-lookup/ Register a unit: https://productregistration.carrier.com/Public/Home?brand=carrier
Has my Carrier furnace, AC or heat pump been recalled?
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission lists 5 recalls for Carrier furnaces, ACs and heat pumps. Enter your model and serial above to check yours against each recall's scope.
Sources: Carrier service, warranty and installation documentation; U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission; DOE and ENERGY STAR; NAHB/Bank of America and InterNACHI life-expectancy studies. More about our sources.