1997 FORD ESCORT child seat

3. While holding the shoulder and
lap belt portions together, route
the tongue through the child seat
according to the child seat
manufacturer's instructions. Be
sure the belt webbing is not
twisted.
4. Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle until you hear and
feel the latch engage. Make sure
the tongue is latched securely by
pulling on it.
5. To put the retractor in the
automatic locking mode, grasp the
shoulder portion of the belt and
pull downward until all of the belt
is extracted.
6. Allow the belt to retract. The
belt will click as it retracts to
indicate it is in the automatic
locking mode.
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69

7. Pull the lap belt portion across
the child seat toward the buckle
and pull up on the shoulder belt
while pushing down on the child
seat to tighten the belt as much as
possible.
8. Allow the safety belt to retract
to remove any slack in the belt.
9. Before placing the child in the
seat, forcibly tilt the seat from side
to side and forward and back to
make sure the seat is securely held
in place.
10. Try to pull the belt out of the
retractor to make sure the
retractor is in the automatic
locking mode (you should not be
able to pull more belt out). If the
retractor is not locked, unbuckle
the belt and repeat steps two
through nine.
²Check to make sure the child
seat is properly secured before
each use.
Installing child safety seats in
the rear center seating position
1. Tip the tongue and pull to
lengthen the lap belt.
2. Place the child safety seat in the
center seating position.
3. Route the lap belt through the
child safety seat according to the
child seat manufacturer's
instructions.
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70

4. Insert the tongue into the
proper buckle.
5. Push down on the child safety
seat while pulling on the loose part
of the lap belt webbing to tighten
the belt.
6. Before placing the child in the
child safety seat, forcibly tilt the
seat from side to side and forward
and back to make sure the seat is
securely held in place. If the child
seat moves excessively, repeat
steps five and six or properly
install the child seat in a different
seating position.
Using a tether strap
Contact the manufacturer of your
safety seat for information about
ordering a tether strap if one is not
provided with the seat. The tether
anchor hardware kit is part
number 613D20.
Your vehicle has tether anchor
attachment locations on the rear
package tray behind the back seat
(sedan) or along the rear edge of
the roof (wagon). Carefully follow
the instructions provided with the
kit.
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71

Tether anchor hardware
(Canadian vehicles only)
All vehicles built for sale in Canada
include a tether anchor hardware
kit for use with Canadian child
safety seats. Attachment holes (at
each rear seating position) have
been provided in your vehicle to
attach the anchor hardware, if
required. Additional kits can be
obtained at no charge from any
Ford or Lincoln-Mercury dealer.
Tether anchor hardware (US
vehicles only)
Vehicles built for sale in the US do
not include a tether anchor
hardware kit for use with child
safety seats. However, attachment
holes (at each rear seating
position) have been provided in
your vehicle to attach the anchor
hardware, if required. Kits can be
obtained at no charge from any
Ford or Lincoln-Mercury dealer.
Only use the tether
attachment hole locations
shown. The tether anchor may
not perform properly if the
wrong mounting location is used.
Ford recommends using child
safety seats with a top tether strap
designed to secure an aftermarket
child safety seat in the front or
rear seating position. Follow the
child safety seat manufacturer's
instructions for installing a child
safety seat with a tether strap.
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72

Ford recommends you attach
tethered safety seats in a rear
seating position with the tether
strap attached to the tether
anchoring bracket as shown in the
instructions provided with the
tether anchor kit.
If a tethered seat must be installed
in the front passenger seat:
1. Install the child safety seat in
the front passenger seat. For
instructions on how to install the
seat, refer toInstalling child
safety seats in combination lap
and shoulder belt seating
positionsin this chapter.
2. Hook the tether strap clip to the
tongue of the rear center lap belt
and ensure that the belt is pulled
tight.
To install a child safety seat using
a tether strap in the back seat:
1. Install the child safety seat in
the rear right, left or center seat
position. For instructions on how
to install the seat, refer to
Installing child safety seats in
lap belt seating positionsin this
chapter.
²Sedan
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73

²Wagon
2. Refer to the instructions
provided with the tether anchor
kit.
3. Refer to the instructions
provided with your child safety
seat to securely attach the child
safety seat by tether to the tether
strap anchor location.
Failure to follow these
precautions could increase
the risk and / or severity of
injury in a collision.
BUILT-IN CHILD SEAT (IF
EQUIPPED)
The rear seat may include a
built-in child seat. This child seat
conforms to all federal and
Canadian motor vehicle safety
standards.
Read the labels located on the
child seat cushion and the
shoulder belt for information on
the built-in child seat.
Use the built-in child seatonly
under the following conditions:
At least one year old 10-27 kg (22-60 lb) Shoulders must be
below the shoulder
harness slots on the
built-in child seat
Children not meeting these
requirements should be secured in
an approved aftermarket child
seat. Refer toChildren and
infant or child safety seatsin this
chapter.
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74

Regularly inspect the lap and
shoulder belt system of your child
seat. If there is any damage to the
system or if it is not functioning
properly, see your dealer.
Placing your child in the built-in
child seat
Failure to follow all of the
instructions on the use of
this child restraint system can
result in your child striking the
vehicle's interior during a sudden
stop or crash.
Never use the built-in
child seat as a booster
cushion with the adult safety
belts. A child using the adult
belts could slide forward and out
from under the safety belts.
The rear seatback must be
fully locked before
operating the child restraint
system.
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75

Ensure that the latch release
buttons are in the full up (locked)
position.
When the latch release buttons are
in full up (locked) position and the
built-in child seat is open, the rear
seatback cannot be unlocked or
folded down.
1. Pull down the top portion of the
child seat.
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76