1997 FORD ESCORT ECU

belt-positioning booster should be
used if the shoulder belt rests in
front of the child's face or neck, or
if the lap belt does not fit snugly
on both thighs, or if the thighs are
too short to let the child sit all the
way back on the seat cushion
when the lower legs hang over the
edge of the seat cushion. You may
wish to dicuss the specific needs of
your child with your pediatrician.
CHILDREN AND INFANT OR
CHILD SAFETY SEATS
Carefully follow all of the
manufacturer's instructions
included with the safety seat you
put in your vehicle. If you do not
install and use the safety seat
properly, the child may be
injured in a sudden stop or
collision.
When installing a child safety seat:
²use the correct safety belt
buckle for that seating position.
²make sure the tongue is
securely fastened in the buckle.
²keep the buckle release button
pointing up and away from the
safety seat, with the tongue
between the child seat and the
release button, to prevent
accidental unbuckling.
²place seatbacks in the upright
position.
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67

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

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

If both tongues do not
latch in the buckle, do not
use the child seat. See your
dealer for repairs.
8. Fasten the left and right chest
clip halves together to hold the
shoulder belts in place comfortably
on the child's shoulders. Verify
that the indicator window on the
chest clip is green to ensure a
proper chest clip connection.
²When either of the tongues or
the chest clip is unbuckled, the
red color appears in the window.
²The chest clip is designed to
pull apart easily in the event of
collision. The clip helps keep
the belts on the shoulders of a
squirming or sleeping child.
9. Pull on the safety belt tongues
to ensure they are both securely
latched. If they are not latched,
repeat steps seven and eight.
If necessary, the shoulder belts can
be put in the automatic lock mode
to limit the child's movement in
the child seat. The mode may be
used if the child is sleeping or
attempting to get out of the child
seat.
If not placed in an automatic
locking mode, the child seat
shoulder belts are in the vehicle
sensitive (emergency locking)
mode which locks the shoulder
belt in the event of a crash, hard
braking, or hard cornering.
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80

If the parking brake is fully
released but the
P!BRAKEwarning light remains on,
have the brakes checked
immediately. They may not be
working properly.
Always set the parking
brake fully and make sure
that the gearshift is securely
latched in P (automatic
transaxle) or first gear (manual
transaxle).
To release the parking brake:
²While pressing the release
button, pull the handle upward
to release the brake.
²Push handle downward to the
off position.
Driving
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