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Top Strap
If your child restraint has a top strap, it should be
anchored. Anchor brackets for the rear outside seat
positions
are located on the floor in the cargo area. Don't
use the front set of tie-down brackets. Anchor the
top strap
to the rearmost bracket on the same side of the
vehicle as the child restraint.
Once you have the top strap anchored, you'll be ready to
secure the child restraint itself.
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Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside Seat Position
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap if the child restraint has one.
1. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions
for the child restraint.
2. Secure the child in the child restraint as the
instructions say.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle’s safety belt through
or
around the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
If the shoulder belt goes in front of the child’s face or
neck, put it behind the child restraint.
4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
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Page 51 of 410
5. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt a11 the way out of
the retractor to set the lock.
6. To tighten the belt, feed the shoulder belt back into the
retractor while you push down on the child restraint.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions
to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle's
safety belt
and let it go back all the way. The safety belt
will nmc'c freely again and be ready to work for an adult
or larger child passenger.
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Center Seat Positions (4-hOr Models)
Don't use child restraints in these positions. The
restraints won't work properly.
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position
You'll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap
if the child restraint has one.
1. Put the restraint on the scat. Follow the instructions
for the child restraint.
3. Secure the child in the child restraint as the
instructions say.
3. Pick up the latch plate. and run the lap and shoulder
portions
of the \:chicle's safety belt through or
around the restraint.
The child restraint instructions
will
show you how.
11' the shoulcier belt goes in front ofthe child's face or
neck. put
it bchind the child restraint.
Page 53 of 410
4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
I
5. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock.
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6. To tighten the belt, feed the shoulder belt back into the
retractor while
you push down on the child restraint.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
If you’re using a
bucket seat, adjust the seat forward until the lap
portion
of the safety belt holds the restraint firmly.
But don’t move it any more than needed to tighten
the lap belt.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it
go back all the way. The safety belt
will move freely again and be ready to work for an adult
or larger child passenger.
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Children who have outgrown child restraints should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
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Never do this. Here two children are wearing the same belt. The
belt can’t properly spread the impact forces. In a
crash, the two children can be crushed together
and seriously injured.
A belt must be used by
only one person at a time.
What if
a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child is
so small that the shoulder belt is
very close to the child’s face or neck?
A: Move the child toward the center of the vehicle, but
be sure that the shoulder belt still is on the child’s
shoulder,
so that in a crash the child’s upper body
would have the restraint that belts provide.
If the
child is sitting in a
rear outside position of a
four-door model, see “Rear Safety Belt
Comfort
Guides’’ in the Index. If the child is so small that
the shoulder belt is still very close to the child’s
face or neck, you might want to place the child in
a
seat that has a lap belt, if your vehicle has one.