1997 Mercury Mountaineer child seat

Installing child safety seats in
combination lap and shoulder
belt seating positions
1. Position the child safety seat in
a seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
If you choose to install a child
safety seat in the front passenger
seat, move the seat as far back as
possible.
Rear-facing child seats or
infant carriers should
never be placed in the front seat.
2. Pull down on the shoulder belt
and then grasp the shoulder belt
and lap belt together.
Seating and safety restraints
77

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 for that seating
position until you hear and feel the
latch engage. Make sure the
tongue is latched securely by
pulling on it.
5. Grasp the shoulder portion of
the belt and pull downward until
all of the belt is extracted and a
click is heard to put the retractor
in the automatic locking mode.
6. Allow the belt to retract. The
belt will click as it retracts to
indicate it is in the automatic
locking mode.
PRESS
Seating and safety restraints
78

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.
8. Allow the safety belt to retract
to remove any slack in the belt.
9. Before placing a child in the
seat, forcibly tilt the seat forward
and back to make sure the seat is
securely held in place.
10. Try to pull 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 2
through 9.
Check to make sure the child seat
is properly secured before each
use.
Using a tether strap
Ford recommends using child
safety seats with a top tether
Seating and safety restraints
79

strap. Contact the manufacturer of
your safety seat for information
about ordering a tether strap if
one is not provided to you. Contact
your Ford dealer for a free tether
anchor kit (613D74) so you can
attach a tether anchor bracket to
the tether anchor attachment
locations in the rear floor.
Carefully follow the instructions
provided with the kit.
Only use the tether
attachment hole locations
shown. The tether anchor may
not perform properly if the
wrong mounting location is used.
Follow the child seat
manufacturer's instructions for
installing a child seat with a tether
strap.
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. Buckle the safety belt in the
seat directly behind the front
passenger seat.
2. Place the rear safety belt in the
automatic locking mode. Refer to
How to use the automatic locking
modein this chapter.
3. Install the child safety seat in
the front seat. Refer to the
Seating and safety restraints
80

instruction underInstalling child
safety seats in combination lap
and shoulder belt seating
positionsin this chapter.
4. Hook the tether strap around
the webbing near the center of the
shoulder portion of the rear safety
belt and tighten.
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
shoulder belt for information on
the built-in child seat.
Use the built-in child seatonly
under the following conditions:
Child's Age Child's Weight Child's Height
At least 1 year 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.
Seating and safety restraints
81

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.
1. Grasp the pull strap and pull
toward you approximately one
inch, then slide hand under head
restraint and slide upwards to full
position.
Seating and safety restraints
82

2. Pull both Velcrotstraps to
release child seat cushion.
3. Lower child seat cushion.
Seating and safety restraints
83

4. Unfold cushion protector flap
onto adult seat cushion.
5. If connected, disconnect the
chest clip and buckles.
6. Place the child in the seat and
position the left shoulder belt over
the child's left shoulder first, then
place the right shoulder belt over
the child's right shoulder.
Seating and safety restraints
84