1997 Mercury Sable child restraint

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.
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 seats.
2. Pull down on the
shoulder belt and then
grasp the shoulder belt
and lap belt together.
com_installing_seats.01
Seating and safety restraints
67

3. While holding the
shoulder and lap belt
portions together, route
the tongue through the
child seat according to
the child seat
manufacturers'
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. 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
and a click is heard.
6. Allow the belt to retract. The belt will click as it
retracts to indicate it is in the automatic locking
mode.
7. Pull the lap belt
portion across the child
seat toward the buckle
and pull up on the
shoulder belt while
pushing down with
knee on the child seat.
PRESS
Seating and safety restraints
68

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
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.
Check to make sure the child seat is properly
secured before each use.
Attaching safety seats with tether straps
Some manufacturers make safety seats that include
a tether strap that goes over the back of the vehicle
seat and attaches to an anchoring point. Other
manufacturers offer the tether strap as an accessory.
Contact the manufacturer of your child safety seat
for information about ordering a tether strap.
Front seats
To install a tether from a child safety seat in the
front seat:
1. Buckle the lap/shoulder belt (in the seat behind
the front passenger seat in which the child safety
seat will be installed).
2. Pull all the stored belt out of the rear seat
retractor to switch the retractor to automatic locking
mode.
3. Let the retractor wind up the slack from the
lap/shoulder belt.
4. Install the child safety seat in the front seat. Refer
toInstalling child safety seats in combination lap
and shoulder belt seating positions. Hook the
dno_tether-straps
Seating and safety restraints
69

tether strap hook around the webbing near the
center of the shoulder portion of the locked
lap/shoulder belt.
5. Tighten the tether strap.
Rear seats
If you must use a tethered safety seat on one of the
rear seats, you can anchor the strap to the
appropriate tether anchor directly behind that seat
position.
Tether anchorage hardware
Attachment holes (at each rear outboard seating
position) have been provided in your vehicle to
attach anchor hardware, if required. Tether
anchorage hardware kits (part number 613D74)
including instructions, may be obtained at no charge
from any Ford or Lincoln-Mercury dealer. All
vehicles built for sale in Canada include a tether
anchor hardware kit.
Be sure to follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions.
Tighten the anchor according to
specifications. Otherwise, the safety seat
may not be properly secured and the child may be
injured in a sudden stop or collision.
If you have a station wagon, tether anchors are
already installed for each of the second row seating
positions.
1. Behind the second
seat, find the plastic
snap-on covers for the
floor anchors.
dno_hardware
Seating and safety restraints
70

2. Use a screwdriver or
coin to snap the covers
off the anchor in a
rearward and upward
direction. Remove the
covers completely.
3. Snap the tether strap hook onto the U-shaped
tether anchor.
BUILT-IN CHILD SEATS
Built-in child safety seat (wagon - if equipped)
The second row bench seat may include a built-in
child seat. This child seat conforms to all Federal
and local 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 seatonlyif the child is at least
one year old, weighs 10±27 kg (22±60 lbs.) and the
child's shoulders fit below the shoulder harness slots
on the built-in child seat.
Children not meeting these requirements should be
secured in an approved aftermarket seat. Refer to
Children and infant or child safety seatsin this
chapter.
Built-in child seat retractors
The belts on built-in child seats are equipped with a
retractor that locks when both tongues are latched
into the crotch safety belt buckle. The retractor will
automatically snug the belts around the child. If the
belts do not remain snug, take the vehicle to the
dealer for child seat repair. The belts will not snug
during a collision.
dno_built-in
dno_second-row-seat
Seating and safety restraints
71

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 child seat
at the top of the
seatback and pull the
top forward to release
the latch.
Seating and safety restraints
72

2. Continue to unfold
the child seat until it
rests on the seat.
3. Read all information
and warnings on the
child seat cushion and
shoulder safety belt.
Make sure the child is
not too large for the
child seat.
4. If connected, squeeze the top and the bottom of
the right half of the chest clip and pull to separate
both halves.
5. Place the child on the child seat and position the
shoulder belts over each shoulder.
6. Insert either the left
or the right safety belt
tongue into the single
opening of the crotch
safety belt buckle (it
doesn't matter which
tongue is inserted
first). Insert other
tongue. The color
green must appear in the indicator window on the
Seating and safety restraints
73

crotch safety belt buckle when buckled. Allow belts
to retract and fit snugly.
7. Fasten both halves
of the chest clip below
the child's shoulders
and adjust it to
comfortably hold the shoulder belts in place on the
child's chest. The color green must appear in the
indicator window when fastened.
8. Pull the shoulder belts toward you to make sure
the crotch safety belt buckle is properly fastened
and the retractor is locked.
9. If the belts become too tight, unbuckle the crotch
safety belt buckle to unlock the retractors, then
reinsert both belt tongues.
Removing your child from the built-in child seat
1. Squeeze the tabs on the top and the bottom of
the chest clip and pull the halves apart to open the
chest clip.
2. Press the release button on the crotch safety belt
buckle.
3. Slide the shoulder belts off the child's shoulders
and remove the child.
To stow the built-in child seat
Return the child seat
cushion to the upright
position, then press
firmly in the center and
top of the child seat.
dno_inspect
Seating and safety restraints
74