1999 FORD TAURUS seats

²Allow the belt to retract. As the belt retracts, you
will hear a clicking sound. This indicates the
safety belt is now in the automatic locking mode.
How to disengage the automatic locking mode
Disconnect the combination lap/shoulder belt and
allow it to retract completely to disengage the
automatic locking mode and activate the vehicle
sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
After any vehicle collision, the seat belt
system at all outboard seating positions
(except driver, which has no ªautomatic locking
retractorº feature) must be checked by a qualified
technician to verify that the ªautomatic locking
retractorº feature for child seats is still functioning
properly, in addition to other checks for proper
seat belt system function.
BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST
BE REPLACED if the seat belt assembly
ªautomatic locking retractorº feature or any other
seat belt function is not operating properly when
checked according to the procedures in Workshop
Manual.
Failure to replace the Belt and Retractor
assembly could increase the risk of injury in
collisions.
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Shorten and fasten the
belt when not in use.
Safety belts for rear-facing occupants
(wagon only)
Never use child safety seats in the third seat
of a wagon.
Your vehicle is equipped with safety belts containing
an adjust tongue at the rear-facing seating positions.
When the adjust tongue of the lap/shoulder
combination seat belt is latched into the buckle, the
tongue will allow the lap portion to become shorter,
but locks the webbing in place to restrict it from
becoming longer.
Before you reach and latch a combination lap and
shoulder belt having an adjust tongue into the
buckle, you may have to lengthen the lap belt
portion of it. To lengthen the lap belt, pull some
webbing out of the shoulder belt retractor. While
holding the webbing below the tongue, grasp the
tongue so that it is parallel to the webbing and slide
the tongue upward. Provide enough length so that
the tongue can reach the buckle.
To fasten the belt, pull the combination lap and
shoulder belt from the retractor so that the shoulder
belt portion of the safety belt crosses your shoulder
and chest. Be sure the belt is not twisted. If the belt
is twisted, remove the twist. Insert the tongue into
the proper buckle for your seating position until you
hear a snap and feel it latch. Make sure the tongue
is securely fastened to the buckle by pulling on the
tongue.
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The lap belts should fit snugly and as low as
possible around the hips, not around the
waist.
Front and rear seat occupants, including
pregnant women, should wear safety belts
for optimum protection in an accident.
Each seating position in your vehicle has a
specific safety belt assembly which is made
up of one buckle and one tongue that are designed
to be used as a pair. 1) Use the shoulder belt on
the outside shoulder only. Never wear the shoulder
belt under the arm. 2) Never swing the safety belt
around your neck over the inside shoulder. 3)
Never use a single belt for more than one person.
Due to folding rear seats, sometimes the buckles and
tongues toward the center of the vehicle may be
hidden by the rear edge of the seat cushion. Pull
them out so they will be accessible.
While you are fastened in the seat belt, the shoulder
belt adjusts to your movement. However, if you
brake hard, turn hard or your vehicle receives an
impact of 8 km/h (5 mph) or more, the safety belt
will become locked and help reduce your forward
movement.
To unfasten the belt, push the red release button on
the end of the buckle. This allows the tongue to
unlatch from the buckle. While the belt retracts,
guide the tongue to its original position to prevent it
from striking you or the vehicle.
Safety belt extension assembly
If the safety belt assembly is too short, even when
fully extended, 20 cm (8 inches) can be added to
the safety belt assembly by adding a safety belt
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Important child restraint precautions
You are required by law to use safety restraints for
children in the U.S. and Canada. If small children
ride in your vehicle (generally children who are four
years old or younger and who weigh 18 kg [40 lbs]
or less), you must put them in safety seats made
especially for children. Check your local and state or
provincial laws for specific requirements regarding
the safety of children in your vehicle.
Never let a passenger hold a child on his or
her lap while the vehicle is moving. The
passenger cannot protect the child from injury in a
collision.
Always follow the instructions and warnings that
come with any infant or child restraint you might
use.
When possible, always place children under age 12
in the rear seat of your vehicle. Accident statistics
suggest that children are safer when properly
restrained in the rear seating positions than in the
front seating position.
Children and safety belts
If the child is the proper size, restrain the child in a
safety seat.
Children who are too large for child safety seats (as
specified by your child safety seat manufacturer)
should always wear safety belts.
Follow all the important safety restraint and air bag
precautions that apply to adult passengers in your
vehicle.
If the shoulder belt portion of a combination lap and
shoulder belt can be positioned so it does not cross
or rest in front of the child's face or neck, the child
should wear the lap and shoulder belt. Moving the
child closer to the center of the vehicle may help
provide a good shoulder belt fit.
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Do not leave children, unreliable adults, or
pets unattended in your vehicle.
To improve the fit of lap and shoulder belts on
children who have outgrown child safety seats, Ford
recommends use of a belt-positioning booster seat
that is labelled as conforming to all Federal motor
vehicle safety standards. Belt-positioning booster
seats raise the child and provide a shorter, firmer
seating cushion that encourages safer seating
posture and better fit of lap and shoulder belts on
the child.
A 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 discuss the special needs of your
child with your pediatrician.
SAFETY SEATS FOR CHILDREN
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Child and infant or child safety seats
Use a safety seat that is recommended for the size
and weight of the child. Carefully follow all of the
manufacturer's instructions 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:
²Review and follow
the information
presented in theAir
Bag Supplemental
Restraint System
section in this
chapter.
²Use the correct
safety belt buckle for that seating position.
²Insert the belt tongue into the proper buckle until
you hear a snap and feel it latch. Make 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 seat back in upright position.
²Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode.
Refer toAutomatic locking mode.
Ford recommends the use of a child safety seat
having a top tether strap. Install the child safety seat
in a seating position which is capable of providing a
tether anchorage. For more information on top
tether straps, refer toAttaching safety seats with
tether straps.
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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.
An air bag can kill or injure a child in a child
seat. If you must use a forward-facing child
seat in the front seat, move seat all the way back.
Children 12 and under should be properly
restrained in the rear seat whenever
possible.
2. Pull down on the
shoulder belt and then
grasp the shoulder belt
and lap belt together.
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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.
Installing child safety seats in the lap belt
seating positions
1. Lengthen the lap belt. To lengthen the belt, hold
the tongue so that its bottom is perpendicular to the
direction of webbing while sliding the tongue up the
webbing.
2. Place the child safety seat in the center seating
position.
3. Route the tongue and webbing through the child
seat according to the child seat manufacturer's
instructions.
4. Insert the belt tongue into the proper buckle for
the center seating position until you hear a snap and
feel it latch. Make sure the tongue is securely
fastened to the buckle by pulling on tongue.
5. Push down on the child seat while pulling on the
loose end of the lap belt webbing to tighten the belt.
6. Before placing the child into the child seat,
forcibly tilt the child seat from side to side and in
forward direction to make sure that the seat is held
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