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Installing a Child Seat
After selecting a proper child seat, and a good position to install the seat,
there are three main steps in
installing the seat:
1. Secure the child seat to the car
with a seat belt. All child seats
must be secured to the car with
the lap part of a lap/shoulder belt.
A child whose seat is not properly secured to the car can be
endangered in a crash. See pages 30 and 34 for instructions on how
to secure child seats in this car.
2. Make sure the child seat is firmly
secured. After installing a child
seat, push and pull the seat
forward and from side to side to
verify that it is secure. To provide security during normal
driving maneuvers as well as during
a collision, we recommend that
parents secure a child seat as firmly as possible.
However, a child seat does not need
to be "rock solid." In some vehicles
or seating positions, it may be
difficult to install a child seat so that
it does not move at all. Some side-to- side or back-and-forth movement can
be expected and should not reduce
the child seat's effectiveness.
If the child seat is not secure, try
installing it in a different seating
position, or use a different style of child seat that can be firmly secured
in the desired seating position.
3. Secure the child in the child seat.
Make sure the child is properlystrapped in the child seat
according to the child seat maker's
instructions. A child who is not properly secured in a child seat
can be thrown out of the seat in a
crash and seriously injured.
Storing a Child Seat
When you are not using a child seat, either remove it and store it in a safe
place, or make sure it is properly secured. An unsecured child seat can
be thrown around the car during a crash or sudden stop and injuresomeone.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
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To deactivate the locking mechanism in order to remove a
child seat, unlatch the buckle,
unroute the seat belt, and let the belt
fully retract. Additional Precautions for Small
Children
Never hold a small child on your
lap. If you are not wearing a seat
belt in a crash, you could be
thrown forward into the dashboard and crush the child.
If you are wearing a seat belt, the
child can be torn from your arms during a crash. For example, if
your car crashes into a parked
vehicle at 30 mph (48 km/h), a 30-lb (14 kg) child will become a
900-lb (410 kg) force, and you will
not be able to hold on.
Never put a seat belt over yourself
and a child. During a crash, the
belt could press deep into the child
and cause very serious injuries.
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When a child reaches the recommended weight or height limit
for a forward-facing child seat, the child should sit in one of the backseats and wear a lap/shoulder belt.
If a child is too short for the shoulder
part of the belt to properly fit, we recommend that the child use a
booster seat until they are tall enough to use the seat belt without a
booster.
The following pages give instructions on how to check properseat belt fit, what kind of booster
seat to use if one is needed, and
important precautions for children
who must sit in the front seat.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
