2003 FORD MUSTANG child restraint

collision. For this reason, you should never use a
booster seat with a lap belt only. It is best to use a
booster seat with lap/shoulder belts in the back seat-
the safest place for children to ride.
Follow all instructions provided by the
manufacturer of the booster seat.
Never put the shoulder belt under a child’s
arm or behind the back because it
eliminates the protection for the upper part of the
body and may increase the risk of injury or death
in a collision.
Never use pillows, books, or towels to boost
a child. They can slide around and increase
the likelihood of injury or death in a collision.
SAFETY SEATS FOR CHILDREN
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
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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:
•Review and follow
the information
presented in theAir
bag supplemental
restraint system
(SRS) section in this
chapter.
•Use the correct
safety belt buckle for that seating position (the
buckle closest to the direction the tongue is
coming from).
•Insert 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.
•Keep 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.
•Place seat back in upright position.
•Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode.
Refer toAutomatic locking mode(passenger
side front and outboard rear seating positions) (if
equipped) section in this chapter.
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 child safety seats
with tether straps.in this chapter.
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.
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Installing child safety seats in combination lap
and shoulder belt seating positions
If you must use a
forward facing child
seat in the front seat
(reminder - children 12
years old and under
should always be
properly restrained in
the rear seat)the
shoulder belt must
be routed through
the belt guide at the
top of the seatback,
refer toSafety
Restraintsearlier in
this chapter for routing
through the belt holder.
Air bags can kill or injure a child in a child
seat.NEVERplace a rear-facing child seat
in front of an active air bag. If you must use a
forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move
the seat all the way back.
1. Position the child
safety seat in a seat
with a combination lap
and shoulder belt.
Children 12 and under should be properly
restrained in the rear seat whenever
possible.
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2. Pull down on the
shoulder belt and then
grasp the shoulder belt
and lap belt together.
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 (the buckle
closest to the direction
the tongue is coming
from) for that seating
position until you hear
a snap 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.
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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
your knee on the child
seat.
8. Allow the safety belt to retract to remove any
slack in the belt.
9. Before placing the
child in the seat,
forcibly move the seat
forward and back to
make sure the seat is
securely held in place.
To check this, grab the
seat at the belt path
and attempt to move it
side to side and forward. There should be no more
than one inch of movement for proper installation.
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 child safety seats with tether straps in
addition to the safety belt
Most new forward-facing child safety seats include a
tether strap which goes over the back of the seat
and hooks to an anchoring point. Tether straps are
available as an accessory for many older safety seats.
Contact the manufacturer of your child seat for
information about ordering a tether strap.
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The rear seats of your vehicle are equipped with
built-in tether strap anchors located behind the seats
on the package tray behind the speakers (coupe) or
on the lower backside of the seatback (convertible).
The tether anchors in your vehicle are either located
under a cover marked with the child tether anchor
symbol (shown with title) or are under a flap in the
convertible top boot.
The tether strap anchors in your vehicle are in the
following positions (shown from top view):
Attach the
tether strap
only to the
appropriate tether
anchor as shown.
The tether strap may
not work properly if
attached somewhere
other than the
correct tether
anchor.
1. Position the child safety seat on the seat cushion.
2. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the
back of the seat.
For vehicles with adjustable head restraints, route
the tether strap under the head restraint and
between the head restraint posts, otherwise route
the tether strap over the top of the seatback.
3. Locate the correct
anchor for the selected
seating position as
shown previously.
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If the tether strap is clipped incorrectly, the
child safety seat may not be retained
properly in the event of a collision.
6. Refer to theInstalling child safety seats in
combination lap and shoulder belt seating
positionssection of this chapter for further
instructions to secure the child safety seat.
7. Tighten the child safety seat tether strap
according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly,
the risk of a child being injured in a collision
greatly increases.
Attaching safety seats with LATCH (Lower
Anchors and Tethers for Children) attachments
(if equipped)
Some child safety seats have two rigid or webbing
mounted attachments that connect to two anchors
at certain seating positions in your vehicle. This type
of child seat eliminates the need to use safety belts
to attach the child seat. For forward-facing child
seats, the tether strap must also be attached to the
proper tether anchor. SeeAttaching safety seats
with tether strapsin this chapter.
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Your vehicle has LATCH anchors for child seat
installation at the seating positions marked with the
child seat symbol.
The center of
the rear seat is
NOTdesigned as a
seating position. The
LATCH anchors were
not designed to be
used with a child
seat in the center
position and there is
no tether anchor
available at the
center. Putting a
child seat in the
center would also
block access to the
safety restraint
buckles. Use as a
seating position, with
or without a child
restraint, may
increase the risk of
injury or death.
Never attach two LATCH child safety seats
to the same anchor. In a crash, one anchor
may not be strong enough to hold two child safety
seat attachments and may break, causing serious
injury or death.
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