2003 FORD SUPER DUTY Owners Manual

Booster seats should be used until you can answer YES to ALL of these
questions:
•Can the child sit all the wayback
against the vehicle seat back with
knees bent comfortablyat the
edge of the seat without
slouching?
•Does the lap belt rest low across the hips?
•Is the shoulder belt centered on the shoulder and chest?
•Can the child stayseated like this for the whole trip?
Types of booster seats
There are two types of belt-positioning booster seats:
•Those that are backless.
If your backless booster seat has a
removable shield, remove the
shield and use the lap/shoulder
belt. If a seating position has a
low seat back and no head
restraint, a backless booster seat
mayplace your child’s head (top
of ear level) above the top of the
seat. In this case, move the
backless booster to another
seating position with a higher seat back and lap/shoulder belts.
•Those with a high back.
If, with a backless booster seat,
you cannot find a seating position
that adequatelysupports your
child’s head, a high back booster
seat would be a better choice.
Both can be used in anyvehicle in a seating position equipped with
lap/shoulder belts if your child is over 40 lbs.
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The shoulder belt should cross the chest, resting snuglyon the center of
the shoulder. The lap belt should rest low and snug across the hips,
never up high across the stomach.
If the booster seat slides on the vehicle seat, placing a rubberized mesh
sold as shelf or carpet liner under the booster seat mayimprove this
condition.
The importance of shoulder belts
Using a booster without a shoulder belt increases the risk of a child’s
head hitting a hard surface in a 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 bythe 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 bodyand mayincrease the risk of injuryor death in a collision.
Never use pillows, books, or towels to boost a child. Theycan
slide around and increase the likelihood of injuryor death in a
collision.
SAFETY SEATS FOR CHILDREN
Child and infant or child safety seats
Use a safetyseat that is recommended for the size and weight of the
child. Carefullyfollow all of the manufacturer’s instructions with the
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safety seat you put in your vehicle. If you do not install and use the
safetyseat properly, the child maybe injured in a sudden stop or
collision.
When installing a child safetyseat:
•Review and follow the information
presented in theAir bag
supplemental restraint system
(SRS) section in this chapter.
•Use the correct safetybelt 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 securelyfastened in the
buckle.
•Keep the buckle release button pointing up and awayfrom 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 safetybelt 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 safetyseat having a top tether
strap. Install the child safetyseat in a seating position with a tether
anchor. For more information on top tether straps, refer toAttaching
child safety seats with tether straps.in this chapter.
Carefullyfollow all of the manufacturer’s instructions included
with the safety seat you put in your vehicle. If you do not install
and use the safetyseat properly, the child maybe injured in a sudden
stop or collision.
Rear-facing child seats or infant carriers should never be placed
in the front seats, unless the passenger airbag On/Off switch is
turned off. SeePassenger airbag on/off switchin this chapter.
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Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder
belts
1. Position the child safetyseat in a
seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
Air bags can kill or injure a child in a child seat. Never place a
rear facing child seat in front of an active bag. If you must use a
forward facing child seat in the front seat, position the vehicle seat
fullyrearward and turn the passenger air bag off.
An air bag can kill or injure a child in a child seat. Child seats
should never be placed in the front seats, unless passenger air
bag switch is turned off, SeePassenger air bag on/off switch.
Rear facing child seats should NEVER be placed in the front
seats unless the passenger airbag switch is turned off.
2. Pull down on the shoulder belt
and then grasp the shoulder belt
and lap belt together.
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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 and feel the latch engage.
Make sure the tongue is latched
securelybypulling 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.
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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.
8. Allow the safetybelt to retract to
remove anyslack in the belt.
9. Before placing the child in the
seat, forciblytilt the seat forward
and back to make sure the seat is
securelyheld 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. Tryto 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 properlysecured before each use.
Attaching child safety seats with tether straps
Most new forward-facing child safetyseats include a tether strap which
goes over the back of the seat and hooks to an anchoring point. Tether
straps are available as an accessoryfor manyolder safetyseats. Contact
the manufacturer of your child seat for information about ordering a
tether strap.
The passenger seats of your vehicle may be equipped with built-in tether
strap anchors located behind the seats as described below.
The tether anchors in your vehicle may be straps on the seatback or an
anchor bracket on the rear edge of the seat cushion or an anchor bracket
mounted to the bodyshell on the back panel.
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The SuperCab rear seat has three straps behind the top of the seat back
that function as both routing loops for the tether straps and anchor
loops.
The tether strap anchors in your vehicle are in the following positions
(shown from top view):
Attach the tether strap onlyto the appropriate tether anchor as
shown. The tether strap maynot work properlyif attached
somewhere other than the correct tether anchor.
•F—Series Regular Cab
•F—Series SuperCab
•F—Series Crew Cab
Tether strap attachment
1. Position the child safetyseat on the seat cushion.
2. Route the child safetyseat tether strap over the back of the seat.
3. Locate the correct anchor for the selected seating position.
4. You mayneed to pull the seatback forward to access the tether
anchors. Make sure the seat is locked in the upright position before
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installing the child seat. Refer to theFolding down the rear seats
section in this chapter for information on how to operate the rear seats.
5. Clip the tether strap to the anchor as shown.
•Front seat (SuperCab only)
•Front seats (Regular Cab) and
Rear seats (Crew Cab only)
If the tether strap is clipped incorrectly, the child safety seat
maynot be retained properlyin 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 safetyseat.
7. Tighten the child safetyseat tether strap according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
If the safetyseat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child
being injured in a collision greatlyincreases.
Tether strap attachment rear SuperCab only
There are three loops of webbing just above the back of the rear seat
(along the bottom edge of the rear window) in the SuperCab. These
loops are to be used as both routing loops and anchor loops for child
safetyseat tether straps.
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