2003 FORD WINDSTAR Owners Manual

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 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
section in this chapter.
•Use the correct safety belt buckle
for that seating position.
•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.
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
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of providing a tether anchorage. For more information on top tether
straps, refer toAttaching safety seats with tether straps.
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 cinch tongue combination lap and
shoulder belt seating positions
The belt webbing below the tongue is the lap portion of the combination
lap/shoulder belt, and the belt webbing above the tongue is the shoulder
belt portion of the combination lap/shoulder belt.
1. Position the child safety seat in a
seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
Air bags 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.
Rear facing child seats should NEVER be placed in front of an
active air bag.
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2. Slide the tongue up the webbing.
3. While holding both shoulder and
lap portions next to the tongue,
route the tongue and webbing
through the child seat according to
the child seat manufacturer’s
instructions. Be sure that the belt
webbing is not twisted.
4. Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle for that seating
positions until you hear a snap and
feel it latch. Make sure the tongue is
securely latched to the buckle by
pulling on the tongue.
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5. While pushing down with your
knee on the child seat pull up on
the shoulder belt portion to tighten
the lap belt portion of the
combination lap and shoulder belt.
6. Allow the safety belt to retract and remove any slack in the belt to
securely tighten the child safety seat in the vehicle.
7. Before placing the child into the
child seat, forcibly pull the child
seat forward and back to make sure
that the seat is held securely in
place. To check this, grab the seat
at the belt path and attempt to
move it side to side and forward and
back. There should be no more than
one inch of movement for proper
installation.
8. Check from time to time to be sure that there is no slack in the
lap/shoulder belt. The shoulder belt must be snug to keep the lap belt
tight during a collision.
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.
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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
securely held in place. To check this, grab the seat at the belt path and
attempt to move it side to side and forward and back. There should be
no more than one inch of movement for proper installation.
Attaching child safety seats with tether straps
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.
Children should be placed in the rear in an appropriate child
safety seat that is properly secured to the vehicle.
The tether anchors in your vehicle
are in the positions shown:
The tether can be attached directly to the rear of all passenger seating
except the front passenger seat equipped with power adjustment. The
front passenger seat with manual adjustment does have a tether anchor.
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Front passenger seating position (manual adjusting seats only)
1. Position the child safety seat on
the passenger seat cushion.
2. Route the child safety seat tether
strap over the back of the seat. If
the head restraint is adjustable,
route the tether strap under the
head restraint and between the
head restraint posts. If the top of
the safety seat hits the head
restraint, raise the head restraint to
let the child seat fit further
rearward.
3. Grasp the tether strap and
position it to the seat frame.
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4. Rotate the tether hook, and clip
the tether strap to the seat frame.
If the tether strap is clipped
incorrectly (as shown) the
child safety seat may not be
retained properly in the event of a
collision.
5. Rotate the tether strap clip.
6. Refer to the instructions in this
section underInstalling child
safety seats in cinch tongue
combination lap and shoulder belt
seating positionsto secure the
child safety seat.
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7. Tighten the child safety seat
tether strap according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
Rear seating positions
Follow steps 1–8 as described above for the following available seats:
•2nd row bucket
•2nd row bench
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