2004 FORD FREESTAR Owners Manual

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.
•LATCH lower anchors are recommended for use by children up to 22
kg (48 pounds) in a child restraint. Top tether anchors can be used
for children up to 27 kg (60 pounds) in a child restraint, and to
provide upper torso restraint for children up to 36 kg (80 pounds)
using an upper torso harness and a belt-positioning booster.
Ford recommends the use of a child safety seat having a top tether
strap. Install the child safety seat in a seating position with LATCH and
tether anchors. For more information on top tether straps and anchors,
refer toAttaching safety seats with tether strapsin this chapter. For
more information of LATCH anchors refer toAttaching safety seats with
LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) attachmentsin 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 with combination lap and shoulder
belts
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.
Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in the rear
seat whenever possible.
1. Position the child safety seat in a
seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
If you use the 3rd row center seat
and the safety belt has been
detached from the seat to carry
large cargo, remove the safety belt
from the stowage area on the ceiling
and buckle the small tongue on the
end of the belt to the mini-buckle
on the left side of the center seat
position.
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 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
pulled out 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 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
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.
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The tether anchors in your vehicle
are in the positions shown:
The front passenger seat with power adjustment does not have a
tether anchor.The two tether anchors on the back of the second row
bench seat can be used either for child safety seats at the two seating
positions, or either anchor can be used for a single LATCH child seat
installed at the center of the bench seat.
Front passenger seating position (manual adjusting seats only)
1. Position the child safety seat on
the passenger seat cushion.
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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.
4. Rotate the tether hook, and clip
the tether strap to the seat frame.
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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. Install the child safety seat tightly
using the LATCH anchors or safety
belts. Follow the instructions in this
chapter.
7. Tighten the child safety seat
tether strap according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
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Rear seating positions
Follow steps 1–7 as described above for the following available seats:
•2nd row bucket
•2nd row bench
•3rd row bench
For additional important safety information on the proper use of safety
belts, child seats and infant seats, please read the entireSeating and
safety restraintschapter in this owner’s guide.
Attaching safety seats with LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children) attachments for child seat anchors
New 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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