
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.
The rear seats of your vehicle are equipped with built-in tether strap
anchors located behind the seats as shown below.
The tether strap anchors in your vehicle are in the following positions
(shown from top view):
Seating and Safety Restraints
188

²40/20/40 second row seats
²second row bucket seats
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 rear seat cushion.
2. Route the tether strap under the head restraint and between the head
restraint posts.
3. Locate the correct anchor for the selected rear seating position.
²Behind 2nd row seat
Seating and Safety Restraints
189

²At the rear of the cargo area
4. Clip the tether strap to the
anchor.
If the tether strap is clipped incorrectly, the child safety seat
may not be retained properly in the event of a collision.
5. Install the child safety seat tightly using the LATCH anchors or safety
belts. Follow the instructions in this chapter.
6. 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.
Seating and Safety Restraints
190

Attaching safety seats with LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children) attachments for child seat anchors
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 seat 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.
Your vehicle has LATCH anchors for child seat installation at the seating
positions marked with the child seat symbol:
²Second row bucket seats
²40/20/40 second row seats
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.
Seating and Safety Restraints
191

The lower anchors for child seat
installation are located at the rear
section of the second row seat
between the cushion and seat back.
The LATCH anchors are below the
locator symbols on the seat back.
Follow the child seat manufacturer's
instructions to properly install a
child seat with LATCH attachments.
Two plastic LATCH guides may be
obtained at no charge from any
Ford or Lincoln Mercury dealer.
They snap onto the latch lower
anchor in the vehicle to help attach
a child seat with rigid latch
attachments. It will hold the seat
foam away and expose the anchor
making attachment of the child seat
easier.
Attach LATCH lower attachments of the child seat only to the
anchors shown.
If you install a child seat with rigid LATCH attachments, do not tighten
the tether strap enough to lift the child seat off the vehicle seat cushion
when the child is seated in it. Keep the tether strap just snug without
lifting the front of the child seat. Keeping the child seat just touching the
vehicle seat gives the best protection in a severe crash.
Each time you use the safety seat, check that the seat is properly
attached to the lower anchors and tether anchor. Try to tilt the child
seat from side to side. Also try to tug the seat forward. Check to see if
the anchors hold the seat in place.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child
being injured in a crash greatly increases.
Seating and Safety Restraints
192

When lifting a plastic-cased battery, excessive pressure on the
end walls could cause acid to flow through the vent caps,
resulting in personal injury and/or damage to the vehicle or battery.
Lift the battery with a battery carrier or with your hands on opposite
corners.
Keep batteries out of reach of children. Batteries contain sulfuric
acid. Avoid contact with skin, eyes or clothing. Shield your eyes
when working near the battery to protect against possible splashing of
acid solution. In case of acid contact with skin or eyes, flush
immediately with water for a minimum of 15 minutes and get prompt
medical attention. If acid is swallowed, call a physician immediately.
Battery posts, terminals and related accessories contain lead and
lead compounds.Wash hands after handling.
Because your vehicle's engine is electronically controlled by a computer,
some control conditions are maintained by power from the battery. When
the battery is disconnected or a new battery is installed, the engine must
relearn its idle and fuel trim strategy for optimum driveability and
performance. To begin this process:
1. With the vehicle at a complete stop, set the parking brake.
2. Put the gearshift lever in P (Park), turn off all accessories and start
the engine.
3. Run the engine until it reaches normal operating temperature.
4. Allow the engine to idle for at least one minute.
5. Turn the A/C on and allow the engine to idle for at least one minute.
6. Drive the vehicle to complete the relearning process.
²The vehicle may need to be driven to relearn the idle and fuel trim
strategy.
²If you do not allow the engine to relearn its idle trim, the idle
quality of your vehicle may be adversely affected until the idle
trim is eventually relearned.
When the battery is disconnected or a new battery installed, the
transmission must relearn its adaptive strategy. As a result of this, the
transmission may shift firmly. This operation is considered normal and
will not affect function or durability of the transmission. Over time the
adaptive learning process will fully update transmission operation to its
optimum shift feel.
Maintenance and Specifications
280

A
ABS (see Brakes) .....................197
Accessory delay ........................105
AdvanceTrac ..............................199
Air bag supplemental restraint
system ................................174, 178
and child safety seats ............176
description ......................174, 178
disposal ....................................181
driver air bag ..................176, 179
indicator light .........................180
operation .........................176, 179
passenger air bag ...........176, 179
side air bag ..............................178
Air cleaner filter .......................311
All Wheel Drive (AWD),
driving off road .........................211
Ambulance packages ....................7
Antifreeze
(see Engine coolant) ................281
Anti-lock brake system
(see Brakes) ......................197±198
Anti-theft system ......................149
arming the system ..................150
disarming a triggered
system .....................................151
Audio system (see Radio) ...16, 21
Automatic transmission
driving an automatic
overdrive .................................206
fluid, adding ............................296
fluid, checking ........................296
fluid, refill capacities ..............312
fluid, specification ..................316
Auxiliary power point ...............101
Axle
lubricant specifications ..314, 316refill capacities ........................312
B
Battery .......................................279
acid, treating emergencies .....279
jumping a disabled battery ....251
maintenance-free ....................279
replacement, specifications ...311
servicing ..................................279
BeltMinder .................................170
Brakes ........................................196
anti-lock ...........................197±198
anti-lock brake system (ABS)
warning light ...........................198
fluid, checking and adding ....296
fluid, refill capacities ..............312
fluid, specifications .........314, 316
lubricant specifications ..314, 316
parking ....................................198
shift interlock ..........................204
Bulbs ............................................88
C
Calculating load ........................224
Capacities for refilling fluids ....312
Cargo cover ...............................135
Cassette tape player ...................21
CD-single premium .....................16
Cell phone use ..........................131
Certification Label ....................318
Changing a tire .........................243
Child safety restraints ..............182
child safety belts ....................182
Child safety seats ......................184
attaching with tether straps ..188
in front seat ............................186
in rear seat ..............................186
Index
Index
324

Infant seats
(see Safety seats) .....................184
Inspection/maintenance (I/M)
testing ........................................294
Instrument panel
cleaning ...................................269
cluster ........................................10
lighting up panel and interior .85
J
Jack ....................................243, 245
positioning .......................243, 247
storage .............................243, 245
Jump-starting your vehicle ......251
K
Keyless entry system
locking and unlocking doors ..145
programming entry code .......143
Keys ...................................146±148
positions of the ignition .........193
L
Lamps
autolamp system .......................82
bulb replacement
specifications chart ..................88
daytime running light ...............84
fog lamps ...................................82
headlamps .................................82
headlamps, flash to pass ..........85
instrument panel, dimming .....85
interior lamps .....................87, 89
replacing
bulbs ..................88, 90, 92, 94±95
Lane change indicator
(see Turn signal) ........................87
Liftgate ..............................133, 139Lights, warning and indicator ....10
anti-lock brakes (ABS) ..........198
Load limits .................................221
Loading instructions .................224
Locks
childproof ................................137
doors ........................................136
Lubricant specifications ...314, 316
Luggage rack .............................134
Lumbar support, seats .............153
M
Manual transmission
fluid capacities ........................312
lubricant specifications ..........316
Message center .................118±119
english/metric button .............123
system check button ..............123
warning messages ...................126
Mirrors .................................99, 105
automatic dimming rearview
mirror ......................................105
fold away .................................107
heated ......................................107
programmable memory ..........139
side view mirrors (power) ....106,
108
Moon roof ..................................100
Motorcraft parts ................289, 311
N
Navigation system .......................26
cd functions ..............................42
destination mode ......................55
DVD location .............................77
map mode .................................46
quick start .................................28
Index
327