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1. Position the child safety seat in a
seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
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.
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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.
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.
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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):
•5 passenger vehicle
For the center seat, use either of
the two tether anchors/cargo
tie-downs in the scuff plate along
the back edge of the floor.
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•7 passenger vehicle
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.
When placing a child safety seat in the 2nd row center seating position
of the 5 passenger vehicle, the tether straps may be attached to either of
the tether anchors located at the rear of the cargo area.
•Behind 2nd row seat
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•At 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.
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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:
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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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 can be
obtained at no charge from any Ford or Lincoln-Mercury dealer. They
snap onto the LATCH lower anchors in the seat to help attach a child
seat with rigid attachments. The guides hold the seat trim away to
expose the anchor and make it easier to attach some child seats.
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 move 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.
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A
Accessory delay ..........................49
AdvanceTrac ..............................141
Air bag supplemental restraint
system ................................115, 120
and child safety seats ............117
description ......................115, 120
disposal ....................................123
driver air bag ..................117, 121
indicator light .................119, 122
operation .........................117, 121
passenger air bag ...........117, 121
Air cleaner filter .......................262
Air conditioning ..........................28
All Wheel Drive (AWD),
driving off road .........................151
Ambulance packages ....................7
Antifreeze (see
Engine coolant) ........................226
Anti-lock brake system
(see Brakes) ..............................139
Audio system (see Radio) ...18, 21
Automatic transmission
driving an automatic
overdrive .................................147
fluid, adding ............................245
fluid, checking ........................245
fluid, refill capacities ..............263
fluid, specification ..................267
Auxiliary power point .................48
Axle
lubricant specifications ..265, 267
refill capacities ........................263
B
Battery .......................................224acid, treating emergencies .....224
jumping a disabled battery ....195
maintenance-free ....................224
replacement, specifications ...262
servicing ..................................224
BeltMinder .................................111
Brakes ........................................139
anti-lock ...................................139
anti-lock brake system
(ABS) warning light ...............139
fluid, checking and adding ....244
fluid, refill capacities ..............263
fluid, specifications .........265, 267
lubricant specifications ..265, 267
parking ....................................140
shift interlock ..........................145
C
Calculating load ........................166
Capacities for refilling fluids ....263
Cargo cover ...........................76–77
Cell phone use ............................45
Certification Label ....................269
Changing a tire .........................186
Child safety restraints ..............123
child safety belts ....................123
Child safety seats ......................126
attaching with tether straps ..130
in front seat ............................127
in rear seat ..............................127
Cigar lighter
Power Point ..............................48
Cleaning your vehicle
engine compartment ..............210
instrument panel ....................212
interior .....................................213
interior trim ............................213
REVIEW COPY:
2004 Explorer(exp), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:USA English(fus)
Index
Index
274