2005 FORD EXPEDITION seats

When children should use booster seats
Children need to use booster seats from the time they outgrow the
toddler seat until they are big enough for the vehicle seat and
lap/shoulder belt to fit properly. Generally this is when they weigh about
80 lb. (36 kg) (about 8 to 12 years old).
Booster seats should be used until you can answer YES to ALL of these
questions:
•Can the child sit all the way back
against the vehicle seat back with
knees bent comfortably at 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 stay seated 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
may place 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.
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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
(SRS) section in this chapter.
•Use the correct safety belt 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 securely fastened in
the buckle.
•Place seat back in upright position.
•Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer toAutomatic
locking modesection in this chapter.
•The second row center seat can be moved forward to keep a child in a
child restraint close to the front seat occupants. The seat should be
moved to the full rearward position when it is occupied by older
children or adults.
•LATCH lower anchors are recommended for use by children up to
48 pounds (22 kg) in a child restraint. Top tether anchors can be used
for children up to 60 pounds (27 kg) in a child restraint, and to
provide upper torso restraint for children up to 80 pounds (36 kg)
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
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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.
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.
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Installing child safety seats in the center front seating position
Always transport children 12 years old and under in the rear
seats and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
It is safer to install child safety seats in seating positions that
have child seat anchors. The front seat has no tether anchor nor
does it have LATCH anchors.
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 with your knee while pulling on the loose
end of the lap belt webbing to tighten the belt.
6. Before placing the child into the child seat, forcibly move the child
seat from side to side and forward to make sure that the seat is held
securely. If the child seat moves excessively, repeat steps 5 through 6, or
properly install the child seat in a different position.
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.
Some of the rear seats of your vehicle are equipped with built-in tether
strap anchors located behind the seats as described below.
In the third row center seating position, the tether anchor is a loop at
the bottom of the seatback.
The tether strap anchors in your vehicle are in the following positions
(shown from top view):
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•Second row bench seat
•Second 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.
Second row seating positions
1. Position the child safety seat on the seat cushion.
2. Locate the tether anchor at the bottom back of the seat.
•outboard seating positions
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•center seating position (if
equipped)
3. Route the child safety seat tether strap under the head restraint
(outboard seats) and over the back of the seat.
4. Grasp the tether strap and
position it to the seat frame.
5. Rotate the tether strap, and clip
the tether strap to the anchor on
the seat frame.
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4. Clip the tether strap through the
anchor loop as shown.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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