2006 FORD GT Owners Manual

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.
• Those with a high back.
A backless booster would be a
better choice because the high
back booster will place the child
closer to the instrument panel
and airbag.
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Both can be used in any vehicle in a seating position equipped with
lap/shoulder belts if your child is over 40 lb. (18 kg).
The shoulder belt should cross the chest, resting snugly on the center of
the shoulder. The lap belt should rest low and snug across the hips,
never up high across the stomach.
If the booster seat slides on the vehicle seat, placing a rubberized mesh
sold as shelf or carpet liner under the booster seat may improve this
condition.
The importance of shoulder belts
Using a booster without a shoulder belt increases the risk of a child’s
head hitting a hard surface in a collision. For this reason, you should
never use a booster seat with a lap belt only. It is best to use a booster
seat with lap/shoulder belts.
Follow all instructions provided by the manufacturer of the
booster seat.
Never put the shoulder belt under a child’s arm or behind the
back because it eliminates the protection for the upper part of
the body and may increase the risk of injury or death in a collision.
Never use pillows, books, or towels to boost a child. They can
slide around and increase the likelihood of injury or death in a
collision.
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.
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When installing a child safety seat:
•Review and follow the information
presented in the Air 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.
• Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer to Automatic
locking mode.
• 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 tether
anchors. For more information on top tether straps and anchors, refer to
Attaching safety seats with tether straps in this chapter. For more
information of LATCH anchors refer to Attaching safety seats with LATCH
(Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) attachments in 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.
Rear-facing child seats or infant carriers should never be placed
in the front seat unless the airbag On/Off switch is in the Off
position.
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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 and turn the passenger air bags OFF.
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.
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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
extracted 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 2
through 9.
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.
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The tether strap anchors in your
vehicle are in the following positions
(shown from top view):
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 passenger seat cushion.
2. Locate the tether anchor located
behind the passenger seat.
3. Route the child safety seat tether
strap through the openings on top
of the seatback.
4. You may need to pull the seat forward to access the tether anchors.
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5. Clip the tether to the anchor as
shown.
If the tether strap is clipped incorrectly, the child safety seat
may not be retained properly in the event of a collision.
6. Refer to the Installing child safety seats in combination lap and
shoulder belt seating positions section of this chapter for further
instructions to secure the child safety seat.
7. 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 child safety seats with Lower Anchor and Tethers for
Children (LATCH) attachments for child seat anchors
LATCH lower anchors are recommended for use by children up to 48 lb.
(22 kg) in a child restraint. Top tether anchors can be used for children
up to 60 lb. (27 kg) in a child restraint, and to provide upper torso
restraint for children up to 80 lb. (36 kg) using an upper torso harness
and a belt-positioning booster.
Some child safety seats include two rigid or webbing mounted
attachments that connect to two anchors at specific 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 point. For
information on using tether straps with the child safety seats, refer to
Passenger front and side air bag ON/OFF switch andAttaching child
safety seats with tether straps in this chapter.
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