2008 FORD FOCUS seats

•Those with a high back.
If, with a backless booster seat,
you cannot find a seating position
that adequately supports your
child’s head, a high back booster
seat would be a better choice.
Either type can be used at any seating position equipped with
lap/shoulder belts if your child is over 40 lb. (18 kg).
Children and booster seats vary widely in size and shape. Choose a
booster that keeps the lap belt low and snug across the hips, never up
across the stomach, and lets you adjust the shoulder belt to cross the
chest and rest snugly near the center of the shoulder. The drawings
below compare the ideal fit (center) to a shoulder belt uncomfortably
close to the neck and a shoulder belt that could slip off the shoulder.
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 in the back seat- the safest place for children
to ride.
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Move a child to a different seating location if the shoulder belt
does not stay positioned on the shoulder during use.
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.
When installing a child safety seat:
•Review and follow the information
presented in theAirbag
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.
•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.
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•Place seat back in upright position.
•Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer toAutomatic
locking mode(passenger side front and outboard rear seating
positions) (if equipped) section in this chapter.
•
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.
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.
Rear-facing child seats or infant carriers should never be placed
in front of an active airbag.
Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder
belts
Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.NEVERplace a
rear-facing child seat in front of an active airbag. 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.
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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.
Note: The automatic locking mode
is available on the front passenger
and rear outboard seats only. The
rear center seating position has a
cinch tongue. Refer toInstalling
child safety seats in cinch tongue
combination lap shoulder belt seating positionsin this chapter.
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 2
through 9.
Check to make sure the child seat is properly secured before each use.
Installing child safety seats in cinch tongue combination lap and
shoulder belt seating positions (rear center position only)
The belt webbing below the tongue is the lap portion of the combination
lap/shoulder belt, and the belt webbing above the tongue is the shoulder
belt portion of the combination lap/shoulder belt.
1. Position the child safety seat in a
seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat. If you must use
a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move seat all the
way back.
Rear facing child seats should NEVER be placed in front of an
active airbag.
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5. While pushing down with your
knee on the child seat pull up on
the shoulder belt portion to tighten
the lap belt portion of the
combination lap and shoulder belt.
6. Allow the safety belt to retract and remove any slack in the belt to
securely tighten the child safety seat in the vehicle.
7. Before placing the child into the
child seat, forcibly pull the child
seat forward and back to make sure
that the seat is held securely in
place. To check this, grab the seat
at the belt path and attempt to
move it side to side and forward and
back. There should be no more than
one inch of movement for proper
installation.
8. Check from time to time to be sure that there is no slack in the
lap/shoulder belt. The shoulder belt must be snug to keep the lap belt
tight during a collision.
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 described below.
The tether anchors in your vehicle are either located under a cover
marked with the tether anchor symbol (shown with title) or are recessed
bars on the back side of the seatback.
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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
Some child safety seats have 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 toAttaching safety seats
with tether strapsin this chapter.
LATCH anchors for child seat
installation have been provided in
your vehicle at the following
locations:
The anchors on both sides of the
center of the rear seat are provided
primarily for child seats at the
outboard seats and are further apart
than the pairs of lower anchors for
child seat installation at other seats. A child seat with rigid LATCH
attachments cannot be installed at the center rear seat. A child seat with
LATCH attachments on belt webbing can be used at the center rear seat
unless a child seat at an outboard rear seat is attached to one of these
lower anchors. Install a child seat onto the lower anchors at the center
rear seat ONLY IF the child restraint manufacturer recommends that the
child seat can be installed to anchors that are spaced up to 450 mm
apart.
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 seat attachments and may break, causing serious injury or death.
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The LATCH anchors are located on
the rear section of the seat cushion,
at the bottom of the seatback.
Follow the child seat manufacturer’s
instructions to properly install safety
seats with LATCH attachments.
Attach the LATCH lower attachments of the child seat only to
the appropriate locations shown.
Once you have installed the LATCH safety seat, ensure that the seat is
properly attached to LATCH and tether anchors. Also, test the safety
seat before you place the child in it. Tilt the 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 in not anchored properly, the risk of a child
being injured in a collision greatly increases.
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