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 to remove slack. The belt will click as it
retracts to indicate it is in the automatic locking mode.
7. 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 5
and 6.
8. Remove remaining slack from the
belt. Force the seat down with extra
weight, e.g., by pressing down or
kneeling on the child restraint while
pulling up on the shoulder belt in
order to force slack from the belt.
This is necessary to remove the
remaining slack that will exist once
the additional weight of the child is
added to the child restraint. It also
helps to achieve the proper
snugness of the child seat to the vehicle. Sometimes, a slight lean
towards the buckle will additionally help to remove remaining slack from
the belt.
9. Attach the tether strap (if the child seat is equipped). Refer to
Attaching child safety seats with tether strapslater in this chapter.
2009 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
199
10. 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 and back. There should
be no more than one inch (2.5 cm)
of movement for proper installation.
11. Ford recommends checking with a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger
Safety Technician (CPST) to make certain the child restraint is properly
installed.
Installing child safety seats in cinch tongue combination lap and
shoulder belt seating position (Front center seating position only)
If you are using a regular cab center seat, seeCenter front safety belt
(Regular Cab center seating position only)underCombination lap
and shoulder beltsearlier in this chapter for instructions on attaching
the mini-buckle.
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.
WARNING:Always use both lap and shoulder safety belt in the
Regular Cab center seating position.
1. Position the child safety seat in
the Regular Cab center front seat.
2009 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
200
2. If the center lap/shoulder safety
belt has been disconnected from the
seat to carry large cargo behind the
seat, reconnect it by buckling the
small buckle on the end of the belt
into the mini-buckle on the driver’s
side.
WARNING: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.
WARNING:Rear facing child seats should NEVER be placed in
front of an active airbag.
3. Slide the tongue up the webbing.
4. While holding both shoulder and
lap portions next to the tongue,
route the tongue and webbing
through the child seat according to
the child seat manufacturer’s
instructions. Be sure that the belt
webbing is not twisted.
2009 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
201
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Allow the safety belt to retract and remove any slack in the belt to
securely tighten the child safety seat in the vehicle.
8. Attach the tether strap (if the child seat is equipped). Refer to
Attaching child safety seats with tether strapslater in this chapter.
2009 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
202
9. 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 (2.5 cm) of movement for
proper installation.
10. 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.
11. Ford recommends checking with a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger
Safety Technician (CPST) to make certain the child restraint is properly
installed.
Installing child safety seats in the front row lap belt seating
positions (SuperCab and CrewCab)
WARNING:Installing a child safety seat in the front row lap
seating position should be avoided if at all possible. The
passenger sensing system does not recognize child seats in the front
center seating position.
WARNING:Never place a rear-facing child seat in the front
center seating position of a vehicle with rear seating positions.
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 the tongue.
5. Push down on the child seat while pulling on the loose end of the lap
belt webbing to tighten the belt.
2009 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
203
6. Before placing the child into the child seat, forcibly tilt the child seat
from side to side and in forward direction to make sure that 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 and back. There should be
no more than one inch (2.5 cm) of movement for proper installation.
7. Ford recommends checking with a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger
Safety Technician (CPST) to make certain the child restraint is properly
installed.
Attaching child safety seats with LATCH
(Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) attachments
The LATCH system is composed of three vehicle anchor points: two (2)
lower anchors located where the vehicle seat back and seat cushion meet
(called the “seat bight”) and one (1) top tether anchor located behind
that seating position.
LATCH compatible child safety seats have two rigid or webbing mounted
attachments that connect to the two lower anchors at the LATCH
equipped seating positions in your vehicle. This type of attachment
method eliminates the need to use safety belts to attach the child seat,
however the safety belt can still be used to attach the child seat if the
lower anchors are not used. For forward-facing child seats, the top tether
strap must also be attached to the proper top tether anchor, if a top
tether strap has been provided with your child seat. SeeAttaching child
safety seats with tether strapsin this chapter for more information.
Your vehicle is equipped with LATCH lower anchors for child seat
installation at the following seating positions (LATCH is not available on
F150 Regular cab) :
•F150 SuperCab and CrewCab
2009 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
204
The LATCH anchors are located at
the rear section of the rear seat
between the cushion and seatback.
Follow the child seat manufacturer’s
instructions to properly install a
child seat with LATCH attachments.
Follow the instructions later in this chapter on attaching child safety
seats with tether straps.
Attach LATCH lower attachments of the child seat only to the anchors
shown.
WARNING:Never attach two 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.
Use of inboard lower anchors from the outboard seating positions
(center seating use)
The lower anchors at the center of the second row rear seat are spaced
652 mm (25.7 inches) apart. The standardized spacing for LATCH lower
anchors is 280 mm (11 inches) center to center. A child seat with rigid
LATCH attachments cannot be installed at the center seating position.
LATCH compatible child seats (with attachments on belt webbing) can
only be used at this seating position provided that the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions permit use with the anchor spacing stated.
Do not attach a child seat to any lower anchor if an adjacent child seat is
attached to that anchor.
WARNING:The standardized spacing for LATCH lower anchors
is 280 mm (11 inches) center to center. Do not use LATCH
lower anchors for the center seating position unless the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions permit and specify using anchors spaced at
least as far apart as those in this vehicle.
2009 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
205
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, if applicable. Tug the
child seat from side to side and forward and back where it is secured to
the vehicle. The seat should move less than one inch when you do this
for a proper installation.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being
injured in a crash greatly increases.
Combining safety belt and LATCH lower anchors for attaching
child safety seats
When used in combination, either the safety belt or the LATCH lower
anchors may be attached first, provided a proper installation is achieved.
Attach the tether strap afterward, if included with the child seat. Refer
toRecommendations for attaching safety restraints for childrenin
this chapter.
Attaching child safety seats with tether straps
Many forward-facing child safety seats include a tether strap which
extends from the back of the child safety seat and hooks to an anchoring
point called the top tether anchor. 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, or to obtain a
longer tether strap if the tether strap on your safety seat does not reach
the appropriate top tether anchor in the vehicle.
The passenger 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 may be loops of webbing above the
seatback or an anchor bracket behind the seat on the rear edge of the
seat cushion.
The rear seat in the SuperCab and SuperCrew has three straps along the
top of the seatback that function as both routing loops for the tether
straps and anchor loops.
2009 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
206