WARNING:Always carefully follow the instructions and
warnings provided by the manufacturer of any child restraint to
determine if the restraint device is appropriate for your child’s size,
height, weight, or age. Follow the child restraint manufacturer’s
instructions and warnings provided for installation and use in
conjunction with the instructions and warnings provided by the vehicle
manufacturer. A safety seat that is improperly installed or utilized, is
inappropriate for your child’s height, age, or weight or does not
properly fit the child may increase the risk of serious injury or death.
WARNING:Never let a passenger hold a child on his or her lap
while the vehicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the
child from injury in a collision, which may result in serious injury or
death.
WARNING: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.
WARNING:Always restrain an unoccupied child seat or booster
seat. These objects may become projectiles in a collision or
sudden stop, which may increase the risk of serious injury.
WARNING:Never place, or allow a child to place, the shoulder
belt under a child’s arm or behind the back because it reduces
the protection for the upper part of the body and may increase the risk
of injury or death in a collision.
WARNING:Do not leave children, unreliable adults, or pets
unattended in your vehicle.
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•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.
Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat. NEVER place 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 vehicle seat all the
way back.
Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating
position whenever possible. If all children cannot be seated and
restrained properly in a rear seating position, properly restrain the
largest child in the front seat.
Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder
belts
Check to make sure the child seat is properly secured before each use.
Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating
position whenever possible. If all children cannot be seated and
restrained properly in a rear seating position, properly restrain the
largest child in the front seat.
When installing a child safety seat with combination lap/shoulder belts:
•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 help prevent accidental unbuckling.
•Place vehicle seat back in upright position.
•Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer to step 5
below.
WARNING:Depending on where you secure a child restraint,
and depending on the child restraint design, you may block
access to certain safety belt buckle assemblies and/or LATCH lower
anchors, rendering those features potentially unusable. To avoid risk of
injury, occupants should only use seating positions where they are able
to be properly restrained.
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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.
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 1 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 the lap belt seating positions
WARNING:Installing a child safety seat in the front row lap
seating position should be avoided if at all possible.
WARNING:Never place a rear-facing child seat in the front
center seating position of a vehicle with rear seating positions.
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WARNING:Front seating positions only: If seating two adults
and a child, Ford recommends properly restraining the child in
the center front seating position, but only if doing so will not interfere
with driving the vehicle. This arrangement provides lap and shoulder
belt and airbag protection for adult occupants and an attachment
method for a child restraint. If the child seat interferes with driving the
vehicle and the child restraint is forward-facing, the child may be
restrained in the passenger seat. Move the seat as far rearward as
possible to minimize the likelihood of interaction with the front
passenger airbag. Never place a rear-facing child seat in front of an
active airbag. All occupants of the vehicle should always properly wear
their safety belts. Ensure the child is properly restrained in an
appropriate child seat or with the use of a booster.
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.
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.
Note:There is no top tether anchor for the front center seating position.
SeeAttaching child safety seats with tether strapslater in this chapter.
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.
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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. 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. Ford Motor Company recommends the use of a
child safety seat having a top tether strap. SeeAttaching child safety
seats with tether strapsandRecommendations for attaching safety
restraints for childrenin this chapter for more information.
Your vehicle has LATCH lower
anchors for child seat installation at
the seating positions marked with
the child seat symbol.
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 on attaching child safety seats with tether straps.
Refer toAttaching child safety seats with tether strapslater in this
chapter.
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.
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WARNING:Depending on where you secure a child restraint,
and depending on the child restraint design, you may block
access to certain safety belt buckle assemblies and/or LATCH lower
anchors, rendering those features potentially unusable. To avoid risk of
injury, occupants should only use seating positions where they are able
to be properly restrained.
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
578 mm (23 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.
If you install a child seat with rigid LATCH attachments, and have
attached the top tether strap to the proper top tether anchor, 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.
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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.
WARNING:Never place, or allow a child to place, the shoulder
belt under a child’s arm or behind the back because it reduces
the protection for the upper part of the body and may increase the risk
of injury or death in a collision.
Child restraint and safety belt maintenance
Inspect the vehicle safety belts and child safety seat systems periodically
to make sure they work properly and are not damaged. Inspect the
vehicle and child seat safety belts to make sure there are no nicks, tears
or cuts. Replace if necessary. All vehicle safety belt assemblies, including
retractors, buckles, front safety belt buckle assemblies, buckle support
assemblies (slide bar-if equipped), shoulder belt height adjusters (if
equipped), shoulder belt guide on seatback (if equipped), child safety
seat LATCH and tether anchors, and attaching hardware, should be
inspected after a collision. Refer to the child restraint manufacturer’s
instructions for additional inspection and maintenance information
specific to the child restraint. Ford Motor Company recommends that all
safety belt assemblies in use in vehicles involved in a collision be
replaced. However, if the collision was minor and an authorized dealer
finds that the belts do not show damage and continue to operate
properly, they do not need to be replaced. Safety belt assemblies not in
use during a collision should also be inspected and replaced if either
damage or improper operation is noted.
For proper care of soiled safety belts, refer toInteriorin theCleaning
chapter.
WARNING:Failure to inspect and if necessary replace the
safety belt assembly or child restraint system under the above
conditions could result in severe personal injuries in the event of a
collision.
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WARNING:The traction grade assigned to this tire is based on
straight-ahead braking traction tests, and does not include
acceleration, cornering, hydroplaning or peak traction characteristics.
Temperature A B C
The temperature grades are A (the highest), B and C, representing the
tire’s resistance to the generation of heat and its ability to dissipate heat
when tested under controlled conditions on a specified indoor laboratory
test wheel. Sustained high temperature can cause the material of the tire
to degenerate and reduce tire life, and excessive temperature can lead to
sudden tire failure. The grade C corresponds to a level of performance
which all passenger car tires must meet under the Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard No. 139. Grades B and A represent higher levels of
performance on the laboratory test wheel than the minimum required by
law.
WARNING:The temperature grade for this tire is established
for a tire that is properly inflated and not overloaded. Excessive
speed, underinflation, or excessive loading, either separately or in
combination, can cause heat buildup and possible tire failure.
TIRES
Tires are designed to give many thousands of miles of service, but they
must be maintained in order to get the maximum benefit from them.
Glossary of tire terminology
•Tire label:A label showing the OE (Original Equipment) tire sizes,
recommended inflation pressure and the maximum weight the vehicle
can carry.
•Tire Identification Number (TIN):A number on the sidewall of
each tire providing information about the tire brand and
manufacturing plant, tire size and date of manufacture. Also referred
to as DOT code.
•Inflation pressure:A measure of the amount of air in a tire.
•Standard load:A class of P-metric or Metric tires designed to carry a
maximum load at 35 psi [37 psi (2.5 bar) for Metric tires]. Increasing
the inflation pressure beyond this pressure will not increase the tire’s
load carrying capability.
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