2012 FORD EXPLORER child seat

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.
•For second row seating positions, if needed, the recliner may be
adjusted slightly to improve child seat fit. If needed the head
restraints may be removed.
•For third row seating positions the head restraints may be stowed to
improve child seat fit, if needed. Refer toRear seatsin this chapter
for information on folding the head restraints.
•Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer to Step 5
below. This vehicle does not require the use of a locking clip.
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.
Perform the following steps when installing the child seat with
combination lap/shoulder belts:
Note:Although the child seat illustrated is a forward facing child seat,
the steps are the same for installing a rear facing child seat.
Note:The ’Lock-off’ device on some child restraints may not
accommodate the shoulder portion of the inflatable safety belt. Follow all
instructions provided by the manufacturer of the child restraint
regarding the necessary and proper use of the ’Lock-off’ device. In some
instances these devices have been provided only for use in vehicles with
safety belt systems that would otherwise require a locking clip. This
vehicle does not require the use of a locking clip.
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1. Position the child safety seat in a
seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
2. After positioning the child safety seat in the proper seating position,
do the following:
•Standard safety belt: pull down
on the shoulder belt and then
grasp the shoulder belt and lap
belt together behind the belt
tongue.
•Inflatable safety belt: grasp the
shoulder belt and lap belt
together behind the belt tongue.
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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.
•Standard safety belt buckle
•Inflatable safety belt buckle
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5. To put the retractor in the automatic locking mode, do the following:
•Standard safety belt: grasp the
shoulder portion of the belt and
pull downward until all of the belt
is pulled out.
•Inflatable safety belt: grasp the
lap portion of the inflatable safety
belt and pull upward until all of
the belt is pulled out.
Note:Unlike the standard safety
belt, the inflatable safety belt’s
unique lap portion locks the child
seat for installation. The ability for
the shoulder portion of the belt to
move freely is normal, even after
the lap belt has been put into the
automatic locking mode.
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, 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 (for standard safety belt) or pulling down
on the lap belt (for inflatable safety 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.
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•Standard safety belt
•Inflatable safety 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.
Ford recommends checking with a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger
Safety Technician (CPST) to make certain the child restraint is properly
installed. In Canada, check with your local St. John Ambulance office for
referral to a CPST.
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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. 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 straps
andRecommendations 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.
•Second row bucket seats
•Second row bench seats
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The LATCH anchors for child seat
installation are located at the rear
section of the rear seat between the
cushion and seat back, below the
locator symbols on the 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.
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 bench seat are
spaced 520 mm (20.5 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.
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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.
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 child safety restraints for children
in 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 rear seats of your vehicle are equipped with built-in tether strap
anchors located behind the seats as described below.
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