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2. Pull down on the shoulder belt
and then grasp the shoulder belt
and lap belt together.
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.
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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.
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 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.
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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.
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 (if equipped) 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 (if equipped) 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
child safety restraints for childrenin this chapter for more information.
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Your vehicle may have LATCH lower anchors for child seat installation at
the seating positions marked with the child seat symbol.
The LATCH anchors (if equipped)
are located at the rear section of the
rear seat between the cushion and
seat back, below the locator symbols
on the seat back. 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:The center of the rear seat isNOTdesigned as a
seating position and is not equipped with safety belts. The
LATCH anchors were not designed to be used with a child seat in the
center position and there is no tether anchor available at the center.
Attempted use of the center as a seating position will increase the risk
of injury or death in the event of a collision.
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.
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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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.
Your vehicle is equipped with built-in tether strap anchor(s) located:
•behind the rear seats and below the rear window behind the speakers
(coupe with rear seats)
•in the rear of the vehicle below the rear window (coupe without rear
seats)
•or rearward of the seatback in the convertible top sling (convertible)
The tether anchor(s) in your vehicle are either located under a cover
marked with the child tether anchor symbol (shown with title) or are
under a tag marked with the child tether anchor symbol in the
convertible top sling.
The tether strap anchor(s) in your vehicle are in the following positions
(shown from top view):
Vehicles with rear seats
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Vehicles without rear seats
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.
Once the child safety seat has been installed, using either the safety belt,
the lower anchors of the LATCH system, or both, you can attach the top
tether strap.
If you install a child safety 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 safety 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 safety
seat just touching the vehicle seat gives the best protection in a severe
crash.
Perform the following steps to attach a child safety seat to the tether
anchor:
1. Route the tether strap as follows:
•For coupe with rear seats:With adjustable head restraints, route
the tether strap under the head restraint and between the head
restraint posts. With non-adjustable head restraints, route the tether
strap over the top of the head restraint.
•For coupe without rear seats:
Route the tether strap through
the inboard slot of the front
passenger seat back or route the
tether strap over the top of the
non-adjustable head restraint. A
tether strap extension may be
needed to reach the tether.
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4. Clip the tether strap 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.
5. 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.
For convertible only:
1. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the back of the seat.
For vehicles with adjustable head restraints, route the tether strap under
the head restraint and between the head restraint posts, otherwise route
the tether strap over the top of the seatback.
The tether anchors on the
convertible are located rearward of
the seatback in the convertible top
sling.
Note:For easier access, attach the
tether with the convertible top up.
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Note:The attachments for the
convertible boot located on the back
of the head restraints are not tether
anchors.
2. Access tether anchors located
behind the seatback under the vinyl
tag marked with the child tether
anchor symbol.
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