
9. Check from time to time to be sure that there is no slack in the lap
and shoulder belt. The shoulder belt must be snug to keep the lap belt
tight during a collision.
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.
Using Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren (LATCH)
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.
The LATCH system is composed of three vehicle anchor points: two
lower anchors located where the vehicle seat back and seat cushion meet
(called the seat bight) and one 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. SeeUsing Tether
Strapsin this chapter for more information.
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Front Seat Tether Strap Attachment (Regular Cab)
1. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the back of the seat and
under the head restraint.
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 seat back.
2. Locate the correct anchor for the selected seating position.
•You may need to pull the seat back forward to access the tether
anchors. Make sure the seat back is locked in the upright position
before installing the child seat.
3. Clip the tether strap to the anchor as shown.
•Regular Cab passenger and
center seats (located on back
panel)
If the tether strap is clipped incorrectly, the child safety seat may not be
retained properly in the event of a collision.
4. 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.
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•Always put the tether strap through the routing loop. The head
restraint support post will hold the child seat tightly, but the head
restraint post is not strong enough to hold the child seat during a
collision.
3. Tighten the tether strap according to the child seat manufacturer’s
instructions.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being
injured in a collision greatly increases.
If your child restraint system is equipped with a tether strap, and the
child restraint manufacturer recommends its use, Ford also recommends
its use.
CHILD SAFETY LOCKS
The childproof locks are located on
the rear edge of each rear door and
must be set separately for each
door.
•Insert the key and turn to the
lock position (key horizontal) to
engage the childproof locks.
•Insert the key and turn to the
unlock position (key vertical) to
disengage the childproof locks.
When these locks are set, the rear
doors cannot be opened from the
inside.
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WARNING:Safety belts and seats can become hot in a vehicle
that has been closed up in sunny weather; they could burn a
small child. Check seat covers and buckles before you place a child
anywhere near them.
WARNING:Front and rear seat occupants, including pregnant
women, should wear safety belts for optimum protection in an
accident.
All seating positions in this vehicle have lap and shoulder safety belts. All
occupants of the vehicle should always properly wear their safety belts,
even when an airbag supplemental restraint system is provided.
The safety belt system consists of:
•lap and shoulder safety belts
•shoulder safety belt with automatic locking mode, (except driver
safety belt)
•height adjuster at the front outboard seating positions
•safety belt pretensioner at the front outboard seating positions
•belt tension sensor at the front outboard passenger seating position.
•Safety belt warning light and chime. SeeSafety belt warning
light and indicator chimelater in this chapter.
•Crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. SeeCrash sensors and airbag indicatorin the
Supplemental Restraint Systemchapter.
The safety belt pretensioners are designed to activate in frontal,
near-frontal and side collisions, and in rollovers. The safety belt
pretensioners at the front seating positions are designed to tighten the
safety belts firmly against the occupant’s body when activated. This helps
increase the effectiveness of the safety belts. In frontal collisions, the
safety belt pretensioners can be activated alone or, if the collision is of
sufficient severity, together with the front airbags.
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1. To lengthen the lap belt, pull
some webbing out of the shoulder
belt retractor.
2. While holding the webbing below
the tongue, grasp the tip (metal
portion) of the tongue so that it is
parallel to the webbing and slide the
tongue upward.
3. Provide enough lap belt length so that the tongue can reach the
buckle.
Fastening the Cinch Tongue
WARNING:The lap belt should fit snugly and as low as possible
around the hips, not across the waist.
1. Pull the lap and shoulder belt from the retractor so that the shoulder
belt portion of the safety belt crosses your shoulder and chest.
2. Be sure the belt is not twisted. If the belt is twisted, remove the twist.
3. Insert the belt tongue into the proper buckle for your seating position
until you hear a snap and feel it latch.
4. Make sure the tongue is securely fastened to the buckle by pulling on
the tongue.
While you are fastened in the safety belt, the lap and shoulder belt with
a cinch tongue adjusts to your movement. However, if you brake hard,
turn hard, or if your vehicle receives an impact of 5 mph (8 km/h) or
more, the safety belt will become locked and help reduce your forward
movement.
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Restraint of Pregnant Women
WARNING:Always ride and drive with your seat back upright
and the safety belt properly fastened. The lap portion of the
safety belt should fit snug and be positioned low across the hips. The
shoulder portion of the safety belt should be positioned across the
chest. Pregnant women should also follow this practice. See the
following figure.
Pregnant women should always
wear their safety belts. The lap belt
portion of a combination lap and
shoulder belt should be positioned
low across the hips below the belly
and worn as tight as comfort will
allow. The shoulder belt should be
positioned to cross the middle of
the shoulder and the center of the
chest.
Safety Belt Locking Modes
WARNING:After any vehicle collision, the safety belt system at
all passenger seating positions must be checked by an authorized
dealer to verify that the automatic locking retractor feature for child
seats is still functioning properly. In addition, all safety belts should be
checked for proper function.
WARNING:BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE
REPLACED if the safety belt assembly automatic locking
retractor feature or any other safety belt function is not operating
properly when checked by an authorized dealer. Failure to replace the
belt and retractor assembly could increase the risk of injury in
collisions.
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All safety restraints in the vehicle are combination lap and shoulder
belts. The driver safety belt has the first type of locking mode, and the
front outboard passenger and rear seat safety belts have both types of
locking modes described as follows:
Vehicle sensitive mode
This is the normal retractor mode, which allows free shoulder belt length
adjustment to your movements and locking in response to vehicle
movement. For example, if the driver brakes suddenly or turns a corner
sharply, or the vehicle receives an impact of approximately 5 mph
(8 km/h) or more, the combination safety belts will lock to help reduce
forward movement of the driver and passengers.
In addition, the retractor is designed to lock if the webbing is pulled out
too quickly. If this occurs, let the belt retract slightly and pull webbing
out again in a slow and controlled manner.
Automatic locking mode
In this mode, the shoulder belt is automatically pre-locked. The belt will
still retract to remove any slack in the shoulder belt. The automatic
locking mode is not available on the driver safety belt.
When to use the automatic locking mode
This mode should be used any time a child safety seat is installed in a
front outboard passenger seating position in a Regular Cab / SuperCab /
SuperCrew or any rear seating position of a SuperCab or SuperCrew. The
optional front seat’s center safety belt has a cinch mechanism. SeeUsing
the Safety Belt With Cinch Tongue (Front Center Seat)in this chapter.
Children 12 years old and under should be properly restrained in a rear
seat whenever possible. See theChild Safetychapter.
How to use the automatic locking mode
1. Buckle the combination lap and shoulder
belt.
2. Grasp the shoulder portion and pull
downward until the entire belt is pulled out.
Allow the belt to retract. As the belt retracts,
you will hear a clicking sound. This indicates
the safety belt is now in the automatic locking
mode.
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How to disengage the automatic locking mode
Disconnect the combination lap and shoulder belt and allow it to retract
completely to disengage the automatic locking mode and activate the
vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
Safety Belt Extension Assembly
WARNING:Do not use extensions to change the fit of the
shoulder belt across the torso.
If the safety belt is too short when fully extended, a safety belt extension
assembly can be obtained from an authorized dealer.
Use only extensions manufactured by the same supplier as the safety
belt. Manufacturer identification is located at the end of the webbing on
the label. Also, use the safety belt extension only if the safety belt is too
short for you when fully extended.
SAFETY BELT HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT
WARNING:Position the safety belt height adjusters so that the
belt rests across the middle of your shoulder. Failure to adjust
the safety belt properly could reduce the effectiveness of the safety belt
and increase the risk of injury in a collision.
Adjust the height of the shoulder belt so the belt rests across the middle
of your shoulder.
To adjust the shoulder belt height:
1. Pull on the center button and
slide the height adjuster up or
down.
2. Release the button and pull down
on the height adjuster to make sure
it is locked in place.
P
U
L
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