Note:The child seat must rest tightly against the vehicle seat upon
which it is installed. It may be necessary to lift or remove the head
restraint. See theSeatschapter for information on head restraints.
BOOSTER SEATS
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 crash.
Use a belt-positioning booster seat for children who have outgrown or no
longer properly fit in a child safety seat (generally children who are less
than 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 meters) tall, are greater than age four (4) and
less than age twelve (12), and between 40 pounds (18 kilograms) and
80 pounds (36 kilograms) and upward to 100 pounds (45 kilograms) if
recommended by your child restraint manufacturer). Many state and
provincial laws require that children use approved booster seats until
they reach age eight (8), a height of 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 meters) tall,
or 80 pounds (36 kilograms).
Booster seats should be used until you can answer YES to ALL of these
questions when the child is seated without a booster seat.
•Can the child sit all the way
back against their vehicle seat
with knees bent comfortably at
the edge of the seat cushion?
•Can the child sit without
slouching?
•Does the lap belt rest low across the hips?
•Is the shoulder belt centered on the shoulder and chest?
•Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?
Always use booster seats in conjunction with your vehicle lap and
shoulder belt.
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Types of Booster Seats
•Backless booster seats
If your backless booster seat has a removable shield, remove the shield.
If a vehicle seating position has a low seat back or no head restraint, a
backless booster seat may place your child’s head (as measured at the
tops of the ears) above the top of the seat. In this case, move the
backless booster to another seating position with a higher seat back or
head restraint and lap and shoulder belts, or consider using a high back
booster seat.
•High back booster seats
If, with a backless booster seat, you cannot find a seating position that
adequately supports your child’s head, a high back booster seat would be
a better choice.
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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.
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.
Note:The automatic locking mode is available on the front passenger
and rear seats. This vehicle does not require the use of a locking clip.
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, for example, by pressing
down or kneeling on the child
restraint while pulling up on the
shoulder belt in order to force
slack from the belt.
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This is necessary to remove the remaining slack that will exist once the
extra weight of the child is added to the child restraint. It also helps
to achieve the proper snugness of the child seat to your vehicle.
Sometimes, a slight lean toward the buckle will additionally help to
remove remaining slack from the belt.
9. Attach the tether strap (if the child seat is equipped). SeeUsing
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 centimeters) 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.
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 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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OccupantPass Airbag Off
Indicator LampPassenger Airbag
Empty Unlit Disabled
Small child Lit Disabled
Adult Unlit Enabled
Note:When the passenger airbag off light is illuminated, the passenger
(seat mounted) side airbag may be disabled to avoid the risk of airbag
deployment injuries.
After all occupants have adjusted their seats and put on safety belts,
it’s very important that they continue to sit properly. A properly seated
occupant sits upright, leaning against the seat back, and centered on the
seat cushion, with their feet comfortably extended on the floor. Sitting
improperly can increase the chance of injury in a crash event. For example,
if an occupant slouches, lies down, turns sideways, sits forward, leans
forward or sideways, or puts one or both feet up, the chance of injury
during a crash is greatly increased.
To know if the front passenger sensing system is operating
properly, refer toCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorlater in
this chapter.
If the airbag readiness lamp is lit, do the following:
The driver and adult passengers should check for any objects that may
be lodged underneath the front passenger seat or cargo interfering with
the seat.
If objects are lodged and/or cargo is interfering with the seat; please take
the following steps to remove the obstruction:
•Pull the vehicle over.
•Turn the vehicle off.
•Driver or adult passengers should check for any objects lodged
underneath the front passenger seat or cargo interfering with the seat.
•Remove the obstruction(s) (if found).
•Restart the vehicle.
•Wait at least two minutes and verify that the airbag readiness lamp is
no longer illuminated
•If the airbag readiness lamp remains illuminated, this may or may/not
be a problem due to the front passenger sensing system.
DO NOT attempt to repair or service the system; take your vehicle
immediately to an authorized dealer.
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Some vehicles are equipped with an A/C button which controls the rear
fan. Press to switch the rear fan off and on.
HINTS ON CONTROLLING THE INTERIOR CLIMATE
General Hints
Note:
Prolonged use of recirculated air may cause the windows to fog up.
Note:A small amount of air may be felt from the footwell air vents
regardless of the air distribution setting.
Note:To reduce humidity build-up inside your vehicle, do not drive with
the system switched off or with recirculated air always switched on.
Note:Do not place objects under the front seats as this may interfere
with the airflow to the rear seats.
Note:Remove any snow, ice or leaves from the air intake area at the
base of the windshield.
Note:To reduce fogging of the windshield during humid weather, adjust
the air distribution control to the windshield air vents position. Increase
the temperature and fan speed to improve clearing if required.
Heating the Interior Quickly
1 Adjust the fan speed to the highest speed setting.
2 Adjust the temperature control to the highest setting.
3 Adjust the air distribution control to the footwell air vents
position.
Recommended Settings for Heating
1 Adjust the fan speed to the second speed setting.
2 Adjust the temperature control to the midway point of the hot
settings.
3 Adjust the air distribution control to the footwell and
windshield air vents position.
A/C
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Rear Seat Outboard Head Restraints
The head restraints consist of:
A. An energy absorbing head restraint
B. Two steel stems
C. Guide sleeve adjust and release button
D. Guide sleeve unlock and remove button
Adjusting the Head Restraint
Raise: Pull up the head restraint.
Lower:
1. Press and hold button C.
2. Push the head restraint down.
Remove:
For the front row head restraints, use a push tool, such as a key, to press
the unlock and remove button located on the side of the guide sleeve
and, at the same time, press the adjust and release button, then pull the
head restraint up.
1. Pull up the head restraint until it reaches the highest adjustment
position.
2. Press and hold buttons C and D.
3. Pull the head restraint up.
Install: Align the steel stems into the guide sleeves and push the head
restraint down until it locks.
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WARNING:Reclining the seat back can cause an occupant to
slide under the seat’s safety belt, resulting in severe personal
injuries in the event of a collision.
Manual Lumbar
The lumbar control is located on
the inboard side of the seat back.
Turn the control to adjust your
support.
REAR SEATS
Folding Down the Rear Seat (if equipped)
One or both rear seat backs can be folded down to provide additional
cargo space.
To lower a single seat back:
1. Remove the head restraint(s).
Note:Place the head restraint
underneath the back of the front
seat for storage.
2. Pull down the lever on the side of
the seat back.
3. Push the seat back forward.
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