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GENERAL INFORMATION
See the following sections for directions on how to properly use safety
restraints for children.
WARNING:Always make sure your child is secured properly in a
device that is appropriate for their height, age and weight. Child
safety restraints must be purchased separately from the vehicle. Failure
to follow these instructions and guidelines may result in an increased
risk of serious injury or death to your child.
WARNING:All children are shaped differently. The
recommendations for safety restraints are based on probable child
height, age and weight thresholds from NHTSA and other safety
organizations, or are the minimum requirements of law. Ford
recommends checking with a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger Safety
Technician (CPST) and consult your pediatrician to make sure your
child seat is appropriate for your child, and is compatible with and
properly installed in the vehicle. To locate a child seat fitting station
and CPST, contact the NHTSA toll free at 1-888-327-4236 or on the
internet at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov. In Canada, check with your local
St. John Ambulance office for referral to a CPST or for further
information, contact your provincial ministry of transportation, your
local St. John Ambulance office at http://www.sfa.ca, or Transport
Canada at 1–800–333–0371 (http://www.tc.gc.ca). Failure to properly
restrain children in safety seats made especially for their height, age,
and weight may result in an increased risk of serious injury or death to
your child.
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CHILD SEATS
Use a child safety seat (sometimes
called an infant carrier, convertible
seat, or toddler seat) for Infants,
toddlers or children weighing 40 lb
(18 kg) or less (generally age four
or younger)
CHILD SEAT POSITIONING
WARNING: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. When possible, all children age 12 and
under should be properly restrained in a rear seating position. If all
children cannot be seated and restrained properly in a rear seating
position, properly restrain the largest child in the front seat.
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.
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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.
Restraint
TypeChild
WeightUse any attachment method as indicated
below by X
LATCH
(lower
anchors
and
top
tether
anchor)LATCH
(lower
anchors
only)Safety
belt
and
top
tether
anchorSafety
belt and
LATCH
(lower
anchors
and top
tether
anchor)Safety
belt
only
Rear
facing
child seatUp to
48 lb
(21 kg)XX
Forward
facing
child seatUp to
48 lb
(21 kg)XXX
Forward
facing
child seatOver
48 lb
(21 kg)XX
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Note:The child seat must rest tightly against the vehicle seat. 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 collision.
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 lb (18 kg) and 80 lb (36 kg)
and upward to 100 lb (45 kg) if recommended by your child restraint
manufacturer). Many state and provincial laws require that children use
approved booster seats until they reach age eight, a height of 4 feet
9 inches (1.45 meters) tall, or 80 lb (36 kg).
Booster seats should be used until you can answer YES to ALL of these
questions when seated without a booster seat:
•Can the child sit all the way back
against the vehicle seat back 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 the vehicle lap/shoulder
belt.
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If the booster seat slides on the vehicle seat, placing a rubberized mesh
sold as shelf or carpet liner under the booster seat may improve this
condition. Do not introduce any item thicker than this under the booster
seat. Check with the booster seat manufacturer’s instructions.
INSTALLING CHILD SEATS WITH LAP AND SHOULDER BELTS
WARNING:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
NEVERplace 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
seat all the way back.
WARNING:Children 12 and under should be properly restrained
in the rear seat whenever possible.
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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.
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
prevent accidental unbuckling.
•Place the vehicle seat back in the upright position.
•Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer to Step 5.
This vehicle does not require the use of a locking clip.
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.
1. Position the child safety seat in a
seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
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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.
11. 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.
INSTALLING CHILD SAFETY SEATS WITH 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 (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.
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
below the symbols as shown. 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 toInstalling child safety seats with tether strapslater in this
chapter.
Attach LATCH lower attachments of the child seat only to the anchors
shown.
Use of Inboard Lower Anchors from the Outboard Seating
Positions (Center Seating Use)
WARNING:The standardized spacing for LATCH lower anchors
is 11 in. (28 cm) 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.
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