2014 FORD FOCUS child restraint

INSTALLING CHILD SEATS
Child Seats
Use a child safety seat (sometimes
called an infant carrier, convertible
seat, or toddler seat) for infants,
toddlers or children weighing
40 pounds (18 kilograms) or less
(generally age four or younger).
Using Lap and Shoulder Belts
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
seat all the way back.
WARNING:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in the rear
seat whenever possible.
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.
24Child Safety
2014 Focus(foc)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2012
USA(fus)

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.
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 provide extra 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 to make certain the child restraint is properly installed.
In Canada, check with your local St. John Ambulance office for referral
to a Child Passenger Safety Technician.
Child Safety27
2014 Focus(foc)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2012
USA(fus)

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.
The LATCH system is composed of three vehicle anchor points: two
lower anchors located where your 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.
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.
28Child Safety
2014 Focus(foc)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2012
USA(fus)

Four door
1. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the back of the seat.
For outboard seating positions, route the tether strap under the head
restraint and between the head restraint posts. For the center seating
positions, route the tether strap over the top of the head restraint.
2. Locate the correct anchor for
the selected seating position.
3. Open the tether anchor cover.
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 crash.
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 crash 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 Safety31
2014 Focus(foc)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2012
USA(fus)

Five door
1. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the back of the seat.
For outboard seating positions, route the tether strap under the head
restraint and between the head restraint posts. For the center seating
position, route the tether strap over the top of the head restraint.
2. Locate the correct anchor for
the selected seating position.
3. 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 crash.
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 crash 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.
32Child Safety
2014 Focus(foc)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2012
USA(fus)

PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
WARNING:Always drive and ride with your seatback upright
and the lap belt snug and low across the hips.
WARNING:To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
where they can be properly restrained.
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.
WARNING:All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver,
should always properly wear their safety belts, even when an
airbag supplemental restraint system is provided. Failure to properly
wear your safety belt could seriously increase the risk of injury or
death.
WARNING:It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a crash, people riding in these
areas are more likely to be seriously injured or killed. Do not allow
people to ride in any area of your vehicle that is not equipped with
seats and safety belts. Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and
using a safety belt properly.
WARNING:In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
significantly more likely to die than a person wearing a safety
belt.
WARNING:Each seating position in your vehicle has a specific
safety belt assembly which is made up of one buckle and one
tongue that are designed to be used as a pair. 1) Use the shoulder belt
on the outside shoulder only. Never wear the shoulder belt under the
arm. 2) Never swing the safety belt around your neck over the inside
shoulder. 3) Never use a single belt for more than one person.
34Safety Belts
2014 Focus(foc)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2012
USA(fus)

WARNING:When possible, all children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in a rear seating position. Failure
to follow this could seriously increase the risk of injury or death.
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 Restraints Systemchapter.
The safety belt pretensioners at the front seating positions are designed
to tighten the safety belts when activated. In frontal and near-frontal
crashes, the safety belt pretensioners may be activated alone or, if the
crash is of sufficient severity, together with the front airbags. The
pretensioners may also activate when a side curtain airbag is deployed.
Safety Belts35
2014 Focus(foc)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2012
USA(fus)

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 crash, 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:The 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 crashes.
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 about 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.
Safety Belts37
2014 Focus(foc)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2012
USA(fus)