2014 FORD FOCUS child restraint

CHILD RESTRAINT AND SAFETY BELT MAINTENANCE
Inspect the vehicle safety belts and child safety seat systems periodically
to make sure they work properly and are not damaged. Inspect the
vehicle and child seat safety belts to make sure there are no nicks,
tears or cuts. Replace if necessary. All vehicle safety belt assemblies,
including retractors, buckles, front safety belt buckle assemblies, buckle
support assemblies (slide bar-if equipped), shoulder belt height adjusters
(if equipped), shoulder belt guide on seat back (if equipped), child
safety seat LATCH and tether anchors, and attaching hardware, should
be inspected after a crash. Read the child restraint manufacturer’s
instructions for additional inspection and maintenance information
specific to the child restraint.
Ford Motor Company recommends that all safety belt assemblies in use
in vehicles involved in a crash be replaced. However, if the crash was
minor and an authorized dealer finds that the belts do not show damage
and continue to operate properly, they do not need to be replaced.
Safety belt assemblies not in use during a crash should also be inspected
and replaced if either damage or improper operation is noted.
For proper care of soiled safety belts, seeCleaning the Interiorin the
Vehicle Carechapter.
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PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
WARNING:Airbags do not inflate slowly or gently, and the risk
of injury from a deploying airbag is the greatest close to the trim
covering the airbag module.
WARNING:All occupants of your 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:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
WARNING:Never place your arm over the airbag module, as a
deploying airbag can result in serious arm fractures or other
injuries.
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 upon which the child seat is installed all the way back.
WARNING:Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the airbag
supplemental restraint systems or its fuses as you could be seriously
injured or killed. Contact your authorized dealer as soon as possible.
WARNING:Several airbag system components get hot after
inflation. Do not touch them after inflation as this may result in
serious injury.
WARNING:If the airbag has deployed, the airbag will not function
again and must be replaced immediately. If the airbag is not
replaced, the unrepaired area will increase the risk of injury in a crash.
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DRIVER AND PASSENGER AIRBAGS
WARNING:Never place your arm or any objects over an airbag
module. Placing your arm over a deploying airbag can result in
serious arm fractures or other injuries. Objects placed on or over the
airbag inflation area may cause those objects to be propelled by the
airbag into your face and torso causing serious injury.
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 upon which the child seat is installed all the way back.
The driver and front passenger
airbags will deploy during significant
frontal and near-frontal crashes.
The driver and passenger front airbag system consists of:
•driver and passenger airbag modules
•crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. SeeCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorlater
in this chapter.
•front passenger sensing system
Proper Driver and Front Passenger Seating Adjustment
WARNING:The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
recommends a minimum distance of at least 10 inches
(25 centimeters) between an occupant’s chest and the driver airbag
module. Failure to follow this could seriously increase the risk of injury
or death.
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To properly position yourself away from the airbag:
•Move your seat to the rear as far as you can while still reaching the
pedals comfortably.
•Recline the seat slightly (one or two degrees) from the upright
position.
After all occupants have adjusted their seats and put on safety belts,
it is very important that they continue to sit properly. Properly seated
occupants sit upright, lean against the seat back, and center themselves
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.
Children and Airbags
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 upon which the child seat is installed all the way back.
Children must always be properly
restrained. Accident statistics
suggest that children are safer
when properly restrained in the rear
seating positions than in the front
seating position. Failure to follow
these instructions may increase the
risk of injury in a crash.
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FRONT PASSENGER SENSING SYSTEM
WARNING:Even with Advanced Restraints Systems, children 12
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:Sitting improperly out of position or with the seat
back reclined too far can take off weight from the seat cushion
and affect the decision of the front passenger sensing system, resulting
in serious injury or death in a crash.
Always sit upright against your seatback, with your feet on the floor.
WARNING:To reduce the risk of possible serious injury:
Do not stow objects in seat back map pocket (if equipped) or
hang objects off seat back if a child is in the front passenger seat.
Do not place objects underneath the front passenger seat or between
the seat and the center console (if equipped).
Check the passenger airbag off or pass airbag off indicator lamp for
proper airbag Status.
Failure to follow these instructions may interfere with the passenger
seat sensing system.
WARNING:Any alteration or modification to the front passenger
seat may affect the performance of the front passenger sensing
system.
This system works with sensors that are part of the front passenger’s
seat and safety belt to detect the presence of a properly seated occupant
and determine if the front passenger’s frontal airbag should be enabled
(may inflate) or not.
The front passenger sensing system
uses a pass airbag off indicator
which will illuminate and stay lit to
remind you that the front passenger
frontal airbag is disabled.
PASS AIR
BAG
OFF
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The indicator lamp is located under the climate controls. The indicator
lamp will illuminate for a short period of time when the ignition is turned
to the on position to confirm it is functional.
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.
The front passenger sensing system is designed to disable (will not
inflate) the front passenger’s frontal airbag when the front passenger
seat is unoccupied, or a rear facing infant seat, a forward-facing child
restraint, or a booster seat is detected. Even with this technology,
parents arestronglyencouraged to always properly restrain children in
the rear seat. The sensor also turns off the passenger front airbag and
seat-mounted side airbag when the passenger seat is empty.
•When the front passenger sensing system disables (will not inflate)
the front passenger frontal airbag, the passenger airbag status
indicator will illuminate the OFF lamp and stay lit to remind you that
the front passenger frontal airbag is disabled.
•If the child restraint has been installed and the indicator lamp is not
lit, then turn the vehicle off, remove the child restraint from the
vehicle and reinstall the restraint following the child restraint
manufacturer’s instructions.
The front passenger sensing system is designed to enable (may inflate)
the front passenger’s frontal airbag anytime the system senses that a
person of adult size is sitting properly in the front passenger seat.
•When the front passenger sensing system enables the front passenger
frontal airbag (may inflate), the indicator will be unlit and stay unlit.
If a person of adult size is sitting in the front passenger’s seat, but the
pass airbag off indicator lamp is lit, it is possible that the person isn’t
sitting properly in the seat. If this happens:
•Turn the vehicle off and ask the person to place the seat back in the
full upright position.
•Have the person sit upright in the seat, centered on the seat cushion,
with the person’s legs comfortably extended.
•Restart the vehicle and have the person remain in this position for
about two minutes. This will allow the system to detect that person
and enable the passenger’s frontal airbag.
•If the indicator lamp remains lit even after this, the person should be
advised to ride in the rear seat.
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OccupantPass Airbag Off
Indicator LampPassenger Airbag
Empty Unlit Disabled
Child Lit Disabled
Adult Unlit Enabled
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.
If you think that the status of the passenger airbag off indicator lamp is
incorrect, check for the following:
•Objects lodged underneath the seat
•Objects between the seat cushion and the center console
•Objects hanging off the seat back
•Objects stowed in the seatback map pocket
•Objects placed on the occupant’s lap
•Cargo interference with the seat
•Other passengers pushing or pulling on the seat
•Rear passenger feet and knees resting or pushing on the seat
The conditions listed above may cause the weight of a properly seated
occupant to be incorrectly interpreted by the passenger sensing system.
The person in the front passenger seat may appear heavier or lighter due
to the conditions described in the list above.
To know if the front passenger sensing system is operating
properly, seeCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorlater in this
chapter.
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•a flexible headliner which opens above the side doors to allow side air
curtain deployment.
•crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. SeeCrash sensors and Airbag Indicatorlater in
this chapter.
Children 12 years old and under should always be properly restrained in
the back seats. The side curtain airbags will not interfere with children
restrained using a properly installed child or booster seat because it is
designed to inflate downward from the headliner above the doors along
the side window opening.
The design and development of the side curtain airbags included
recommended testing procedures that were developed by a group of
automotive safety experts known as the Side Airbag Technical Working
Group. These recommended testing procedures help reduce the risk of
injuries related to the deployment of side curtain airbags.
CRASH SENSORS AND AIRBAG INDICATOR
WARNING:Modifying or adding equipment to the front end of
your vehicle (including frame, bumper, front end body structure
and tow hooks) may affect the performance of the airbag system,
increasing the risk of injury. Do not modify the front end of your vehicle.
Your vehicle has a collection of crash and occupant sensors which
provide information to the restraints control module which deploys
(activates) the front safety belt pretensioners, driver airbag, passenger
airbag, knee airbag, seat mounted side airbags, and the side curtain
airbags. Based on the type of crash (frontal impact or side impact) the
restraints control module will deploy the appropriate safety devices.
The restraints control module also monitors the readiness of the above
safety devices plus the crash and occupant sensors. The readiness of the
safety system is indicated by a warning indicator light in the instrument
cluster or by a backup tone if the warning light is not working. See the
Instrument Clusterchapter. Routine maintenance of the airbag is not
required.
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