Page 25 of 473

The LATCH anchors are located at the rear
section of the rear seat between the
cushion and seat back 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.
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 inches (28
centimeters) 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.
The lower anchors at the center of the
second row rear seat are spaced 18 inches
(46 centimeters) apart. A child seat with
rigid LATCH attachments cannot be
installed at the center seating position.
LATCH compatible child seats (with
attachments on belt webbing) can only be
used at this seating position provided that
the child seat manufacturer's instructions
permit use with the anchor spacing stated.
Do not attach a child seat to any lower
anchor if an adjacent child seat is attached
to that anchor.
Each time you use the safety seat, check
that the seat is properly attached to the
lower anchors and tether anchor, if
applicable. Tug the child seat from side to
side and forward and back where it is
secured to your vehicle. The seat should
move less than one inch when you do this
for a proper installation. If the safety seat is not anchored properly,
the risk of a child being injured in a crash
greatly increases.
Combining Safety Belt and LATCH
Lower Anchors for Attaching Child
Safety Seats
When used in combination, either the
safety belt or the LATCH lower anchors
may be attached first, provided a proper
installation is achieved. Attach the tether
strap afterward, if included with the child
seat.
Using Tether Straps Many forward-facing child safety
seats include a tether strap
which extends from the back of
the child safety seat and hooks to an
anchoring point called the top tether
anchor. Tether straps are available as an
accessory for many older safety seats.
Contact the manufacturer of your child
seat for information about ordering a
tether strap, or to obtain a longer tether
strap if the tether strap on your safety seat
does not reach the appropriate top tether
anchor in your vehicle.
Once the child safety seat has been
installed using either the safety belt, the
lower anchors of the LATCH system, or
both, you can attach the top tether strap.
The tether strap anchors in your vehicle
are in the following positions (shown from
top view):
22Child Safety
Page 26 of 473

E142537
Perform the following steps to install a
child safety seat with tether anchors:
Note: If you install a child seat with rigid
LATCH attachments, do not tighten the
tether strap enough to lift the child seat off
your vehicle seat cushion when the child is
seated in it. Keep the tether strap just snug
without lifting the front of the child seat.
Keeping the child seat just touching your
vehicle seat gives the best protection in a
severe crash.
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. If
needed, the head restraints can also
be removed.
E144274
2. Locate the correct anchor for the
selected seating position, then open
the tether anchor cover. E144275
3. Clip the tether strap to the anchor as
shown.
4. Tighten the child safety seat tether
strap according to the manufacturer's
instructions. 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 When these locks are set, the rear doors
cannot be opened from the inside.
E112197
The childproof locks are located on the
rear edge of each rear door and must be
set separately for each door.
23Child Safety
Page 27 of 473
Left-Hand Side Turn counterclockwise to lock and
clockwise to unlock.
Right-Hand Side Turn clockwise to lock and
counterclockwise to unlock.
24Child Safety
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PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION WARNINGS
Always drive and ride with your seat
back upright and the lap belt snug
and low across the hips.
To reduce the risk of injury, make
sure children sit where they can be
properly restrained.
Never let a passenger hold a child on
his or her lap while your vehicle is
moving. The passenger cannot
protect the child from injury in a crash.
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.
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.
In a rollover crash, an unbelted
person is significantly more likely to
die than a person wearing a safety
belt.
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. WARNINGS
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.
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.
Front and rear seat occupants,
including pregnant women, should
wear safety belts for optimum
protection in an accident.
All seating positions in your 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.
25Safety Belts
Page 29 of 473

• Crash sensors and monitoring system
with readiness indicator.
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.
FASTENING THE SAFETY
BELTS Standard belts shown, inflatable belts
similar
The front outboard and rear safety
restraints in the vehicle are combination
lap and shoulder belts.
E142587
1. Insert the belt tongue into the proper
buckle (the buckle closest to the
direction the tongue is coming from)
until you hear a snap and feel it latch.
Make sure you securely fasten the
tongue in the buckle. E142588
2. To unfasten, press the release button
and remove the tongue from the
buckle.
Restraint of Pregnant Women WARNING
Always ride and drive with your
seatback 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.
E142590
26Safety Belts
Page 30 of 473

Pregnant women should always wear their
safety belt. 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 WARNINGS
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.
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 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, except a booster, is installed
in passenger front or rear seating positions.
Children 12 years old and under should be
properly restrained in a rear seating
position whenever possible. See Child
Safety (page 13).
How to Use the Automatic Locking
Mode
Non-inflatable safety belts
27Safety Belts
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E142591
1. Buckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt.
2. Grasp the shoulder portion and pull
downward until the entire belt is pulled
out. As the belt retracts, you will hear
a clicking sound. This indicates the
safety belt is now in the automatic
locking mode.
Rear outboard infl atable s afety belts
(second row only–if equipped)
E146363
1. Buckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt.
2. Grasp the lap portion of the belt and
pull upward until the entire belt is
pulled out.
3. 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. How to Disengage the Automatic
Locking Mode
Unbuckle 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.
Rear Inflatable Safety Belt (If
Equipped)
WARNING
Do not attempt to service, repair, or
modify the rear inflatable safety belt.
The rear inflatable safety belts are fitted
in the shoulder portion of the safety belts
of the second-row outboard seating
positions.
Note: The rear inflatable safety belts are
compatible with most infant and child
safety car seats and belt positioning booster
seats when properly installed. This is
because they are designed to fill with a
cooled gas at a lower pressure and at a
slower rate than traditional airbags. After
inflation, the shoulder portion of the safety
belt remains cool to the touch.
The rear inflatable safety belt consists of
the following:
• An inflatable bag located in the
shoulder safety belt webbing.
• Lap safety belt webbing with
automatic locking mode.
• The same warning light, electronic
control and diagnostic unit as used for
the front safety belts.
• Impact sensors located in various parts
of the vehicle.
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How does the rear inflatable safety belt
system work?
The rear inflatable safety belts will
function like standard restraints in
everyday usage. E146364
During a crash of sufficient force, the
inflatable belt will inflate from inside the
webbing.
E146365
The fully inflated belt's increased diameter
more effectively holds the occupant in the
appropriate seating position, and spreads
crash forces over more area of the body
than regular safety belts. This helps reduce
pressure on the chest and helps control
head and neck motion for passengers. WARNING
If the rear inflatable safety belt has
deployed, it will not function again.
The rear inflatable safety belt system
must be replaced by an authorized dealer.
The rear inflatable safety belts are
designed to inflate in frontal or near-frontal
crashes and some side impact crashes.
The fact that the rear inflatable safety belt
did not inflate in a crash does not mean
that something is wrong with the system.
Rather, it means the forces were not of the
type sufficient to cause activation.
Safety Belt Extension Assembly WARNINGS
Do not use extensions to change the
fit of the shoulder belt across the
torso.
Do not use extensions with an
inflatable safety belt.
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. A
safety belt extension is not available for
the inflatable safety belt. Also, use the
safety belt extension only if the safety belt
is too short for you when fully extended.
29Safety Belts