2014 FORD MUSTANG Owners Manual

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.
When installing a child safety seat with combination lap and 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.
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•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 upon which the child seat will be installed in
the upright position.
•Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. See 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 and 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.
2. Pull down on the shoulder belt
and then grasp the shoulder belt
and lap belt together.
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3. While holding the shoulder and
lap belt portions together, route the
tongue through the child seat
according to the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions. Be sure
the belt webbing is not twisted.
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.
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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.
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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.
WARNING:The center of the rear seat is not designed as a
seating position and is not equipped with safety belts. The
LATCH anchors were not designed to be used with a child seat in the
center position and there is no tether anchor available at the center.
Attempted use of the center as a seating position will increase the risk
of injury or death in the event of a crash.
The LATCH system is composed of three vehicle anchor points: two
lower anchors located where 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.
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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 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.
SeeUsing Tether Strapslater in this chapter.
Attach LATCH lower attachments of the child seat only to the anchors
shown.
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.
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The tether strap anchors in your
vehicle are in the following positions
(shown from top view):
Perform the following steps to attach a child safety seat to the tether
anchor:
For coupe:
1. 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 collision.
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 collision greatly increases.
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For convertible:
1. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the top of the head
restraint.
The tether anchors are located
rearward of the seat back in the
convertible top sling.
Note:For easier access, attach the
tether with the convertible top up.
Note:The attachments for the
convertible boot located on the back
of the head restraints are not tether
anchors.
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