
WARNINGS
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. 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, which may
result in serious injury or death. Never use pillows, books, or towels
to boost a child. They can slide
around and increase the likelihood of
injury or death in a crash. WARNINGS
Always restrain an unoccupied child
seat or booster seat. These objects
may become projectiles in a crash or
sudden stop, which may increase the risk
of serious injury. 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 crash. To avoid risk of injury, do not leave
children or pets unattended in your
vehicle. Use any attachment method as indicated below by X
Combined
child and
seat weight
Restraint
Type Safety belt
only
Safety belt
and LATCH (lower
anchors and top tether
anchor)
Safety belt
and toptether
anchor
LATCH
(lower
anchors only)
LATCH
(lower
anchors and top tether
anchor)
X
X
Up to 65 lb
(29 kg)
Rear
facing
child seat
X
Over 65 lb
(29 kg)
Rear
facing
child seat
X
X
X
Up to 65 lb
(29 kg)
Forward
facing
child seat
X
X
Over 65 lb
(29 kg)
Forward
facing
child seat
27
MKZ (CC9) Child Safety

Note:
The child seat must rest tightly
against the vehicle seat upon which it is
installed. It may be necessary to lift or
remove the head restraint. See Seats
(page 129).
CHILD SAFETY LOCKS
When these locks are set, the rear doors
cannot be opened from the inside. The childproof locks are located on the
rear edge of each rear door and must be
set separately for each door.
Left-Hand Side
Turn counterclockwise to lock and
clockwise to unlock.
Right-Hand Side
Turn clockwise to lock and
counterclockwise to unlock.
28
MKZ (CC9) Child SafetyE112197

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. WARNINGS
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. 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).
29
MKZ (CC9) Safety Belts

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. 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 vehicle sensitive
locking mode. The front outboard
passenger and rear seat safety belts have
both the vehicle sensitive locking mode
and the automatic locking mode.
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.
31
MKZ (CC9) Safety BeltsE142590

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 14).
How to Use the Automatic Locking Mode
Non-inflatable safety belts 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 inflatable safety belts
(second row only–if equipped) 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.
32
MKZ (CC9) Safety BeltsE142591 E146363

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.
How does the rear inflatable safety belt
system work?
The rear inflatable safety belts will function
like standard restraints in everyday usage. During a crash of sufficient force, the
inflatable belt will inflate from inside the
webbing.
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. 33
MKZ (CC9) Safety BeltsE146364 E146365

1. Turn the ignition on. Do not start the
vehicle.
2. Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off (about one minute). After Step
2, wait an additional five seconds
before proceeding with Step 3. Once
Step 3 is started, the procedure must
be completed within 30 seconds.
3. For the seating position being disabled, buckle then unbuckle the
safety belt three times at a moderate
speed, ending in the unbuckled state.
After Step 3, the safety belt warning
light will turn on.
4. While the safety belt warning light is on, buckle and then unbuckle the
safety belt. After Step 4, the safety belt
warning light will flash for confirmation.
• This will disable the feature for that
seating position if it is currently
enabled.
• This will enable the feature for that
seating position if it is currently
disabled.
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), rear inflatable safety
belts (if equipped), child safety seat LATCH
and tether anchors, and attaching
hardware, should be inspected after a
collision. 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 collision be replaced.
However, if the collision 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
collision should also be inspected and
replaced if either damage or improper
operation is noted.
Properly care for safety belts. See Vehicle
Care (page 268).
37
MKZ (CC9) Safety Belts

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
WARNINGS
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. 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. Always transport children 12 years
old and under in the back seat and
always properly use appropriate child
restraints. Failure to follow this could
seriously increase the risk of injury or
death. Never place your arm over the
airbag module as a deploying airbag
can result in serious arm fractures or other
injuries. 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. 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. Several airbag system components
get hot after inflation. To reduce the
risk of injury, do not touch them after
inflation. WARNINGS
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. The airbags are a supplemental restraint
system and are designed to work with the
safety belts to help protect the driver and
right front passenger from certain upper
body injuries. Airbags do not inflate slowly;
there is a risk of injury from a deploying
airbag.
Note:
You will hear a loud bang and see
a cloud of harmless powdery residue if an
airbag deploys. This is normal.
The airbags inflate and deflate rapidly
upon activation. After airbag deployment,
it is normal to notice a smoke-like,
powdery residue or smell the burnt
propellant. This may consist of cornstarch,
talcum powder (to lubricate the bag) or
sodium compounds (for example, baking
soda) that result from the combustion
process that inflates the airbag. Small
amounts of sodium hydroxide may be
present which may irritate the skin and
eyes, but none of the residue is toxic.
While the system is designed to help
reduce serious injuries, contact with a
deploying airbag may also cause abrasions
or swelling. Temporary hearing loss is also
a possibility as a result of the noise
associated with a deploying airbag.
Because airbags must inflate rapidly and
with considerable force, there is the risk
of death or serious injuries such as
fractures, facial and eye injuries or internal
injuries, particularly to occupants who are
39
MKZ (CC9) Supplementary Restraints System