2014 LINCOLN MKZ HYBRID Owners Manual

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): 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. 23
MKZ (CC9) Child Safety E142537 E144274

2. Locate the correct anchor for the
selected seating position, then open
the tether anchor cover. 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.
BOOSTER SEATS WARNING
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 collision. Note:
Some booster seat safety belt
guides may not accommodate the
shoulder portion of the inflatable safety
belt. Use a belt-positioning booster seat for
children who have outgrown or no longer
properly fit in a child safety seat (generally
children who are less than 4 feet 9 inches
(1.45 meters) tall, are greater than age four
(4) and less than age twelve (12), and
between 40 pounds (18 kilograms) and 80
pounds (36 kilograms) and upward to 100
pounds (45 kilograms) if recommended by
your child restraint manufacturer). Many
state and provincial laws require that
children use approved booster seats until
they reach age eight, a height of 4 feet 9
inches (1.45 meters) tall, or 80 pounds (36
kilograms).
Booster seats should be used until you
can answer YES to ALL of these questions
when seated without a booster seat:
•
Can the child sit all the way back
against their vehicle seat back with
knees bent comfortably at the edge of
the seat cushion?
• Can the child sit without slouching?
• Does the lap belt rest low across the
hips?
• Is the shoulder belt centered on the
shoulder and chest?
• Can the child stay seated like this for
the whole trip?
24
MKZ (CC9) Child SafetyE144275 E142595

Always use booster seats in conjunction
with your vehicle lap and shoulder belt.
Types of Booster Seats
•
Backless booster seats
If your backless booster seat has a
removable shield, remove the shield. If a
vehicle seating position has a low seat
back or no head restraint, a backless
booster seat may place your child's head
(as measured at the tops of the ears)
above the top of the seat. In this case,
move the backless booster to another
seating position with a higher seat back
or head restraint and lap and shoulder
belts, or consider using a high back
booster seat. •
High back booster seats
If, with a backless booster seat, you cannot
find a seating position that adequately
supports your child's head, a high back
booster seat would be a better choice.
Children and booster seats vary in size
and shape. Choose a booster that keeps
the lap belt low and snug across the hips,
never up across the stomach, and lets you
adjust the shoulder belt to cross the chest
and rest snugly near the center of the
shoulder. The following drawings compare
the ideal fit (center) to a shoulder belt
uncomfortably close to the neck and a
shoulder belt that could slip off the
shoulder. The drawings also show how the
lap belt should be low and snug across
the child's hips.
25
MKZ (CC9) Child SafetyE68924 E70710

If the booster seat slides on the vehicle
seat upon which it is being used, placing
a rubberized mesh sold as shelf or carpet
liner under the booster seat may improve
this condition. Do not introduce any item
thicker than this under the booster seat.
Check with the booster seat
manufacturer's instructions.
CHILD SEAT POSITIONING
WARNINGS
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 vehicle seat upon
which the child seat is installed all the way WARNINGS
back. When possible, all children age 12
and under should be properly restrained
in a rear seating position. If all children
cannot be seated and restrained properly
in a rear seating position, properly restrain
the largest child in the front seat. Always carefully follow the
instructions and warnings provided
by the manufacturer of any child restraint
to determine if the restraint device is
appropriate for your child's size, height,
weight, or age. Follow the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions and warnings
provided for installation and use in
conjunction with the instructions and
warnings provided by your vehicle
26
MKZ (CC9) Child SafetyE142596 E142597

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

•
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. •
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. 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. 2. To unfasten, press the release button
and remove the tongue from the
buckle.
30
MKZ (CC9) Safety Belts E142587 E142588