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.
E70710
• High back booster seatsIf, 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.
E142596
20
Child Safety
E142597
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.
INSTALLING CHILD SEATS
Child Seats
E142594
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
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 seat upon which the
child seat is installed all the way back.
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.
21
Child Safety
E142530
3. While holding the shoulder and lapbelt 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.
E142531
4. Insert the belt tongue into theproper 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.
E142875
5. To put the retractor in theautomatic 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.
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.
E142533
23
Child Safety
E142530
3. While holding the shoulder and lapbelt 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.
E146523
4. Insert the belt tongue into theproper 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.
E146524
5. To put the retractor in theautomatic locking mode, grasp the
grasp the lap portion of the
inflatable safety belt and pull
upward until all of the belt is pulled
out.
Note: The automatic locking mode is
available on the front passenger and
rear seats.
Note: Unlike the standard safety belt,
the inflatable safety belt's unique lap
portion locks the child seat for
installation. The ability for the shoulder
portion of the belt to move freely is
normal, even after the lap belt has
been put into the automatic locking
mode.
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.
25
Child Safety
E146525
8. Remove remaining slack from thebelt. Force the seat down with
extra weight, for example, by
pressing down or kneeling on the
child restraint while pulling down
on the lap 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 additionally help to
remove remaining slack from the
belt.
9. Attach the tether strap (if the child seat is equipped).
E142534
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
Certified Passenger Seat Technician.
Using Lower Anchors and
Tethers for CHildren (LATCH)
WARNINGS
Never attach two child safety
seats to the same anchor. In a
collision, one anchor may not be
strong enough to hold two child safety
seat attachments and may break,
causing serious injury or death.
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.
26
Child Safety
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.
E142535
Your vehicle has LATCH lower
anchors for child seat installation at
the seating positions marked with the
child seat symbol.
E144054
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.
27
Child Safety
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):
E142537
Perform the following steps to install
a child safety seat with tether
anchors:
28
Child Safety
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.
31
Safety Belts