2015 FORD ESCAPE remove seats

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.
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. 22
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Child SafetyE142530 E142531 E142875 E142533

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 additionally help
to remove remaining slack from the
belt.
9. Attach the tether strap (if the child seat
is equipped). 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 crash, 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. 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.
23
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Child SafetyE142534

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. 2. Locate the correct anchor on the back
panel of the rear seat for the selected
seating position. The anchors are
labeled with the tether strap symbol
and are partially covered by the gap
panel. Pull the panel back to fully
expose the anchors.
25
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Child Safety E142537 E142538

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. 27
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Child SafetyE68924 E70710 E142596

Recommendations for attaching child safety restraints for children
Use any attachment method as indicated below by X
Combined
weight ofchild and
child seat
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
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
111).
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.
29
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Child SafetyE112197

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 about 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 19).
33
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Safety BeltsE142590

•
When the front passenger sensing
system disables (will not inflate) the
front passenger frontal airbag, the
passenger airbag status indicator will
illuminate and stay lit to remind you
that the front passenger frontal airbag
is disabled.
• If the passenger airbag status indicator
lamp indicates the passenger airbag is
enabled, after the child restraint has
been installed, turn the vehicle off,
remove the child restraint from the
vehicle and reinstall the restraint
following the child restraint
manufacturer ’s instructions.
• If the passenger airbag status indicator
lamp continues to indicate the
passenger airbag is enabled, the child
should be properly restrained in a rear
seating position.
The front passenger sensing system works
with sensors that are part of the front
passenger seat and safety belt. The
sensors are designed to detect the
presence of a properly –seated occupant
and determine if the front passenger
frontal airbag should be enabled.
• When the front passenger sensing
system enables the front passenger
frontal airbag (may inflate), the
passenger airbag status indicator will
not illuminate.
If a person of adult size is sitting in the front
passenger seat, but the passenger airbag
is disabled, it is possible that the person is
not sitting properly in the seat. If this
happens:
• Turn the vehicle off and ask the person
to place the seatback in the full upright
position.
• Have the person sit upright in the seat,
centered on the seat cushion, with the
person's legs comfortably extended. •
Restart the vehicle and have the person
remain in this position for about two
minutes. This will allow the system to
detect that person and enable the
passenger ’s frontal airbag.
• If the passenger airbag status indicator
lamp remains lit even after this, the
person should be advised to ride in the
rear seat.
Note: When the passenger airbag status
indicator lamp is illuminated, the passenger
side airbag (seat mounted) may be disabled
to avoid the risk of airbag deployment
injuries.
After all occupants have adjusted their
seats and put on safety belts, it is very
important that they continue to sit
properly. A properly seated occupant sits
upright, leaning against the seatback, and
centered on the seat cushion, with their
feet comfortably extended on the floor.
Sitting improperly can increase the chance
of injury in a crash event. For example, if
an occupant slouches, lies down, turns
sideways, sits forward, leans forward or
sideways, or puts one or both feet up, the
chance of injury during a crash is greatly
increased.
If you think that the status of the passenger
airbag off indicator lamp is incorrect, check
for the following:
• Objects lodged underneath the seat.
• Objects between the seat cushion and
the center console.
• Objects hanging off the seatback.
• Objects stowed in the seatback map
pocket.
• Objects placed on the occupant's lap.
• Cargo interference with the seat.
• Other passengers pushing or pulling on
the seat.
• Rear passenger feet and knees resting
or pushing on the seat.
42
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Supplementary Restraints System

The conditions listed above may cause the
weight of a properly seated occupant to
be incorrectly interpreted by the passenger
sensing system. The person in the front
passenger seat may appear heavier or
lighter due to the conditions described in
the list above.
Make sure the front passenger
sensing system is operating
properly. See Crash Sensors
and Airbag Indicator (page 46).
If the airbag readiness lamp is lit, do
the following:
Check for objects that are lodged
underneath the front passenger seat, or
cargo interfering with the seat.
If there are lodged objects, or cargo is
interfering with the seat, take the following
steps to remove the obstruction:
• Pull the vehicle over.
• Turn the vehicle off.
• Driver or adult passengers should
check for any objects lodged
underneath the front passenger seat
or cargo interfering with the seat.
• Remove the obstruction(s) (if found).
• Restart the vehicle.
• Wait at least two minutes and verify
that the airbag readiness lamp is no
longer illuminated.
• If the airbag readiness lamp remains
illuminated, this may or may not be a
problem due to the front passenger
sensing system.
Do not attempt to repair or service the
system; take your vehicle immediately to
an authorized dealer.
If it is necessary to modify an advanced
front airbag system to accommodate a
person with disabilities, contact your
authorized dealer. SIDE AIRBAGS WARNINGS
Do not place objects or mount
equipment on or near the airbag
cover, on the side of the seatbacks
(of the front seats), or in front seat areas
that may come into contact with a
deploying airbag. Failure to follow these
instructions may increase the risk of
personal injury in the event of a crash. Do not use accessory seat covers.
The use of accessory seat covers
may prevent the deployment of the
side airbags and increase the risk of injury
in an accident. Do not lean your head on the door.
The side airbag could injure you as it
deploys from the side of the
seatback. Do not attempt to service, repair, or
modify the airbag, its fuses or the
seat cover on a seat containing an
airbag as you could be seriously injured or
killed. Contact your authorized dealer as
soon as possible. If the side airbag has deployed, the
airbag will not function again. The
side airbag system (including the
seat) must be inspected and serviced by
an authorized dealer. If the airbag is not
replaced, the unrepaired area will increase
the risk of injury in a crash. The side airbags are located on the
outboard side of the seatbacks of the front
seats. In certain sideways crashes, the
airbag on the side affected by the crash
will be inflated. The airbag was designed
to inflate between the door panel and
occupant to further enhance the protection
provided occupants in side impact crashes.
43
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Supplementary Restraints System