2015 FORD EXPLORER Owners Manual

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.
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.
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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 upon which the child seat is installed 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.
•For second-row seating positions, the recliner may be adjusted slightly
to improve child seat fit. If needed, the head restraints may be
removed.
•For third-row seating positions, the head restraints may be stowed to
improve child seat fit. See theSeatschapter for information on folding
the head restraints.
•Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. See Step 5 below.
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.
Note:The lock-off device on some child restraints may not
accommodate the shoulder portion of the inflatable safety belt. Follow all
instructions provided by the manufacturer of the child restraint
regarding the necessary and proper use of the lock-off device. In some
instances these devices have been provided only for use in vehicles with
safety belt systems that would otherwise require a locking clip.
1. Position the child safety seat in a
seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
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USA(fus)

2. After positioning the child safety seat in the proper seating position,
do the following:
•Standard safety belt: pull down
on the shoulder belt and then
grasp the shoulder belt and lap
belt together behind the belt
tongue.
•Inflatable safety belt: grasp the
shoulder belt and lap belt together
behind the belt tongue.
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.
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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.
•Standard safety belt buckle
•Inflatable safety belt buckle
5. To put the retractor in the automatic locking mode, do the following;
•Standard safety belt: grasp the
shoulder portion of the belt and
pull downward until all of the
belt is pulled out.
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USA(fus)

•Inflatable safety belt: grasp the lap
portion of the inflatable safety belt
and pull upward until all of the belt
is pulled out.
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, repeat Steps 5 and 6.
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 (for standard safety belt) or pulling
down on the lap belt (for inflatable safety 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.
•Standard safety belt
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•Inflatable safety 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.
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.
Your vehicle has LATCH lower anchors for child seat installation at the
seating positions marked with the child seat symbol.
•Second-row bucket seats and
third-row passenger side
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