2015 FORD FLEX Owners Manual

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 crash.
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 (8), 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 the child is seated without a booster seat.
•Can the child sit all the way
back against their vehicle seat
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?
Always use booster seats in conjunction with your vehicle lap and
shoulder belt.
32Child Safety
2015 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2014
USA(fus)

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 seatback 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 seatback 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.
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2015 Flex(471)
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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.
34Child Safety
2015 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2014
USA(fus)

CHILD SEAT POSITIONING
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
vehicle seat upon which the child seat is installed all the way 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.
WARNING: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 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.
WARNING: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.
WARNING: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.
WARNING: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.
Child Safety35
2015 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2014
USA(fus)

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 crash.
WARNING:To avoid risk of injury, do not leave children or pets
unattended in your vehicle.
Recommendations for attaching child safety restraints for
children
Restraint
TypeCom-
bined
weight
of child
and child
seatUse any attachment method as indicated be-
low by X.
LATCH
(lower
anchors
and top
tether
anchor)LATCH
(lower
anchors
only)Safety
belt
and
top
tether
anchorSafety
belt and
LATCH
(lower
anchors
and top
tether
anchor)Safety
belt
only
Rear-facing
child seatUp to
65 lb
(29.5 kg)XX
Rear-facing
child seatOver
65 lb
(29.5 kg)X
Forward-
facing child
seatUp to
65 lb
(29.5 kg)XXX
Forward-
facing child
seatOver
65 lb
(29.5 kg)XX
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 theSeatschapter for information on head restraints.
36Child Safety
2015 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2014
USA(fus)

CHILD SAFETY LOCKS
The childproof locks are located on the rear edge of each rear door and
must be set separately for each door. Setting the lock for one door will
not automatically set the lock for both doors.
•Insert the key and turn to the
lock position (key horizontal) to
engage the childproof locks.
•Insert the key and turn to the
unlock position (key vertical) to
disengage the childproof locks.
When these locks are set, the rear
doors cannot be opened from the
inside.
The rear doors can be opened from
the outside when the childproof
door locks are set, but the doors are
unlocked.
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PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
WARNING:Always drive and ride with your seatback upright
and the lap belt snug and low across the hips.
WARNING:Never let a passenger hold a child on his or her lap
while the vehicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the
child from injury in a crash, which may result in serious injury or death.
WARNING:To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
where they can be properly restrained.
WARNING:All occupants of the 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.
WARNING:Do not allow people to travel in any area of your
vehicle that does not have seats and safety belts. Riding in a
cargo area, inside or outside of the vehicle, is extremely dangerous. In a
crash, people riding in these areas are more likely to be seriously
injured or killed. Make sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and
using a safety belt correctly. Failure to follow this warning could result
in serious personal injury or death.
WARNING:In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
significantly more likely to die than a person wearing a safety
belt.
WARNING: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.
38Safety Belts
2015 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2014
USA(fus)

WARNING: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.
WARNING: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.
WARNING:Front and rear seat occupants, including pregnant
women, should wear safety belts for optimum protection in an
accident.
All seating positions in this 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 and
rear inflatable safety belt).
•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. SeeSafety Belt
Warning Light and Indicator Chimelater in this chapter.
•Crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. SeeCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorin the
Supplemental Restraint Systemchapter.
The safety belt pretensioners and rear inflatable safety belts are designed
to activate in frontal, near-frontal and side crashes, and in rollovers. The
safety belt pretensioners at the front seating positions are designed to
tighten the safety belts firmly against the occupant’s body when
activated. This helps increase the effectiveness of the safety belts. In
frontal crashes, the safety belt pretensioners can be activated alone or, if
the crash is of sufficient severity, together with the front airbags.
Safety Belts39
2015 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2014
USA(fus)