2015 FORD TAURUS child seat

Using Tether StrapsMany 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 tether strap over the top of the head restraint.
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2. Locate the correct anchor for the
selected seating position.
3. Open the tether anchor cover.
4. Clip the tether strap to the
anchor as shown.
5. 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.
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PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
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: 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: Always drive and ride with your seatback upright
and the lap belt snug and low across the hips.
WARNING: To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
where they can be properly restrained.
WARNING: 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.
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.
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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 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).
• 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. See Safety belt warning
light and indicator chime later in this chapter.
• Crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. See Crash sensors and airbag indicator in the
Supplemental Restraint System chapter.
The safety belt pretensioners 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.
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Pregnant women should always
wear their safety belts. 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
WARNING: 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.
WARNING: The 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. 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.
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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 theChild Safetychapter.
How to Use the Automatic Locking Mode 1. Buckle the combination lap and shoulder
belt.
2. Grasp the shoulder portion and pull
downward until the entire belt is pulled out.
3. Allow the belt to retract. As the belt
retracts, you will hear a clicking sound. This
indicates the safety belt is now in the
automatic locking mode.
How to Disengage the Automatic Locking Mode
Unbuckle the combination lap and shoulder belt and allow it to retract
completely to disengage the automatic locking mode and activate the
vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
Safety Belt Extension Assembly
WARNING: Do not use extensions to change the fit of the
shoulder belt across the torso.
If the safety belt is too short when fully extended, you can obtain a
safety belt extension assembly from an authorized dealer.
Use only extensions manufactured by the same supplier as the safety
belt. Manufacturer identification is on a label located either at the end of
the webbing or on the retractor behind the trim. Also, use the safety belt
extension only if the safety belt is too short for you when fully extended.
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CHILD RESTRAINT AND SAFETY BELT MAINTENANCE
Inspect the vehicle safety belts and child safety seat systems periodically
to make sure they work properly and are not damaged. Inspect the
vehicle and child seat safety belts to make sure there are no nicks, tears
or cuts. Replace if necessary. All vehicle safety belt assemblies, including
retractors, buckles, front safety belt buckle assemblies, buckle support
assemblies (slide bar-if equipped), shoulder belt height adjusters (if
equipped), shoulder belt guide on seat back (if equipped), child safety
seat LATCH and tether anchors, and attaching hardware, should be
inspected after a crash. Read the child restraint manufacturer’s
instructions for additional inspection and maintenance information
specific to the child restraint.
Ford Motor Company recommends that all safety belt assemblies in use
in vehicles involved in a crash be replaced. However, if the crash was
minor and an authorized dealer finds that the belts do not show damage
and continue to operate properly, they do not need to be replaced.
Safety belt assemblies not in use during a crash should also be inspected
and replaced if either damage or improper operation is noted.
For proper care of soiled safety belts, seeCleaning the Interiorin the
Vehicle Care chapter.
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PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
WARNING:Airbags do not inflate slowly or gently, and the risk
of injury from a deploying airbag is the greatest close to the trim
covering the airbag module.
WARNING: 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.
WARNING: Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
WARNING: Never place your arm over the airbag module, as a
deploying airbag can result in serious arm fractures or other injuries.
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: Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the airbag
supplemental restraint systems or its fuses as you could be seriously
injured or killed. Contact your authorized dealer as soon as possible.
WARNING: Several airbag system components get hot after
inflation. Do not touch them after inflation as this may result in
serious injury.
WARNING: If the airbag has deployed, the airbag will not function
again and must be replaced immediately. If the airbag is not
replaced, the unrepaired area will increase the risk of injury in a crash.
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