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. 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). 27
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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. WARNINGS
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 toattach 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.
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Recommendations for attaching child safety restraints for children
Use any attachment method as indicated below by X
Combined weight of
child and child seat
Restraint Type
Safety belt only
Safety belt and
LATCH (lower
anchors and top tether anchor)
Safety belt and top
tether 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 141). CHILD SAFETY LOCKS
When these locks are set, the rear doors
cannot be opened from the inside.
35
MKC (TME), enUSA Child Safety
The childproof locks are located on the rear
edge of each rear door and must be set
separately for each door.
Left-Hand Side
Turn counterclockwise to lock and clockwise
to unlock. Right-Hand Side
Turn clockwise to lock and counterclockwise
to unlock.
36
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PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
WARNINGS
Always drive and ride with your
seatback 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. WARNINGS
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. 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. WARNINGS
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 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 safety belt)
• height adjuster at the front outboard
seating positions
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MKC (TME), enUSA Safety Belts
Using Safety Belts During Pregnancy
WARNING
Always ride and drive with your
seatback upright and the safety belt
properly fastened. The lap portion of the
safety belt should fit snug and be positioned
low across the hips. The shoulder portion of
the safety belt should be positioned across
the chest. Pregnant women should also
follow this practice. See the following figure. 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
approximately 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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MKC (TME), enUSA Safety BeltsE142590
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
23).
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.
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
turn on the vehicle sensitive (emergency)
locking mode.
How to Extract Safety Belts in the Rear
Outboard Positions
Safety belts in the rear outboard positions
can lock if the seatback is returned firmly to
its upright position. You can unlock the safety
belts using the following procedures.
For vehicles where the rear seats recline:
1. Recline the seat to its full rear recline
position.
2. The safety belt should then unlock.
3. Return the seatback to its desired upright
position.
For vehicles with rear seats that do not
recline or are locked with the seat in its full
rear recline position:
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1.
Grasp the safety belt webbing at the top
of the seatback.
2. Pull the safety belt webbing forward, firmly.
3. After pulling the safety belt forward, allow
the safety belt to feed back into the
safety belt retractor as much as possible.
If necessary, press the seatback down to
allow the safety belt webbing to retract
further.
4. The safety belt should then unlock.
5. If the safety belt does not unlock, repeat
steps 1-3.
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.
SAFETY BELT HEIGHT
ADJUSTMENT
WARNING
Position the safety belt height adjusters
so that the belt rests across the middle
of your shoulder. Failure to adjust the safety
belt correctly could reduce the effectiveness
of the safety belt and increase the risk of
injury in a crash. To adjust the shoulder belt height, squeeze
the button and slide the height adjuster up
or down. Release the button and pull down
on the height adjuster to make sure it is
locked in place.
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