
Child Seat Positioning for LATCH Lower
Anchors
All the LATCH lower anchors are equally
spaced, 11 inches (28 centimeters) apart,
allowing for the following child seat
positioning:
•
If a single child seat is installed using the
LATCH lower anchors, it can be installed
at any rear seating position.
• If two child safety seats are installed
using the LATCH lower anchors, they
must be placed in the outboard seating
positions only.
• If three child safety seats are installed,
you can install two using the LATCH
lower anchors by placing them in each
outboard seating position and the third
in the center using the lap and shoulder
belt, OR you can use the LATCH lower
anchors for the center child safety seat
and the lap and shoulder belts for the
other two child safety seats in the
outboard positions. Use the tether
anchors if applicable. 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.
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2.
Locate the correct anchor for the selected
seating position, then open the tether
anchor cover. 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. 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. 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, 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
seated without a booster seat:
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•
Can the child sit all the way back against
their vehicle seat back 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. 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
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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 109).
CHILD SAFETY LOCKS
When these locks are set, the rear doors
cannot be opened from the inside.
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PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
WARNINGS
Always drive and ride with your seat
back 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.
Failure to properly wear your safety belt could
seriously increase the risk of injury or death. 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. WARNINGS
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. Failure to
follow this could seriously increase the risk
of injury or death. 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 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. •
Crash sensors and monitoring system
with readiness indicator.
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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. WARNINGS
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, 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
14).
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DRIVER AND PASSENGER
AIRBAGS
WARNINGS
Never place your arm or any objects
over an airbag module. Placing your
arm over a deploying airbag can result
in serious arm fractures or other injuries.
Objects placed on or over the airbag inflation
area may cause those objects to be propelled
by the airbag into your face and torso causing
serious injury. 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. The driver and front passenger airbags will
deploy during significant frontal and near
frontal crashes.
The driver and passenger front airbag system
consists of:
•
Driver and passenger airbag modules.
• Front passenger sensing system. · Crash sensors and monitoring
system with readiness indicator.
See Crash Sensors and Airbag
Indicator (page 43). Proper Driver and Front Passenger
Seating Adjustment WARNING
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) recommends
a minimum distance of at least 10
inches (25 centimeters) between an
occupant’ s chest and the driver airbag
module. To properly position yourself away from the
airbag:
•
Move your seat to the rear as far as you
can while still reaching the pedals
comfortably.
• Recline the seat slightly (one or two
degrees) from the upright position.
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 seat back, and centered on the seat
cushion, with their feet comfortably extended
on the floor. Sitting improperly can increase
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Passenger airbag
Passenger airbag status indicator
Occupant
Disabled
OFF: Lit
Empty
ON: Unlit Disabled
OFF: Lit
Child
ON: Unlit Enabled
OFF: Unlit
Adult
ON: Lit
Note: When the passenger airbag status
indicator OFF light is illuminated, the
passenger (seat mounted) side airbag 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 seat back, 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. Make sure the front passenger
sensing system is operating
properly. See Crash Sensors and
Airbag Indicator (page 43).
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 the Ford Customer
Relationship Center. See
Getting the
Services You Need (page 212).
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.
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