2015 LINCOLN MKS Owners Manual

•
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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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. 23
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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.
CHILD SEAT POSITIONING
WARNINGS
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. WARNINGS
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. 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. WARNINGS
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. 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. 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. To avoid risk of injury, do not leave
children or pets unattended in your
vehicle.
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MKS (), enUSA Child Safety

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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MKS (), 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.
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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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The safety belt pretensioners at the front
seating positions are designed to tighten the
safety belts when activated. In frontal and
near-frontal crashes, the safety belt
pretensioners may be activated alone or, if
the crash is of sufficient severity, together
with the front airbags. The pretensioners may
also activate when a side curtain airbag is
deployed.
FASTENING THE SAFETY BELTS
The front outboard and rear safety restraints
in the vehicle are combination lap and
shoulder belts. 1. Insert the belt tongue into the proper
buckle (the buckle closest to the direction
the tongue is coming from) until you hear
a snap and feel it latch. Make sure the
tongue is securely fastened in the buckle. 2.
To unfasten, press the release button and
remove the tongue from the buckle. When in use, the rear safety belts should be
placed in the belt guides on the outboard
seatbacks.
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. 28
MKS (), enUSA Safety BeltsE142587 E142588 E142589

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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