2016 FORD ESCAPE front

2. Pull down on the shoulder belt and
then grasp the shoulder belt and lap
belt together. 3.
While holding the shoulder and lap belt
portions together, route the tongue
through the child seat according to the
child seat manufacturer's instructions.
Be sure the belt webbing is not twisted. 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. 18
Escape/Kuga (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Child SafetyE142530 E142531 E142875 E142533

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. For outboard
seating positions, route the tether strap
under the head restraint and between
the head restraint posts. For the center
seating positions, route the tether strap
over the top of the head restraint. If
needed, the head restraints can also
be removed. 2. Locate the correct anchor on the back
panel of the rear seat for the selected
seating position. The anchors are
labeled with the tether strap symbol
and are partially covered by the gap
panel. Pull the panel back to fully
expose the anchors.
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Escape/Kuga (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Child Safety E142537 E142538

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. 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
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. 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.
24
Escape/Kuga (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Child SafetyE142597

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. 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
• retractor and anchor 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.
27
Escape/Kuga (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Safety Belts

The safety belt pretensioners are designed
to activate in frontal, near-frontal and side
crashes, and in rollovers. The safety belt
pretensioners on the retractor and anchor
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.
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
Escape/Kuga (TM2), enUSA, First Printing 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. 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 15).
29
Escape/Kuga (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Safety BeltsE142590

SAFETY BELT MINDER
Belt-Minder™
This feature supplements the safety belt
warning function by providing additional
reminders that intermittently sound a tone
and illuminate the safety belt warning light
when you are in the driver seat or you have
a front seat passenger and a safety belt is
unbuckled.
The system uses information from the
front passenger sensing system to
determine if a front seat passenger is
present and therefore potentially in need
of a warning. To avoid activating the
Belt-Minder feature for objects you place
in the front passenger seat, only the front
seat passengers receive warnings as
determined by the front passenger sensing
system.
If the Belt-Minder warnings expire
(warnings for about five minutes) for one
passenger (driver or front passenger), the
other passenger can still cause the
Belt-Minder feature to turn on. Then...
If...
The Belt-Minder feature will not activate.
You and the front seat passenger buckle
your safety belts before you switch the
ignition on or less than 1-2 minutes elapse after you switch the ignition on...
The Belt-Minder feature activates, the
safety belt warning light illuminates and a warning tone sounds for 6 seconds every
25 seconds, repeating for about 5 minutes or until you and the front seat passenger buckle your safety belts.
You or the front seat passenger do not
buckle your safety belts before your vehicle reaches at least 6 mph (9.7 km/h) and 1-2
minutes elapse after you switch the ignition on...
The Belt-Minder feature activates, the
safety belt warning light illuminates and a warning tone sounds for 6 seconds every
25 seconds, repeating for about 5 minutes or until you and the front seat passenger buckle your safety belts.
The safety belt for the driver or front
passenger is unbuckled for about 1 minute
while the vehicle is traveling at least 6 mph (9.7 km/h) and more than 1-2 minutes
elapse after you switch the ignition on...
32
Escape/Kuga (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Safety Belts

Deactivating and Activating the
Belt-Minder Feature
WARNING
While the system allows you to
deactivate it, this system is designed
to improve your chances of being
safely belted and surviving an accident.
We recommend you leave the system
activated for yourself and others who may
use your vehicle. Note:
The driver and front passenger
warnings switch on and off independently.
When you perform this procedure for one
seating position, do not buckle the other
position as this will terminate the process.
Read Steps 1 - 4 thoroughly before
proceeding with the programming
procedure.
Before following the procedure, make sure
that:
• The parking brake is set.
• The transmission is in park (P).
• The ignition is off.
• The driver and front passenger safety
belts are unbuckled.
1. Switch the ignition on. Do not start the
engine.
2. Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off (about one minute). After
Step 2, wait an additional five seconds
before proceeding with Step 3. Once
you start Step 3, you must complete
the procedure within 60 seconds.
3. For the seating position you are switching off, buckle then unbuckle the
safety belt three times at a moderate
speed, ending in the unbuckled state.
After Step 3, the safety belt warning
light turns on. 4. While the safety belt warning light is
on, buckle and then unbuckle the
safety belt. After Step 4, the safety belt
warning light flashes for confirmation.
• This will switch the feature off for that
seating position if it is currently on.
• This will switch the feature on for that
seating position if it is currently off.
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.
Properly care for safety belts. See Vehicle
Care (page 234).
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Escape/Kuga (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Safety Belts