GENERAL INFORMATION
See the following sections for directions
on how to properly use safety restraints
for children.
WARNINGS
Always make sure your child is
secured properly in a device that is
appropriate for their height, age and
weight. Child safety restraints must be
bought separately from your vehicle.
Failure to follow these instructions and
guidelines may result in an increased risk
of serious injury or death to your child. All children are shaped differently.
The recommendations for safety
restraints are based on probable
child height, age and weight thresholds
from National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and other safety
organizations, or are the minimum
requirements of law. Ford recommends
checking with a NHTSA Certified Child
Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) and
consult your pediatrician to make sure your
child seat is appropriate for your child, and WARNINGS
is compatible with and properly installed
in your vehicle. To locate a child seat fitting
station and CPST, contact the NHTSA toll
free at 1-888-327-4236 or go to
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov. In Canada,
check with your local St. John Ambulance
office for referral to a CPST or for further
information, contact your provincial
ministry of transportation, locate your local
St. John Ambulance office by searching for
St. John Ambulance on the internet, or
Transport Canada at 1-800-333-0371
(http://www.tc.gc.ca). Failure to properly
restrain children in safety seats made
especially for their height, age, and weight
may result in an increased risk of serious
injury or death to your child. Do not leave children or animals
unattended in the vehicle. On hot
days, the temperature in the trunk or
vehicle interior can rise very quickly.
Exposure of people or animals to these
high temperatures for even a short time
can cause death or serious heat-related
injuries, including brain damage. Small
children are particularly at risk. 15
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Use a child safety seat (sometimes called
an infant carrier, convertible seat, or
toddler seat) for infants, toddlers, or
children weighing 40 pounds (18
kilograms) or less (generally age four or
younger).
Using Lap and Shoulder Belts
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 seat is installed all the way
back. Airbags can kill or injure a child in a
child seat. Children 12 and under
should be properly restrained in the
rear seat whenever possible. 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 and 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. When installing a child safety seat with
combination lap and shoulder belts:
•
Use the correct safety belt buckle for
that seating position.
• Insert the belt tongue into the proper
buckle until you hear a snap and feel it
latch. Make sure the tongue is securely
fastened in the buckle.
• Keep the buckle release button
pointing up and away from the safety
seat, with the tongue between the child
seat and the release button, to prevent
accidental unbuckling. •
Place the vehicle seat upon which the
child seat will be installed in the upright
position.
• Put the safety belt in the automatic
locking mode. This vehicle does not
require the use of a locking clip.
Perform the following steps when
installing the child seat with combination
lap and shoulder belts:
Note: Although the child seat illustrated is
a forward facing child seat, the steps are
the same for installing a rear facing child
seat. 1. Position the child safety seat in a seat
with a combination lap and shoulder
belt. 2. Pull down on the shoulder belt and
then grasp the shoulder belt and lap
belt together.
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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 help to remove
remaining slack from the belt.
9. Attach the tether strap (if the child seat
is equipped). 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 in (2.5 cm) of movement for
proper installation.
We recommend 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) WARNING
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. The LATCH system is composed of three
vehicle anchor points: two lower anchors
located where the vehicle seatback 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 to attach the child seat,
however the safety belt can still be used
to attach the child seat if the lower anchors
are not used. 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. We recommend the use of
a child safety seat having a top tether
strap. See Using Tether Straps in this
chapter.
Your vehicle has LATCH lower anchors for
child seat installation at the seating
positions marked with the child seat
symbol.
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3.
Clip the tether strap through the anchor
loop as shown. If the tether strap is
clipped incorrectly, the child safety
seat may not be retained properly in
the event of a crash. 4. Tighten the child safety seat tether
strap according to the manufacturer ’s
instructions. If the safety seat is not
anchored properly, the risk of a child
being injured in a crash greatly
increases.
If your child restraint system is equipped
with a tether strap, and the child restraint
manufacturer recommends its use, we also
recommend 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. Note:
Some booster seat safety belt guides
may not accommodate the shoulder portion
of the inflatable safety belt.
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: 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 RESTRAINT
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 WARNINGS
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 provided by your vehicle
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WARNINGS
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. WARNINGS
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.
Recommendations for attaching child safety restraints for children
Use any attachment method as indicated below by X
Combined weight ofchild and
child seat
Restraint
Type Safety belt
only
Safety belt
and LATCH
(lower
anchors and top tether
anchor)
Safety belt
and toptether
anchor
LATCH
(lower
anchors only)
LATCH
(lower
anchors and top tether
anchor)
X
X
Up to 65 lb
(29.5 kg)
Rear facing
child seat
X
Over
65 lb
(29.5 kg)
Rear facing
child seat
X
X
X
Up to
65 lb
(29.5 kg)
Forward
facing
child seat
X
X
Over
65 lb
(29.5 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
122
). 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
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 the vehicle is
moving. The passenger cannot
protect the child from injury in a crash,
which may result in serious injury or death. All occupants of the 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. 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. WARNINGS
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 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.
• Safety belt pretensioner at the front
outboard seating positions. •
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. In side crashes and
rollovers, the pretensioners will be
activated when the Safety Canopy is
activated.
FASTENING THE SEATBELTS
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.
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. 29
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