2016 LINCOLN MKZ Owners Manual

WARNINGS
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.
WARNINGS
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.
30
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
(29.5 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 140).
CHILD SAFETY LOCKS
When these locks are set, the rear doors
cannot be opened from the inside.
31
Child Safety

E112197
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.32
Child Safety

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.
Failure to properly wear your safety belt
could seriously increase the risk of injury or
death.
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.
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 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).
33
Safety Belts

• Height adjuster at the front outboardseating 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.
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
Standard belts shown, inflatable belts
similar The front outboard and rear safety restraints
in the vehicle are combination lap and
shoulder belts.
E142587
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 you
securely fasten the tongue in the buckle.
E142588
2. To unfasten, press the release buttonand 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.
34
Safety Belts

E142590
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 vehicle sensitive
locking mode. The front outboard passenger
and rear seat safety belts have both the
vehicle sensitive locking mode and the
automatic locking mode. 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.
35
Safety Belts

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
16).
How to Use the Automatic Locking Mode
Non-inflatable safety belts
E142591
1. Buckle the combination lap and shoulderbelt. 2. Grasp the shoulder portion and pull
downward until the entire belt is pulled
out. As the belt retracts, you will hear a
clicking sound. This indicates the safety
belt is now in the automatic locking
mode.
Rear outboard inflatable safety belts
(second row only–if equipped)
E146363
1. Buckle the combination lap and shoulder belt.
2. Grasp the lap portion of the belt and pull upward until the entire belt is pulled out. 3. 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
activate the vehicle sensitive (emergency)
locking mode.
Rear Inflatable Safety Belt (If Equipped)
WARNING
Do not attempt to service, repair, or
modify the rear inflatable safety belt.
The rear inflatable safety belts are fitted in
the shoulder portion of the safety belts of
the second-row outboard seating positions.
36
Safety Belts

Note:The rear inflatable safety belts are
compatible with most infant and child safety
car seats and belt positioning booster seats
when properly installed. This is because they
are designed to fill with a cooled gas at a
lower pressure and at a slower rate than
traditional airbags. After inflation, the
shoulder portion of the safety belt remains
cool to the touch.
The rear inflatable safety belt consists of the
following:
• An inflatable bag located in the shoulder safety belt webbing.
• Lap safety belt webbing with automatic locking mode.
• The same warning light, electronic control and diagnostic unit as used for
the front safety belts.
• Impact sensors located in various parts of the vehicle.
How does the rear inflatable safety belt
system work?
The rear inflatable safety belts will function
like standard restraints in everyday usage.
E146364
During a crash of sufficient force, the
inflatable belt will inflate from inside the
webbing.
E146365
The fully inflated belt's increased diameter
more effectively holds the occupant in the
appropriate seating position, and spreads
crash forces over more area of the body than
regular safety belts. This helps reduce
pressure on the chest and helps control head
and neck motion for passengers.
WARNING
If the rear inflatable safety belt has
deployed, it will not function again. The
rear inflatable safety belt system must be
replaced by an authorized dealer.
The rear inflatable safety belts are designed
to inflate in frontal or near-frontal crashes
and some side impact crashes. The fact that
the rear inflatable safety belt did not inflate
in a crash does not mean that something is
wrong with the system. Rather, it means the
forces were not of the type sufficient to
cause activation.
Safety Belt Extension Assembly
WARNINGS
Do not use extensions to change the
fit of the shoulder belt across the torso.
37
Safety Belts