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
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.
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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 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
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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
(29.5 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 138). 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 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. 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. 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
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All safety restraints in the vehicle are
combination lap and shoulder belts. The
driver seatbelt has the first type of locking
mode, and the front outboard passenger and
rear seatbelts 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 seatbelts 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 seatbelt.
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
17).
How to Use the Automatic Locking Mode 1.
Buckle the combination lap and shoulder
belt.
2. Grasp the shoulder portion and pull downward until the entire belt is pulled
out.
Allow the belt to retract. As the belt retracts,
you will hear a clicking sound. This indicates
the seatbelt is now in the automatic locking
mode.
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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 the
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) or neutral
(N). •
The ignition is off.
• The driver and front passenger safety
belts are unbuckled.
1. Switch the ignition on. Do not start the vehicle.
2. Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off (about one minute). After Step
2, wait an additional 5 seconds before
proceeding with Step 3. Once you start
Step 3, you must complete the procedure
within 30 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 SEATBELT
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.
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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 305).
SEATBELT EXTENSION WARNINGS
Persons who fit into the vehicle's
seatbelt should not use an extension.
Unnecessary use could result in serious
personal injury in the event of a crash. WARNINGS
Only use extensions provided free of
charge by Lincoln Motor Company
dealers. The dealer will provide an extension
designed specifically for this vehicle, model
year and seating position. The use of an
extension intended for another vehicle,
model year or seating position may not offer
you the full protection of your vehicle ’s
seatbelt restraint system. Never use seatbelt extensions to install
child restraints.
Do not use a seatbelt extension with
an inflatable seatbelt.
Do not use extensions to change the
fit of the belt across the torso, over the
lap or to make the seatbelt buckle easier to
reach. If, because of body size or driving position,
it is not possible to properly fasten the
seatbelt over your lap and shoulder, an
extension that is compatible with the
seatbelts is available free of charge from
Lincoln Motor Company dealers. Only Lincolnseatbelt extensions made by the same
company which made the original equipment
seatbelts, should be used with Lincoln
seatbelts. Ask your authorized dealer if your
extension is compatible with your Lincoln
vehicle restraint system.
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PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
WARNINGS
Airbags do not inflate slowly or gently,
and the risk of injury from a deploying
airbag is the greatest close to the trim
covering the airbag module. 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. Always transport children 12 years old
and under in the back seat and always
properly use appropriate child restraints.
Failure to follow this could seriously increase
the risk of injury or death. Never place your arm over the airbag
module as a deploying airbag can
result in serious arm fractures or other
injuries. 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 seat upon which the
child seat is installed all the way back. Do not attempt to service, repair, or
modify the airbag supplemental
restraint systems or its fuses as you could
be seriously injured or killed. Contact your
authorized dealer as soon as possible. Several airbag system components get
hot after inflation. Do not touch them
after inflation as this may result in serious
injury. If the airbag has deployed, the airbag
will not function again and must be
replaced immediately. If the airbag is not
replaced, the unrepaired area will increase
the risk of injury in a crash. The airbags are a supplemental restraint
system and are designed to work with the
safety belts to help protect the driver and
right front passenger from certain upper
body injuries. Airbags do not inflate slowly;
there is a risk of injury from a deploying
airbag.
Note:
You will hear a loud bang and see a
cloud of harmless powdery residue if an
airbag deploys. This is normal.
The airbags inflate and deflate rapidly upon
activation. After airbag deployment, it is
normal to notice a smoke-like, powdery
residue or smell the burnt propellant. This
may consist of cornstarch, talcum powder (to
lubricate the bag) or sodium compounds (for
example, baking soda) that result from the
combustion process that inflates the airbag.
Small amounts of sodium hydroxide may be
present which may irritate the skin and eyes,
but none of the residue is toxic.
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