2020 FORD F-550 Owners Manual

INSTALLING CHILD
RESTRAINTS
Child Seats
Use a child restraint (sometimes called an
infant carrier, convertible seat, or toddler
seat) for infants, toddlers, or children
weighing 40 lb (18 kg) or less (generally
age four or younger).
Using Lap and Shoulder Belts
(Except Front Center Position of
Super Cab and Crew Cab) WARNING:
Do not place a
rearward facing child restraint in front of
an active airbag. Failure to follow this
instruction could result in personal injury
or death. WARNING:
Even with advanced
restraints systems, properly restrain
children 12 and under in a rear seating
position. Failure to follow this could
seriously increase the risk of injury or
death. WARNING:
Depending on where
you secure a child restraint, and
depending on the child restraint design,
you may block access to certain seatbelt
buckle assemblies and LATCH lower
anchors, rendering those features
potentially unusable. To avoid risk of
injury, make sure occupants only use
seating positions where they are able to
be properly restrained.
When installing a child restraint with
combination lap and shoulder belts:
• Use the correct seatbelt 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 child
restraint, with the tongue between the
child restraint and the release button,
to prevent accidental unbuckling.
• Place the vehicle seat in the upright
position before you install the child
restraint.
• Put the seatbelt in the automatic
locking mode. This vehicle does not
require the use of a locking clip.
Perform the following steps when
installing the child restraint with
combination lap and shoulder belts:
Note: Although the child restraint
illustrated is a forward facing child restraint,
the steps are the same for installing a rear
facing child restraint.
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1. Position the child restraint 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. 3.
While holding the shoulder and lap belt
portions together, route the tongue
through the child restraint according
to the child restraint manufacturer's
instructions. Make sure you did not
twist the belt webbing. 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 you securely latched the tongue
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 you pull all of the belt out.
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Note:
The automatic locking mode is
available on the front passenger and rear
seats. This vehicle does not require the use
of a locking clip.
6. Allow the belt to retract to remove slack. The belt clicks 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 did not lock, unbuckle the belt
and repeat Steps 5 and 6. 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 exists once you add the extra
weight of the child to the child restraint.
It also helps to achieve the proper
snugness of the child restraint to your
vehicle. Sometimes, a slight lean
toward the buckle helps to remove
remaining slack from the belt.
9. If the child restraint has a tether strap, attach it. 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 Transport Canada for referral
to a Child Car Seat Clinic.
Using Lap and Shoulder Belts
(Front Center Position of Super
Cab and Crew Cab) WARNING:
Do not place a
rearward facing child restraint in front of
an active airbag. Failure to follow this
instruction could result in personal injury
or death. WARNING:
Always use both the
lap and shoulder portion of the seatbelt
in the center seating position.
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The belt webbing below the tongue is the
lap portion of the combination lap and
shoulder belt. The belt webbing above the
tongue is the shoulder belt portion of the
combination lap and shoulder belt.
1. Position the child restraint in the front
center seat. 2. Slide the tongue up the webbing. 3. While holding both shoulder and lap
portions next to the tongue, route the
tongue and webbing through the child
restraint according to the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions. Make sure
that you did not twist the belt webbing. 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.
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5.
While pushing down with your knee on
the child restraint, pull up on the
shoulder belt portion to tighten the lap
belt portion of the combination lap and
shoulder belt.
6. Allow the seatbelt to retract and remove any slack in the belt to securely
tighten the child restraint in the vehicle.
7. If the child restraint has a tether strap, attach it. 8. 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. 9.
Check from time to time to be sure that
there is no slack in the lap and shoulder
belt. The shoulder belt must be snug
to keep the lap belt tight during a crash.
We recommend checking with a NHTSA
Certified Child Passenger Safety
Technician to make certain the child
restraint is properly installed. In Canada,
check with Transport Canada for referral
to a Child Car Seat Clinic.
Using Lower Anchors and Tethers
for CHildren (LATCH) WARNING: Do not attach two child
safety restraints to the same anchor. In
a crash, one anchor may not be strong
enough to hold two child safety restraint
attachments and may break, causing
serious injury or death. WARNING:
Depending on where
you secure a child restraint, and
depending on the child restraint design,
you may block access to certain seatbelt
buckle assemblies and LATCH lower
anchors, rendering those features
potentially unusable. To avoid risk of
injury, make sure occupants only use
seating positions where they are able to
be properly restrained.
The LATCH system has three vehicle
anchor points: two lower anchors where
the vehicle seat backrest and seat cushion
meet (called the seat bight) and one top
tether anchor behind that seating position.
LATCH compatible child restraints 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 seatbelts to attach the child
restraint. However, you can still use the
seatbelt to attach the child restraint if the
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lower anchors are not used. For
forward-facing child restraints, you must
also attach the top tether strap to the
proper top tether anchor if a top tether
strap has been provided with your child
restraint.
Your vehicle has LATCH lower anchors for
child restraint installation at the following
seating positions (LATCH is not available
on Regular Cab):
Crew Cab
Super Cab The lower LATCH anchors are at the rear
section of the rear seat between the
cushion and seat backrest. Follow the child
restraint manufacturer's instructions to
properly install a child restraint with LATCH
attachments.
Follow the instructions later in this chapter
on attaching child restraints with tether
straps.
Attach LATCH lower attachments of the
child restraint only to the anchors shown.
Use of Inboard Lower Anchors
from the Outboard Seating
Positions (Center Seating Use)
WARNING: The standardized
spacing for LATCH lower anchors is 11 in
(280 mm) center to center. Do not use
LATCH lower anchors for the center
seating position unless the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions permit and
specify using anchors spaced at least as
far apart as those in this vehicle.
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The lower anchors at the center of the
second row rear seat are spaced 26 in
(652 mm) apart. The standardized spacing
for LATCH lower anchors is 11 in (280 mm)
center to center. You cannot install a child
restraint with rigid LATCH attachments at
the center seating position. You can only
use LATCH compatible child restraints
(with attachments on belt webbing) at
this seating position provided that the child
restraint manufacturer's instructions
permit use with the anchor spacing stated.
Do not attach a child restraint to any lower
anchor if an adjacent child restraint is
attached to that anchor.
Each time you use the child restraint, check
that the seat is properly attached to the
lower anchors and tether anchor, if
applicable. Tug the child restraint from side
to side and forward and back where it is
secured to the vehicle. The seat should
move less than
1 in (2.5 cm) when you do
this for a proper installation.
If you did not properly anchor the child
restraint, the risk of a child being injured in
a crash greatly increases.
Combining Seatbelt and LATCH
Lower Anchors for Attaching Child
Restraints
When used in combination, either the
seatbelt 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
restraint.
Using Tether Straps
Many forward-facing child restraints
include a tether strap which extends from
the back of the child restraint 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
restraint for information about ordering a
tether strap, or to obtain a longer tether
strap if the tether strap on your child
restraint does not reach the appropriate
top tether anchor in the vehicle.
The passenger seats of your vehicle may
have built-in tether strap anchors behind
the seats as described below.
The tether anchors in your vehicle may be
loops of webbing above the seat backrest
or an anchor bracket behind the seat on
the rear edge of the seat cushion.
The rear seat in the Crew Cab and Super
Cab has three straps along the top of the
seat backrest that function as both routing
loops for the tether straps and anchor
loops.
The tether strap anchors in your vehicle
are in the following positions (shown from
top view):
Regular Cab
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Crew Cab Super Cab
Attach the tether strap only to the
appropriate tether anchor as shown. The
tether strap may not work properly if
attached somewhere other than the
correct tether anchor.
If you install a child restraint with rigid
LATCH attachments, do not tighten the
tether strap enough to lift the child
restraint off the vehicle seat cushion when
the child is seated in it. Keep the tether
strap just snug without lifting the front of
the child restraint. Keeping the child
restraint just touching the vehicle seat
gives the best protection in a severe crash.
Once you install the child restraint using
either the seatbelt, the lower anchors of
the LATCH system, or both, you can attach
the top tether strap.
Front Seat Tether Strap
Attachment (Regular Cab)
Note:
For vehicles with adjustable head
restraints, route the tether strap under the
head restraint and between the head
restraint posts, otherwise route the tether
strap over the top of the seat backrest.
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