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Recommendations for Safety Restraints for Children
Recommended Restraint Type
Child Size, Height, Weight, or Age
Child
Use a child restraint (sometimes called aninfant carrier, convertible seat, or toddler seat).
Children weighing 40 lb (18 kg) or less (generally age four or
younger).
Infants or toddlers
Use a belt-positioning booster seat.
Children who have outgrown or no longer properly fit in a child
restraint (generally children who are less than
57 in (1.45 m) tall,
are greater than age four and less than age 12, and between 40 lb (18 kg)
and 80 lb (36 kg) and upward to 100 lb (45 kg) if recom-
mended by your child restraint manufacturer).
Small children
Use a vehicle seatbelt having the lap belt
snug and low across the hips, shoulder belt
centered across the shoulder and chest, and seat backrest upright.
Children who have outgrown or no longer properly fit in a belt-
positioning booster seat (generally children who are at least 57 in (1.45 m)
tall or greater than 80 lb (36 kg) or 100 lb (45 kg) if
recommended by child restraint manufacturer).
Larger children
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•
You are required by law to properly use
child restraints for infants and toddlers in
the United States and Canada.
• Many states and provinces require that
small children use approved booster
seats until they reach age eight, a height
of 57 in (1.45 m) tall, or 80 lb (36 kg).
Check your local and state or provincial
laws for specific requirements about the
safety of children in your vehicle.
• When possible, properly restrain children
12 years of age and under in a rear
seating position of your vehicle. Accident
statistics suggest that children are safer
when properly restrained in the rear
seating positions than in a front seating
position.
See Front Passenger Sensing
System (page 52).
• When installing a rear facing child
restraint, adjust the vehicle seats to avoid
interference between the child restraint
and the vehicle seat in front of the child
restraint. CHILD SEATS
Use a child safety seat (sometimes called an
infant carrier, convertible seat, or toddler
seat) for Infants, toddlers and children
weighing 40 lb (18 kg) or less (generally
four-years-old or younger). INSTALLING CHILD RESTRAINTS
Using Lap and Shoulder Belts WARNING: Airbags can kill or injure
a child in a child restraint. Never place a
rear-facing child restraint in front of an
active airbag. If you must use a
forward-facing child restraint in the front
seat, move the seat upon which the child
restraint is installed all the way back. WARNING: Airbags can kill or injure
a child in a child restraint. Properly restrain
children 12 and under in the rear seat
whenever possible.
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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 safety seat 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 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 seatbelt in the automatic locking
mode. See Step 5. 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.
Standard Seatbelts 1. Position the child safety seat in a seat
with a combination lap and shoulder belt. 2. After positioning the child safety seat in
the proper seating position, pull down on
the shoulder belt and then grasp the
shoulder belt and lap belt together
behind the belt tongue.
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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. 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 you
pull all of the belt 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 clicks as it retracts to indicate it
is in the automatic locking mode.
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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. 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 restraint to your
vehicle. Sometimes, a slight lean toward
the buckle will provide extra help to
remove remaining slack from the belt.
9. Attach the tether strap (if the child restraint 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 Transport
Canada for referral to a Child Car Seat Clinic.
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Inflatable Seatbelts
1. Position the child safety seat in a seat
with a combination lap and shoulder belt. 2. After positioning the child safety seat in
the proper seating position, grasp the
shoulder belt and lap belt together
behind the belt tongue. 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. Be sure the belt webbing is
not twisted.
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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 lap portion of
the inflatable seatbelt and pull upward
until you pull all of the belt out.
Note: The automatic locking mode is
available on the front passenger and rear
seats.
Note: Unlike the standard seatbelt, the
inflatable seatbelt's unique lap portion locks
the child restraint for installation. The ability
for the shoulder portion of the belt to move
freely is normal, even after you put the lap
belt into the automatic locking mode. Note:
The lock-off device on some child
restraints may not accommodate the
shoulder portion of the inflatable seatbelt.
Follow all instructions provided by the
manufacturer of the child restraint regarding
the necessary and proper use of the lock-off
device. In some instances, these devices
have been provided only for use in vehicles
with seatbelt systems that would otherwise
require 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 is not locked, unbuckle the belt
and repeat Steps 5 and 6.
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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 down on the lap 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 restraint to your
vehicle. Sometimes, a slight lean toward
the buckle will additionally help to
remove remaining slack from the belt. 9. Attach the tether strap (if the child
restraint 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 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.
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