FORD E SERIES 1997 4.G Repair Manual

edge of the seat cushion. You may
wish to discuss the special needs
of your child with your
pediatrician.
Child and infant or child safety
seats
Carefully follow all of the
manufacturer's instructions
included with the safety seat you
put in your vehicle. If you do not
install and use the safety seat
properly, the child may be
injured in a sudden stop or
collision.
Ford recommends the use of a
child safety seat having a top
tether strap. Install the child safety
seat in a seating position which is
capable of providing a tether
anchorage. For more information
on top tether straps seeAttaching
safety seats with tether strapsin
this chapter.
When installing a child safety seat:
²Use the correct safety belt
buckle for that seating position.
²Make sure the tongue is
securely fastened in the buckle.
²Keep 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.
²Place seatbacks in the upright
position.
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61

²Put the safety belt in the
automatic locking mode. Refer
toUsing the automatic locking
modein this chapter.
Installing child safety seats in
combination lap and shoulder
belt seating positions
1. Position the child safety seat in
a seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
If you choose to install a child
safety seat in the front passenger
seat, move the seat as far back as
possible.
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62

Rear-facing child seats or
infant carriers should
never be placed in the front
seats.
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 seat
according to the child seat
manufacturers' instructions. Be
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63

sure the belt webbing is not
twisted.
4. Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle for that seating
position until you hear 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
PRESS
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64

pull downward until all of the belt
is extracted and a click is heard.
6. Allow the belt to retract. The
belt will click as it retracts to
indicate it is in the automatic
locking mode.
7. Pull the lap belt portion across
the child seat toward the buckle
and pull up on the shoulder belt
while pushing down with knee on
the child seat.
8. Allow the safety belt to retract
to remove any slack in the belt.
9. Before placing the child in the
seat, forcibly tilt the seat forward
and back to make sure the seat is
securely held in place.
10. Try to pull the belt out of the
retractor to make sure the
retractor is in the automatic
locking mode (you should not be
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65

able to pull more belt out). If the
retractor is not locked, unbuckle
the belt and repeat steps two
through nine.
Check to make sure the child seat
is properly secured before each
use.
Installing a child safety seat at
the rear center seating position
with locking adjustable lap belt
1. Lengthen the lap belt. To
lengthen the belt, hold tongue so
that its bottom is perpendicular to
the direction of webbing while
sliding the tongue up the webbing.
2. Place the child safety seat in the
center seating position.
3. Route the tongue and webbing
through the child seat according to
the child seat manufacturer's
instructions.
4. Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle for the center
seating position until you hear a
snap and feel it latch. Make sure
the tongue is securely fastened to
the buckle by pulling on tongue.
5. Push down on the child seat
while pulling on the loose end of
the lap belt webbing to tighten the
belt.
6. Before placing the child into
child seat, forcibly tilt the child
seat from side-to-side and in
forward directions to ensure that
the seat is held securely in place.
If the child seat moves excessively,
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66

repeat steps 5 and 6, or properly
install the child seat in a different
seating position.
Attaching safety seats with
tether straps
Some manufacturers make safety
seats that include a tether strap
that goes over the back of the
vehicle seat and attaches to an
anchoring point. Other
manufacturers offer the tether
strap as an accessory. Contact the
manufacturer of your child safety
seat for information about ordering
a tether strap.
Tether anchorage
Children should be placed
in the rear in an
appropriate child safety seat that
is properly secured to the
vehicle.
Rear-facing infant seats
must always be secured in
the rear seat. In vehicles without
a rear seat, a rear-facing infant
seat should be secured in the
front seat only if your vehicle
does not have a passenger side
air bag or your vehicle is
equipped with a passenger air
bag deactivate switch and the
switch is turned to ªOFF.º
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eco_tether_anchorage
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67

When using forward-facing
child safety seats in
vehicles with only two seating
positions so the forward-facing
child safety seat cannot be
placed in the rear of the vehicle,
move the passenger seat as far
back from the instrument panel
as possible.
Front passenger seating
position
The front passenger seating
position does not require any
tether hardware. The tether can be
attached directly to the rear of the
front seat.
1. Position the child safety seat on
the front right-hand passenger
seat.
2. Adjust the front right-hand
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68

passenger seat full forward.
3. Route the child safety seat
tether strap over the back of the
front right-hand passenger seat as
shown.
4. Grasp the tether strap and
position it to the seat pedestal as
shown.
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69

5. Rotate the tether strap as
shown.
6. Clip the tether strap to the seat
pedestal as shown.
Do not clip the tether strap to the
seat pedestal as shown.
If the tether strap is clipped
incorrectly (as shown) the child
safety seat may not be retained
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70