FORD E-450 2021 Owner's Manual

Recommendations for Safety Restraints for Children
Recommended Restraint
Type
Child Size, Height, Weight, or Age
Child
Use a child restraint
(sometimes called an
infant 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-positioningbooster 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 recommended 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
• 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, always 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.
• 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.
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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 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:
Properly secure
children 12 years old and under in a rear
seating position whenever possible. If
you are unable to properly secure all
children in a rear seating position,
properly secure the largest child on the
front seat. If you must use a forward
facing child restraint on the front seat,
move the seat as far back as possible.
Failure to follow these instructions could
result in personal 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. 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.
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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 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. 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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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. 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 will help 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 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 child restraints.
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.
Attach the tether strap only to the tether
anchor as shown. The tether strap may not
work properly if attached somewhere other
than the correct tether anchor.
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Note:
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.
Perform the following steps to install a
child restraint with tether anchors: You can attach the tether directly to the
rear of the front seat.
1. Adjust the front passenger seat fully
forward. 2. Route the child restraint tether strap
over the back of the front passenger
seat as shown. 3. Clip the tether strap hook to the seat
pedestal at the location shown. If the
tether strap is clipped incorrectly, the
child restraint may not be retained
properly in the event of a crash.
4. Adjust the front passenger seat to the full rearward position.
5. Tighten the child restraint tether strap according to the manufacturer ’s
instructions.
If you do not properly anchor the child
restraint, the risk of a child being injured in
a crash greatly increases.
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BOOSTER SEATS
WARNING: Do not put the shoulder
section of the seatbelt or allow the child
to put the shoulder section of the
seatbelt under their arm or behind their
back. Failure to follow this instruction
could reduce the effectiveness of the
seatbelt and increase the risk of injury or
death in a crash.
Use a belt-positioning booster seat for
children who have outgrown or no longer
properly fit in a child safety restraint
(generally children who are less than 57 in
(1.45 m) tall, are greater than age 4 and
less than age 12, and between 40 lb (18 kg)
and
80 lb (36 kg) and upward to 100 lb
(45 kg) if recommended by your child
restraint manufacturer). Many state and
provincial laws require that children use
approved booster seats until they reach
age eight, a height of
57 in (1.45 m) tall, or
80 lb (36 kg).
Booster seats should be used until you can
answer YES to ALL of these questions
when seated without a booster seat: •
Can the child sit all the way back
against their vehicle seat backrest with
knees bent comfortably at the edge of
the seat cushion?
• Can the child sit without slouching? •
Does the lap belt rest low across the
hips?
• Is the shoulder belt centered on the
shoulder and chest?
• Can the child stay seated like this for
the whole trip?
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
backrest 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 backrest
or head restraint and lap and shoulder
belts, or consider using a high back booster
seat.
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•
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
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:
Properly secure
children 12 years old and under in a rear
seating position whenever possible. If
you are unable to properly secure all
children in a rear seating position,
properly secure the largest child on the
front seat. If you must use a forward
facing child restraint on the front seat,
move the seat as far back as possible.
Failure to follow these instructions could
result in personal injury or death. WARNING: 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.
WARNING:
Do not allow a
passenger to hold a child on their lap
when your vehicle is moving. Failure to
follow this instruction could result in
personal injury or death in the event of a
sudden stop or crash. WARNING:
Do not use pillows,
books or towels to boost your child's
height. Failure to follow this instruction
could result in personal injury or death. WARNING:
Properly secure child
restraints or booster seats when they are
not in use. They could become projectiles
in a sudden stop or crash. Failure to
follow this instruction could result in
personal injury or death. WARNING: Do not put the shoulder
section of the seatbelt or allow the child
to put the shoulder section of the
seatbelt under their arm or behind their
back. Failure to follow this instruction
could reduce the effectiveness of the
seatbelt and increase the risk of injury or
death in a crash. WARNING:
Do not leave children
or pets unattended in your vehicle.
Failure to follow this instruction could
result in personal injury or death.
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Recommendations for Attaching Child Restraints
Use Any Attachment Method as Indicated Below by X.
Restraint Type Seatbelt Only
Seatbelt and Top
Tether Anchor
Combined Weight of
Child and Child Restraint
X
Up to 65 lb (29.5 kg)
Rear-facing
child restraint
X
Over 65 lb (29.5 kg)
Rear-facing
child restraint
X1
X
Up to 65 lb (29.5 kg)
Forward-facing
child restraint
X1
X
Over
65 lb (29.5 kg)
Forward-facing
child restraint
1 We recommend using a top tether if the child restraint has one, and the child restraint
manufacturer recommends its use.
Note: The child restraint must rest tightly
against the vehicle seat upon which it is
installed. It may be necessary to lift or
remove the head restraint. See
Head
Restraints (page 73).
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PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
WARNING: Always drive and ride
with the seat backrest upright and the
lap belt snug and low across the hips. WARNING:
To reduce the risk of
injury, make sure children sit where they
can be properly restrained. WARNING:
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. WARNING:
All occupants of the
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. WARNING:
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. WARNING:
In a rollover crash, an
unbelted person is significantly more
likely to die than a person wearing a
safety belt. WARNING:
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. WARNING:
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. WARNING:
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. WARNING:
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).
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