FORD E250 2011 Owners Manual

5. To put the retractor in the
automatic locking mode, grasp the
shoulder portion of the belt and pull
downward until all of the belt is
pulled out.
6. Allow the belt to retract to remove slack. The belt will click 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, e.g., 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 additional weight of the child is
added to the child restraint. It also
helps to achieve the proper
snugness of the child seat to the
vehicle. Sometimes, a slight lean
towards the buckle will additionally
help to remove remaining slack from the belt.
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9. Attach the tether strap (if the
child seat is equipped). Refer to
Attaching child safety seats with
tether strapslater in this chapter.
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 inch (2.5 cm) of movement for proper installation.
11. Ford recommends checking with a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger
Safety Technician (CPST) to make certain the child restraint is properly
installed. In Canada, check with your local St. John Ambulance office for
referral to a CPST.
Attaching child safety seats with LATCH (Lower Anchors and
Tethers for CHildren) attachments
The LATCH system is composed of three vehicle anchor points: two (2)
lower anchors located where the vehicle seat back and seat cushion meet
(called the “seat bight”) and one (1) top tether anchor located behind
that seating position.
LATCH compatible child safety seats 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 safety belts to attach the child seat,
however the safety belt can still be used to attach the child seat. For
forward-facing child seats, the top tether strap must also be attached to
the proper top tether anchor, if a top tether strap has been provided
with your child seat. Ford Motor Company recommends the use of a
child safety seat having a top tether strap. SeeAttaching child safety
seats with tether strapsandRecommendations for attaching safety
restraints for childrenin this chapter for more information.
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Your vehicle has LATCH lowerand/or top tether anchorsat the
following locations:
•Five passenger crew van
•Seven passenger wagon
•Eight passenger wagon
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•Eleven passenger wagon
•Twelve passenger wagon
•Fifteen passenger wagon
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The LATCH lower anchors are
located at the rear section of the
rear seat between the cushion and
seatback. Follow the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions to
properly install a child seat with
LATCH attachments.
Follow the instructions on attaching child safety seats with tether straps.
Refer toAttaching child safety seats with tether strapslater in this
chapter.
Attach LATCH lower attachments of the child seat only to the anchors
shown.
WARNING:Never attach two child safety seats to the same
anchor. In a crash, one anchor may not be strong enough to hold
two child safety seat attachments and may break, causing serious
injury or death.
Each time you use the safety seat, check that the seat is properly
attached to the lower anchors and tether anchor, if applicable. Tug the
child seat from side to side and forward and back where it is secured to
the vehicle. The seat should move less than one inch when you do this
for a proper installation.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being
injured in a crash greatly increases.
Combining safety belt and LATCH lower anchors for attaching
child safety seats
When used in combination, either the safety belt 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 seat. Refer
toRecommendations for attaching child safety restraints for children
in this chapter.
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Attaching child safety seats with tether straps
WARNING:When using forward-facing child safety seats in
vehicles with only two seating positions or 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.
Many forward-facing child safety seats include a tether strap which
extends from the back of the child safety seat 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 seat for information about ordering a tether strap, or to obtain a
longer tether strap if the tether strap on your safety seat does not reach
the appropriate top tether anchor in the vehicle.
The front passenger and rear seats of your vehicle are equipped with
built-in tether strap anchors located behind the seats as described below.
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.
Once the child safety seat has been installed using either the safety belt,
the lower anchors of the LATCH system, or both, you can attach the top
tether strap.
If you install a child seat with rigid LATCH attachments, and have
attached the top tether strap to the proper top tether anchor, do not
tighten the tether strap enough to lift the child seat 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 seat. Keeping the child seat just
touching the vehicle seat gives the best protection in a severe crash.
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Perform the following steps to install a child safety seat with tether
anchors:
Front passenger seating position
The tether can be attached directly
to the rear of the front seat.
1. Adjust the front right-hand
passenger seat full forward.
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2. Route the child safety seat tether
strap over the back of the front
right-hand 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 safety seat may
not be retained properly in the
event of a collision.
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4. Adjust the front right hand
passenger seat to the full rearward
position.
5. Tighten the child safety seat
tether strap according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being
injured in a collision greatly increases.
Second row bucket seats (Quads)
The tether strap can be attached
directly to the tether bracket under
the back edge of the seat cushion.
1. Route the child safety tether strap over the back of the left hand or
right hand second row bucket seat.
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2. Clip the tether strap hook to the
seat pedestal at the location shown.
If the tether strap is clipped
incorrectly, the child safety seat may
not be retained properly in the
event of a collision.
3. Tighten the child safety seat tether strap according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being
injured in a collision greatly increases.
Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth row bench seats
For the center position of a
three-passenger bench seat, the
tether strap can be attached directly
to the tether bracket provided
under the back edge of the seat
cushion. For the outboard positions,
the tether strap can be attached to
the slot in the side of the seat
pedestal.
1. For any three-passenger bench seat, place the child safety seat in any
of the seating positions. For the four passenger bench, the tether
anchors are located on the left and right hand positions only.
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