belt FORD ESCAPE 2015 3.G User Guide

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.
Using Tether Straps
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 your vehicle.
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.
The tether strap anchors in your vehicle
are in the following positions (shown from
top view): Perform the following steps to install a
child safety seat with tether anchors:
Note:
If you install a child seat with rigid
LATCH attachments, do not tighten the
tether strap enough to lift the child seat off
your 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 your
vehicle seat gives the best protection in a
severe crash.
1. Route the child safety seat tether strap
over the back of the seat. For outboard
seating positions, route the tether strap
under the head restraint and between
the head restraint posts. For the center
seating positions, route the tether strap
over the top of the head restraint. If
needed, the head restraints can also
be removed. 2. Locate the correct anchor on the back
panel of the rear seat for the selected
seating position. The anchors are
labeled with the tether strap symbol
and are partially covered by the gap
panel. Pull the panel back to fully
expose the anchors.
25
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Child Safety E142537 E142538

3. Clip the tether strap to the anchor as
shown.
4. Tighten the child safety seat tether strap according to the manufacturer's
instructions. If your child restraint
system is equipped with a tether strap,
and the child restraint manufacturer
recommends its use, Ford also
recommends its use.
BOOSTER SEATS WARNING
Never place, or allow a child to place,
the shoulder belt under a child's arm
or behind the back because it
reduces the protection for the upper part
of the body and may 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 seat (generally
children who are less than 4 feet 9 inches
(1.45 meters) tall, are greater than age four
(4) and less than age twelve (12), and
between 40 pounds (18 kilograms) and
80 pounds (36 kilograms) and upward to
100 pounds (45 kilograms) 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 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 meters) tall,
or 80 pounds (36 kilograms).
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 back 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.
26
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Child SafetyE142539 E142595

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
back 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 back or
head restraint and lap and shoulder belts,
or consider using a high back booster seat. •
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. 27
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Child SafetyE68924 E70710 E142596

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 SEAT POSITIONING
WARNINGS
Airbags can kill or injure a child in a
child seat. Never place a rear-facing
child seat in front of an active airbag.
If you must use a forward-facing child seat
in the front seat, move the vehicle seat
upon which the child seat is installed all
the way back. When possible, all children
age 12 and under should be properly
restrained in a rear seating position. If all
children cannot be seated and restrained
properly in a rear seating position, properly
restrain the largest child in the front seat. 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
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. 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. Never use pillows, books, or towels
to boost a child. They can slide
around and increase the likelihood
of injury or death in a crash. Always restrain an unoccupied child
seat or booster seat. These objects
may become projectiles in a crash or
sudden stop, which may increase the risk
of serious injury. Never place, or allow a child to place,
the shoulder belt under a child's arm
or behind the back because it
reduces the protection for the upper part
of the body and may increase the risk of
injury or death in a crash. To avoid risk of injury, do not leave
children or pets unattended in your
vehicle.
28
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Child SafetyE142597

Recommendations for attaching child safety restraints for children
Use any attachment method as indicated below by X
Combined
weight ofchild and
child seat
Restraint
Type Safety belt
only
Safety belt
and LATCH
(lower
anchors and top tether
anchor)
Safety belt
and toptether
anchor
LATCH
(lower
anchors only)
LATCH
(lower
anchors and top tether
anchor)
X
X
Up to 65 lb
(29 kg)
Rear facing
child seat
X
Over 65 lb
(29 kg)
Rear facing
child seat
X
X
X
Up to 65 lb
(29 kg)
Forward
facing
child seat
X
X
Over 65 lb
(29 kg)
Forward
facing
child seat
Note: The child seat must rest tightly
against the vehicle seat upon which it is
installed. It may be necessary to lift or
remove the head restraint. See Seats (page
111).
CHILD SAFETY LOCKS
When these locks are set, the rear doors
cannot be opened from the inside. The childproof locks are located on the
rear edge of each rear door and must be
set separately for each door.
29
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Child SafetyE112197

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
WARNINGS
Always drive and ride with your
seatback upright and the lap belt
snug and low across the hips.
To reduce the risk of injury, make
sure children sit where they can be
properly restrained.
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. All occupants of your vehicle,
including the driver, should always
properly wear their safety belts, even
when an airbag supplemental restraint
system is provided. 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. In a rollover crash, an unbelted
person is significantly more likely to
die than a person wearing a safety
belt. 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. When possible, all children 12 years
old and under should be properly
restrained in a rear seating position. WARNINGS
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. 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)
• height adjuster at the front outboard
seating positions
• retractor and anchor pretensioner at
the front outboard seating positions
• belt tension sensor at the front
outboard passenger seating position •
safety belt warning light and chime •
crash sensors and monitoring system
with readiness indicator.
31
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Safety Belts

The safety belt pretensioners are designed
to activate in frontal, near-frontal and side
crashes, and in rollovers. The safety belt
pretensioners on the retractor and anchor
at the front seating positions are designed
to tighten the safety belts firmly against
the occupant's body when activated. This
helps increase the effectiveness of the
safety belts. In frontal crashes, the safety
belt pretensioners can be activated alone
or, if the crash is of sufficient severity,
together with the front airbags.
FASTENING THE SAFETY
BELTS
The front outboard and rear safety
restraints in the vehicle are combination
lap and shoulder belts.
1. Insert the belt tongue into the proper
buckle (the buckle closest to the
direction the tongue is coming from)
until you hear a snap and feel it latch.
Make sure the tongue is securely
fastened in the buckle. 2. To unfasten, press the release button
and remove the tongue from the
buckle. When in use, the rear safety belts should
be placed in the belt guides on the
outboard seatbacks.
Using Safety Belts During
Pregnancy
WARNING
Always ride and drive with your
seatback upright and the safety belt
properly fastened. The lap portion of
the safety belt should fit snug and be
positioned low across the hips. The
shoulder portion of the safety belt should
be positioned across the chest. Pregnant
women should also follow this practice.
See the following figure. 32
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Safety BeltsE142587 E142588 E142589

Pregnant women should always wear their
safety belt. The lap belt portion of a
combination lap and shoulder belt should
be positioned low across the hips below
the belly and worn as tight as comfort will
allow. The shoulder belt should be
positioned to cross the middle of the
shoulder and the center of the chest.
Safety Belt Locking Modes
WARNINGS
After any vehicle crash, the safety
belt system at all passenger seating
positions must be checked by an
authorized dealer to verify that the
automatic locking retractor feature for
child seats is still functioning properly. In
addition, all safety belts should be checked
for proper function. BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY
MUST BE REPLACED if the safety
belt assembly automatic locking
retractor feature or any other safety belt
function is not operating properly when
checked by an authorized dealer. Failure
to replace the belt and retractor assembly
could increase the risk of injury in crashes. All safety restraints in the vehicle are
combination lap and shoulder belts. The
driver safety belt has the first type of
locking mode, and the front outboard
passenger and rear seat safety belts have
both types of locking modes described as
follows:
Vehicle Sensitive Mode
This is the normal retractor mode, which
allows free shoulder belt length
adjustment to your movements and
locking in response to vehicle movement.
For example, if the driver brakes suddenly
or turns a corner sharply, or the vehicle
receives an impact of about 5 mph
(8 km/h) or more, the combination safety
belts will lock to help reduce forward
movement of the driver and passengers.
In addition, the retractor is designed to lock
if the webbing is pulled out too quickly. If
this occurs, let the belt retract slightly and
pull webbing out again in a slow and
controlled manner.
Automatic Locking Mode
In this mode, the shoulder belt is
automatically pre-locked. The belt will still
retract to remove any slack in the shoulder
belt. The automatic locking mode is not
available on the driver safety belt.
When to Use the Automatic Locking
Mode
This mode should be used any time a child
safety seat, except a booster, is installed
in passenger front or rear seating positions.
Children 12 years old and under should be
properly restrained in a rear seating
position whenever possible. See
Child
Safety (page 19).
33
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Safety BeltsE142590

How to Use the Automatic Locking
Mode
1. Buckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt.
2. Grasp the shoulder portion and pull downward until the entire belt is pulled
out.
Allow the belt to retract. As the belt
retracts, you will hear a clicking sound. This
indicates the safety belt is now in the
automatic locking mode.
How to Disengage the Automatic
Locking Mode
Unbuckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt and allow it to retract
completely to disengage the automatic
locking mode and turn on the vehicle
sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
How to Extract Safety Belts in the
Rear Outboard Positions
Safety belts in the rear outboard positions
can lock if the seatback is returned firmly
to its upright position. You can unlock the
safety belts using the following
procedures.
For vehicles where the rear seats recline:
1. Recline the seat to its full rear recline position.
2. The safety belt should then unlock. 3. Return the seatback to its desired
upright position.
For vehicles with rear seats that do not
recline or are locked with the seat in its full
rear recline position:
1. Grasp the safety belt webbing at the top of the seatback.
2. Pull the safety belt webbing forward, firmly.
3. After pulling the safety belt forward, allow the safety belt to feed back into
the safety belt retractor as much as
possible. If necessary, press the
seatback down to allow the safety belt
webbing to retract further.
4. The safety belt should then unlock.
5. If the safety belt does not unlock, repeat steps 1-3.
Safety Belt Extension Assembly WARNING
Do not use extensions to change the
fit of the shoulder belt across the
torso.
If the safety belt is too short when fully
extended, you can obtain a safety belt
extension assembly from an authorized
dealer.
Use only extensions manufactured by the
same supplier as the safety belt.
Manufacturer identification is on a label
located either at the end of the webbing
or on the retractor behind the trim. Also,
use the safety belt extension only if the
safety belt is too short for you when fully
extended.
34
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Safety BeltsE142591

SAFETY BELT HEIGHT
ADJUSTMENT
WARNING
Position the safety belt height
adjusters so that the belt rests
across the middle of your shoulder.
Failure to adjust the safety belt correctly
could reduce the effectiveness of the
safety belt and increase the risk of injury in
a crash. To adjust the shoulder belt height, squeeze
the button and slide the height adjuster up
or down. Release the button and pull down
on the height adjuster to make sure it is
locked in place.
SAFETY BELT WARNING LAMP
AND INDICATOR CHIME
This lamp illuminates and an
audible warning will sound if the
driver's safety belt has not been
fastened when the vehicle's ignition is
turned on.
Conditions of operation Then...
If...
The safety belt warning light illuminates 1-2 minutes and the warning chime sounds 4-8 seconds.
The driver's safety belt is not buckled
before the ignition switch is turned to the on position...
The safety belt warning light and warningchime turn off.
The driver's safety belt is buckled while the
indicator light is illuminated and the warning chime is sounding...
The safety belt warning light and indicatorchime remain off.
The driver's safety belt is buckled before
the ignition switch is turned to the on posi- tion...
35
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Safety BeltsE87511