child seat FORD EXPLORER 2023 User Guide

Second Row Bucket Seats and ThirdRow Seats
Second Row Bench Seats and ThirdRow Seats
Perform the following steps to install achild restraint with tether anchors:
Note:If you install a child restraint with rigidLATCH attachments, do not tighten thetether strap enough to lift the child restraintoff your vehicle seat cushion when the childis seated in it. Keep the tether strap just snugwithout lifting the front of the child restraint.Keeping the child restraint just touching yourvehicle seat gives the best protection in asevere crash.
For second row outermost seatingpositions, route the child restraint tetherstrap over the seat backrest, under thehead restraint and between the headrestraint posts. If needed, remove the headrestraint to improve the fit of the childrestraint or tether strap.
For the second row center seating position,route the child restraint tether strap overthe top of the head restraint. If needed,remove the head restraint to improve thefit of the child restraint or tether strap. SeeHead Restraints (page 144).
For third row seating positions, route thechild restraint tether strap over the seatbackrest, under the head restraint andbetween the head restraint posts. Ifneeded, fold the head restraint down toimprove the fit of the child restraint ortether strap. See Head Restraints (page144).
1.Route the tether strap.
2.Locate the correct anchor for theselected seating position.
3.Clip the tether strap to the anchor asshown. The tether hook may betwisted ½ turn to improve installation.If you clip the tether strap incorrectly,the child restraint may not be retainedproperly in the event of a crash.
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4.Tighten the child restraint tether strapaccording to the manufacturer'sinstructions.
If you do not properly anchor the childrestraint, the risk of injury to a childincreases greatly in a crash.
If your child restraint system has a tetherstrap, and the child restraint manufacturerrecommends its use, we also recommendits use.
Second Row Bucket Seats
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Second Row Bench Seats
Third Row Seats
Note:The cargo tie downs at the rear edgeof the floor are not tether anchors.
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BOOSTER SEATS
WARNING: Do not put the shouldersection of the seatbelt or allow the childto put the shoulder section of theseatbelt under their arm or behind theirback. Failure to follow this instructioncould reduce the effectiveness of theseatbelt and increase the risk of injury ordeath in a crash.
Use a belt-positioning booster seat forchildren who have outgrown or no longerproperly fit in a child safety restraint(generally children who are less than 57 in(1.45 m) tall, are greater than age 4 andless 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 childrestraint manufacturer). Many state andprovincial laws require that children useapproved booster seats until they reachage eight, a height of 57 in (1.45 m) tall, or80 lb (36 kg).
Booster seats should be used until you cananswer YES to ALL of these questionswhen seated without a booster seat:
•Can the child sit all the way backagainst their vehicle seat backrest withknees bent comfortably at the edge ofthe seat cushion?
•Can the child sit without slouching?
•Does the lap belt rest low across thehips?
•Is the shoulder belt centered on theshoulder and chest?
•Can the child stay seated like this forthe whole trip?
Always use booster seats in conjunctionwith your vehicle lap and shoulder belt.
Types of Booster Seats
•Backless booster seats
If your backless booster seat has aremovable shield, remove the shield. If avehicle seating position has a low seatbackrest or no head restraint, a backlessbooster 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 anotherseating position with a higher seat backrestor head restraint and lap and shoulderbelts, or consider using a high back boosterseat.
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•High back booster seats
If, with a backless booster seat, you cannotfind a seating position that adequatelysupports your child's head, a high backbooster seat would be a better choice.
Children and booster seats vary in size andshape. Choose a booster that keeps thelap belt low and snug across the hips,never up across the stomach, and lets youadjust the shoulder belt to cross the chestand rest snugly near the center of theshoulder. The following drawings comparethe ideal fit (center) to a shoulder beltuncomfortably close to the neck and ashoulder belt that could slip off theshoulder. The drawings also show how thelap belt should be low and snug across thechild's hips.
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If the booster seat slides on the vehicleseat upon which it is being used, placing arubberized mesh sold as shelf or carpetliner under the booster seat may improvethis condition. Do not introduce any itemthicker than this under the booster seat.Check with the booster seatmanufacturer's instructions.
CHILD RESTRAINT
POSITIONING
WARNING: Do not place arearward facing child restraint in front ofan active airbag. Failure to follow thisinstruction could result in personal injuryor death.
WARNING: Properly securechildren 12 years old and under in a rearseating position whenever possible. Ifyou are unable to properly secure allchildren in a rear seating position,properly secure the largest child on thefront seat. If you must use a forwardfacing child restraint on the front seat,move the seat as far back as possible.Failure to follow these instructions couldresult in personal injury or death.
WARNING: Always carefully followthe instructions and warnings providedby the manufacturer of any childrestraint to determine if the restraintdevice is appropriate for your child's size,height, weight, or age. Follow the childrestraint manufacturer's instructions andwarnings provided for installation anduse in conjunction with the instructions
and warnings provided by your vehiclemanufacturer. A safety seat that isimproperly installed or utilized, isinappropriate for your child's height, age,or weight or does not properly fit thechild may increase the risk of seriousinjury or death.
WARNING: Do not allow apassenger to hold a child on their lapwhen your vehicle is moving. Failure tofollow this instruction could result inpersonal injury or death in the event of asudden stop or crash.
WARNING: Do not use pillows,books or towels to boost your child'sheight. Failure to follow this instructioncould result in personal injury or death.
WARNING: Properly secure childrestraints or booster seats when they arenot in use. They could become projectilesin a sudden stop or crash. Failure tofollow this instruction could result inpersonal injury or death.
WARNING: Do not put the shouldersection of the seatbelt or allow the childto put the shoulder section of theseatbelt under their arm or behind theirback. Failure to follow this instructioncould reduce the effectiveness of theseatbelt and increase the risk of injury ordeath in a crash.
WARNING: Do not leave childrenor pets unattended in your vehicle.Failure to follow this instruction couldresult in personal injury or death.
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Recommendations for Attaching Child Safety Restraints for Children
Use Any Attachment Method as Indicated Below by X
CombinedWeight ofChild andChildRestraint
RestraintType
SeatbeltOnlySeatbeltand LATCH(LowerAnchorsand TopTetherAnchor)
Seatbeltand TopTetherAnchor
LATCH(LowerAnchorsOnly)
LATCH(LowerAnchorsand TopTetherAnchor)
XXUp to 65 lb(29.5 kg)
Rear facingchildrestraint
XOver 65 lb(29.5 kg)
Rear facingchildrestraint
XXXUp to 65 lb(29.5 kg)
Forwardfacingchildrestraint
XXOver 65 lb(29.5 kg)
Forwardfacingchildrestraint
Note:The child restraint must rest tightlyagainst the vehicle seat upon which it isinstalled. It may be necessary to lift orremove the head restraint. See Seats (page144).
CHILD SAFETY LOCKS
WARNING: You cannot open therear doors from inside if you have put thechild safety locks on.
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PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
WARNING: Always drive and ridewith your seatback upright and the lapbelt snug and low across the hips.
WARNING: Children must alwaysbe properly restrained.
WARNING: Do not allow apassenger to hold a child on their lapwhen your vehicle is moving. Failure tofollow this instruction could result inpersonal injury or death in the event of asudden stop or crash.
WARNING: All occupants of yourvehicle, including the driver, shouldalways properly wear their seatbelts,even when an airbag supplementalrestraint system is provided. Failure toproperly wear your seatbelt couldseriously increase the risk of injury ordeath.
WARNING: It is extremelydangerous to ride in a cargo area, insideor outside of a vehicle. In a crash, peopleriding in these areas are more likely to beseriously injured or killed. Do not allowpeople to ride in any area of your vehiclethat is not equipped with seats andseatbelts. Make sure everyone in yourvehicle is in a seat and properly using aseatbelt. Failure to follow this warningcould result in serious personal injury ordeath.
WARNING: In a rollover crash, anunbelted person is significantly morelikely to die than a person wearing aseatbelt.
WARNING: Each seating positionin your vehicle has a specific seatbeltassembly made up of one buckle andone tongue designed to be used as a pair.Use the shoulder belt on the outsideshoulder only. Never wear the shoulderbelt under the arm. Never use a singleseatbelt for more than one person.
WARNING: Even with advancedrestraints systems, properly restrainchildren 12 and under in a rear seatingposition. Failure to follow this couldseriously increase the risk of injury ordeath.
WARNING: Seatbelts and seatsmay be hot in a vehicle that is in thesunshine. The hot seatbelts or seats mayburn a small child. Check seat covers andbuckles before you place a childanywhere near them.
All seating positions in your vehicle havelap and shoulder seatbelts. All occupantsof the vehicle should always properly weartheir seatbelts, even when an airbagsupplemental restraint system is provided.
The seatbelt system consists of:
•Lap and shoulder seatbelts.
•Shoulder seatbelt with automaticlocking mode, (except driver seatbelt).
•Height adjuster at the front outermostseating positions.
•Seatbelt pretensioners at the frontoutermost and second row outermostseating positions.
•Belt tension sensor at the frontoutermost passenger seating position.
•Seatbelt warning light and chime.
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Pregnant women should always wear theirseatbelt. Position the lap belt portion of acombination lap and shoulder belt lowacross the hips below the belly and wornas tight as comfort allows. Position theshoulder belt to cross the middle of theshoulder and the center of the chest.
Seatbelt Locking Modes
WARNING: If your vehicle isinvolved in a crash, have the seatbeltsand associated components inspectedas soon as possible. Failure to follow thisinstruction could result in personal injuryor death.
All safety restraints in the vehicle arecombination lap and shoulder belts. Thedriver seatbelt has the first type of lockingmode, and the front outboard passengerand rear seat seatbelts have both types oflocking modes described as follows:
Vehicle Sensitive Mode
This is the normal retractor mode, whichallows free shoulder belt lengthadjustment to your movements andlocking in response to vehicle movement.For example, if the driver brakes suddenlyor turns a corner sharply, or the vehiclereceives an impact of about 5 mph(8 km/h) or more, the combinationseatbelts lock to help reduce forwardmovement of the driver and passengers.
In addition, the design of the retractor is tolock if you pull the webbing out too quickly.If the seatbelt retractor locks, slowly lowerthe height adjuster to allow the seatbeltto retract. If the retractor does not unlock,pull the seatbelt out slowly then feed a
small length of webbing back toward thestowed position. For rear seatbelts, reclinethe rear seat backrest or push the seatbackrest cushion away from the seatbelt.Feed a small length of webbing backtoward the stowed position.
Automatic Locking Mode
In this mode, the shoulder beltautomatically pre-locks. The belt retractsto remove any slack in the shoulder belt.The automatic locking mode is notavailable on the driver seatbelt.
When to Use the Automatic LockingMode
Use this mode any time you install a childsafety seat, except a booster, in passengerfront or rear seating positions. Properlyrestrain children 12 years old and under ina rear seating position whenever possible.See Child Safety (page 23).
How to Use the Automatic LockingMode
1.Buckle the combination lap andshoulder belt.
2.Grasp the shoulder portion and pulldownward until you pull the entire beltout. Allow the belt to retract. As thebelt retracts, you will hear a clickingsound. This indicates the seatbelt isnow in the automatic locking mode.
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Seatbelt fastened.A
Seatbelt not fastened.B
Seatbelt recently unfastened.C
FaultD
Deactivating and Activating theBelt-Minder Feature - Front outermostseats only
WARNING: While the systemallows you to deactivate it, this systemis designed to improve your chances ofbeing safely belted and surviving anaccident. We recommend you leave thesystem activated for yourself and otherswho may use the vehicle.
Note:The driver and front passengerwarnings switch on and off independently.When you perform this procedure for oneseating position, do not buckle the otherposition as this terminates the process.
Read Steps 1 - 4 before starting theprocedure.
Make sure that:
•You set the parking brake.
•The transmission is in park (P).
•The ignition is off.
•You close all vehicle doors.
•You unbuckle the driver and frontpassenger seatbelts.
1.Switch the ignition on. Do not start theengine.
2.Wait until the seatbelt warning lampturns off (about one minute). AfterStep 2, wait an additional five secondsbefore proceeding with Step 3. Onceyou start Step 3, you must completethe procedure within 60 seconds.
3.For the seating position you areswitching off, buckle then unbuckle theseatbelt three times at a moderatespeed, ending in the unbuckled state.After Step 3, the seatbelt warning lampturns on.
4.When the seatbelt warning lamp is on,buckle then unbuckle the seatbelt.After Step 4, the seatbelt warning lampflashes for confirmation.
•This switches the feature off if it iscurrently on.
•This switches the feature on if it iscurrently off.
CHILD RESTRAINT AND
SEATBELT MAINTENANCE
Inspect the vehicle seatbelts and childsafety seat systems periodically to makesure they work properly and are notdamaged. Inspect the vehicle and childrestraint seatbelts to make sure there areno nicks, tears or cuts. Replace ifnecessary. All vehicle seatbelt assemblies,including retractors, buckles, front seatbeltbuckle assemblies, buckle supportassemblies (slide bar-if equipped),shoulder belt height adjusters (ifequipped), shoulder belt guide on seatbackrest (if equipped), child safety seatLATCH and tether anchors, and attachinghardware, should be inspected after acrash. Read the child restraintmanufacturer's instructions for additionalinspection and maintenance informationspecific to the child restraint.
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