FORD F250 2006 Owners Manual

SAFETY SEATS FOR CHILDREN
Child and infant or child safety seats
Use a safety seat that is recommended for the size and weight of the
child. Carefully follow all of the manufacturer’s instructions 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.
When installing a child safety seat:
•Review and follow the information
presented in theAirbag
supplemental restraint system
(SRS) section in this chapter.
•Use the correct safety belt buckle
for that seating position (the
buckle closest to the direction the
tongue is coming from).
•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 safety
seat, with the tongue between the child seat and the release button,
to prevent accidental unbuckling.
•Place seat back in upright position.
•Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer toAutomatic
locking mode(passenger side front and outboard rear seating
positions) (if equipped) section in this chapter.
•LATCH lower anchors are recommended for use by children up to 48
pounds (22 kg) in a child restraint. Top tether anchors can be used
for children up to 60 pounds (27 kg) in a child restraint, and to
provide upper torso restraint for children up to 80 pounds (36 kg)
using an upper torso harness and a belt-positioning booster.
Ford recommends the use of a child safety seat having a top tether
strap. Install the child safety seat in a seating position with a tether
anchor. For more information on top tether straps and anchors, refer to
Attaching safety seats with tether strapsin this chapter.
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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.
Rear-facing child seats or infant carriers should never be placed
in the front seats, unless the passenger airbag On/Off switch is
turned off. SeePassenger airbag ON/OFF switchin this chapter.
Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder
belts
1. Position the child safety seat in a
seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
An airbag can kill or injure a child in a child seat. Child seats
should NEVER be placed in the front seats, unless the passenger
airbag switch is turned off, SeePassenger airbag on/off switch.
Rear facing child seats should NEVER be placed in the front
seats unless the passenger airbag switch is turned off.
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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
manufacturer’s instructions. Be sure
the belt webbing is not twisted.
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 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 all of the belt is
extracted and a click is heard.
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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. To check
this, grab the seat at the belt path
and attempt to move it side to side
and forward. There should be no
more than one inch of movement for
proper installation.
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 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.
Attaching child safety seats with tether straps
Most new forward-facing child safety seats include a tether strap which
goes over the back of the seat and hooks to an anchoring point. 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.
The passenger seats of your vehicle may be equipped with built-in tether
strap anchors located behind the seats as described below.
The tether anchors in your vehicle may be straps on the seatback or an
anchor bracket on the rear edge of the seat cushion or an anchor bracket
mounted to the body shell on the back panel.
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The SuperCab rear seat has three straps behind the top of the seat back
that function as both routing loops for the tether straps and anchor
loops.
The tether strap anchors in your vehicle are in the following positions
(shown from top view):
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.
•F-Series Regular Cab
•F-Series SuperCab
•F-Series Crew Cab
Tether strap attachment
1. Position the child safety seat on the seat cushion.
2. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the back of the seat.
3. Locate the correct anchor for the selected seating position.
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4. You may need to pull the seatback forward to access the tether anchors.
Make sure the seat is locked in the upright position before installing the
child seat. Refer to theRear folding seat system with load floorsection
in this chapter for information on how to operate the rear seats.
5. Clip the tether strap to the anchor as shown.
•Front seats (Regular Cab)
•Front seat (SuperCab)
•Rear seats (Crew Cab)
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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6. Refer to theInstalling child safety seats in combination lap and
shoulder belt seating positionssection of this chapter for further
instructions to secure the child safety seat.
7. 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.
Tether strap attachment (rear SuperCab only)
There are three loops of webbing just above the back of the rear seat
(along the bottom edge of the rear window) in the SuperCab. These
loops are to be used as both routing loops and anchor loops for up to
three child safety seat tether straps.
Many tether straps cannot be tightened if the tether strap is hooked to
the loop directly behind the child seat. To provide a tight tether strap:
1. Route the tether strap through
the loop directly behind the child
seat.
2. Attach the strap hook onto the
loop behind an adjacent seating
position.
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3. Install the child safety seat tightly
using the vehicle belts. Follow the
instructions in this chapter.
4. Tighten the tether strap
according to the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions.
A single loop can be used to route and anchor more than one child seat.
For example, the center loop can be used as a routing loop for a child
safety seat in the center rear seat and as an anchoring loop for child
seats installed in the outboard rear seats.
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NOTICE TO UTILITY VEHICLE AND TRUCK OWNERS
Utility vehicles and trucks handle
differently than passenger cars in
the various driving conditions that
are encountered on streets,
highways and off-road. Utility
vehicles and trucks are not designed
for cornering at speeds as high as
passenger cars any more than
low-slung sports cars are designed
to perform satisfactorily under
off-road conditions.
Utility vehicles have a significantly higher rollover rate than
other types of vehicles. To reduce the risk of serious injury or
death from a rollover or other crash you must:
•Avoid sharp turns and abrupt maneuvers;
•Drive at safe speeds for the conditions;
•Keep tires properly inflated;
•Never overload or improperly load your vehicle; and
•Make sure every passenger is properly restrained.
In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly more likely
to die than a person wearing a seat belt. All occupants must
wear safety belts and children/infants must use appropriate restraints
to minimize the risk of injury or ejection.
Study yourOwner’s Guideand any supplements for specific information
about equipment features, instructions for safe driving and additional
precautions to reduce the risk of an accident or serious injury.
VEHICLE CHARACTERISTICS
4WD and AWD Systems (if equipped)
A vehicle equipped with AWD or 4WD (when you select the 4WD mode)
has the ability to use all four wheels to power itself. This increases
traction which may enable you to safely drive over terrain and road
conditions that a conventional two-wheel drive vehicle cannot.
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Power is supplied to all four wheels
through a transfer case or power
transfer unit. 4WD vehicles allow
you to select different drive modes
as necessary. Information on shifting
procedures and maintenance can be
found in yourOwner’s Guide.You
should become thoroughly familiar
with this information before you operate your vehicle.
On some 4WD models, the initial shift from two-wheel drive to 4WD
while the vehicle is moving can cause a momentary clunk and ratcheting
sound. These sounds are normal as the front drivetrain comes up to
speed and is not cause for concern.
Do not become overconfident in the ability of 4WD and AWD
vehicles. Although a 4WD or AWD vehicle may accelerate better
than two-wheel drive vehicle in low traction situations, it won’t stop
any faster than two-wheel drive vehicles. Always drive at a safe speed.
How your vehicle differs from other vehicles
SUV and trucks can differ from
some other vehicles in a few
noticeable ways. Your vehicle may
be:
•Higher – to allow higher load
carrying capacity and to allow it
to travel over rough terrain
without getting hung up or
damaging underbody components.
•Shorter – to give it the capability
to approach inclines and drive
over the crest of a hill without
getting hung up or damaging
underbody components. All other
things held equal, a shorter
wheelbase may make your vehicle quicker to respond to steering
inputs than a vehicle with a longer wheelbase.
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