seats FORD FLEX 2013 1.G User Guide

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.
If the booster seat slides on the vehicle seat, 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.
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INSTALLING CHILD SEATS WITH LAP AND SHOULDER BELTS
WARNING:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
NEVERplace 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
seat all the way back.
WARNING:Children 12 and under should be properly restrained
in the rear seat whenever possible.
WARNING:Depending on where you secure a child restraint,
and depending on the child restraint design, you may block
access to certain safety belt buckle assemblies and/or LATCH lower
anchors, rendering those features potentially unusable. To avoid risk of
injury, occupants should only use seating positions where they are able
to be properly restrained.
When installing a child safety seat with combination lap/shoulder belts:
•Use the correct safety belt 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 safety
seat, with the tongue between the child seat and the release button, to
prevent accidental unbuckling.
•Place vehicle seat back in upright position.
•For second row seating positions, if needed, the recliner may be
adjusted slightly to improve child seat fit. If needed the head restraints
may be removed.
•For third row seating positions the head restraints may be stowed to
improve child seat fit, if needed. Refer toRear seatsin theSeats
chapter for information on folding the head restraints.
•Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer to Step 5
below. This vehicle does not require the use of a locking clip.
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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, 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 (for standard safety belt) or pulling down
on the lap belt (for inflatable safety 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.
•Standard safety belt
•Inflatable safety belt
9. Attach the tether strap (if the child seat is equipped). Refer to
Installing child safety seats with tether strapslater in this chapter.
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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.
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.
INSTALLING CHILD SAFETY SEATS WITH Lower Anchors AND
Tethers FOR CHildren (LATCH)
WARNING:Never attach two child safety seats to th 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.
WARNING:Depending on where you secure a child restraint,
and depending on the child restraint design, you may block
access to certain safety belt buckle assemblies and/or LATCH lower
anchors, rendering those features potentially unusable. To avoid risk of
injury, occupants should only use seating positions where they are able
to be properly restrained.
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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.
Your vehicle has LATCH lower anchors for child seat installation at the
seating positions marked with the child seat symbol.
•Second row bucket seats and
third-row passenger side
•Second row bench seats and
third-row passenger side
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The LATCH anchors are located at
the rear section of the rear seat
between the cushion and seatback
below the symbols as shown. 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 toInstalling child safety seats with tether strapslater in this
chapter.
Attach LATCH lower attachments of the child seat only to the anchors
shown.
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.
INSTALLING CHILD SAFETY SEATS WITH 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 the 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.
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The tether strap anchors in your vehicle are in the following positions
(shown from top view):
•Second row bucket seats and
third-row passenger side
•Second row bench seats and
third-row passenger side
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 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.
1. Route the tether strap.
•Second row outboard seat positions:Route the child safety seat
tether strap over the seatback, under the head restraint and between
the head restraint posts. If needed the head restraint can be removed
to improve the fit of the child safety seat or tether strap.
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•Second row center seat positions:Route the child safety seat
tether strap over the top of the the head restraint. If needed the head
restraint can be removed to improve the fit of the child safety seat or
tether strap. SeeRear seatsin this chapter for head restraint
information.
•Third row seat position:Route the child safety seat tether strap
over the seatback, under the head restraint and between the head
restraint posts. If needed, the head restraint may be folded down to
improve the fit of the child safety seat or tether strap. SeeRear seats
in theSeatschapter for head restraint information.
2. Locate the correct anchor for the selected rear seating position.
•2nd row bucket (40/40)
•2nd row bench (60/40)
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PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
WARNING:Always drive and ride with your seatback 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 the vehicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the
child from injury in a collision.
WARNING:All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver,
should always properly wear their safety belts, even when an
airbag supplemental restraint system (SRS) is provided.
WARNING:It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision, 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.
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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 and
rear inflatable 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. Refer toSafety Belt
Warning Light and Indicator Chimelater in this chapter.
•Crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. Refer toCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorin
theSupplemental Restraint Systemchapter.
The safety belt pretensioners and rear inflatable safety belts are designed
to activate in frontal, near-frontal and side collisions, 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 collisions, the safety belt pretensioners can
be activated alone or, if the collision is of sufficient severity, together
with the front airbags.
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