warning FORD FLEX 2015 1.G User Guide

INSTALLING CHILD SEATS
Child Seats
Use a child safety seat (sometimes
called an infant carrier, convertible
seat, or toddler seat) for infants,
toddlers or children weighing
40 pounds (18 kilograms) or less
(generally age four or younger).
Using Lap and Shoulder Belts
WARNING: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
seat upon which the child seat is installed all the way back.
WARNING:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
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 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 and 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.
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Using Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren (LATCH)
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.
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 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.
The LATCH system is composed of three vehicle anchor points: two
lower anchors located where seat back and seat cushion meet (called the
seat bight) and one 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
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•Second-row bench seats and
third-row passenger side
The LATCH anchors are located at
the rear section of the rear seat
between the cushion and seat back
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.
SeeUsing Tether Strapslater in this chapter.
Attach LATCH lower attachments of the child seat only to the anchors
shown.
Using Inboard Lower Anchors From the Outboard Seating
Positions (Center Seating Use)
WARNING:The standardized spacing for LATCH lower anchors
is 11 inches (280 millimeters) center to center. Do not use
LATCH lower anchors for the center seating position unless the child
seat manufacturer’s instructions permit and specify using anchors
spaced at least as far apart as those in this vehicle.
The lower anchors at the center of the second row rear seat are spaced
20.5 inches (520 millimeters apart). The standardized spacing for LATCH
lower anchors is 11 inches (280 millimeters) center to center. A child
seat with rigid LATCH attachments cannot be installed at the center
seating position. LATCH compatible child seats (with attachments on belt
webbing) can only be used at this seating position provided that the
child seat manufacturer’s instructions permit use with the anchor spacing
stated. Do not attach a child seat to any lower anchor if an adjacent
child seat is attached to that anchor.
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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.
Note:Some booster seat safety belt guides may not accommodate the
shoulder portion of the inflatable safety belt.
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 (8), 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 the child is seated without a booster seat.
•Can the child sit all the way
back against their vehicle seat
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.
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CHILD SEAT POSITIONING
WARNING: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.
WARNING: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 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.
WARNING: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.
WARNING: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.
WARNING: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.
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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.
WARNING:To avoid risk of injury, do not leave children or pets
unattended in your vehicle.
Recommendations for attaching child safety restraints for
children
Restraint
TypeCom-
bined
weight
of child
and child
seatUse any attachment method as indicated be-
low by X.
LATCH
(lower
anchors
and top
tether
anchor)LATCH
(lower
anchors
only)Safety
belt
and
top
tether
anchorSafety
belt and
LATCH
(lower
anchors
and top
tether
anchor)Safety
belt
only
Rear-facing
child seatUp to
65 lb
(29.5 kg)XX
Rear-facing
child seatOver
65 lb
(29.5 kg)X
Forward-
facing child
seatUp to
65 lb
(29.5 kg)XXX
Forward-
facing child
seatOver
65 lb
(29.5 kg)XX
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 theSeatschapter for information on head restraints.
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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: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 crash, which may result in serious injury or death.
WARNING:To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
where they can be properly restrained.
WARNING:All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver,
should always properly wear their safety belts, even when an
airbag supplemental restraint system is provided. Failure to properly
wear your safety belt could seriously increase the risk of injury or
death.
WARNING:Do not allow people to travel in any area of your
vehicle that does not have seats and safety belts. Riding in a
cargo area, inside or outside of the vehicle, is extremely dangerous. In a
crash, people riding in these areas are more likely to be seriously
injured or killed. Make sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and
using a safety belt correctly. Failure to follow this warning could result
in serious personal injury or death.
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.
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WARNING:When possible, all children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in a rear seating position. Failure
to follow this could seriously increase the risk of injury or death.
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.
•Safety belt pretensioner at the front outboard seating positions.
•Belt tension sensor at the front outboard passenger seating position.
•Safety belt warning light and chime. SeeSafety Belt
Warning Light and Indicator Chimelater in this chapter.
•Crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. SeeCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorin the
Supplemental Restraint Systemchapter.
The safety belt pretensioners and rear inflatable safety belts are designed
to activate in frontal, near-frontal and side crashes, and in rollovers. The
safety belt pretensioners 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.
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FASTENING THE SAFETY BELTS
The front outboard and rear safety restraints in your 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.
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.
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Pregnant women should always
wear their safety belts. 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
WARNING: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.
WARNING:The 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 locking mode. 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 or lap 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(s) 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.
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