seats FORD FOCUS ELECTRIC 2012 3.G Owner's Manual

SAFETY RESTRAINTS FOR CHILDREN
See the following sections for directions on how to properly use safety
restraints for children. Also seeAirbag supplemental restraint system
(SRS) in this chapter for special instructions about using airbags.
Important child restraint precautions
WARNING: Always make sure your child is secured properly in a
device that is appropriate for their height, age and weight. Child
safety restraints must be purchased separately from the vehicle. Failure
to follow these instructions and guidelines may result in an increased
risk of serious injury or death to your child.
WARNING: All children are shaped differently. The
Recommendations for Safety Restraints are based on probable
child height, age and weight thresholds from NHTSA and other safety
organizations or are the minimum requirements of law. Ford
recommends checking with a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger Safety
Technician (CPST) and consult your pediatrician to make sure your
child seat is appropriate for your child, and is compatible with and
properly installed in the vehicle. To locate a child seat fitting station
and CPST contact the NHTSA toll free at 1-888-327-4236 or on the
internet at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov. In Canada, check with your local
St. John Ambulance office for referral to a CPST or for further
information, contact your provincial ministry of transportation, your
local St. John Ambulance office at http://www.sfa.ca, or Transport
Canada at 1–800–333–0371 (http://www.tc.gc.ca). Failure to properly
restrain children in safety seats made especially for their height, age,
and weight may result in an increased risk of serious injury or death to
your child.
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Recommendations for Safety Restraints for ChildrenChild size, height, weight, or
age Recommended
restraint type
Infants
or
toddlers Children weighing 40 lb (18 kg) or
less (generally age four or
younger) Use a child safety seat
(sometimes called an
infant carrier,
convertible seat, or
toddler seat).
Small
children 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 lb
(18 kg) and 80 lb (36 kg) and
upward to 100 lb (45 kg) if
recommended by your child
restraint manufacturer) Use a belt-positioning
booster seat.
Larger
children Children who have outgrown or no
longer properly fit in a
belt-positioning booster seat
(generally children who are at
least 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 meters)
tall or greater than 80 lb (36 kg)
or 100 lb (45 kg) if recommended
by child restraint manufacturer) Use a vehicle safety
belt having the lap belt
snug and low across the
hips, shoulder belt
centered across the
shoulder and chest, and
seatback upright.
• You are required by law to properly use safety seats for infants and
toddlers in the U.S. and Canada.
• Many states and provinces require that small children use approved
booster seats until they reach age eight, a height of 4 ft 9 in.
(1.45 meters) tall, or 80 lb (36 kg). Check your local and state or
provincial laws for specific requirements regarding the safety of
children in your vehicle.
• When possible, always properly restrain children twelve (12) years of
age and under in a rear seating position of your vehicle. Accident
statistics suggest that children are safer when properly restrained in
the rear seating positions than in a front seating position.
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If the child is the proper height, age, and weight (as specified by your
child safety seat or booster manufacturer), fits the restraint and can be
restrained properly, then restrain the child in the child safety seat or
with the belt-positioning booster. Remember that child seats and
belt-positioning boosters vary and may be designed to fit children of
different heights, ages and weights. Children who are too large for child
safety seats or belt-positioning boosters (as specified by your child safety
seat manufacturer) should always properly wear safety belts.
SAFETY SEATS FOR CHILDREN
Infant and/or toddler seats
Use a safety seat that is recommended for the size and weight of the
child.
When installing a child safety seat:•Review and follow the
information presented in the
Airbag supplemental restraint
system (SRS) section in this
chapter.
• 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.
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 all the
way back.
Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating
position whenever possible. If all children cannot be seated and
restrained properly in a rear seating position, properly restrain the
largest child in the front seat.
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Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder belts
Check to make sure the child seat is properly secured before each use.
Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating
position whenever possible. If all children cannot be seated and
restrained properly in a rear seating position, properly restrain the
largest child in the front seat.
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.
• 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.
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.
Perform the following steps when installing the child seat with
combination lap/shoulder belts:
Note: Although the child seat illustrated is a forward facing child seat,
the steps are the same for installing a rear facing child seat.
1. Position the child safety seat in a
seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
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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
pulled out.
Note:The automatic locking mode
is available on the front passenger
and rear seats. This vehicle does not
require the use of a locking clip.
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, unbuckle the belt and 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 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.
9. Attach the tether strap (if the child seat is equipped). Refer to
Attaching child safety seats with tether straps later 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.
11. 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.
Attaching child safety seats with Lower Anchor and Tethers for
CHildren (LATCH) attachments
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. Ford Motor Company recommends the use of a
child safety seat having a top tether strap. See Attaching child safety
seats with tether straps andRecommendations for attaching safety
restraints for children in this chapter for more information.
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Your vehicle has LATCH lower
anchors for child seat installation at
the seating positions marked with
the child seat symbol.
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 to Attaching child safety seats with tether straps later in this
chapter.
Attach LATCH lower attachments of the child seat only to the anchors
shown.
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 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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Use of inboard lower anchors from the outboard seating positions
(center seating use)
The lower anchors at the center of the second row rear seat are spaced
18 inches (450 mm) apart. The standardized spacing for LATCH lower
anchors is 11 inches (280 mm) 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.
WARNING:The standardized spacing for LATCH lower anchors
is 11 inches (280 mm) 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.
Each time you use the safety seat, check that the seat is properly
attached to the lower anchors and tether anchor, if applicable. Tug the
child seat from side to side and forward and back where it is secured to
the vehicle. The seat should move less than one inch when you do this
for a proper installation.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being
injured in a crash greatly increases.
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. Refer
to Recommendations for attaching child safety restraints for children
in this chapter.
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Attaching child safety seats with tether strapsMany 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.
The rear seats of your vehicle are equipped with built-in tether strap
anchors located on the back panel of the rear seat. 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.
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.
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.
Perform the following steps to install a child safety seat with tether
anchors:
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. See Rear seatsin this
chapter.
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2. Locate the correct anchor for the
selected seating position.
3. Clip the tether strap to the
anchor as shown.
If the tether strap is clipped
incorrectly, the child safety seat
may not be retained properly in the
event of a collision.
4. 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.
If your child restraint system is equipped with a tether strap, and the child
restraint manufacturer recommends its use, Ford also recommends its use.
Child booster seats
The belt-positioning booster (booster seat) is used to improve the fit of
the vehicle safety belt. Children outgrow a typical child seat (e.g.,
convertible or toddler seat) when they weigh about 40 lb (18 kg) and are
around four (4) years of age. Consult your child safety seat owner guide
for the weight, height, and age limits specific to your child safety seat.
Keep your child in the child safety seat if it properly fits the child,
remains appropriate for their weight, height and age AND if properly
secured to the vehicle.
Although the lap/shoulder belt will provide some protection, children
who have outgrown a typical child seat are still too small for lap/shoulder
belts to fit properly, and wearing an improperly fitted vehicle safety belt
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