LINCOLN CONTINENTAL 1996 Customer Assistance Guide

Safety Seats for Children
Use a safety seat that is recommended for the size
and weight of the child. Always follow the safety
seat manufacturer's instructions when installing
and using the safety seat.
Ford recommends the use of a child safety seat
having a top tether strap. Install the child safety
seat in a seating position which is capable of
providing a tether anchorage. For more
information on top tether straps see Attaching
Safety Seats With Tether Straps in this chapter.
When installing a child safety seat, be sure to use
the correct safety belt buckle for that seating
position, and make sure the tongue is securely
fastened in the buckle./!\WARNINGREAR-FACING INFANT SEATSSHOULD NEVER BE USED IN THEFRONT SEAT. REAR-FACING INFANTSEATS MUST ALWAYS BE PLACED INTHE REAR SEAT. Failure to follow theseinstructions could result in serious injury.When using forward-facing child seats inthe front seat, always move the passengerseat as far back from the instrument panelas possible. Failure to follow thesewarnings could result in injury to thechild.All child restraint systems are designed to be
secured in vehicle seats by lap belts or by the lap
portion of a lap-shoulder belt.
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/!\WARNINGIf you do not properly secure the safetyseat, the child occupying the seat may beinjured during a collision or sudden stop.An unsecured safety seat could also injureother passengers./!\WARNINGCarefully follow all of the manufacturer'sinstructions included with the safety seatyou put in your vehicle. If you do notinstall and use the safety seat properly, thechild may be injured in a sudden stop orcollision.28/!\WARNINGAlways keep the buckle release buttonpointing upward and away from the childseat, with the tongue between the child seatand the release button as shown in thefollowing illustration.

Safety belt buckle placement for child seatsInstalling Safety Seats in the Front and
Rear Seating Positions
Your vehicle is equipped with a dual locking mode
retractor on the shoulder belt portion of the
combination lap/shoulder safety belt for the front
seat passenger and rear passengers.
If you choose to install a child safety seat in the
front seating position, move vehicle seat as far
back as possible.
For seating positions equipped with a dual-locking
mode retractor, use the following procedure:
1. Position the child seat in center of passenger
seat.
2. Pull down on shoulder belt, then grasp
shoulder belt and lap belt together. Figure 1.
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303. While holding the shoulder and lap belt
portions together, route the tongue through the
child seat according to the child seat
manufacturer's instructions. See Figure 2. Be
sure that the belt webbing is not twisted.

Routing the lap/shoulder belt4. Insert the belt tongue into the proper buckle
for that seating position until you hear and feel
the latch engage. See Figure 3. Make sure
tongue is latched securely to buckle by pulling
on tongue.
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Buckling the belt
325. Grasp the shoulder portion of the belt and pull
downward until all of the belt is extracted and a
click is heard. At this time, the retractor is in
the automatic locking mode (child restraint
mode). See Figure 4.
NOTE:The dual locking mode retractor
must be in the automatic locking mode to properly
restrain a child seat.

Setting the retractor to automatic locking
mode6. Allow the belt to retract. A clicking sound will
be heard as the belt retracts. This indicates the
retractor is in the automatic locking mode.
Pull on the lap belt portion across the child seat
towards the buckle and continue to pull up on
the shoulder belt portion while pushing down
on the child seat allowing the shoulder belt to
retract to remove any slack in the seat belt.
See Figures 5 and 6.
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7.Before placing the child in the child seat,
forcibly tilt the seat from side to side and in
forward directions to make sure that the seat is
securely held in place. See Figure 7.Checking that the seat is secure
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8. Double check that the retractor is in the
automatic locking mode. Try to pull more belt
out of the retractor. If you cannot, the belt is in
the automatic locking mode. See Figure 8.
36Checking the retractor