LINCOLN MKX 2008 Owners Manual

The Safety Canopy™ system is designed to activate when the vehicle
sustains lateral deceleration sufficient to cause the side crash sensor to
close an electrical circuit that initiates Safety Canopy™ inflation or when
a certain likelihood of a rollover event is detected by the rollover sensor.
The Safety Canopy™ is mounted to roof side-rail sheet metal, behind the
headliner, along the entire side of the vehicle. In certain lateral collisions
or rollover events, the Safety Canopy™ system will be activated,
regardless of which seats are occupied. The Safety Canopy™ is designed
to inflate between the side window area and occupants to further
enhance protection provided in side impact collisions and rollover events.
The fact that the Safety Canopy™ did not activate in a collision does not
mean that something is wrong with the system. Rather, it means the
forces were not of the type sufficient to cause activation. The Safety
Canopy™ is designed to inflate in certain side impact collisions or
rollover events, not in rear impact, frontal or near-frontal collisions,
unless the collision causes sufficient lateral deceleration or rollover.
If the Safety Canopy™
system has deployed,the
Safety Canopy™ will not
function again unless replaced.
The Safety Canopy™ system
(including the A, B, C, and D
pillar trim and headliner) must
be inspected and serviced by
an authorized dealer.If the
Safety Canopy™ is not replaced,
the unrepaired area will increase
the risk of injury in a collision.
Determining if the system is operational
The SRS uses a readiness light in the instrument cluster or a tone to
indicate the condition of the system. Refer to theAirbag readiness
section in theInstrument Clusterchapter. Routine maintenance of the
airbag is not required.
2008 MKX(mkx)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
171

Any difficulty with the system is indicated by one or more of the
following:
•The readiness airbag light (same light as for front airbag system) will
either flash or stay lit.
•The readiness light will not illuminate immediately after ignition is
turned on.
•A series of five beeps will be heard. The tone pattern will repeat
periodically until the problem and light are repaired.
If any of these things happen, even intermittently, have the SRS serviced
at your an authorized dealer immediately. Unless serviced, the system
may not function properly in the event of a collision or rollover event.
Disposal of airbags and airbag equipped vehicles (including
pretensioners)
See your authorized dealer. Airbags MUST BE disposed of by qualified
personnel.
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
You are required by law to use safety restraints for children in the U.S.
and Canada. If small children (generally children who are four years old
or younger and who weigh 40 lb. [18 kg] or less) ride in your vehicle, you
must put them in safety seats made especially for children. Many states
require that children use approved booster seats until they are eight
years old. Check your local and state or provincial laws for specific
requirements regarding the safety of children in your vehicle. When
possible, always place children under age 12 in the rear seat of your
vehicle. Accident statistics suggest that children are safer when properly
restrained in the rear seating positions than in the front seating position.
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.
Always follow the instructions and warnings that come with any infant or
child restraint you might use.
2008 MKX(mkx)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
172

Children and safety belts
If the child is the proper size, restrain the child in a safety seat. Children
who are too large for child safety seats (as specified by your child safety
seat manufacturer) should always wear safety belts.
Follow all the important safety restraint and airbag precautions that
apply to adult passengers in your vehicle.
If the shoulder belt portion of a combination lap and shoulder belt can
be positioned so it does not cross or rest in front of the child’s face or
neck, the child should wear the lap and shoulder belt. Moving the child
closer to the center of the vehicle may help provide a good shoulder belt
fit.
Do not leave children, unreliable adults, or pets unattended in
your vehicle.
Child booster seats
Children outgrow a typical convertible or toddler seat when they weigh
40 lb. (18 kg) and are around 4 years of age. Although the lap/shoulder
belt will provide some protection, these children are still too small for
lap/shoulder belts to fit properly, which could increase the risk of serious
injury in a crash.
To improve the fit of both the lap and shoulder belt on children who
have outgrown child safety seats, Ford Motor Company recommends use
of a belt-positioning booster.
Booster seats position a child so that safety belts fit better. They lift the
child up so that the lap belt rests low across the hips and the knees
bend comfortably. Booster seats may also make the shoulder belt fit
better and more comfortably. Try to keep the belt near the middle of the
shoulder.
When children should use booster seats
Children need to use booster seats from the time they outgrow the
toddler seat until they are big enough for the vehicle seat and
lap/shoulder belt to fit properly. Generally this is when they weigh about
80 lb. (36 kg) (about 8 to 12 years old).
2008 MKX(mkx)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
173

Booster seats should be used until you can answer YES to ALL of these
questions:
•Can the child sit all the way back
against the vehicle seat back with
knees bent comfortably at the
edge of the seat 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?
Types of booster seats
There are two types of belt-positioning booster seats:
•Those that are backless.
If your backless booster seat has a
removable shield, remove the
shield and use the lap/shoulder
belt. If a seating position has a
low seat back and no head
restraint, a backless booster seat
may place your child’s head (top
of ear level) above the top of the
seat. In this case, move the
backless booster to another
seating position with a higher seat back and lap/shoulder belts.
•Those with a high back.
If, with a backless booster seat,
you cannot find a seating position
that adequately supports your
child’s head, a high back booster
seat would be a better choice.
Either type can be used at any seating position equipped with
lap/shoulder belts if your child is over 40 lb. (18 kg).
2008 MKX(mkx)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
174

Children and booster seats vary widely 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 drawings
below compare the ideal fit (center) to a shoulder belt uncomfortably
close to the neck and a shoulder belt that could slip off the shoulder.
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.
The importance of shoulder belts
Using a booster without a shoulder belt increases the risk of a child’s head
hitting a hard surface in a collision. For this reason, you should never use a
booster seat with a lap belt only. It is best to use a booster seat with
lap/shoulder belts in the back seat- the safest place for children to ride.
Move a child to a different seating location if the shoulder belt
does not stay positioned on the shoulder during use.
Follow all instructions provided by the manufacturer of the
booster seat.
Never put the shoulder belt under a child’s arm or behind the
back because it eliminates the protection for the upper part of
the body and may increase the risk of injury or death in a collision.
Never use pillows, books, or towels to boost a child. They can
slide around and increase the likelihood of injury or death in a
collision.
2008 MKX(mkx)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
175

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
section in this chapter.
•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 seat back in upright position.
•Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer toAutomatic
locking mode.
•LATCH lower anchors are recommended for use by children up to
48 lb (22 kg) in a child restraint. Top tether anchors can be used for
children up to 60 lb (27 kg) in a child restraint, and to provide upper
torso restraint for children up to 80 lb (36 kg) using an upper torso
harness and a belt-positioning booster.
Ford Motor Company recommends the use of a child safety seat having a
top tether strap. Install the child safety seat in a seating position with
LATCH and tether anchors. For more information on top tether straps
and anchors, refer toAttaching safety seats with tether strapsin this
chapter. For more information of LATCH anchors refer toAttaching
safety seats with LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children)
attachmentsin this chapter.
2008 MKX(mkx)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
176

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 front of an active passenger airbag.
Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder
belts
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.
Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in the rear
seat whenever possible.
1. Position the child safety seat in a
seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
2008 MKX(mkx)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
177

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 a snap and feel the latch
engage. Make sure the tongue is
latched securely by pulling on it.
2008 MKX(mkx)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
178

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 and a click is heard.
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 your 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 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. 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 2
through 9.
Check to make sure the child seat is properly secured before each use.
2008 MKX(mkx)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
179

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 rear seats of your vehicle are equipped with built-in tether strap
anchors located behind the seats as described below.
The tether anchors in your vehicle are located under the second row
seat gap cover marked with tether anchor symbols (shown with title).
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.
Do not use seat anchors as cargo tie downs.
1. Position the child safety seat on the seat cushion.
2. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the back of the seat.
For vehicles with adjustable head restraints, route the tether strap under
the head restraint and between the head restraint posts. For seating
positions with non-adjustable (fixed) head restraints, route the tether
strap over the top of the head restraint.
2008 MKX(mkx)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
180