warning LINCOLN MKZ 2013 User Guide

•
You are required by law to properly
use safety seats for infants and
toddlers in the United States and
Canada.
• Many states and provinces require
that small children use approved
booster seats until they reach age
eight, a height of 4 feet 9 inches
(1.45 meters) tall, or 80 pounds
(36 kilograms). Check your local
and state or provincial laws for
specific requirements about the
safety of children in your vehicle.
• When possible, always properly
restrain children twelve 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. See Front
Passenger Sensing System
(page 45).
CHILD SEAT POSITIONING WARNINGS
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 your vehicle seat 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. WARNINGS
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. 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 collision, which may result in serious
injury or death. 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. Always restrain an unoccupied
child seat or booster seat. These
objects may become projectiles in a
collision or sudden stop, which may
increase the risk of serious injury.
17
Child Safety

WARNINGS
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 WARNINGS
increase the risk of injury or death in a
collision. Do not leave children or pets
unattended in your vehicle.
Use any attachment method as indicated below by X
Child
Weight
Restraint
Type Safety
belt only
Safety
belt and LATCH(lower
anchors and top tether
anchor)
Safety
belt and
top tether anchor
LATCH
(lower
anchors only)
LATCH
(lower
anchors and top tether
anchor)
X
X
Up to 48
lb (21 kg)
Rear
facing
child seat
X
X
X
Up to 48
lb (21 kg)
Forward
facing
child seat
X
X
Over 48
lb (21 kg)
Forward
facing
child seat
Note: The child seat must rest tightly
against your vehicle seat. It may be
necessary to lift or remove the head
restraint. See Seats (page 131). 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
collision. 18
Child Safety

If the booster seat slides on your
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.
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 WARNINGS
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 all the way back. Children 12 and under should be
properly restrained in the rear
seat whenever possible. 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 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. 21
Child SafetyE142597 E142594

8.
Remove remaining slack from the
belt. Force the seat down with
extra weight, for example, by
pressing down or kneeling on the
child restraint while pulling down
on the lap belt in order to force
slack from the belt. This is
necessary to remove the remaining
slack that will exist once the extra
weight of the child is added to the
child restraint. It also helps to
achieve the proper snugness of the
child seat to your vehicle.
Sometimes, a slight lean toward
the buckle will additionally help to
remove remaining slack from the
belt.
9. Attach the tether strap (if the child
seat is equipped). 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 centimeters) of
movement for proper installation.
Ford recommends checking with a
NHTSA Certified Child Passenger
Safety Technician to make certain the
child restraint is properly installed. In
Canada, check with your local St. John
Ambulance office for referral to a
Certified Passenger Seat Technician.
Using Lower Anchors and
Tethers for CHildren (LATCH) WARNINGS
Never attach two child safety
seats to the same anchor. In a
collision, one anchor may not be
strong enough to hold two child safety
seat attachments and may break,
causing serious injury or death. 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. 26
Child SafetyE146525 E142534

The LATCH system is composed of
three vehicle anchor points: two lower
anchors located where your vehicle
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. 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.
Attach LATCH lower attachments of
the child seat only to the anchors
shown.
Use of Inboard Lower Anchors
from the Outboard Seating
Positions (Center Seating Use)
WARNING
The standardized spacing for
LATCH lower anchors is 11 inches
(28 centimeters) 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. 27
Child SafetyE142535 E144054

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
WARNINGS
Always drive and ride with your
seatback upright and the lap belt
snug and low across the hips. To reduce the risk of injury, make
sure children sit where they can
be properly restrained. 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. All occupants of the vehicle,
including the driver, should
always properly wear their safety
belts, even when an airbag
supplemental restraint system is
provided. 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. In a rollover crash, an unbelted
person is significantly more likely
to die than a person wearing a safety
belt. WARNINGS
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. When possible, all children 12
years old and under should be
properly restrained in a rear seating
position. 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. 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 safety belt).
31
Safety Belts

•
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. •
Crash sensors and monitoring
system with readiness indicator.
The safety belt pretensioners at the
front seating positions are designed
to tighten the safety belts when
activated. In frontal and near-frontal
collisions, the safety belt
pretensioners may be activated alone
or, if the collision is of sufficient
severity, together with the front
airbags. The pretensioners may also
activate when a side curtain airbag is
deployed.
FASTENING THE SAFETY
BELTS
Standard belts shown, inflatable
belts similar
The front outboard and rear safety
restraints in the 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.
32
Safety Belts E142587 E142588

Restraint of Pregnant Women
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. Pregnant women should always wear
their safety belt. 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 WARNINGS
After any vehicle collision, 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. 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 collisions. All safety restraints in the vehicle are
combination lap and shoulder belts.
The driver safety belt has the first type
of locking mode, and the front
outboard passenger and rear seat
safety belts have both types of locking
modes described as follows:
33
Safety BeltsE142590

2. Grasp the lap portion of the belt
and pull upward until the entire
belt is pulled out.
3. Allow the belt to retract. As the belt retracts, you will hear a
clicking sound. This indicates the
safety belt is now in the automatic
locking mode.
How to Disengage the Automatic
Locking Mode
Disconnect the combination lap and
shoulder belt and allow it to retract
completely to disengage the
automatic locking mode and activate
the vehicle sensitive (emergency)
locking mode.
Rear Inflatable Safety Belt (If
Equipped) WARNING
Do not attempt to service, repair,
or modify the rear inflatable
safety belt. The rear inflatable safety belts are
fitted in the shoulder portion of the
safety belts of the second-row
outboard seating positions.
Note:
The rear inflatable safety belts
are compatible with most infant and
child safety car seats and belt
positioning booster seats when
properly installed. This is because they
are designed to fill with a cooled gas
at a lower pressure and at a slower rate
than traditional airbags. After inflation,
the shoulder portion of the safety belt
remains cool to the touch. The rear inflatable safety belt consists
of the following:
•
An inflatable bag located in the
shoulder safety belt webbing.
• Lap safety belt webbing with
automatic locking mode.
• The same warning light, electronic
control and diagnostic unit as used
for the front safety belts.
• Impact sensors located in various
parts of the vehicle.
How does the rear inflatable safety
belt system work?
The rear inflatable safety belts will
function like standard restraints in
everyday usage. During a collision of sufficient force,
the inflatable belt will inflate from
inside the webbing.
35
Safety BeltsE146364

The fully inflated belt's increased
diameter more effectively holds the
occupant in the appropriate seating
position, and spreads crash forces
over more area of the body than
regular safety belts. This helps reduce
pressure on the chest and helps
control head and neck motion for
passengers.
WARNING
If the rear inflatable safety belt
has deployed, it will not function
again. The rear inflatable safety belt
system must be replaced by an
authorized dealer. The rear inflatable safety belts are
designed to inflate in frontal or
near-frontal collisions and some side
impact collisions. The fact that the
rear inflatable safety belt did not
inflate 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. Safety Belt Extension
Assembly WARNINGS
Position the safety belt height
adjusters so that the belt rests
across the middle of your shoulder.
Failure to adjust the safety belt
properly could reduce the
effectiveness of the safety belt and
increase the risk of injury in a collision. Do not use extensions with an
inflatable safety belt.
If the safety belt is too short when
fully extended, a safety belt extension
assembly can be obtained from an
authorized dealer.
Use only extensions manufactured by
the same supplier as the safety belt.
Manufacturer identification is located
at the end of the webbing on the label.
A safety belt extension is not available
for the inflatable safety belt. Also, use
the safety belt extension only if the
safety belt is too short for you when
fully extended.
SAFETY BELT HEIGHT
ADJUSTMENT
WARNING
Position the safety belt height
adjusters so that the belt rests
across the middle of your shoulder.
Failure to adjust the safety belt
properly could reduce the
effectiveness of the safety belt and
increase the risk of injury in a collision. 36
Safety BeltsE146365