lock Mercury Sable 1997 s Owner's Guide

SAFETY RESTRAINTS
Safety restraints precautions
Always drive and ride with your seatback
upright and the lap belt snug and low across
the hips.
To prevent the risk of injury, make sure
children sit where they can be properly
restrained.
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.
Combination lap and shoulder belts
1. To fasten, insert the
tongue into the slot in
the buckle.
2. To unfasten, push
the red release button
and remove the tongue
from the buckle.
The outboard safety restraints in the vehicle are
combination lap and shoulder belts. The front and
rear seat passenger outboard safety belts have two
types of locking modes described below:
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To test the vehicle
sensitive (emergency)
locking mode, pull the
shoulder belt quickly to
lock.
The vehicle sensitive mode is the normal retractor
mode, adjusting shoulder belt tightness in response
to vehicle movement. For example, if the driver
brakes suddenly or turns a corner sharply or the
vehicle receives an impact of 8 km/h (5 mph) or
more, the combination safety belts would lock to
help reduce forward movement of the driver and
passengers.
Automatic locking mode
In this mode, the shoulder belt is locked in a certain
position by the occupant anddoes notadjust
tightness during vehicle movement.
The automatic locking mode is not available on the
driver belt.
When to use the automatic locking mode
²When a tight lap/shoulder fit is desired.
²Any timea child safety seat is installed in the
vehicle. Refer toChildren and infant or Child
safety seatslater in this chapter.
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How to use the automatic locking mode
²Buckle the
combination lap and
shoulder belt.
²Grasp the shoulder
portion and pull
downward until the
entire belt is
extracted.
²Allow 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 cancel the automatic locking mode
Disconnect the combination lap/shoulder belt and
allow it to retract completely to cancel the automatic
locking mode and activate the vehicle sensitive
(emergency) locking mode.
Safety belts for front outboard passenger and
rear outboard seating positions (except wagon
rear-facing position)
Your vehicle is equipped with a dual locking mode
retractor on theshoulderbelt portion of the
combination lap/shoulder safety belt at these
positions.
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Front safety belt height adjustment
Your vehicle has safety belt height adjustments for
the driver and front passenger. Adjust the height of
the shoulder belt so the belt rests across the middle
of your shoulder.
To lower the shoulder
belt height, push the
button and slide the
height control down.
To raise the height of
the shoulder belt, slide
the height adjuster up.
Pull down on the
height adjustment
assembly to make sure
it is locked in place.
Center rear lap belt (sedan)
The safety belt in the center rear seating position
has a detachable shoulder belt.
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Make sure you insert the tongue into the correct
buckle. If you need to lengthen the belt, turn the
tongue at a right angle to the belt and pull across
your lap until it reaches the buckle. If you need to
tighten the belt, pull the loose end of the belt
through the tongue until it is snugly across the hips.
Shorten and fasten the belt when not in use.
Safety belts for rear-facing occupants (wagon
only)
Never use child safety seats in the third seat
of a wagon.
Your vehicle is equipped with safety belts containing
an adjust tongue at the rear-facing seating positions.
When the adjust tongue of the lap/shoulder
combination seat belt is latched into the buckle, the
tongue will allow the lap portion to become shorter,
but locks the webbing in place to restrict it from
becoming longer.
Before you reach and latch a combination lap and
shoulder belt having an adjust tongue into the
buckle. you may have to lengthen the lap belt
portion of it. To lengthen the lap belt, pull some
webbing out of the shoulder belt retractor. While
holding the webbing below the tongue, grasp the
tongue so that it is parallel to the webbing and slide
the tongue upward. provide enough length so that
the tongue can reach the buckle.
To fasten the belt, pull the combination lap and
shoulder belt from the retractor so that the shoulder
belt portion of the safety belt crosses your shoulder
and chest. Be sure the belt is not twisted. If the belt
is twisted, remove the twist. Insert the tongue into
the proper buckle for your seating position until you
hear a snap and fell it latch. Make sure the tongue is
securely fastened to the buckle by pulling on the
tongue.
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The lap belts should fit snugly and as low as
possible around the hips, not around the
waist.
Front and rear seat occupants, including
pregnant women, should wear safety belts
for optimum protection in an accident.
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 it around your
neck over the inside shoulder. 3) Never use a
single belt for more than one person.
Due to folding rear seats, sometimes the buckles and
tongues toward the center of the vehicle may be
hidden by the rear edge of the seat cushion. Pull
them out so they will be accessible.
While you are fastened in the seat belt, the shoulder
belt adjusts to your movement. However, if you
brake hard, turn hard or your vehicle receives an
impact of 8 km/h (5 mph) or more, the safety belt
will become locked and help reduce your forward
movement.
To unfasten the belt, push the red release button on
the end of the buckle. This allows the tongue to
unlatch from the buckle. While the belt retracts,
guide the tongue to its original position to prevent it
from striking you or the vehicle.
Safety belt extension assembly
If the safety belt assembly is too short, even when
fully extended, eight inches can be added to the
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You may wish to discuss the special needs of your
child with your pediatrician.
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 cafety 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:
²Use the correct
safety belt buckle
for that seating
position.
²Make sure the
tongue is securely
fastened in the
buckle.
²Keep 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.
²Place seatback in upright position.
²Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode.
Refer toUsing the automatic locking mode.
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, refer toAttaching safety seats with
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3. While holding the
shoulder and lap belt
portions together, route
the tongue through the
child seat according to
the child seat
manufacturers'
instructions. Be sure
the belt webbing is not
twisted.
4. Insert the belt
tongue into the proper
buckle for that seating
position until you hear
and feel the latch
engage. Make sure the
tongue is latched
securely by pulling on
it.
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 extracted
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
knee on the child seat.
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8. Allow the safety belt
to retract to remove
any slack in the belt.
9. Before placing the
child in the seat,
forcibly tilt the seat
forward and back to
make sure the seat is
securely held in place.
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 two through nine.
Check to make sure the child seat is properly
secured before each use.
Attaching safety seats with tether straps
Some manufacturers make safety seats that include
a tether strap that goes over the back of the vehicle
seat and attaches to an anchoring point. Other
manufacturers offer the tether strap as an accessory.
Contact the manufacturer of your child safety seat
for information about ordering a tether strap.
Front seats
To install a tether from a child safety seat in the
front seat:
1. Buckle the lap/shoulder belt (in the seat behind
the front passenger seat in which the child safety
seat will be installed).
2. Pull all the stored belt out of the rear seat
retractor to switch the retractor to automatic locking
mode.
3. Let the retractor wind up the slack from the
lap/shoulder belt.
4. Install the child safety seat in the front seat. Refer
toInstalling child safety seats in combination lap
and shoulder belt seating positions. Hook the
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tether strap hook around the webbing near the
center of the shoulder portion of the locked
lap/shoulder belt.
5. Tighten the tether strap.
Rear seats
If you must use a tethered safety seat on one of the
rear seats, you can anchor the strap to the
appropriate tether anchor directly behind that seat
position.
Tether anchorage hardware
Attachment holes (at each rear outboard seating
position) have been provided in your vehicle to
attach anchor hardware, if required. Tether
anchorage hardware kits (part number 613D74)
including instructions, may be obtained at no charge
from any Ford or Lincoln-Mercury dealer. All
vehicles built for sale in Canada include a tether
anchor hardware kit.
Be sure to follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions.
Tighten the anchor according to
specifications. Otherwise, the safety seat
may not be properly secured and the child may be
injured in a sudden stop or collision.
If you have a station wagon, tether anchors are
already installed for each of the second row seating
positions.
1. Behind the second
seat, find the plastic
snap-on covers for the
floor anchors.
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