child restraint Mercury Sable 2005 s Owner's Guide

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 the front seats.
Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder
belts
Air bags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.NEVERplace a
rear-facing child seat in front of an active air bag. 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.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:USA_English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
122

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.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:USA_English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
123

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
two through nine.
Check to make sure the child seat is properly secured before each use.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:USA_English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
124

Installing child safety seats in the lap belt seating positions
1. Lengthen the lap belt. To lengthen the belt, hold the tongue so that its
bottom is perpendicular to the direction of webbing while sliding the
tongue up the webbing.
2. Place the child safety seat in the center seating position.
3. Route the tongue and webbing through the child seat according to the
child seat manufacturer’s instructions.
4. Insert the belt tongue into the proper buckle for the center seating
position until you hear a snap and feel it latch. Make sure the tongue is
securely fastened to the buckle by pulling on tongue.
5. Push down on the child seat while pulling on the loose end of the lap
belt webbing to tighten the belt.
6. Before placing the child into the child seat, forcibly tilt the child seat
from side to side and in forward direction to make sure that 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 one inch of movement for proper installation.
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 a cover marked
with the tether anchor symbol (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.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:USA_English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
125

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, otherwise route
the tether strap over the top of the seatback.
3. Locate the correct anchor for the selected seating position.
•Sedan
•Wagon
4. Open the tether anchor cover.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:USA_English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
126

On wagons, snap the tether anchor
cover off the anchor under the load
floor.
5. Clip the tether strap to the anchor as shown.
•Sedan
•Wagon
If the tether strap is clipped incorrectly, the child safety seat
may not be retained properly in the event of a collision.
6. Install the child safety seat tightly using the LATCH anchors or safety
belts. Follow the instructions in this chapter.
7. Tighten the child safety seat tether strap according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:USA_English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
127

If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child
being injured in a collision greatly increases.
Attaching safety seats with LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children) attachments for child seat anchors
Some child safety seats have two rigid or webbing mounted attachments
that connect to two anchors at certain seating positions in your vehicle.
This type of child seat eliminates the need to use seat belts to attach the
child seat. For forward-facing child seats, the tether strap must also be
attached to the proper tether anchor. SeeAttaching safety seats with
tether strapsin this chapter.
Your vehicle has LATCH anchors for child seat installation at the seating
positions marked with the child seat symbol.
All the LATCH lower anchors are
equally spaced, so that a single
LATCH child seat can be installed at
any rear seating position.If two
child safety seats are installed
using the LATCH lower anchors,
they must be placed in the
outboard seating positions only.
If three child safety seats are installed, use the LATCH lower
anchors for the center child safety seat; however, you must use
child safety seats with lap/shoulder belts and tether anchors for
the outboard child seats.
Never attach two LATCH 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.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:USA_English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
128

The lower anchors for child seat
installation are located at the rear
section of the rear seat between the
cushion and seat back. The LATCH
anchors are below the locator
symbols on the seat back.
Follow the child seat manufacturer’s instructions to properly install a
child seat with LATCH attachments.
Attach LATCH lower attachments of the child seat only to the
anchors shown.
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.
Each time you use the safety seat, check that the seat is properly
attached to the lower anchors and tether anchor. Try to tilt the child
seat from side to side. Also try to tug the seat forward. Check to see if
the anchors hold the seat in place.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child
being injured in a crash greatly increases.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:USA_English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
129

A
Accessory delay ..........................49
Air bag supplemental restraint
system ........................108–109, 115
and child safety seats ............111
description ......................109, 115
disposal ....................................117
driver air bag ..........109, 111, 116
indicator light .........................115
operation .................109, 111, 116
passenger air bag ...109, 111, 116
side air bag ..............................115
Air cleaner filter .......................234
Air conditioning ..........................25
Antifreeze
(see Engine coolant) ................214
Anti-lock brake system
(see Brakes) ..............................165
Anti-theft system ........................85
arming the system ....................85
disarming a triggered system ..86
Audio system (see Radio) ...15, 18
Automatic transaxle
fluid, adding ............................232
fluid, checking ........................232
fluid, refill capacities ..............235
fluid, specification ..................237
Automatic transmission
driving an automatic
overdrive .................................170
Auxiliary power point .................47
Axle
lubricant specifications ..........236
B
Battery .......................................212acid, treating emergencies .....212
jumping a disabled battery ....182
maintenance-free ....................212
replacement, specifications ...234
servicing ..................................212
BeltMinder .................................103
Brakes ........................................164
anti-lock ...................................165
anti-lock brake system (ABS)
warning light ...........................166
fluid, checking and adding ....232
fluid, refill capacities ..............235
fluid, specifications .........236–237
lubricant specifications ..236–237
parking ....................................166
shift interlock ..........................168
Bulbs ............................................34
C
Capacities for refilling fluids ....235
Cargo area shade ........................70
Cargo cover .................................69
Cargo net .....................................69
CD changer .................................20
CD-single premium ...............15, 18
Cell phone use ............................67
Certification Label ....................239
Changing a tire .........................135
Child safety restraints ..............118
child safety belts ....................118
Child safety seats ......................121
attaching with tether straps ..125
in front seat ............................122
in rear seat ......................122, 125
REVIEW COPY
2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:USA_English(fus)
Index
Index
243

R
Radio ......................................15, 18
Rear window defroster ...............28
Relays ........................................181
Remote entry system
illuminated entry ......................78
locking/unlocking doors ...........72
opening the trunk .....................76
Roadside assistance ..................173
Roof rack .....................................71
S
Safety Belt Maintenance ..........108
Safety belts (see Safety
restraints) ................92, 95–98, 100
Safety defects, reporting ..........196
Safety restraints ............92, 95–101
belt minder .............................103
extension assembly ................107
for adults .............................96–98
for children .....................117–118
lap belt ....................................100
Occupant Classification
Sensor ........................................93
safety belt maintenance .........108
warning light and
chime ...............................102–103
Safety seats for children ..........121
Seat belts
(see Safety restraints) ...............92
Seats ............................................87
child safety seats ....................121
front seats .................................88
Servicing your vehicle ..............203
Setting the clock
AM/FM/CD .................................18AM/FM/Tape ..............................15
Spare tire
(see Changing the Tire) ...........135
Spark plugs, specifications ......234,
237
Specification chart,
lubricants ...........................236–237
Speed control ..............................50
Starting a flex fuel vehicle .......163
Starting your
vehicle ........................160–161, 163
jump starting ..........................182
Steering wheel
tilting .........................................47
T
Tilt steering wheel ......................47
Tires ...........................130–131, 135
alignment ................................147
care ..........................................146
changing ..........................135, 137
checking the pressure ............133
inspecting and inflating .........132
label .........................................145
replacing ..................................135
rotating ....................................148
safety practices .......................147
sidewall information ...............141
snow tires and chains ............150
spare tire .................................136
terminology .............................131
tire grades ...............................131
treadwear ........................130, 146
Towing .......................................156
recreational towing .................159
trailer towing ..........................156
wrecker ....................................187
Traction control ........................167
REVIEW COPY
2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:USA_English(fus)
Index
247