Mercury Villager 1998 Owner's Manuals

The removable and adjustable seats are a convenient feature of
your vehicle. Reading this chapter will help you learn about the
various ways the seats in your vehicle can be arranged to suit
your different needs.
Your vehicle is a five or seven-passenger vehicle. As a
seven-passenger vehicle, it will have either a two-passenger
bench seat or two second-row bucket seats and the sliding
three-passenger bench seat in the third row. Read the section that
describes the type of second-row seat in your vehicle. To make
your vehicle a five-passenger vehicle, remove the second-row seats.
NOTE: When adjusting or moving any of the seats in your
vehicle, do not use any of the buckles, tongues, or
safety belt webbing to carry or move the seats. Lifting
the seats by any of the safety restraint equipment
could decrease their effectiveness.
NOTE: Your vehicle has five different kinds of floor mats:
front seat mats, a cargo area mat, a sliding door area
mat, and second and third row passenger area mats.
Whenever you remove the mats to remove or adjust
any of the seats always remember that the mats must be
reinstalled before passengers ride in your vehicle.
The floor mats are specifically designed to keep objects
out of the seat tracks.
WARNING
It is important to replace the floor mats whenever they are
removed for any reason. The floor mats are intended to
help prevent the possibility that high-heeled shoes might
become stuck in the seat tracks. Failure to replace the
floor mats might result in personal injury.
Adjustable Rear Seating
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Floor Mats
Removable Floor Mats
Whenever you remove the mats to remove or adjust any of the
seats, always remember that the mats must be reinstalled before
passengers ride in your vehicle. The floor mats are specifically
designed to keep objects out of the seat tracks.
Be sure to keep the seat tracks clear of debris by cleaning them
periodically.
Vacuum any particles from the inside of the tracks where the
roller units are enclosed using a small crevice tool attached to a
high-powered vacuum. This will ensure that the sliding seat will
continue to slide properly during the life of your vehicle.
The removable floor mats
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Review the following illustrations so you will know the proper
way to place the floor mats with the various seating arrangements
available in your vehicle.
Adjustable Rear Seating
179

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NOTE: The step mat should be placed neatly in the cargo area
when not in use.
Positioning pins are included with your floor mats to secure
them to the seat tracks. Push the positioning pins through the
plastic loops in the floor mats and into the seat tracks.
NOTE: Be sure to keep the seat tracks clear of debris by cleaning
them periodically with a high-powered vacuum.
Head Restraints
If you use them properly, head restraints are intended to help
protect your head and neck in a collision.
The head restraints can be adjusted in four positions: fully raised,
fully lowered and two intermediate positions. Press down on
the head restraint adjustment button and move the restraint to the
position that places the restraint directly behind your head.
A head restraint helps protect you best if you position it behind
your head and not behind your neck.
Floor mat positioning pin placement
Adjustable Rear Seating
181

NOTE: If your vehicle is equipped with the optional
two-passenger bench seat with built-in child seats, the
head restraints on the two-passenger bench seat are
not adjustable.
It is not necessary to remove the head restraints from the seats when
removing seats from the vehicle. However, you can remove the
head restraints by pressing the adjustment button at the base of the
head restraint and pulling the head restraint upward.
Remember to replace them when the seat is re-installed.
The adjustable head restraint
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WARNING
The head restraints should be stored outside of the
vehicle (with the removed seat) to prevent them from
damaging the vehicle or injuring passengers in the case of
sudden braking or a collision.
Two-Passenger Bench Seat
NOTE: The two-passenger bench seat has a unique safety
restraint system. If your vehicle has the two-passenger
bench seat it is very important that the unique
safety belt system is used properly. Please read the
section in theSafety Restraintschapter that explains the
unique safety belt system and be sure you
understand it before anyone rides in the two-passenger
bench seat.
If your vehicle has the second row two-passenger bench seat, you
can remove it if you need extra cargo space. With the
second-row seat removed, the third-row bench seat can be moved
up to a second-row seating or storage position for additional
rear cargo area room.
To help prevent personal injury, at least two people are needed to
remove the seat.
Adjustable Rear Seating
183

Removing the Two-Passenger Bench Seat
1. Remove the floor mats. Lift the seatback release lever and fold
down the back of the seat to the fully folded position.
2. Detach the tongue from the auxiliary buckle on the sliding door
side of the seat.
3. Lift up on the floor latch levers near the front seat legs and
release the seat legs from each anchor position.
Seatback release lever location
184

4. Place your hand under the seat cushion and tip the front of the
seat upward slightly. Slide the seat rearward to release the seat
from its anchor position.
5. Two people should lift the seat and remove it from the vehicle.
6. Replace any floor mats that were removed.
If you decide to move the three-passenger bench seat forward to
the second row position, passengers riding in the seat will use
the second row safety belts.
The floor latch levers
Adjustable Rear Seating
185

Installing the Two-Passenger Bench Seat
To replace the bench seat in its original position:
1. Make sure the area around the floor anchor positions is free
from obstruction.
2. With the seatback folded down, two people should lift the seat
into the vehicle.
3. Place the seat slightly behind the floor anchor positions and
catch the rear leg anchors into each anchor position.
4. Press down on the front of the seat to secure the front legs to
the two floor latch locks. Place the seatback in the upright
position.
5. Try to move the seat to be sure that it is securely fastened.
6. Always reattach the tongue into the auxiliary buckle mounted
to the sliding door side of the seat.
Labels have been provided on the side of the seat to remind you
of important safety precautions.
7. Replace any floor mats that were removed.
WARNING
Keep foreign objects out of the floor anchors. Objects in
the floor anchors could prevent front and rear seat legs from
engaging properly.
WARNING
Before sitting in the removable seats, make sure that the
seat legs are securely attached by the floor anchors.
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