seats Mercury Villager 1998 s Owner's Guide

WARNING
If the shoulder belt portion of one of the lap/shoulder
belts can be positioned so that it does not cross or rest in
front of the child's face or neck, the child should wear
the lap/shoulder belt. Moving the child closer to the center
of the vehicle may help provide a good shoulder belt
fit.
To improve the fit of lap and shoulder belts on children who
have outgrown child safety seats, Ford recommends use of a
belt-positioning booster seat that is labelled as conforming to all
Federal motor vehicle safety standards. Belt-positioning
booster seats raise the child and provide a shorter, firmer seating
cushion that encourages safer seating posture and better fit of
lap and shoulder belts on the child. A belt-positioning booster
should be used if the shoulder belt rests in front of the
child's face or neck, or if the lap belt does not fit snugly on both
thighs, or if the thighs are too short to let the child sit all the
way back on the seat cushion when the lower legs hang over the
edge of the seat cushion. You may wish to discuss the specific
needs of your child with your pediatrician.
WARNING
Do not use a belt-positioning booster with a lap-only belt.
WARNING
The lap belt portion of combination lap/shoulder belts
should always be worn snugly and below the hips, touching
the child's thighs.
Seating and Safety Restraints
167

Built-In Child Seats (If equipped)
The optional second row bench seat includes two built-in child
seats. These child restraints are to be used only by children who:
mare at least one year old
AND
mweigh between 10 and 27 kilograms (22 and 60 pounds)
AND
mwhose shoulders are below the shoulder harness slots
Children not meeting these requirements should be restrained
in an approved aftermarket child safety seat. Follow the specific
manufacturer's instructions for weight and height restrictions.
Children must be properly buckled before riding in the vehicle. It
is the law in every state and province. These child seats
conform to all Federal/Canadian motor vehicle safety standards.
168

WARNING
The second row seatback must be fully locked before
operating the child restraint system. Check the position of
the seatback release lever.
Second row bench built-in child seats
Seating and Safety Restraints
169

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
177

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
178

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
182

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.
186

Captain Seats (If equipped)
Quick-Release Captain Seat
The quick-release captain seat option allows the captain seat
nearest the sliding door to slide forward allowing easier entry and
exit to the third-row seats. Pull up on the seat adjustment lever
and slide the seat forward.
Seat adjustment lever location
Adjustable Rear Seating
187

The quick-release bucket seat also has two levers on the back of
the seat Ð one to fold down the seatback and one to slide
the seat forward. These levers allow third-row passengers to enter
and exit more easily.
Removable Captain Seats
If your vehicle has second row captain seats, you can remove
them if you need extra cargo space. With the second-row seats
removed, the third-row bench seat can be moved up to the second
row position for additional rear cargo area room. When the
third-row seat is moved to this position, passengers will use the
second-row safety belts.
To help prevent personal injury, at least two people are needed to
remove the seats.
Quick-release bucket seat levers
188

Before you remove the seats, remove the floor mats. Then:
1. Pull the seatback release lever up and tilt the back of the seat
forward as far as possible.
Folding down the seatback
Adjustable Rear Seating
189