WARNING!
●
Never install a rear-facing child restraint in the
front seat of a vehicle. Only use a rear-facing child
restraint in the rear seat. If the vehicle does not
have a rear seat, do not transport a rear-facing
child restraint in that vehicle.
WARNING!
Do not install a rear-facing car seat using a rear
support leg in this vehicle. The floor of this vehicle
is not designed to manage the crash forces of this
type of car seat. In a crash, the support leg may
not function as it was designed by the car seat
manufacturer, and your child may be more severely
injured as a result.
Older Children And Child Restraints
Children who are two years old or who have outgrown
their rear-facing convertible child seat can ride forward-
facing in the vehicle. Forward-facing child seats and
convertible child seats used in the forward-facing
direction are for children who are over two years old
or who have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height
limit of their rear-facing convertible child seat. Children
should remain in a forward-facing child seat with a
harness for as long as possible, up to the highest
weight or height allowed by the child seat.
All children whose weight or height is above the
forward-facing limit for the child seat should use a belt-
positioning booster seat until the vehicle’s seat belts fit
properly. If the child cannot sit with knees bent over the
vehicle’s seat cushion while the child’s back is against
the seatback, they should use a belt-positioning booster
seat. The child and belt-positioning booster seat are
held in the vehicle by the seat belt.
WARNING!
●
Improper installation can lead to failure of an
infant or child restraint. It could come loose in a
collision. The child could be badly injured or killed.
Follow the child restraint manufacturer’s directions
exactly when installing an infant or child restraint.
●
After a child restraint is installed in the vehicle,
do not move the vehicle seat forward or
rearward because it can loosen the child restraint
attachments. Remove the child restraint before
adjusting the vehicle seat position. When the
(Continued)
WARNING!
vehicle seat has been adjusted, reinstall the child
restraint.
●
When your child restraint is not in use, secure
it in the vehicle with the seat belt or LATCH
anchorages, or remove it from the vehicle. Do
not leave it loose in the vehicle. In a sudden
stop or accident, it could strike the occupants or
seatbacks and cause serious personal injury.
Children Too Large For Booster Seats
Children who are large enough to wear the shoulder
belt comfortably, and whose legs are long enough to
bend over the front of the seat when their back is
against the seatback, should use the seat belt in a rear
seat. Use this simple 5-step test to decide whether the
child can use the vehicle’s seat belt alone:
1. Can the child sit all the way back against the back
of the vehicle seat?
2. Do the child’s knees bend comfortably over the
front of the vehicle seat while the child is still
sitting all the way back?
3. Does the shoulder belt cross the child’s shoulder
between the neck and arm?
4. Is the lap part of the belt as low as possible,
touching the child’s thighs and not the stomach?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole
trip?
If the answer to any of these questions was “no,” then
the child still needs to use a booster seat in this vehicle.
If the child is using the lap/shoulder belt, check seat
belt fit periodically and make sure the seat belt buckle
270 SAFETY