8. 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 and
back. There should be no more than 1
inch (2.5 centimeters) of movement
for proper installation.
9. Check from time to time to be sure that
there is no slack in the lap and shoulder
belt. The shoulder belt must be snug
to keep the lap belt tight during a crash.
Ford recommends checking with a NHTSA
Certified Child Passenger Safety
Technician to make certain the child
restraint is properly installed. In Canada,
check with your local St. John Ambulance
office for referral to a Child Passenger
Safety Technician.
Using Lower Anchors and Tethers
for CHildren (LATCH)
The LATCH system is composed of three
vehicle anchor points: two lower anchors
located where the vehicle seatback and
seat cushion meet (called the seat bight)
and one top tether anchor located behind
that seating position. Your vehicle is not
equipped with the lower anchor points in
the seat bight. For this vehicle, use the
vehicle safety belt and upper tether to
secure a child seat.
Using Tether Straps
Many forward-facing child safety seats
include a tether strap which extends from
the back of the child safety seat and hooks
to an anchoring point called the top tether
anchor. 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, or to obtain a longer tether
strap if the tether strap on your safety seat
does not reach the appropriate top tether
anchor in the vehicle.
The passenger seats of your vehicle may
be equipped with built-in tether strap
anchors located behind the seats as
described below.
The tether strap anchors in your vehicle
are in the following positions (shown from
top view):
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F650750 (TBC), enUSA, First Printing
Child Safety
