Ford Escape: Safety seats for children

Infant and/or toddler seats

Use a safety seat that is recommended for the size and weight of the child.

When installing a child safety seat:

• Review and follow the information presented in the Airbag supplemental restraint system (SRS) section in this chapter.
• 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.

Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat. NEVER place a rear-facing child seat in front of an active airbag. If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the vehicle seat all the way back.

Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating position whenever possible. If all children cannot be seated and restrained properly in a rear seating position, properly restrain the largest child in the front seat.

Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulderbelts

The rear seat head restraints must be removed when using a child seat that utilizes the top tether anchor.

Check to make sure the child seat is properly secured before each use.

Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating position whenever possible. If all children cannot be seated and restrained properly in a rear seating position, properly restrain the largest child in the front seat.

When installing a child safety seat with combination lap/shoulder belts:

• Use the correct safety belt buckle for that seating position.
• Insert the belt tongue into the proper buckle until you hear a snap and feel it latch. Make sure the tongue is securely fastened in the buckle.
• Keep the buckle release button pointing up and away from the safety seat, with the tongue between the child seat and the release button, to help prevent accidental unbuckling.
• Place vehicle seat back in upright position.
• Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer to step 5 below. This vehicle does not require the use of a locking clip.

WARNING: Depending on where you secure a child restraint, and depending on the child restraint design, you may block access to certain safety belt buckle assemblies and/or LATCH lower anchors, rendering those features potentially unusable. To avoid risk of injury, occupants should only use seating positions where they are able to be properly restrained.

Perform the following steps when installing the child seat with combination lap/shoulder belts:

Note: Although the child seat illustrated is a forward facing child seat, the steps are the same for installing a rear facing child seat.

1. Position the child safety seat in a seat with a combination lap and shoulder belt.

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.

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.

6. Allow the belt to retract to remove slack. The belt will click as it retracts to indicate it is in the automatic locking mode.

7. 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, repeat Steps 5 and 6.

8. Remove remaining slack from the belt. Force the seat down with extra weight, e.g., by pressing down or kneeling on the child restraint while pulling up on the shoulder belt in order to force slack from the belt.

This is necessary to remove the remaining slack that will exist once the additional weight of the child is added to the child restraint. It also helps to achieve the proper snugness of the child seat to the vehicle. Sometimes, a slight lean towards the buckle will additionally help to remove remaining slack from the belt.

9. Attach the tether strap (if the child seat is equipped). Refer to Attaching child safety seats with tether straps later in this chapter.

10. 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 cm) of movement for proper installation.

11. Ford recommends checking with a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) to make certain the child restraint is properly installed. In Canada, check with your local St. John Ambulance office for referral to a CPST.

Attaching child safety seats with LATCH (Lower Anchors andTethers for CHildren) attachments

The LATCH system is composed of three vehicle anchor points: two (2) lower anchors located where the vehicle seat back and seat cushion meet (called the “seat bight”) and one (1) top tether anchor located behind that seating position.

LATCH compatible child safety seats have two rigid or webbing mounted attachments that connect to the two lower anchors at the LATCH equipped seating positions in your vehicle. This type of attachment method eliminates the need to use safety belts to attach the child seat, however the safety belt can still be used to attach the child seat. For forward-facing child seats, the top tether strap must also be attached to the proper top tether anchor, if a top tether strap has been provided with your child seat. Ford Motor Company recommends the use of a child safety seat having a top tether strap. See Attaching child safety seats with tether straps and Recommendations for attaching safety restraints for children in this chapter for more information.

Your vehicle has LATCH lower anchors for child seat installation at the seating positions marked with the child seat symbol.

The LATCH anchors are located at the rear section of the rear seat between the cushion and seatback.

Follow the child seat manufacturer’s instructions to properly install a child seat with LATCH attachments.

Follow the instructions on attaching child safety seats with tether straps.

Refer to Attaching child safety seats with tether straps later in this chapter.

Attach LATCH lower attachments of the child seat only to the anchors shown.

WARNING: Never attach two 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.

WARNING: Depending on where you secure a child restraint, and depending on the child restraint design, you may block access to certain safety belt buckle assemblies and/or LATCH lower anchors, rendering those features potentially unusable. To avoid risk of injury, occupants should only use seating positions where they are able to be properly restrained.

Use of inboard lower anchors from the outboard seating positions(center seating use)

The lower anchors at the center of the second row rear seat are spaced 400 mm (16 inches) apart. The standardized spacing for LATCH lower anchors is 280 mm (11 inches) center to center. A child seat with rigid LATCH attachments cannot be installed at the center seating position.

LATCH compatible child seats (with attachments on belt webbing) can only be used at this seating position provided that the child seat manufacturer’s instructions permit use with the anchor spacing stated.

Do not attach a child seat to any lower anchor if an adjacent child seat is attached to that anchor.

WARNING: The standardized spacing for LATCH lower anchors is 280 mm (11 inches) center to center. Do not use LATCH lower anchors for the center seating position unless the child seat manufacturer’s instructions permit and specify using anchors spaced at least as far apart as those of this vehicle.

Each time you use the safety seat, check that the seat is properly attached to the lower anchors and tether anchor, if applicable. Tug the child seat from side to side and forward and back where it is secured to the vehicle. The seat should move less than one inch when you do this for a proper installation.

If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being injured in a crash greatly increases.

Combining safety belt and LATCH lower anchors for attachingchild safety seats

When used in combination, either the safety belt or the LATCH lower anchors may be attached first, provided a proper installation is achieved.

Attach the tether strap afterward, if included with the child seat. Refer to Recommendations for attaching child safety restraints for children in this chapter.

Attaching child safety seats with tether s

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 rear seating positions of your vehicle are equipped with built-in tether strap anchors located behind the seats on the roof panel in the cargo area.

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.

Once the child safety seat has been installed, using either the safety belt or the lower anchors of the LATCH system, you can attach the top tether strap.

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.

Perform the following steps to install a child safety seat with tether anchors:

1. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the back of the seat.

For vehicles with adjustable head restraints, remove the head restraint first, place under the front seat for storage, and then route the tether strap over the top of the seatback.

2. Locate the correct anchor for the selected seating position.

There are three tether anchors located on the headliner at the rear of the vehicle.

3. Clip the tether strap to the anchor as shown.

The arrow in the above graphic points toward the front of the vehicle.

If the tether strap is clipped incorrectly, the child safety seat may not be retained properly in the event of a collision.

4. Tighten the child safety seat tether strap according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being injured in a collision greatly increases.

If your child restraint system is equipped with a tether strap, and the child restraint manufacturer recommends its use, Ford also recommends its use.

Child booster seats

The belt-positioning booster (booster seat) is used to improve the fit of the vehicle safety belt. Children outgrow a typical child seat (e.g., convertible or toddler seat) when they weigh about 40 lb (18 kg) and are around four (4) years of age. Consult your child safety seat owner guide for the weight, height, and age limits specific to your child safety seat.

Keep your child in the child safety seat if it properly fits the child, remains appropriate for their weight, height and age AND if properly secured to the vehicle.

Although the lap/shoulder belt will provide some protection, children who have outgrown a typical child seat are still too small for lap/shoulder belts to fit properly, and wearing an improperly fitted vehicle safety belt could increase the risk of serious injury in a crash. To improve the fit of both the lap and shoulder belt on children who have outgrown child safety seats, Ford Motor Company recommends use of a belt-positioning booster.

Booster seats position a child so that vehicle lap/shoulder safety belts fit better. They lift the child up so that the lap belt rests low across the hips and the knees bend comfortably at the edge of the cushion, while minimizing slouching. Booster seats may also make the shoulder belt fit better and more comfortably. Try to keep the belt near the middle of the shoulder and across the center of the chest. Moving the child closer (a few centimeters or inches) to the center of the vehicle, but remaining in the same seating position, may help provide a good shoulder belt fit.

When children should use booster seats

Children need to use booster seats from the time they outgrow the toddler seat until they are big enough for the vehicle seat and lap/shoulder belt to fit properly. Generally this is when they reach a height of at least 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 meters) tall (around age eight to age twelve and between 40 lb (18 kg) and 80 lb (36 kg) or upward to 100 lb (45 kg) if recommended by your child restraint manufacturer).

Many state and provincial laws require that children use approved booster seats until they reach age eight, a height of 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 meters) tall, or 80 lb (36 kg).

Booster seats should be used until you can answer YES to ALL of these questions when seated without a booster seat:

• Can the child sit all the way back against the vehicle seat back with knees bent comfortably at the edge of the seat cushion?
• Can the child sit without slouching?
• Does the lap belt rest low across the hips?
• Is the shoulder belt centered on the shoulder and chest?
• Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

Types of booster seats

There are generally two types of belt-positioning booster seats: backless and high back. Always use booster seats in conjunction with the vehicle lap/shoulder belt.

• Backless booster seats If your backless booster seat has a removable shield, remove the shield. If a vehicle seating position has a low seat back or no head restraint, a backless booster seat may place your child’s head (as measured at the tops of the ears) above the top of the seat. In this case, move the backless booster to another seating position with a higher seat back or head restraint and lap/shoulder belts, or consider using a high back booster seat.

• High back booster seats If, with a backless booster seat, you cannot find a seating position that adequately supports your child’s head, a high back booster seat would be a better choice.

Children and booster seats vary in size and shape. Choose a booster that keeps the lap belt low and snug across the hips, never up across the stomach, and lets you adjust the shoulder belt to cross the chest and rest snugly near the center of the shoulder. The drawings below compare the ideal fit (center) to a shoulder belt uncomfortably close to the neck and a shoulder belt that could slip off the shoulder. The drawings below also show how the lap belt should be low and snug across the child’s hips.

If the booster seat slides on the vehicle seat, placing a rubberized mesh sold as shelf or carpet liner under the booster seat may improve this condition. Do not introduce any item thicker than this under the booster seat. Check with the booster seat manufacturer’s instructions.

The importance of shoulder belts

Using a booster without a shoulder belt increases the risk of a child’s head hitting a hard surface in a collision. For this reason, you should never use a booster seat with a lap belt only. It is generally best to use a booster seat with lap/shoulder belts in the back seat.

Move a child to a different seating location if the shoulder belt does not stay positioned on the shoulder during use.

Follow all instructions provided by the manufacturer of the booster seat.

WARNING: Never place, or allow a child to place, the shoulder belt under a child’s arm or behind the back because it reduces the protection for the upper part of the body and may increase the risk of injury or death in a collision.

Child restraint and safety belt maintenance

Inspect the vehicle safety belts and child safety seat systems periodically to make sure they work properly and are not damaged. Inspect the vehicle and child seat safety belts to make sure there are no nicks, tears or cuts. Replace if necessary. All vehicle safety belt assemblies, including retractors, buckles, front safety belt buckle assemblies, buckle support assemblies (slide bar-if equipped), shoulder belt height adjusters (if equipped), shoulder belt guide on seatback (if equipped), child safety seat LATCH and tether anchors, and attaching hardware, should be inspected after a collision. Refer to the child restraint manufacturer’s instructions for additional inspection and maintenance information specific to the child restraint. Ford Motor Company recommends that all safety belt assemblies in use in vehicles involved in a collision be replaced. However, if the collision was minor and an authorized dealer finds that the belts do not show damage and continue to operate properly, they do not need to be replaced. Safety belt assemblies not in use during a collision should also be inspected and replaced if either damage or improper operation is noted.

For proper care of soiled safety belts, refer to Interior in the Cleaning chapter.

WARNING: Failure to inspect and if necessary replace the safety belt assembly or child restraint system under the above conditions could result in severe personal injuries in the event of a collision.