Ford F-150 Heritage (2004 year). Manual — part 23

Ford recommends the use of a child safety seat having a top tether
strap. Install the child safety seat in a seating position with LATCH and
tether anchors. For more information on top tether straps and anchors,
refer to Attaching safety seats with tether straps in this chapter. For
more information of LATCH anchors refer to Attaching safety seats with
LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) attachments 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.

Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder
belts

Air bags can kill or injure a child in a child seat. NEVER place a

rear-facing child seat in front of an active air bag. If you must

use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the seat all the
way back.

Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in the rear
seat whenever possible.

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

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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.

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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 and a click is heard.

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

7. Pull the lap belt portion across
the child seat toward the buckle and
pull up on the shoulder belt while
pushing down with your knee on the
child seat.

8. Allow the safety belt to retract to
remove any slack in the belt.

9. 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. There should be no
more than one inch of movement for
proper installation.

10. 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, unbuckle the belt and repeat steps
two through nine.

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

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Installing child safety seats in the front row lap belt seating
positions

1. Lengthen the lap belt. To lengthen the belt, hold the tongue so that its
bottom is perpendicular to the direction of webbing while sliding the
tongue up the webbing.

2. Place the child safety seat in the center seating position.

3. Route the tongue and webbing through the child seat according to the
child seat manufacturer’s instructions.

4. Insert the belt tongue into the proper buckle for the center seating
position until you hear a snap and feel it latch. Make sure the tongue is
securely fastened to the buckle by pulling on tongue.

5. Push down on the child seat while pulling on the loose end of the lap
belt webbing to tighten the belt.

6. Before placing the child into the child seat, forcibly tilt the child seat
from side to side and in forward direction to make sure that the seat is
held securely in place. If the child seat moves excessively, repeat steps 5
through 6, or properly install the child seat in a different position.

Installing child safety seat in the second row center seating
position with an automatic locking retractor lap belt

1. Place the child safety seat in the center seating position.

2. In a continuous motion, pull out enough webbing from the retractor to
route the tongue through the child seat.

3. While holding the webbing to prevent it from retracting, route the
webbing through the child seat according to the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions. Be sure the belt webbing is not twisted.

4. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle for that seating position until
you hear and feel the buckle engage. Make sure the buckle is latched
securely by pulling on the webbing.

5. If you have not pulled out enough webbing to reach, allow the
webbing to fully retract before attempting to pull it out again and repeat
steps 2 through 4.

6. Pull the webbing through the child seat toward the retractor while
pushing down with your knee on the child seat.

7. Allow the safety belt to retract to remove any slack in the belt. It will
make a clicking noise while doing this.

8. Before placing the child in the seat, forcibly move the seat forward
and side-to-side to make sure the seat is securely held in place.

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