Get Child Safety Guide for Ford Explorer SUV Sixth Generation (2012-2020)

Child Safety

GENERAL INFORMATION

See the following sections for directions

on how to properly use safety restraints

for children.

(CPST) to make sure that you properly

install the child restraint in your vehicle

and that you consult your pediatrician to

make sure you have a child restraint

appropriate for your child. To locate a

child restraint fitting station and CPST,

contact NHTSA toll free at

WARNING: Always make sure your

child is secured properly in a device that

is appropriate for their height, age and

weight. Child safety restraints must be

bought separately from your vehicle.

Failure to follow these instructions and

guidelines may result in an increased risk

of serious injury or death to your child.

1-888-327-4236 or go to

www.nhtsa.dot.gov. In Canada, contact

Transport Canada toll free at

1-800-333-0371 or go to www.tc.gc.ca

to find a Child Car Seat Clinic in your

area. Failure to properly restrain children

in child restraints made especially for

their height, age and weight, may result

in an increased risk of serious injury or

death to your child.

WARNING: All children are shaped

differently. The National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration and other safety

organizations, base their

WARNING: On hot days, the

temperature inside the vehicle can rise

very quickly. Exposure of people or

animals to these high temperatures for

even a short time can cause death or

serious heat related injuries, including

brain damage. Small children are

particularly at risk.

recommendations for child restraints on

probable child height, age and weight

thresholds, or on the minimum

requirements of the law. We recommend

that you check with a NHTSA Certified

Child Passenger Safety Technician

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Child Safety

Recommendations for Safety Restraints for Children

Child

Child Size, Height, Weight, or Age

Recommended Restraint

Type

Use a child restraint

(sometimes called an

infant carrier, convertible

seat, or toddler seat).

Infants or

toddlers

Children weighing 40 lb (18 kg) or less

(generally age four or younger).

Children who have outgrown or no longer

properly fit in a child restraint (generally

children who are less than 57 in (1.45 m)

tall, are greater than age four and less

than age 12, and between 40 lb (18 kg)

and 80 lb (36 kg) and upward to 100 lb

(45 kg) if recommended by your child

restraint manufacturer).

Use a belt-positioning

booster seat.

Small children

Children who have outgrown or no longer

properly fit in a belt-positioning booster

seat (generally children who are at least

Use a vehicle seatbelt

having the lap belt snug

and low across the hips,

shoulder belt centered

Larger children 57 in (1.45 m) tall or greater than 80 lb

(36 kg) or 100 lb (45 kg) if recommended across the shoulder and

by child restraint manufacturer).

chest, and seat backrest

upright.

•

You are required by law to properly use

child restraints for infants and toddlers

in the United States, Canada and

Mexico.

•

When possible, properly restrain

children 12 years of age and under in a

rear seating position of your vehicle.

Accident statistics suggest that

children are safer when properly

restrained in the rear seating positions

than in a front seating position. See

Front Passenger Sensing System

(page 48).

When installing a rear facing child

restraint, adjust the vehicle seats to

avoid interference between the child

restraint and the vehicle seat in front

of the child restraint.

Many states and provinces require that

small children use approved booster

seats until they reach age eight, a

height of 57 in (1.45 m) tall, or 80 lb

(36 kg). Check your local and state or

provincial laws for specific

•

requirements about the safety of

children in your vehicle.

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Child Safety

INSTALLING CHILD

RESTRAINTS

Child Seats

WARNING: Depending on where

you secure a child restraint, and

depending on the child restraint design,

you may block access to certain seatbelt

buckle assemblies and LATCH lower

anchors, rendering those features

potentially unusable. To avoid risk of

injury, make sure occupants only use

seating positions where they are able to

be properly restrained.

When installing a child restraint with

combination lap and shoulder belts:

•

Use the correct seatbelt buckle for that

seating position.

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•

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.

Use a child restraint (sometimes called an

infant carrier, convertible seat, or toddler

seat) for Infants, toddlers and children

weighing 40 lb (18 kg) or less (generally

four-years-old or younger).

•

Keep the buckle release button

pointing up and away from the child

restraint, with the tongue between the

child restraint and the release button,

to prevent accidental unbuckling.

Using Lap and Shoulder Belts

•

Place the vehicle seat in the upright

position before you install the child

restraint.

For second row seating positions,

adjust the recliner slightly to improve

child restraint fit. If needed, remove the

head restraints.

For third row seating positions, stow

the head restraints to improve child

restraint fit. See Head Restraints

(page 146).

Put the seatbelt in the automatic

locking mode. See Step 5 in the

procedure that follows. This vehicle

does not require the use of a locking

clip.

WARNING: Do not place a

rearward facing child restraint in front of

an active airbag. Failure to follow this

instruction could result in personal injury

or death.

WARNING: Properly secure

•

children 12 years old and under in a rear

seating position whenever possible. If

you are unable to properly secure all

children in a rear seating position,

properly secure the largest child on the

front seat. If you must use a forward

facing child restraint on the front seat,

move the seat as far back as possible.

Failure to follow these instructions could

result in personal injury or death.

Perform the following steps when

installing the child restraint with

combination lap and shoulder belts:

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Child Safety

Note: Although the child restraint

illustrated is a forward facing child restraint,

the steps are the same for installing a rear

facing child restraint.

Note: Follow all instructions provided by

the manufacturer of the child restraint

regarding the necessary and proper use of

the lock-off device. In some instances, the

manufacturer provides these devices only

for use in vehicles with seatbelt systems

that would otherwise require a locking clip.

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3. While holding the shoulder and lap belt

portions together, route the tongue

through the child restraint according

to the child restraint manufacturer's

instructions. Make sure you do not twist

the belt webbing.

E142528

1. Position the child restraint in a seat

with a combination lap and shoulder

belt.

E142531

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 that you securely latch the tongue

by pulling on it.

E142529

2. After positioning the child restraint in

the proper seating position, pull down

on the shoulder belt and then grasp the

shoulder belt and lap belt together

behind the belt tongue.

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Child Safety

8. Remove remaining slack from the belt.

Force the seat down with extra weight,

for example, by pressing down or

kneeling on the child restraint as you

pull up on the shoulder belt to force

slack from the belt. This is necessary

to remove the remaining slack that

exists once you add the extra weight

of the child to the child restraint. It also

helps to achieve the proper snugness

of the child restraint to your vehicle.

Sometimes, a slight lean toward the

buckle provides extra help to remove

remaining slack from the belt.

E142875

5. To put the retractor in the automatic

locking mode, grasp the shoulder

portion of the belt and pull downward

until you pull all of the belt out.

9. If the child restraint has a tether strap,

attach it now.

Note: The automatic locking mode is

available on the front passenger and rear

seats.

6. Allow the belt to retract to remove

slack. The belt clicks 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 did not lock, unbuckle the belt

and repeat Steps 5 and 6.

E142534

10. Before placing the child in the seat,

forcibly move the seat forward and

back to make sure you have the seat

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 in (2.5 cm) of

movement for proper installation.

We recommend checking with a NHTSA

Certified Child Passenger Safety

Technician to make sure you properly

installed the child restraint. In Canada,

check with Transport Canada for referral

to a Child Car Seat Clinic.

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Child Safety

Second Row Bucket Seats and Third

Using Lower Anchors and Tethers

for CHildren (LATCH)

Row Seats

WARNING: Do not attach two child

safety restraints to the same anchor. In

a crash, one anchor may not be strong

enough to hold two child safety restraint

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 seatbelt

buckle assemblies and LATCH lower

anchors, rendering those features

potentially unusable. To avoid risk of

injury, make sure occupants only use

seating positions where they are able to

be properly restrained.

E319061

Second Row Bench Seats and Third

Row Seats

The LATCH system has three vehicle

anchor points: two lower anchors where

the seat backrest and seat cushion meet

(called the seat bight) and one top tether

anchor behind that seating position.

LATCH compatible child restraints have

two rigid or webbing mounted

E325445

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 seatbelts to attach the child

restraint. However, you can still use the

seatbelt to attach the child restraint. For

forward-facing child restraints, you must

also attach the top tether strap to the

proper top tether anchor if one came with

your child restraint.

Your vehicle has LATCH lower anchors for

child restraint installation at the seating

positions marked with the child restraint

symbol.

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Child Safety

The LATCH anchors are at the rear section

Each time you use the child restraint, check

that you properly attached the seat to the

lower anchors and tether anchor, if

of the rear seat between the cushion and

seat backrest below the symbols as

shown. Follow the child restraint

manufacturer's instructions to properly

install a child restraint with LATCH

attachments.

applicable. Tug the child restraint from side

to side and forward and back where you

secured it to your vehicle. The child

restraint should move less than 1 in

(2.5 cm) if you properly install the seat.

Follow the instructions on attaching child

restraints with tether straps. See Using

Tether Straps later in this chapter.

If you do not properly anchor the child

restraint, the risk of injury to a child greatly

increases in a crash.

Attach LATCH lower attachments of the

child restraint only to the anchors shown.

Combining Seatbelt and LATCH Lower

Anchors for Attaching Child Restraints

Use of Inboard Lower Anchors from the

Outboard Seating Positions (Center

Seating Use)

When used in combination, you can attach

either the seatbelt or the LATCH lower

anchors first, provided you achieve a proper

installation. Attach the tether strap

afterward, if included with the child

restraint.

WARNING: The standardized

spacing for LATCH lower anchors is 11 in

(280 mm) center to center. Do not use

LATCH lower anchors for the center

seating position unless the child restraint

manufacturer's instructions permit and

specify using anchors spaced at least as

far apart as those in this vehicle.

Using Tether Straps

Many forward-facing child

E141128

restraints include a tether strap

which extends from the back of

the child restraint and hooks to an

anchoring point called the top tether

anchor. Tether straps are available as an

accessory for many older child restraints.

The lower anchors at the center of the

second row bench seat are spaced 20.5 in

(52 cm) apart. The standardized spacing

for LATCH lower anchors is 11 in (28 cm)

center to center. You cannot install a child

restraint with rigid LATCH attachments at

the center seating position. You can only

use LATCH compatible child restraints with

attachments on belt webbing at this

seating position provided that the child

restraint manufacturer’s instructions

permit use with the anchor spacing stated.

Do not attach a child restraint to any lower

anchor if you have an adjacent child

restraint attached to that anchor.

Contact the manufacturer of your child

restraint for information about ordering a

tether strap, or to obtain a longer tether

strap if the tether strap on your child

restraint does not reach the appropriate

top tether anchor in your vehicle.

Once you install the child restraint using

either the seatbelt, the lower anchors of

the LATCH system, or both, you can attach

the top tether strap.

The tether strap anchors in your vehicle

are in the following positions (shown from

top view):

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Child Safety

Second Row Bucket Seats and Third

For second row outermost seating

positions, route the child restraint tether

strap over the seat backrest, under the

head restraint and between the head

restraint posts. If needed, remove the head

restraint to improve the fit of the child

restraint or tether strap.

Row Seats

For the second row center seating position,

route the child restraint tether strap over

the top of the head restraint. If needed,

remove the head restraint to improve the

fit of the child restraint or tether strap. See

Head Restraints (page 146).

E319055

For third row seating positions, route the

child restraint tether strap over the seat

backrest, under the head restraint and

between the head restraint posts. If

needed, fold the head restraint down to

improve the fit of the child restraint or

tether strap. See Head Restraints (page

146).

Second Row Bench Seats and Third

Row Seats

1. Route the tether strap.

2. Locate the correct anchor for the

selected seating position.

3. Clip the tether strap to the anchor as

shown. The tether hook may be

twisted ½ turn to improve installation.

If you clip the tether strap incorrectly,

the child restraint may not be retained

properly in the event of a crash.

E319047

Perform the following steps to install a

child restraint with tether anchors:

Note: If you install a child restraint with rigid

LATCH attachments, do not tighten the

tether strap enough to lift the child restraint

off your vehicle seat cushion when the child

is seated in it. Keep the tether strap just snug

without lifting the front of the child restraint.

Keeping the child restraint just touching your

vehicle seat gives the best protection in a

severe crash.

E190833

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Child Safety

4. Tighten the child restraint tether strap

If your child restraint system has a tether

strap, and the child restraint manufacturer

recommends its use, we also recommend

its use.

according to the manufacturer's

instructions.

If you do not properly anchor the child

restraint, the risk of injury to a child

increases greatly in a crash.

Second Row Bucket Seats

E251594

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Child Safety

Second Row Bench Seats

E251593

Third Row Seats

E286303

Note: The cargo tie downs at the rear edge

of the floor are not tether anchors.

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Child Safety

•

Does the lap belt rest low across the

BOOSTER SEATS

hips?

Is the shoulder belt centered on the

shoulder and chest?

WARNING:Do not put the shoulder

section of the seatbelt or allow the child

to put the shoulder section of the

seatbelt under their arm or behind their

back. Failure to follow this instruction

could reduce the effectiveness of the

seatbelt and increase the risk of injury or

death in a crash.

Can the child stay seated like this for

the whole trip?

Always use booster seats in conjunction

with your vehicle lap and shoulder belt.

Types of Booster Seats

Use a belt-positioning booster seat for

children who have outgrown or no longer

properly fit in a child safety restraint

(generally children who are less than 57 in

(1.45 m) tall, are greater than age 4 and

less than age 12, and between 40 lb (18 kg)

and 80 lb (36 kg) and 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 57 in (1.45 m) tall, or

80 lb (36 kg).

E68924

•

Backless booster seats

Booster seats should be used until you can

answer YES to ALL of these questions

when seated without a booster seat:

If your backless booster seat has a

removable shield, remove the shield. If a

vehicle seating position has a low seat

backrest 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 backrest

or head restraint and lap and shoulder

belts, or consider using a high back booster

seat.

E142595

•

Can the child sit all the way back

against their vehicle seat backrest with

knees bent comfortably at the edge of

the seat cushion?

•

Can the child sit without slouching?

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Child Safety

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 following drawings 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 also show how the

lap belt should be low and snug across the

child's hips.

E70710

•

High back booster seats

E142596

E142597

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Child Safety

If the booster seat slides on the vehicle

and warnings provided by your vehicle

manufacturer. A safety seat that is

improperly installed or utilized, is

inappropriate for your child's height, age,

or weight or does not properly fit the

child may increase the risk of serious

injury or death.

seat upon which it is being used, 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.

WARNING: Do not allow a

passenger to hold a child on their lap

when your vehicle is moving. Failure to

follow this instruction could result in

personal injury or death in the event of a

sudden stop or crash.

CHILD RESTRAINT

POSITIONING

WARNING: Do not place a

rearward facing child restraint in front of

an active airbag. Failure to follow this

instruction could result in personal injury

or death.

WARNING: Do not use pillows,

books or towels to boost your child's

height. Failure to follow this instruction

could result in personal injury or death.

WARNING: Properly secure

WARNING: Properly secure child

restraints or booster seats when they are

not in use. They could become projectiles

in a sudden stop or crash. Failure to

follow this instruction could result in

personal injury or death.

children 12 years old and under in a rear

seating position whenever possible. If

you are unable to properly secure all

children in a rear seating position,

properly secure the largest child on the

front seat. If you must use a forward

facing child restraint on the front seat,

move the seat as far back as possible.

Failure to follow these instructions could

result in personal injury or death.

WARNING:Do not put the shoulder

section of the seatbelt or allow the child

to put the shoulder section of the

seatbelt under their arm or behind their

back. Failure to follow this instruction

could reduce the effectiveness of the

seatbelt and increase the risk of injury or

death in a crash.

WARNING: Always carefully follow

the instructions and warnings provided

by the manufacturer of any child

restraint to determine if the restraint

device is appropriate for your child's size,

height, weight, or age. Follow the child

restraint manufacturer's instructions and

warnings provided for installation and

use in conjunction with the instructions

WARNING: Do not leave children

or pets unattended in your vehicle.

Failure to follow this instruction could

result in personal injury or death.

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Child Safety

Recommendations for Attaching Child Safety Restraints for Children

Use Any Attachment Method as Indicated Below by X

LATCH

(Lower

Anchors

and Top

Tether

LATCH

(Lower

Anchors

Only)

Seatbelt

and Top

Tether

Seatbelt

and LATCH

(Lower

Seatbelt

Only

Combined

Weight of

Child and

Child

Restraint

Type

Anchor

Anchors

and Top

Tether

Restraint

Anchor)

Rear facing

child

Up to 65 lb

(29.5 kg)

X

restraint

Rear facing

child

Over 65 lb

(29.5 kg)

restraint

Forward

facing

Up to 65 lb

(29.5 kg)

X

child

restraint

Forward

facing

Over 65 lb

(29.5 kg)

child

restraint

Note: The child restraint must rest tightly

against the vehicle seat upon which it is

installed. It may be necessary to lift or

remove the head restraint. See Seats (page

146).

CHILD SAFETY LOCKS

When these locks are set, you cannot open

the rear doors from the inside.

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Child Safety

E287259

A child safety lock is on the rear edge of

each rear door. You must set the child

safety lock separately on each door.

Left-Hand Side

Turn the key clockwise to switch the child

lock on and counter clockwise to switch it

off.

Right-Hand Side

Turn the key counter clockwise to switch

the child lock on and clockwise to switch

it off.

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Child Safety for Your Ford Explorer SUV Sixth Generation (2012-2020)

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