Get Child Safety -> Installing Child Seats Guide for Ford Fiesta 4 Door Sixth Generation (2009-2016)

Child Safety

Recommendations for Safety Restraints for Children

Child

Child size, height, weight, or age

Recommended restraint

type

Infants or

toddlers

Children weighing 40 lb (18 kg) or less

(generally age four or younger).

Use a child safety seat

(sometimes called an

infant carrier, convertible

seat, or toddler seat).

Small children Children who have outgrown or no longer

properly fit in a child safety seat (gener-

ally children who are less than 4 ft. 9 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.

Larger children Children who have outgrown or no longer Use a vehicle safety belt

properly fit in a belt-positioning booster

seat (generally children who are at least

4 ft. 9 in. (1.45 m) tall or greater than 80

lb (36 kg) or 100 lb (45 kg) if recom-

mended by child restraint manufacturer).

having the lap belt snug

and low across the hips,

shoulder belt centered

across the shoulder and

chest, and seat back

upright.

•

You are required by law to properly use

safety seats for infants and toddlers in

the United States and Canada.

INSTALLING CHILD SEATS

Child Seats

Many states and provinces require that

small children use approved booster

seats until they reach age eight, a

height of 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 meters)

tall, or 80 pounds (36 kilograms).

Check your local and state or provincial

laws for specific requirements about

the safety of children in your vehicle.

•

When possible, always 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 36).

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Child Safety

Use a child safety seat (sometimes called

•

Place your vehicle seat back in the

upright position.

an infant carrier, convertible seat, or

toddler seat) for infants, toddlers, or

children weighing 40 pounds (18

kilograms) or less (generally age four or

younger).

Put the safety belt in the automatic

locking mode. See Step 5. This vehicle

does not require the use of a locking

clip.

Perform the following steps when

installing the child seat with combination

lap and shoulder belts:

Using Lap and Shoulder Belts

WARNINGS

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 seat all the way

back.

Note: Although the child seat illustrated is

a forward facing child seat, the steps are

the same for installing a rear facing child

seat.

Children 12 and under should be

properly restrained in the rear seat

whenever possible.

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 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.

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1. Position the child safety seat in a seat

with a combination lap and shoulder

belt.

When installing a child safety seat with

combination lap and 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 prevent

accidental unbuckling.

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2. Pull down on the shoulder belt and

then grasp the shoulder belt and lap

belt together.

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Child Safety

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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.

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.

Note: The automatic locking mode is

available on the front passenger and rear

seats. This vehicle does not require the use

of a locking clip.

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, unbuckle the

belt and repeat Steps 5 and 6.

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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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Child Safety

8. Remove remaining slack from the belt.

Using Lower Anchors and Tethers

for Children (LATCH)

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 extra weight of the child

is added to the child restraint. It also

helps to achieve the proper snugness

of the child seat to your vehicle.

WARNINGS

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.

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 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.

Sometimes, a slight lean toward the

buckle will additionally help to remove

remaining slack from the belt.

9. Attach the tether strap (if the child seat

is equipped). See Using Tether

Straps later in this section.

The LATCH system is composed of three

vehicle anchor points: two lower anchors

located where your vehicle seat back and

seat cushion meet (called the seat bight)

and one top tether anchor located behind

that seating position.

LATCH compatible child safety seats have

two rigid or webbing mounted

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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.

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 centimeters) of movement

for proper installation.

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 Certified

Passenger Seat Technician.

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Child Safety

Use of Inboard Lower Anchors from the

Outboard Seating Positions (Center

Seating Use)

WARNING

The standardized spacing for LATCH

lower anchors is 11 inches (28

centimeters) 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 in this vehicle.

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Your vehicle has LATCH lower anchors for

child seat installation at the seating

positions marked with the child seat

symbol.

The lower anchors at the center of the

second row rear seat are spaced 15 inches

(39 centimeters) apart. 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.

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 your vehicle. The seat should

move less than one inch when you do this

for a proper installation.

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The LATCH anchors are located at the rear

section of the rear seat between the

cushion and seat back below the symbols

as shown. 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.

If the safety seat is not anchored properly,

the risk of a child being injured in a crash

greatly increases.

Attach LATCH lower attachments of the

child seat only to the anchors shown.

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Child Safety

Combining Safety Belt and LATCH

Lower Anchors for Attaching Child

Safety Seats

Perform the following steps to install a

child safety seat with tether anchors:

Note: If you install a child seat with rigid

LATCH attachments, do not tighten the

tether strap enough to lift the child seat 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 seat.

Keeping the child seat just touching your

vehicle seat gives the best protection in a

severe crash.

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.

Using Tether Straps

Many forward-facing child safety

seats include a tether strap

which extends from the back of

Four Door

The tether anchors in your vehicle are

located under a cover marked with the

tether anchor symbol.

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.

1. Route the child safety seat tether strap

over the back of the seat. For outboard

seating positions, route the tether strap

under the head restraint and between

the head restraint posts. For the center

seating positions, route the tether strap

over the top of the head restraint. If

needed, the head restraints can also

be removed.

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 your vehicle.

Once the child safety seat has been

installed using either the safety belt, 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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2. Locate the correct anchor for the

selected seating position, then open

the tether anchor cover.

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Child Safety -> Installing Child Seats for Your Ford Fiesta 4 Door Sixth Generation (2009-2016)

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