Attaching child safety seats with tether straps, Seating and safety restraints – FORD 2009 F-150 v.1 User Manual

Page 206

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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.

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 attaching
child 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 safety restraints for children in
this chapter.

Attaching child safety seats with 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 are equipped with built-in tether
strap anchors located behind the seats as described below.

The tether anchors in your vehicle may be loops of webbing above the
seatback or an anchor bracket behind the seat on the rear edge of the
seat cushion.

The rear seat in the SuperCab and SuperCrew has three straps along the
top of the seatback that function as both routing loops for the tether
straps and anchor loops.

2009 F-150 (f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA
(fus)

Seating and Safety Restraints

206

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