Ford Transit Connect (2016 year). Manual — part 4

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 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. 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).

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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 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.

Using Lower Anchors and Tethers
for Children (LATCH)

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.

The LATCH system is composed of three
vehicle anchor points: two lower anchors
located where the seatback 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
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.

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

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

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

Use of Inboard Lower Anchors from the
Outboard Seating Positions (Center
Seating Use - If Equipped)

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.

The lower anchors at the center of the
second row rear seat are spaced 22 inches
(56 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.

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.

Using Tether Straps

WARNING

Do not tie down cargo with anchors
if the anchors are in use as child
tethers.

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 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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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.

Second row

1.

Route the child safety seat tether strap
over the back of the seat. For the
second row outboard seating positions,
route the tether strap under the head
restraint and between the head
restraint posts. For the second row
center seating position, route the tether
strap over the top of the head restraint.
If needed, the head restraints can also
be removed.

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2. Locate the correct anchor on the back

panel of the rear seat for the selected
seating position. The anchors are
labeled with the tether strap symbol
and are partially covered by the gap
panel. Pull the panel back to fully
expose the anchors.

3. Clip the tether strap to the anchor as

shown.

4. Tighten the child safety seat tether

strap according to the manufacturer's
instructions. If your child restraint
system is equipped with a tether strap,
and the child restraint manufacturer
recommends its use, we also
recommend its use.