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180
Ch ild Saf e ty
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re-
straints will be deactivated automatically
when the belt is wound all the way back into
the retractor .
.,. Press the red button on t he safe ty belt buck-
le. The be lt tongue will pop out of the buck-
le .
.. Guide the safety be lt all the way back into
its stowed position .
Always let the safety bel t retract comp lete ly
into its stowed posit ion . The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with -
out the convert ible locking ret ractor for chi ld
restra ints.
If the convertible locking retracto r shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must
be unfastened and guided comp letely back in-
to its stowed pos ition to deactivate th is fea-
ture. If the convertib le locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety be lt will gradually be-
come tighter a nd uncomfo rtable to wea r.
A
WARNING
Imprope rly insta lled child saf ety seats in-
crease t he risk of ser ious personal inju ry
and death in a collision .
- Never unfaste n the safety belt to deacti-
vate the convert ible locking retr actor fo r
child rest rain t s while the veh icle is mov-
ing. You would not be restr ained and
cou ld be seriously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave -
hicle is being used¢
page 166.
Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenge r seat
¢
page 142, Child restraints on the front
seat - some important things to know.
LATCH
Lower
anchorages
and tethers
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simple r and more practicable way
to at tach the child restra int on t he vehi cle
sea t , Federal regulat ions requir e spe cial lowe r
anchorages in vehicles a nd devices on new
child restraints t o attach to the vehicle ancho-
rages.
The comb inat io n of t he tether anc horages and
the lowe r anchorages is now genera lly call ed
t he LATCH system fo r "Lower Anchorages and
Tethers for Child ren."
Forward-f acing ch ild res t rai nts ma nufa cture d
after September 1, 1999, are req uired by U.S.
fede ra l regu lations to comply with new child
head movement performance req uirements.
These new performance req uirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a child restraint t hat requires a top
tethe r without one can seriously impair the
performance of the child restra int and its abil-
ity to protect the child in a coll is ion. Insta lling
a chi ld restrai nt that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a violat ion of
state law.
Child rest raint manufacturers
offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their child seats with
hook-on or push-on connectors attached to
adjustable straps .
In add ition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
t hese chi ld restraint systems usually require
t he use of tethe r straps to he lp keep the ch ild
rest raint firmly in place.
A
WARNING
-
Imp roper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the ris k of injury a nd dea t h in
a crash.
-
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