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216
Ch ild Saf e t y
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 the safety belt buck-
le. The be lt tongue will pop out of the buck-
le .
.. Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position .
Always let the safety belt retract complete ly
into its stowed position . The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with -
out the convertib le locking retractor for chi ld
restra ints.
If the convertible locking retractor shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must
be unfastened and guided completely back in-
to its stowed pos ition to deactivate th is fea-
ture. If the convertible locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be-
come tighter and uncomfortable to wea r.
A
WARNING
Imprope rly insta lled child safety seats in-
crease the 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 ret ractor for
child rest rain t s while the veh icle is mov-
ing. You would not be rest rained and
cou ld be seriously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNI NGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave -
hicle is being used
¢
page 203.
Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢
page 184, 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 simpler and more practicable way
to at tach the child restra int on the vehi cle
seat, Federal regulat ions req uire spec ial lowe r
anchorages in vehicles and devices on new
child restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho-
rages.
The combination of the tether anc horages and
the lowe r anchorages is now genera lly called
t he LATCH system fo r "Lower Anchorages and
Tethers for Child ren."
Forward-facing chi ld restrai nts ma nufa ctured
after September 1, 1999, are requ ired by U.S.
federa 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 that requires a top
tether 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 restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a violat ion of
state law.
Child restraint 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,
these chi ld restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to he lp keep the chi ld
rest raint firmly in place.
A
WARNING
-
Imp roper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the ris k of injury a nd death in
a crash.
-
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