Attaching Child Safety Seats With Tether Straps - Ford Econoline E-250 Owner's Manual

Seating and Safety Restraints

Attaching child safety seats with tether straps

WARNING: When using forward-facing child safety seats in
vehicles with only two seating positions or the forward-facing
child safety seat cannot be placed in the rear of the vehicle, move the
passenger seat as far back from the instrument panel as possible.
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 front passenger and rear seats of your vehicle are equipped with
built-in tether strap anchors located behind the seats as described below.
Attach the tether strap only to the appropriate tether anchor as shown.
The tether strap may not work properly if attached somewhere other
than the correct tether anchor.
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.
If you install a child seat with rigid LATCH attachments, and have
attached the top tether strap to the proper top tether anchor, 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.
Perform the following steps to install a child safety seat with tether
anchors:
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2012 Econoline (eco)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA (fus)