2009 Mercury Mariner Owner's Manual - Page 145

Seating and Safety Restraints Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder belts The rear seat head restraints must be removed when using a child seat that utilizes the top tether anchor. Check to make sure the child seat is properly secured before each use. Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating position whenever possible. If all children cannot be seated and restrained properly in a rear seating position, properly restrain the largest child in the front seat. When installing a child safety seat with combination lap/shoulder belts: • Use the correct safety belt buckle for that seating position. • Insert the belt tongue into the proper buckle until you hear a snap and feel it latch. Make sure the tongue is securely fastened in the buckle. • Keep the buckle release button pointing up and away from the safety seat, with the tongue between the child seat and the release button, to help prevent accidental unbuckling. • Place vehicle seat back in upright position. • Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer to step 5 below. WARNING: 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 and/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. Perform the following steps when installing the child seat with combination lap/shoulder belts: Note: Although the child seat illustrated is a forward facing child seat, the steps are the same for installing a rear facing child seat. 145 2009 Mariner (mrn) Owners Guide, 2nd Printing USA (fus)