2011 Ford Flex Owner Guide 2nd Printing - Page 206

Seating and Safety Restraints Attaching child safety seats with tether straps 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 rear seats of your vehicle are equipped with built-in tether strap anchors located behind the seats as described below. The tether strap anchors in your vehicle are in the following positions (shown from top view): • 40/40 second row seats and third-row passenger side • 60/40 second row seats and third-row passenger side 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, 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. 206 2011 Flex (471) Owners Guide, 2nd Printing USA (fus)