2012 Ford Taurus Owner Guide 2nd Printing - Page 193

Seating and Safety Restraints Attaching child safety seats with LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) attachments The LATCH system is composed of three vehicle anchor points: two (2) lower anchors located where the vehicle seat back and seat cushion meet (called the "seat bight") and one (1) top tether anchor located behind that seating position. LATCH compatible child safety seats have two rigid or webbing mounted attachments that connect to the two lower anchors at the LATCH equipped seating positions in your vehicle. This type of attachment method eliminates the need to use safety belts to attach the child seat, however the safety belt can still be used to attach the child seat. For forward-facing child seats, the top tether strap must also be attached to the proper top tether anchor, if a top tether strap has been provided with your child seat. Ford Motor Company recommends the use of a child safety seat having a top tether strap. See Attaching child safety seats with tether straps and Recommendations for attaching safety restraints for children in this chapter for more information. Your vehicle has LATCH lower anchors for child seat installation at the seating positions marked with the child seat symbol. The LATCH anchors are located at the rear section of the rear seat between the cushion and seatback, below the locator symbols on the seat back. Follow the child seat manufacturer's instructions to properly install a child seat with LATCH attachments. Follow the instructions on attaching child safety seats with tether straps. Refer to Attaching child safety seats with tether straps later in this chapter. 193 2012 Taurus Owners Guide, 2nd Printing USA (fus)