WARNING!
Improper installation of a child restraint to the
LATCH anchorages can lead to failure of an infant or
child restraint. The child could be badly injured or
killed. Follow the manufacturer’s directions exactly
when installing an infant or child restraint.
Installing Child Restraints Using the Vehicle Seat
Belts
The passenger seat belts are equipped with either cinch-
ing latch plates or Automatic Locking Retractors (ALRs),
which are designed to keep the lap portion tight around
the child restraint so that it is not necessary to use a
locking clip. Pulling up on the shoulder portion of the
lap/shoulder belt will tighten the belt. The cinching latch
plate will keep the belt tight; however, any seat belt
system will loosen with time, so check the belt occasion-
ally and pull it tight if necessary.
The seat belt must be in the Automatic Locking Mode in
order to enable a child restraint to be tightly installed.
Refer to “Automatic Locking Mode”. A locking clip
should not be necessary once the automatic locking
feature is enabled. Position the shoulder and lap belt on
the child restraint. The automatic locking retractor is
activated by first attaching the child seat, then pulling all
of the webbing out of the retractor, then allowing the
webbing to retract back into the retractor. Tighten web-
bing. To release, simply unbuckle the seat belt by de-
pressing the button, allowing the webbing to retract into
the retractor.
In the rear seat, you may have trouble tightening the
lap/shoulder belt on the child restraint because the
buckle or latch plate is too close to the belt path opening
on the restraint. Disconnect the latch plate from the
buckle and twist the short buckle end belt several times
to shorten it. Insert the latch plate into the buckle with the
release button facing out.
76 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE