I don't think you are understanding what is needed. When I get back home I will rephrase and hopefully get answers instead of people bickering back and forth. There is a way to install the seat in the middle utilizing the ford provided hook above the middle seat. I was looking for install examples.

 

I can't imagine any scenario where the top tether comes into play for a rear-facing bucket seat.

 

Congrats. I have a two month old. Our car seat is on the passenger side and all is fine. I like the ability to fold up the the other split seat and have storage room. We just used the two hooks on the bottom of the seat. The car seat isn't going anywhere attached that way.

 

There are no latch anchors for the middle seat. Please read your owners manual for proper car seat installation. Page 27 and 28 cover this. I recommend the passenger side so you can use latch and flip the drivers side seat up.

 

The middle of the rear seat has been proven to be the safest location. My kids are past needing these things, so I can’t say if the outboard anchors are designed to be used for installing a car seat in the middle position.

If not using the middle of the rear seat, you’ll find behind the drivers seat is most convenient for the driver.

Ive also read that more are recommending to put them behind the passenger seat to reduce the odds of accidentally leaving a child in the car...since you are more likely to see the seat and remember them. You can’t see them when they are behind you...and people do sometimes forget, especially when the child is sleeping or the parent is sleepy.

Find what works best for you. You may even pick a spot and then later decide to change the seat position. If you go have an inspector check it out, they may have additional insight into which position might work best for you.

 

The owners manual says to never use the outside seat latch anchors for the middle seat.

 

The on-line manual for my 2016 SCREW gives specific instructions for installing a child seat in the middle row.

Use of Inboard Lower Anchors from the Outermost Seating Positions (Center Seating Use) WARNING: The standardized spacing for LATCH lower anchors is 11 in (280 mm) center to center. Do not use LATCH lower anchors for the center seating position unless the child restraint manufacturer's instructions permit and specify using anchors spaced at least as far apart as those in this vehicle.
The lower anchors at the center of the second row rear seat are spaced 25.7 in (652 mm) apart. The standardized spacing for LATCH lower anchors is 11 in (280 mm) center to center. You cannot install achild restraint with rigid LATCH attachments at the center seating position. LATCH compatible child restraints (with attachments on belt webbing) can only be used at this seating position provided that the child restraint manufacturer's instructions permit use with the anchor spacing stated. Do not attach a child restraint to any lower anchor if an adjacent child restraint is attached to that anchor.
Each time you use the safety seat, check that the seat is properly attached to the lower anchors and tether anchor, if applicable. Tug the child restraint from side to side and forward and back where it is secured to the vehicle. The seat should move less than one inch when you do this for a proper installation.

 

I installed ours in the right rear, so I could use the LATCH anchors. This is admittedly a compromise to allow the left/center seat to still fold up, plus allow the installation of the baby and car seat without trying to crawl into the middle of the truck. The center seat is, at the end of the day, safest. Please ignore the idiot who suggested it will go through the windshield... that's only true if you install it improperly.

Just to clear up some misconceptions here, if they're a municipal department and asking for donations, it's probably for MDA or a similar non-profit. If it's a smaller volunteer department, quite often, the proceeds from tax revenue aren't even sufficient to cover day to day operating expenses, much less purchasing new apparatus, adding capabilities demanded by the community, etc. Also, the crew who's doing the inspection for you may not be being compensated for their time nor for the time to go to the training. I certainly didn't get paid a dime to get my CPST.

 

this is exactly what I came to say. The car seat manual probably has its own wording on the latch distance as well. I want to say my Chicco seat said 18” but don’t quote me on that.

 

Great post, and I have some more recent experience with this as we have an 18 month old and went to a local dealership who offers this service. I installed mine in the middle.

First, you'll want to pull the middle seat belt ALL the way out! This will activate the feature where the seat belt strap will lock in place at the tightest setting you can get. (Normally when you pull a seat belt out it can go longer or shorter very easily).

Once you have it pulled all the way out, you'll want to run it through the car seat and buckle it down then retract it as tightly as you can. The belt should stay retracted to as tight as you can get it.

If you have an infant base (as shown on above pictures) that has a strap that goes over the seat belt you do not need to perform the function of pulling the belt out all the way. If you DO NOT have that strap that goes over the belt on your base, you will HAVE to pull the belt all the way out so it goes into it's locking function. I know this because of the two infant bases we used to use, one had the strap, and one did not.

(For those that are curious, the way to get the belt back to normal mode is to let the belt retract all the way, then it goes back into normal mode. This is also why you don't want to pull it out all the way, then let it go all the way back in. Pull the belt out all the way, run it through the base, click it in, and then tighten it as much as you can. A knee into the base while tightening will help).

Center middle is the safest as some have pointed out. It has the best protection from side impacts. Of course if you have a couple kids at least one of them has to ride on an outboard seat. It would be nice if Ford just had the child latches installed on the middle as well. Another note, the child latches on vehicles are only rated to a certain weight for children. Per a Google search, they are only rated to 65 lbs total. So that is the child and the seat. If your seat is 20lbs, then once your child gets to 40lbs, you need to change your attachment method.

I would highly recommend going to a professional (especially since they are free) and have them check your work. Also checking your vehicle manual as well as the car seat manual should be helpful.