1011 Mercury Grand Marquis Owner's Manuals

The indicator light will illuminate when the heated seats have been
activated.
REAR SEATS
Seat-mounted cup holders and armrest storage compartment
(if equipped)
To access the cup holders, fold the
armrest down.
WARNING:Use only soft cups in the cup holder. Hard objects
can injure you in a collision.
SAFETY RESTRAINTS
Personal Safety System™
The Personal Safety System provides an improved overall level of frontal
crash protection to front seat occupants and is designed to help further
reduce the risk of airbag-related injuries. The system is able to analyze
different occupant conditions and crash severity before activating the
appropriate safety devices to help better protect a range of occupants in
a variety of frontal crash situations.
Your vehicle’s Personal Safety System consists of the following items:
•Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints
•Front safety belts with pretensioners, energy management retractors,
and safety belt usage sensors
•Driver’s seat position sensor
•Front crash severity sensor
•Front passenger sensing system
•“Passenger airbag off” or “pass airbag off” indicator lamp
Seating and Safety Restraints
97
2011 Crown Victoria(cro)
Owners Guide, 3rd Printing
USA(fus)

•Restraints Control Module (RCM) with impact and safing sensors
•Restraint system warning light and back-up tone
•The electrical wiring for the airbags, crash sensor(s), safety belt
pretensioners, front safety belt usage sensors, driver seat position
sensor, front passenger sensing system, and indicator lights.
How does the Personal Safety System™ work?
The Personal Safety System can adapt the deployment strategy of your
vehicle’s safety devices according to crash severity and occupant
conditions. A collection of crash and occupant sensors provides
information to the Restraints control module (RCM). During a crash, the
RCM may activate the safety belt pretensioners and/or either one or both
stages of the dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints based on crash
severity and occupant conditions.
The fact that the pretensioners or airbags did not activate for both front
seat occupants in a collision does not mean that something is wrong with
the system. Rather, it means the Personal Safety System determined the
accident conditions (crash severity, belt usage, etc.) were not
appropriate to activate these safety devices. Front airbags are designed
to activate only in frontal and near-frontal collisions, not rollovers,
side-impacts, or rear-impacts unless the collision causes sufficient
longitudinal deceleration.
Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints
The dual-stage airbags offer the capability to tailor the level of airbag
inflation energy. A lower, less forceful energy level is provided for more
common, moderate-severity impacts. A higher energy level is used for
the most severe impacts. Refer toAirbag supplemental restraints
(SRS)section in this chapter.
Front crash severity sensor
The front crash severity sensor enhances the ability to detect the
severity of an impact. Positioned up front, it provides valuable
information early in the crash event on the severity of the impact. This
allows your Personal Safety System to distinguish between different
levels of crash severity and modify the deployment strategy of the
dual-stage airbags and safety belt pretensioners.
Driver’s seat position sensor
The driver’s seat position sensor allows your Personal Safety System to
tailor the deployment level of the driver dual-stage airbag based on seat
position. The system is designed to help protect smaller drivers sitting
close to the driver airbag by providing a lower airbag output level.
Seating and Safety Restraints
98
2011 Crown Victoria(cro)
Owners Guide, 3rd Printing
USA(fus)

Front passenger sensing system
For airbags to do their job they must inflate with great force, and this
force can pose a potentially deadly risk to occupants that are very close
to the airbag when it begins to inflate. For some occupants, like infants
in rear-facing child seats, this occurs because they are initially sitting
very close to the airbag. For other occupants, this occurs when the
occupant is not properly restrained by safety belts or child safety seats
and they move forward during pre-crash braking. The most effective way
to reduce the risk of unnecessary injuries is to make sure all occupants
are properly restrained. Accident statistics suggest that children are
much safer when properly restrained in the rear seating positions than in
the front.
WARNING:Air bags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
NEVERplace a rear-facing child seat in front of an active air
bag. If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move
the seat all the way back.
WARNING:When possible, all children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in a rear seating position.
The front passenger sensing system can automatically turn off the front
passenger airbag and passenger seat-mounted side airbag. The system is
designed to help protect small (child size) occupants from frontal airbag
deployments when they are seated or restrained in the front passenger
seat contrary to proper child-seating or restraint usage
recommendations. Even with this technology, parents areSTRONGLY
encouraged to always properly restrain children in the rear seat. The
sensor also turns off the passenger front airbag when the passenger seat
is empty. The sensor turns off the passenger seat-mounted side airbag
when the seat is empty and the safety belt is unbuckled or buckled.
When the front passenger seat is occupied and the sensing system has
turned off the passenger’s frontal airbag, the “pass airbag off” indicator
will light and stay lit to remind you that the front passenger frontal
airbag is off. SeeFront passenger sensing systemin theAirbag
supplemental restraints (SRS)section of this chapter.
Front safety belt usage sensors
The front safety belt usage sensors detect whether or not the driver and
front outboard passenger safety belts are fastened. This information
allows your Personal Safety System to tailor the airbag deployment and
safety belt pretensioner activation depending upon safety belt usage.
Seating and Safety Restraints
99
2011 Crown Victoria(cro)
Owners Guide, 3rd Printing
USA(fus)

Front safety belt pretensioners
The safety belt pretensioners at the front outboard seating positions are
designed to tighten the safety belts firmly against the occupant’s body
during frontal collisions and in side collisions. This helps increase the
effectiveness of the safety belts. In frontal collisions, the safety belt
pretensioners can be activated alone or, if the collision is of sufficient
severity, together with the front airbags.
Front safety belt energy management retractors
The front outboard safety belt energy management retractors allow
webbing to be pulled out of the retractor in a gradual and controlled
manner in response to the occupant’s forward momentum. This helps
reduce the risk of force-related injuries to the occupant’s chest by
limiting the load on the occupant. Refer toEnergy management feature
section in this chapter.
Determining if the Personal Safety System is operational
The Personal Safety System uses a warning light in the instrument
cluster or a back-up tone to indicate the condition of the system. Refer
to theWarning light and chimessection in theInstrument Cluster
chapter. Routine maintenance of the Personal Safety System is not
required.
The restraints control module (RCM) monitors its own internal circuits
and the circuits for the airbag supplemental restraints, crash sensor(s),
safety belt pretensioners, front safety belt buckle sensors, front
passenger sensing system, and the driver seat position sensor. In
addition, the RCM also monitors the restraints warning light in the
instrument cluster. A difficulty with the system is indicated by one or
more of the following.
•The warning light will either flash or stay lit.
•The warning light will not illuminate immediately after ignition is
turned on.
•A series of five beeps will be heard. The tone pattern will repeat
periodically until the problem and warning light are repaired.
If any of these things happen, even intermittently, have the Personal
Safety System serviced at an authorized dealer immediately. Unless
serviced, the system may not function properly in the event of a
collision.
Seating and Safety Restraints
100
2011 Crown Victoria(cro)
Owners Guide, 3rd Printing
USA(fus)

Safety restraints precautions
WARNING:Always drive and ride with your seatback upright
and the lap belt snug and low across the hips.
WARNING:To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
in a rear seating position where they can be properly restrained.
WARNING:Never let a passenger hold a child on his or her lap
while the vehicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the
child from injury in a collision.
WARNING:All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver,
should always properly wear their safety belts, even when an
airbag supplemental restraint system (SRS) is provided.
WARNING:It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision, people riding in
these areas are more likely to be seriously injured or killed. Do not
allow people to ride in any area of your vehicle that is not equipped
with seats and safety belts. Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a
seat and using a safety belt properly.
WARNING:In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
significantly more likely to die than a person wearing a safety
belt.
WARNING:Each seating position in your vehicle has a specific
safety belt assembly which is made up of one buckle and one
tongue that are designed to be used as a pair. 1) Use the shoulder belt
on the outside shoulder only. Never wear the shoulder belt under the
arm. 2) Never swing the safety belt around your neck over the inside
shoulder. 3) Never use a single belt for more than one person.
WARNING:When possible, all children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in a rear seating position.
Seating and Safety Restraints
101
2011 Crown Victoria(cro)
Owners Guide, 3rd Printing
USA(fus)

WARNING:Safety belts and seats can become hot in a vehicle
that has been closed up in sunny weather; they could burn a
small child. Check seat covers and buckles before you place a child
anywhere near them.
WARNING:Front and rear seat occupants, including pregnant
women, should wear safety belts for optimum protection in an
accident.
Combination lap and shoulder belts
1. Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle (the buckle closest to
the direction the tongue is coming
from) until you hear a snap and feel
it latch. Make sure the tongue is
securely fastened in the buckle.
2. To unfasten, press the release
button and remove the tongue from
the buckle.
Seating and Safety Restraints
102
2011 Crown Victoria(cro)
Owners Guide, 3rd Printing
USA(fus)

Restraint of pregnant women
WARNING:Always ride and drive with your seatback upright
and the safety belt properly fastened. The lap portion of the
safety belt should fit snug and be positioned low across the hips. The
shoulder portion of the safety belt should be positioned across the
chest. Pregnant women should also follow this practice. See figure
below.
Pregnant women should always
wear their safety belt. The lap belt
portion of a combination lap and
shoulder belt should be positioned
low across the hips below the belly
and worn as tight as comfort will
allow. The shoulder belt should be
positioned to cross the middle of
the shoulder and the center of the
chest.
Lap belts
Adjusting the front center seat lap belt (if equipped)
WARNING:The lap belt should fit snugly and as low as possible
around the hips, not across the waist.
The lap belt does not adjust
automatically. Insert the tongue into
the correct buckle (the buckle
closest to the direction the tongue is
coming from). To lengthen the belt,
turn the tongue at a right angle to
the belt and pull across your lap
until it reaches the buckle. To
tighten the belt, pull the loose end
of the belt through the tongue until
it fits snugly across the hips.
Seating and Safety Restraints
103
2011 Crown Victoria(cro)
Owners Guide, 3rd Printing
USA(fus)

Shorten and fasten the belt when
not in use.
Safety belt locking modes
The front outboard and rear safety restraints in the vehicle are
combination lap and shoulder belts. The driver safety belt has the first
locking mode and the front outboard passenger and rear seat safety belts
have both types of locking modes described as follows:
Vehicle sensitive mode
This is the normal retractor mode, which allows free shoulder belt length
adjustment to your movements and locking in response to vehicle
movement. For example, if the driver brakes suddenly or turns a corner
sharply, or the vehicle receives an impact of approximately 5 mph
(8 km/h) or more, the combination safety belts will lock to help reduce
forward movement of the driver and passengers.
In addition, the retractor is designed to lock if the webbing is pulled out
too quickly. If this occurs, let the belt retract slightly and pull webbing
out again in a slow and controlled manner.
Automatic locking mode
In this mode, the shoulder belt is automatically pre-locked. The belt will
still retract to remove any slack in the shoulder belt. The automatic
locking mode is not available on the driver safety belt.
When to use the automatic locking mode
This mode should be usedany timea child safety seat, except a
booster, is installed in passenger front or rear seating positions. Children
12 years old and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating
position whenever possible. Refer toSafety restraints for childrenor
Safety seats for childrenlater in this chapter.
Seating and Safety Restraints
104
2011 Crown Victoria(cro)
Owners Guide, 3rd Printing
USA(fus)