1997 FORD THUNDERBIRD Owners Manual

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Rear Seat Entry
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one third page art:0010264-A
Entering the rear seat
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The rotating boot on the lap belt is designed to
allow rear seat entry/exit. To enter the rear seat:
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1. Rotate the safety belt boot rearward.
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2. Enter the rear seat in front of the safety belt.
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3. Rotate the safety belt boot forward to allow
use by the front seat passengers.
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Important Safety Belt Information
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The use of safety belts helps to restrain you and
your passengers in case of a collision. In most
states and in Canada the law requires their use.
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Safety belts provide best restraint when:
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q
the seatback is upright
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the occupant is sitting upright (not slouched)
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the lap belt is snug and low on the hips
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the shoulder belt is snug against the chest
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the knees are straight forward
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To help you remember to fasten your safety belt,
a warning light may come on and a chime may
sound. SeeSafety Belt Warning Light and Chimein
theInstrumentationchapter.
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See the following sections in this chapter for
directions on how to properly use these safety
belts. Also seeSafety Restraints for Childrenin this
chapter for special instructions about using
safety belts for children.
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RWARNING
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.
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RWARNING
Always drive and ride with your seatback
upright and the lap belt snug and low
across the hips.
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RWARNING
Ford recommends that all safety belt
assemblies and attaching hardware should
be inspected by a qualified technician
after any collision. Safety belt assemblies
not in use during a collision should also
be inspected and replaced if either
damage or improper operation is noted.
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RWARNING
Children should always ride with the
seatback in the fully upright position.
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RWARNING
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.
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RWARNING
Lock the doors of your vehicle before
driving to lessen the risk of the door
coming open in a collision.
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Combination Lap and Shoulder
Belts
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While your vehicle is in motion, the combination
lap and shoulder belt adjusts to your movement.
However, if you brake hard, corner hard or if
your vehicle receives an impact of 5 mph
(8 km/h) or more, the lap and shoulder belt
locks and helps reduce your forward movement.
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After you get into your vehicle, close the door
and lock it. Then adjust the seat to the position
that suits you best.
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To fasten the belt,pull the lap/shoulder belt
from the retractor so that the shoulder portion of
the belt crosses your shoulder and chest. Be sure
the belt is not twisted. If it is, remove the twist.
Insert the belt tongue into the proper buckle
until you hear a snap and feel it latch. Make
sure the tongue is securely fastened in the
buckle.
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quarter page art:0010018-B
Fastening the front seat combination lap and shoulder belt
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one third page art:0010502-A
Fastening the rear seat combination lap and shoulder belt
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NOTE: Be sure to read and understand
Important Safety Belt Informationin
this chapter.
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Safety Belts for the Front Passenger
Outboard Seating Positions
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Your vehicle is equipped with a dual locking
mode retractor on the shoulder belt portion of
the combination lap/shoulder safety belt for
front seat passengers and a locking ªcinch
tongueº for rear outboard passengers.
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Dual locking mode retractors operate in two
ways:
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Vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode
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In this operating mode, the shoulder belt
retractor will allow the occupant freedom of
movement, locking tight only on hard braking,
hard cornering or impacts of approximately
5 mph (8 km/h) or more. The retractor can also
be made to lock by pulling/jerking on the belt.
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Automatic locking mode
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In this operating mode, the shoulder belt
retractor will be automatically locked and remain
locked when the combination lap/shoulder
safety belt is buckled, and does not allow the
occupant freedom of movement. This mode
provides the following:
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A tight lap/shoulder belt fit on the occupant.
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Child seat or infant carrier installation
restraint.
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RWARNING
Rear-facing child seats or infant carriers
should never be placed in the front seats.
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This modemust be usedwhen installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat and rear
outboard seats where dual locking retractors are
provided.
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To switch the retractor from the emergency
locking mode to the automatic locking mode,
perform the following steps:
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1. Buckle the lap/shoulder combination belt.
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2. Grasp the shoulder portion of the belt and
pull downward until all of the belt is
extracted and, when allowed to retract, a
clicking sound is heard. At this time, the belt
retractor is in the automatic locking mode
(child restraint mode).
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3. A clicking sound will continue to be heard
as the belt is allowed to retract.
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NOTE: When the combination lap/shoulder
belt is unbuckled and allowed to
retract completely, the retractor will
switch back to the vehicle sensitive
(emergency) locking mode. See the
detailed instructions underSafety Seats
for Childrenin this chapter.
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Safety Belts with Locking Cinch Tongue
for Rear Outboard Seating Positions
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Your vehicle is equipped with safety seat belts
containing a cinch tongue at the rear outboard
seating positions.
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The locking cinch tongue will slide up and
down the belt webbing when the belt is in the
stowed position or while putting seat belts on.
When the locking cinch tongue of the
lap/shoulder combination seat belt is latched
into the buckle, the cinch tongue will allow the
lap portion to become shorter, but locks the
webbing in place to restrict it from becoming
longer.
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Before you can reach and latch a combination
lap and shoulder belt having a cinch tongue into
the buckle, you may have to lengthen the lap
belt portion of it. To lengthen the lap belt, pull
some webbing out of the shoulder belt retractor.
While holding the webbing below the tongue,
grasp the tip (metal portion) of the tongue so
that it is parallel to the webbing and slide the
tongue upward. Provide enough lap belt length
so that the tongue can reach the buckle.
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NOTE: If you grasp the tongue by the tongue
cover to lengthen the belt, the tongue
cover will grab the webbing, making it
difficult to slide.
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half page art:0011373-A
Adjusting the cinch tongue rear combination lap and
shoulder belt
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To fasten a cinch tongue, pull the combination
lap and shoulder belt from the retractor so that
the shoulder belt portion of the safety belt
crosses your shoulder and chest. Be sure the belt
is not twisted. If the belt is twisted remove the
twist. Insert the belt tongue into the proper
buckle for your seating position until you hear a
snap and feel it latch. Make sure the tongue is
securely fastened to the buckle by pulling on the
tongue.
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RWARNING
The lap belts should fit snugly and as low
as possible around the hips, not around
the waist.
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RWARNING
Front and rear seat occupants, including
pregnant women, should wear safety belts
for optimum protection in an accident.
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RWARNING
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 it
around your neck over the inside
shoulder. 3) Never use a single belt for
more than one person.
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Due to folding rear seats, sometimes the buckles
and tongues toward the center of the vehicle
may be hidden by the rear edge of the seat
cushion. Pull them out so they will be accessible.
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