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Always transport children 12 years old and
under in the back seat and always properly
use appropriate child restraints.
Combination lap and shoulder belts
Before fastening the
safety belt, make sure
the shoulder belt
passes through the belt
holder on the top of
the seatback.
Coupe shown,
convertible is similar
and safety belt must also pass through the belt
holder.
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, push
the release button and
remove the tongue
from the buckle.
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The front and rear outboard safety restraints in the
vehicle are combination lap and shoulder belts. The
front passenger and rear seat outboard safety belts
have two types of locking modes described below:
Vehicle sensitive mode
The vehicle sensitive mode is the normal retractor
mode, allowing 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 8 km/h (5 mph)
or more, the combination safety belts will lock to
help reduce forward movement of the driver and
passengers.
The seat belt system can also be made to lock
manually by quickly pulling on the shoulder belt.
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
²Anytimea child safety seat is installed in a
passenger front or outboard rear seating position
(if equipped). Children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in the rear seat
whenever possible. Refer toSafety Restraints for
ChildrenorSafety Seats for Childrenlater in
this chapter.
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How to use the automatic locking mode
²Buckle the
combination lap and
shoulder belt.
²Grasp the shoulder
portion and pull
downward until the
entire belt is
extracted.
²Allow the belt to retract. As the belt retracts, you
will hear a clicking sound. This indicates the
safety belt is now in the automatic locking mode.
How to disengage the automatic locking mode
Disconnect the combination lap/shoulder belt and
allow it to retract completely to disengage the
automatic locking mode and activate the vehicle
sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
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Safety belt extension assembly
If the safety belt assembly is too short, even when
fully extended, 20 cm (8 inches) can be added to
the safety belt assembly by adding a safety belt
extension assembly (part number 611C22). Safety
belt extension assemblies can be obtained from your
dealer at no cost.
Use only extensions manufactured by the same
supplier as the safety belt. Manufacturer
identification is located at the end of the webbing on
the label. Also, use the safety belt extension only if
the safety belt is too short for you when fully
extended. Do not use extensions to change the fit of
the shoulder belt across the torso.
Safety belt warning light and indicator
chime
The seat belt warning light illuminates in the
instrument cluster and a chime sounds to remind
the occupants to fasten their safety belts.
Conditions of operation
If... Then...
The driver's safety belt is not
buckled before the ignition
switch is turned to the ON
position...The safety belt warning light
illuminates1-2 minutes and
the warning chime sounds
4-8 seconds.
The driver's safety belt is
buckled while the indicator
light is illuminated and the
warning chime is sounding...The safety belt warning light
and warning chime turn off.
The driver's safety belt is
buckled before the ignition
switch is turned to the ON
position...The safety belt warning light
will turn on for 3 seconds
and then turn off. The
indicator chime will remain
off.
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Belt minder (if equipped)
The Belt Minder feature is a supplemental warning
to the safety belt warning function. This feature
provides additional reminders to the driver that the
driver's safety belt is unbuckled by intermittently
sounding a chime and illuminating the safety belt
warning lamp in the instrument cluster.
If... Then...
The driver's safety belt is not
buckled approximately 5
seconds after the safety belt
warning light has turned
off...The Belt Minder feature is
activated - the safety belt
warning light illuminates and
the warning chime sounds
for 6 seconds every 30
seconds, repeating for
approximately 5 minutes or
until safety belt is buckled.
The driver's safety belt is
buckled while the safety belt
indicator light is illuminated
and the safety belt warning
chime is sounding...The Belt Minder feature will
not activate.
The driver's safety belt is
buckled before the ignition
switch is turned to the ON
position...The Belt Minder feature will
not activate.
The purpose of the Belt Minder is to remind
occasional wearers to wear safety belts all of the
time.
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The following are reasons most often given for not
wearing safety belts: (All statistics based on U.S.
data)
Reasons
given...Consider...
9Crashes are
rare events9
36 700 crashes occur every day.The
more we drive, the more we are exposed
to9rare9events, even for good drivers.1
in 4 of us will be seriously injured in a
crash during our lifetime.
9I'm not going
far93of4fatal crashes occur within25
miles of home.
9Belts are
uncomfortable9Ford designs its safety belts to enhance
comfort. If you are uncomfortable - try
different positions for the safety belt
upper anchorage and seatback which
should be as upright as possible; this
can improve comfort.
9I was in a
hurry9Prime time for an accident.Belt
Minder reminds us to take a few
seconds to buckle up.
9Seat belts
don't work9Safety belts,when used properly,
reduce risk of deathto front seat
occupants by45% in cars,and by60%
in light trucks.
9Traffic is
light9Nearly 1 of 2 deaths occur in
single-vehicle crashes,many when no
other vehicles are around.
9Belts wrinkle
my clothes9Possibly, but a serious crash can do
much more than wrinkle your clothes,
particularly if you are unbelted.
9The people
I'm with don't
wear belts9
Set the example, teen deaths occur 4
times more often in vehicles with TWO or
MORE people. Children and younger
brothers/sisters imitate behavior they see.
9I have an air
bag9Air bags offer greater protection when
used with safety belts. Frontal airbags
are not designed to inflate in rear and
side crashes or rollovers.
9I'd rather be
thrown clear9Not a good idea,peoplewho are
ejected are 40 times more likely to
DIE.Safety belts help prevent ejection,
WE CAN'T9PICK OUR CRASH9.
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Do not sit on top of a buckled safety belt to
avoid the Belt Minder chime. Sitting on the
safety belt will increase risk of injury in an
accident. To disable (one-time) or deactivate the
Belt Minder feature please follow the directions
stated below.
One time disable
Anytime the safety belt is buckled and then
unbuckled during an ignition ON cycle, Belt Minder
will be disabled for that ignition cycle only.
Deactivating/activating the belt minder feature
Read steps1-9thoroughly before proceeding
with the deactivation/activation programming
procedure.
The Belt Minder feature can be deactivated/activated
by performing the following procedure:
Before following the procedure, make sure that:
²the parking brake is set
²the gearshift is in P (Park) (automatic
transmission) or the neutral position (manual
transmission).
²the ignition switch is in the OFF position
²all vehicle doors are closed
²the driver's safety belt is unbuckled
²the parklamps/headlamps are in OFF position (If
vehicle is equipped with Autolamps, this will not
affect the procedure.)
To reduce the risk of injury, do not
deactivate/activate the Belt Minder feature
while driving the vehicle.
1. Turn the ignition switch to the RUN (or ON)
position. (DO NOT START THE ENGINE)
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2. Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off.
(Approximately 1±2 minutes)
²Steps 3±5 must be completed within 60 seconds
or the procedure will have to be repeated.
3. Buckle then unbuckle the safety belt three times,
ending with the safety belt unbuckled. This can be
done before or during Belt Minder warning
activation.
4. Turn on the parklamps/headlamps, turn off the
parklamps/headlamps.
5. Buckle then unbuckle the safety belt three times,
ending with the safety belt unbuckled.
²After step 5 the safety belt warning light will be
turned on for three seconds.
6. Within seven seconds of the safety belt warning
light turning off, buckle then unbuckle the safety
belt.
²This will disable Belt Minder if it is currently
enabled, or enable Belt Minder if it is currently
disabled.
7. Confirmation of disabling Belt Minder is provided
by flashing the safety belt warning light four times
per second for three seconds.
8. Confirmation of enabling Belt Minder is provided
by flashing the safety belt warning light four times
per second for three seconds, followed by three
seconds with the safety belt warning light off, then
followed by flashing the safety belt warning light
four times per second for three seconds again.
9. After receiving confirmation, the
deactivation/activation procedure is complete.
Safety belt maintenance
Inspect the safety belt systems periodically to make
sure they work properly and are not damaged.
Inspect the safety belts to make sure there are no
nicks, wears or cuts, replacing if necessary. All
safety belt assemblies, including retractors, buckles,
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