Page 71 of 256

Operating tips
•In humid weather, place the climate control system in Defrost (
)
before driving. This will reduce fogging on your windshield. Once the
windshield has been cleared, select any desired position.
•To reduce humidity buildup inside the vehicle, do not drive with the
climate control system in the OFF position.
•Under normal weather conditions, your vehicle’s climate control
system should be left in any position other than OFF position when
the vehicle is parked. This allows the vehicle to“breathe”through the
outside air inlet duct.
•Under snowy or dirty weather conditions, your vehicle’s climate
control system should be left in the OFF position when the vehicle is
parked. This allows the climate control system to be free from
contamination of outside pollutants.
•Do not place objects under the front seat which may interfere with
the airflow to the rear seats (if equipped).
•Remove any snow, ice, or leaves from the air intake area (at the base
of the windshield and underneath the hood).
•Do not place objects over the defroster outlets. These objects may
block airflow and reduce your visibility through the windshield. Avoid
placing small objects on top of the instrument panel. These objects
can fall into the defroster outlets and block airflow, in addition to,
damaging your climate control system.
Do not place objects on top of the instrument panel, as these
objects may become projectiles in a collision or sudden stop.
MANUAL HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM (IF EQUIPPED)
FAN
LOHI
COOLWARM
MAX
A/C NORM
A/CVENTOFF
FLR
MIX
Climate Controls
71
ProCarManuals.com
Page 74 of 256

•Under normal weather conditions, your vehicle’s climate control
system should be left in any position other than the MAX A/C or OFF
when the vehicle is parked. This allows the vehicle to“breathe”
through the outside air inlet duct.
•Under snowy or dirty weather conditions, your vehicle’s climate
control system should be left in the OFF position when the vehicle is
parked. This allows the climate control system to be free from
contamination of outside pollutants.
•If your vehicle has been parked with the windows closed during warm
weather conditions, the air conditioner will perform more efficiently in
cooling the vehicle if driven for two or three minutes with the
windows open. This will force most of the hot, stale air out of the
vehicle. Once the vehicle has been“aired out”, operate the climate
control system as desired.
•Do not put objects under the front seat which may interfere with the
airflow to the rear seats (if equipped).
•Remove any snow, ice or leaves from the air intake area (at the
bottom of the windshield and underneath the hood).
•Do not place objects over the defroster outlets. These objects can
block airflow and reduce visibility through your windshield. Avoid
placing small objects on top of the instrument panel. These objects
may fall down into the defroster outlets and block airflow, in addition
to, damaging the climate control system.
To aid in side window defogging/demisting in cold weather conditions:
1. Select the position that distributes air through the Panel and Floor.
2. Set the temperature control to full heat.
3. Set the fan speed to full fan.
4. Direct the outer panel vents towards the side windows.
5. To increase airflow to the outer panel vents, close the central panel
vents.
Do not place objects on top of the instrument panel as these
objects may become projectiles in a collision or sudden stop.
Climate Controls
74
ProCarManuals.com
Page 107 of 256
REAR BENCH SEAT
To remove the seats:
1. Disengage the lap/shoulder belt
from the seat by inserting a key or
small screwdriver into the slot in the
detachable anchor and lifting
upward (2nd row passenger side
only).
Stow the tongue end of the
detachable anchor (2nd row only).
Seating and Safety Restraints
107
ProCarManuals.com
Page 108 of 256

2. Pull the LH/RH seat latch
handles, located under the seat,
rearward to release the latch hook
ends from the front strikers.
3. Move the seat rearward and lift the seats rear hooks away from the
rear strikers prior to lifting the front hooks out from the front strikers.
4. With assistance, remove the seat assembly.
•To remove the 3rd, 4th, and 5th row seats (if equipped), repeat steps
2 through 4.
To install the seat:
1. Position the seat in the vehicle.
2. Align front hooks to front strikers, prior to lowering the rear hooks
and aligning them with the rear strikers.
3. Engage the LH/RH latch rod hook ends in the front striker locking
holes.
4. Rotate the LH/RH latch handles forward, and at the same time slide
the seat assembly forward to engage the strikers. Continue forward
movement until the seat reaches the end of its travel.
5. Make sure the safety belt is not twisted, then insert the seat belt
tongue into detachable anchor until you hear a“click”and feel the latch
engage (2nd row only).
Always latch the vehicle seat to the floor, whether the seat is
occupied or empty. If not latched, the seat may cause injury
during a sudden stop.
Seating and Safety Restraints
108
ProCarManuals.com
Page 110 of 256

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.
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, push the release
button and remove the tongue from
the buckle.
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.
Seating and Safety Restraints
110
ProCarManuals.com
Page 111 of 256
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
•Any timea 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.
How to use the automatic locking mode
•Buckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt.
•Grasp the shoulder portion and
pull downward until the entire
belt is extracted.
•Allow 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.
Seating and Safety Restraints
111
ProCarManuals.com
Page 112 of 256

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.
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.
After any vehicle collision, the front passenger and rear outboard
seat belt systems must be checked by a qualified technician to
verify that the“automatic locking retractor”feature for child seats is
still functioning properly. In addition, all seat belts should be checked
for proper function.
BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE REPLACED if
the seat belt assembly“automatic locking retractor”feature or
any other seat belt function is not operating properly when checked
according to the procedures in Workshop Manual.
Failure to replace the Belt and Retractor assembly could
increase the risk of injury in collisions.
Safety belt pretensioner
Your vehicle is equipped with safety belt pretensioners at the driver and
front passenger seating positions.
The safety belt pretensioner is a device which removes excess webbing
from the safety belt system. The safety belt pretensioner uses the same
crash sensor system as the front air bag supplemental restraint system
(SRS). When the safety belt pretensioner deploys, webbing from the lap
and shoulder belt is tightened. The driver and front passenger seat belt
system (including retractors, buckles and height adjusters) must be
replaced if the vehicle is involved in a collision that results in
deployment of front air bags and safety belt pretensioners. Refer to the
Safety belt maintenancesection in this chapter.
Seating and Safety Restraints
112
ProCarManuals.com
Page 126 of 256

Booster seats should be used until you can answer YES to ALL of these
questions:
•Can the child sit all the way back
against the vehicle seat back with
knees bent comfortably at the
edge of the seat without
slouching?
•Does the lap belt rest low across the hips?
•Is the shoulder belt centered on the shoulder and chest?
•Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?
Types of booster seats
There are two types of belt-positioning booster seats:
•Those that are backless.
If your backless booster seat has a
removable shield, remove the
shield and use the lap/shoulder
belt. If a seating position has a
low seat back and no head
restraint, a backless booster seat
may place your child’s head (top
of ear level) above the top of the
seat. In this case, move the
backless booster to another
seating position with a higher seat back and lap/shoulder belts.
•Those with a high back.
If, with a backless booster seat,
you cannot find a seating position
that adequately supports your
child’s head, a high back booster
seat would be a better choice.
Both can be used in any vehicle in a seating position equipped with
lap/shoulder belts if your child is over 40 lbs.
Seating and Safety Restraints
126
ProCarManuals.com