2002 Mercury Mercury Cougar Owner's Manual

To lean the seatback forward, pull
the lever on the outside of the
seatback.
Fold back the seatback until it locks
with a distinct ªclickº and slide the
seat backwards until it locks in
position. Rock the seat to ensure
that the catch is securely engaged.
Adjusting the power seats (if equipped)
To adjust the height of the seat,
push the control up or down. The
control is located on the left front
corner of the seat.
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To adjust the power seat, move the
control located on the left front
corner of the seat. Move the control
in the respective direction to adjust
the seat, seat back and lumbar as
follows:
1. Move the seat forward and
backward
2. Adjust the height of the entire
seat
3. Incline or recline the seatback
4. Adjust the lumbar support
FOLDING REAR SEATS
To avoid injury to rear seat occupants when closing the liftgate,
ensure that the head of any rear seat occupant is not in the path
of the closing liftgate. Request that the occupants, especially taller
occupants, lean forward and under the roof structure to avoid making
contact with the closing liftgate. Close the liftgate carefully.
Pull the release knob located in the
luggage compartment. Fold down
the seat.
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To raise the rear seatback, push the seatback upward until it locks in
place. Make sure it is firmly latched by pushing forward and back on it.
Check to see that the seat and seatback are latched securely in
position. Keep luggage area of objects that would prevent proper
engagement.
SAFETY RESTRAINTS
Safety restraints precautions
Always drive and ride with your seatback upright and the lap
belt snug and low across the hips.
To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit where they
can be properly restrained.
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.
All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver, should always
properly wear their safety belts, even when an air bag (SRS) is
provided.
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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In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly more likely
to die than a person wearing a safety belt.
Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
Reclining the seatback can cause an occupant to slide under the
seat's safety belt, resulting in severe personal injuries in the
event of a collision.
In the event of a collision resulting in the deployment of the
front air bags, the front safety belts must be replaced.
Combination lap and shoulder belt
To fasten, insert the tongue into the
slot in the buckle until you hear it
snap and feel it lock.
To unfasten, push the release button
and remove the tongue from the
slot.
The safety restraints in the vehicle
are combination lap and shoulder
belts. The front and rear seat
passenger safety belts have two
types of locking modes.
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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.
Energy management feature
²This vehicle has a seat belt system with an energy management
feature at the front outboard seating positions to help further reduce
the risk of injury in the event of a head-on collision.
²This seat belt system has a retractor assembly that is designed to pay
out webbing in a controlled manner. This feature is designed to help
reduce the belt force acting on the occupant's chest.
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.
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Automatic locking mode
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.
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.
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When to use the automatic locking mode
²When a tight lap and shoulder belt fit is desired.
²Any 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 disengage the automatic locking mode
Ford Motor Company 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.
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.
After any vehicle collision, the seat belt system at all outboard
seating positions (except driver, which has no ªautomatic locking
retractorº feature) must be checked by a qualified technician to verify
that the ªautomatic locking retractorº 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 ªautomatic locking retractorº 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.
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Front safety belt height adjustment
To lower the height of the shoulder
belt:
4. Push the release control lever
down.
5. Slide the seat belt loop down.
To raise the height of the shoulder
belt:
1. Slide the seat belt loop upwards.
2. Pull down on the seat belt loop to
make sure that it is locked in place.
Position the safety belt height adjusters so that the belt rests
across the middle of your shoulder. Failure to adjust the safety
belt properly could reduce the effectiveness of the seat belt and
increase the risk of injury in a collision.
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
illuminates 1-2 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 and
indicator chime remain off.
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