2003 FORD EXPLORER warning

POSITIVE RETENTION FLOOR MAT
Position the driver floor mat so that
the eyelet is over the pointed end of
the retention post and rotate
forward to lock in. Make sure that
the mat does not interfere with the
operation of the accelerator or the
brake pedal. To remove the floor
mat, reverse the installation
procedure.
REAR LIFTGATE
The liftgate area is only intended for cargo, not passengers. You can open
and close the liftgate from outside the vehicle. It cannot be opened from
inside the cargo area.
•To open the liftgate window,
press the control on the remote
entry key fob or, with the liftgate
unlocked, push the control button
on theright sideunder the
license plate lamp shield.
•To open the liftgate, unlock the
liftgate (with the power door
locks, the remote entry or the
keyless entry pad) and pull the
middlelever under the license
plate lamp shield.
To lock the liftgate and the liftgate window, use the power door locks or
press the door lock switch on the left side of the cargo area. To manually
lock or unlock the liftgate, move the button located below the window
down or up.
The liftgate door and window should be closed before driving. If not,
possible damage may occur to your vehicle.
Always close liftgate window before opening liftgate. Liftgate
glass and liftgate should never be open at the same time. Failure
to observe this warning may result in personal injury or damage to
your vehicle.
Driver Controls
73

2. Pull the seat release lever located
on top of the seatback while lifting
the seatback into the upright
position.
3. The seatback will latch into place.
The third row seat is equipped with combination lap and shoulder belts
in both seating positions. For information on the proper operation of the
safety restraints, refer toSafety Restraintsin this chapter.
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 air bag-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:
•Driver and passenger dual-stage air bag supplemental restraints.
•Front safety belts with pretensioners, energy management retractors,
and safety belt usage sensors.
•Driver’s seat position sensor.
•Front crash severity sensor.
•Restraints Control Module (RCM).
•Restraint system warning light and back-up tone.
•The electrical wiring for the air bags, crash sensor(s), safety belt
pretensioners, front safety belt usage sensors, driver seat position
sensor, 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
Seating and Safety Restraints
101

effectiveness of the safety belts and helps properly position the occupant
relative to the air bag to improve protection. The safety belt
pretensioners can be either activated alone or, if the collision is of
sufficient severity, together with the air bags.
Front safety belt energy management retractors
The front 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 toSafety Beltsection 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 Lightsection in theInstrument Clusterchapter.
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 air bag supplemental restraints, crash sensor(s),
safety belt pretensioners, front safety belt buckle sensors, 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 the 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 your dealership or by a qualified technician
immediately. Unless serviced, the system may not function properly in
the event of a collision.
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.
Seating and Safety Restraints
103

Do not use extensions to change the fit of the shoulder belt
across the torso.
Safety belt warning light and indicator chime
The safety 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.
BeltMinder
The BeltMinder 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.
Seating and Safety Restraints
109

If... Then...
The driver’s safety belt is not
buckled before the vehicle has
reached at least 5 km/h (3 mph)
and 1-2 minutes have elapsed
since the ignition switch has been
turned to ON...The BeltMinder 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 BeltMinder feature will not
activate.
The driver’s safety belt is buckled
before the ignition switch is turned
to the ON position...The BeltMinder feature will not
activate.
The following are reasons most often given for not wearing safety belts:
(All statistics based on U.S. data)
Reasons given... Consider...
“Crashes are rare
events”36700 crashes occur every day.The more we
drive, the more we are exposed to“rare”events,
even for good drivers.1 in 4 of us will be
seriously injured in a crash during our
lifetime.
“I’m not going far”3of4fatal crashes occur within25miles of home.
“Belts are
uncomfortable”We design our 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.
“I was in a hurry”Prime time for an accident.BeltMinder reminds
us to take a few seconds to buckle up.
“Seat belts don’t
work”Safety belts,when used properly,reduce risk of
deathto front seat occupants by45% in cars,
and by60% in light trucks.
Seating and Safety Restraints
110

BeltMinder deactivation/activation 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)
2. Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off. (Approximately 1–2
minutes)
•Steps 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 BeltMinder
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.
•After 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.
•This will disable BeltMinder if it is currently enabled, or enable
BeltMinder if it is currently disabled.
7. Confirmation of disabling BeltMinder is provided by flashing the safety
belt warning light four times per second for three seconds.
8. Confirmation of enabling BeltMinder 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, tears or cuts. Replace if necessary. All safety belt
assemblies, including retractors, buckles, front seat belt buckle
Seating and Safety Restraints
112

Several air bag system components get hot after inflation. Do not
touch them after inflation.
If the air bag has deployed,the air bag will not function
again and must be replaced immediately.If the air bag is not
replaced, the unrepaired area will increase the risk of injury in a
collision.
The SRS consists of:
•driver and passenger air bag modules (which include the inflators and
air bags).
•Safety canopy
system (if equipped). Refer toSafety canopy

systemlater in this chapter.
•one or more impact and safing sensors.
•a readiness light and tone.
•diagnostic module.
•and the electrical wiring which connects the components.
The diagnostic module monitors its own internal circuits and the
supplemental air bag electrical system warning (including the impact
sensors), the system wiring, the air bag system readiness light, the air
bag back up power and the air bag ignitors.
Determining if the system is operational
The SRS uses a readiness light in the instrument cluster or a tone to
indicate the condition of the system. Refer toAir bag readinesssection
in theInstrument clusterchapter. Routine maintenance of the air bag is
not required.
A difficulty with the system is indicated by one or more of the following:
•The readiness light will either
flash or stay lit.
•The readiness 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/or light are repaired.
If any of these things happen, even intermittently, have the SRS serviced
at your dealership or by a qualified technician immediately. Unless
serviced, the system may not function properly in the event of a
collision.
Seating and Safety Restraints
117

How does the Safety Canopysystem work?
The design and development of the
Safety Canopy
system included
recommended testing procedures
that were developed by a group of
automotive safety experts known as
the Side Airbag Technical Working
Group. These recommended testing
procedures help reduce the risk of
injuries related to the deployment of
side airbags (including the Safety
Canopy
).
The Safety Canopy
system
consists of the following:
•An inflatable nylon curtain with a
gas generator concealed behind
the headliner and above the doors
(one each side of the vehicle).
•A headliner that will flex to open
above the side doors to allow Safety Canopy
deployment.
•The same warning light, electronic control and diagnostic unit as used
for the front airbags.
•Two side crash sensors mounted at the base of the B-pillar (one on
each side).
•Two side crash sensors located at the c-pillar behind the rear doors
(one on each side).
•Roll over sensor in the restraints control module (RCM).
The Safety Canopy
system, in combination with seat belts, can help
reduce the risk of severe injuries in the event of a significant side impact
collision or rollover event.
Children 12 years old and under should always be properly restrained in
the second or third row seats (if equipped). The Safety Canopy
will
not interfere with children restrained using a properly installed child or
booster seat because it is designed to inflate downward from the
headliner above the doors along the side window openings.
The Safety Canopy
system is designed to activate when the vehicle
sustains lateral deceleration sufficient to cause the side crash sensor to
close an electrical circuit that initiates Safety Canopy
inflation or when
a certain likelihood of a rollover event is detected by the rollover sensor.
Seating and Safety Restraints
119