Page 64 of 200
Adjusting the front manual seat
Pull the lever located at the front
edge of the seat to move the seat
forward or backward. Release the
lever to lock the seat in place.
Adjusting the front power seat (if equipped)
The control is located on the outboard side of the seat cushion.
Press to raise or lower the front
portion of the seat cushion.
Press to raise or lower the rear
portion of the seat cushion.
Press the control to move the seat
forward, backward, up or down.
2003 U207 Explorer Sport(u27)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
64
Page 65 of 200
Reclining the seats
Pull the lever located on the outside
of the seat to recline the seatback.
Release the lever to lock the
seatback in place.
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.
Never adjust the driver’s seat or seatback when the vehicle is
moving.
Power lumbar (if equipped)
Push the button forward to inflate,
or rearward to deflate.
Heated seats (if equipped)
To operate the heated seats:
•Push control to activate.
•Push again to deactivate.
The indicator light on the control will illuminate when activated.
2003 U207 Explorer Sport(u27)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
65
Page 66 of 200

Tip Slide
Do not drive the vehicle with the tip slide seat unlatched. This
may result in loss of vehicle control and severe personal injury.
To operate the feature:
1. Lift the seatback control (1) on
the side of the seat or push forward
control (2). The seatback will tilt
forward.
2. Push the seatback to move the
seat forward.
3. Reposition the seatback to the
desired position and pull control (1)
or push control (2) to lock/latch the
seat. The seatback and seat track
will not return to the original
position automatically and must be
adjusted.
Once the tip slide feature has been activated, the seat will not re-latch
until the seatback is moved into the latched upright position by lifting
the seatback control (1). This will engage the seat track locking levers.
The tip slide feature can also be activated from the rear seat position.
Push the lower control on the rear outboard side of the front seat (2)
with your foot and follow steps 2 and 3 listed previously.
REAR SEATS
Adjustable rear head restraints
Lift the head restraint so that it is located directly or as close as possible
behind your head.
1
2
2003 U207 Explorer Sport(u27)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
66
Page 70 of 200

•The front outboard safety belt system has a retractor assembly that is
designed to extend the seat belt webbing in a controlled manner. This
helps reduce the belt force acting on the user’s chest.
BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE REPLACED if
the safety belt assembly automatic locking retractor feature or
any other safety 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.
Vehicle sensitive mode
This is the normal retractor mode, which allows 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.
Automatic locking mode
How to use the automatic locking mode
•Buckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt.
2003 U207 Explorer Sport(u27)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
70
Page 71 of 200

•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. When you hear the clicking sound, 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.
After any vehicle collision, the safety belt systems at all outboard
seating positions (except the driver position, which doesn’t have
this feature) 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.
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.
This mode should be usedany 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.
2003 U207 Explorer Sport(u27)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
71
Page 72 of 200
Front safety belt height adjustment
Adjust the height of the shoulder
belt so the belt rests across the
middle of your shoulder.
To adjust the shoulder belt height,
push the button and slide the height
adjuster up or down. Release the
button and pull down on the height
adjuster to make sure 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.
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.
2003 U207 Explorer Sport(u27)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
72
Page 73 of 200

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:
Safety belt pretensioner
Your vehicle is equipped with safety belt pretensioners at the driver and
right front passenger seating positions.
The safety belt pretensioner removes some slack from the safety belt
system at the start of a crash. The safety belt pretensioner uses the
same crash sensor system as the front airbags and Safety Canopy
system. When the safety belt pretensioner deploys, the lap and shoulder
belt are tightened.
When the Safety Canopysystem and/or the front airbags are activated,
the safety belt pretensioners for the driver and right front passenger
seating positions will be activated when the respective seatbelt is
properly buckled.
The driver and the right 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 or Safety Canopyand safety belt
pretensioners.
Refer to theSafety belt maintenancesection in this chapter.
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.
2003 U207 Explorer Sport(u27)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
73
Page 87 of 200

When installing a child safety seat:
•Review and follow the information
presented in theAir Bag
Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS) section in this chapter.
•Use the correct safety belt buckle
for that seating position (the
buckle closest to the direction the
tongue is coming from).
•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.
•Keep the buckle release button pointing up and away from the safety
seat, with the tongue between the child seat and the release button,
to prevent accidental unbuckling.
•Place seat back in upright position.
•Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer toAutomatic
locking mode(passenger side front and outboard rear seating
positions) (if equipped) section in this chapter.
Ford recommends the use of a child safety seat having a top tether
strap. Install the child safety seat in a seating position which is capable
of providing a tether anchorage. For more information on top tether
straps, refer toAttaching child safety seats with tether strapsin this
chapter.
Carefully follow all of the manufacturer’s instructions included
with the safety seat you put in your vehicle. If you do not install
and use the safety seat properly, the child may be injured in a sudden
stop or collision.
Installing child safety seats in combination lap and shoulder belt
seating positions
Air bags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.NEVERplace a
rear-facing child seat in front of an active air bag. If you must
use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the seat all the
way back.
2003 U207 Explorer Sport(u27)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
87