2003 FORD WINDSTAR child restraint

Seating and Safety Restraints 87
Seating 87
Safety restraints 98
Air bags 111
Child restraints 117
Driving 131
Starting 131
Brakes 134
Traction control 135
Transmission operation 139
Trailer towing 146
Roadside Emergencies 150
Getting roadside assistance 150
Hazard flasher switch 151
Fuel pump shut-off switch 151
Fuses and relays 152
Changing tires 160
Jump starting 167
Wrecker towing 172
Customer Assistance 173
Reporting safety defects (U.S. only) 181
Cleaning 182
Maintenance and Specifications 188
Engine compartment 190
Engine oil 191
Battery 194
Fuel information 201
Low tire warning system 215
Part numbers 220
Refill capacities 220
Lubricant specifications 222
Table of Contents
2

Special instructions
For your added safety, your vehicle is fitted with sophisticated electronic
controls.
Please read the sectionAir bagin theSeating and safety
restraintschapter. Failure to follow the specific warnings and
instructions could result in personal injury.
Front seat mounted rear facing child or infant seats should
NEVERbe used in front of a passenger side air bag unless the
air bag can be and is turned OFF.
MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA VEHICLE SPECIFIC INFORMATION
For your particular global region, your vehicle may be equipped with
features and options that are different from the ones that are described
in this Owner Guide; therefore, a supplement has been supplied that
complements this book. By referring to the pages in the provided
supplement, you can properly identify those features, recommendations
and specifications that are unique to your vehicle.Refer to this Owner
Guide for all other required information and warnings.
Introduction
7

accident conditions (crash severity, belt usage, etc.) were not
appropriate to activate these safety devices. Front air bags and
pretensioners are designed to activate only in frontal and near-frontal
collisions, not rollovers, side-impacts, or rear-impacts unless the collision
causes sufficient longitudinal deceleration.
Driver and passenger dual-stage air bag supplemental restraints
The dual-stage air bags offer the capability to tailor the level of air bag
inflation energy. A lower, less forceful energy level is provided for more
common, moderate-severity impacts. A higher energy level is used for
the most severe impacts. Refer toAir bag supplemental restraints
section in this chapter.
Front crash severity sensor
The front crash severity sensor enhances the ability to detect the
severity of an impact. Positioned up front, it provides valuable
information early in the crash event on the severity of the impact. This
allows your Personal safety system to distinguish between different levels
of crash severity and modify the deployment strategy of the dual-stage
air bags and safety belt pretensioners.
Driver’s seat position sensor
The driver’s seat position sensor allows your Personal safety system to
tailor the deployment level of the driver dual-stage air bag based on seat
position. The system is designed to help protect smaller drivers sitting
close to the driver air bag by providing a lower air bag output level.
Passenger occupant classification sensor (OCS)
For air bags to do their job they must inflate with great force, and this
force can pose a potentially deadly risk to occupants that are very close
to the air bag when it begins to inflate. For some occupants, this occurs
because they are initially sitting very close to the air bag. For other
occupants, this occurs when the occupant is not properly restrained by
seat belts or child safety seats and they move forward during pre-crash
braking. The most effective way to reduce the risk of unnecessary
injuries is to make sure all occupants are properly restrained. Accident
statistics suggest that children are much safer when properly restrained
in the rear seating positions than in the front.
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.
Seating and Safety Restraints
99

Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
The passenger occupant classification sensor can automatically turn off
the passenger front air bag and side air bag (if equipped). The system is
designed to help protect small (child size) occupants from air bag
deployments when they are improperly seated or restrained in the front
passenger seat contrary to proper child-seating or restraint usage
recommendations. Even with this technology, parents areSTRONGLY
encouraged to always properly restrain children in the rear seat. The
sensor also turns off the air bag(s) when the passenger seat is empty to
prevent unnecessary replacement of the air bag(s) after a collision.
Front safety belt usage sensors
The front safety belt usage sensors detect whether or not the driver and
front outboard passenger safety belts are fastened. This information
allows your Personal safety system to tailor the air bag deployment and
safety belt pretensioner activation depending upon safety belt usage.
Refer toSafety beltsection in this chapter.
Front safety belt pretensioners
The safety belt pretensioners at the front outboard safety positions are
designed to tighten the safety belts firmly against the occupant’s body
during a frontal or near-frontal collision. This maximizes the 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 toEnergy management featuresection 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 the
Warning lightsection in theInstrument clusterchapter. Routine
maintenance of the Personal safety system is not required.
Seating and Safety Restraints
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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, driver seat
position sensor, and passenger occupant classification 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 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 belt 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.
Seating and Safety Restraints
101

In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly more likely
to die than a person wearing a seat belt.
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.
Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
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.
Seating and Safety Restraints
102

Reasons given... Consider...
“Traffic is light”Nearly 1 of 2 deaths occur in single-vehicle
crashes,many when no other vehicles are around.
“Belts wrinkle my
clothes”Possibly, but a serious crash can do much more
than wrinkle your clothes, particularly if you are
unbelted.
“The people I’m
with don’t wear
belts”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.
“I have an air bag”Air bags offer greater protection when used with
safety belts. Frontal airbags are not designed to
inflate in rear and side crashes or rollovers.
“I’d rather be
thrown clear”Not a good idea.Peoplewho areejected are 40
times more likely to DIE.Safety belts help
prevent ejection, WE CAN’T“PICK OUR CRASH”.
Do not sit on top of a buckled safety belt to avoid the Belt
Minder chime. Sitting on the safety belt will increase the 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
Any time the safety belt is buckled and then unbuckled during an
ignition ON cycle, BeltMinder will be disabled for that ignition cycle only.
Deactivating/activating the BeltMinder feature
Before following the procedure, make sure that:
•The ignition switch and headlamp control are in the OFF position and
all the doors are closed.
•The parking brake is set and the gearshift is in P (Park) (automatic
transmission) or neutral (manual transmission).
•The driver’s safety belt is unbuckled.
Read steps1-9before proceeding with the deactivation/activation
procedure.
Seating and Safety Restraints
108

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 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, replacing if necessary. All safety belt
assemblies, including retractors, buckles, front seat belt buckle
assemblies, buckle support assemblies (slide bar-if equipped), shoulder
belt height adjusters (if equipped), child safety seat tether bracket
assemblies (if equipped), LATCH child seat tether anchors and lower
anchors (if equipped), and attaching hardware, should be inspected after
a collision. Ford recommends that all safety belt assemblies used in
vehicles involved in a collision be replaced. However, if the collision was
minor and a qualified technician finds that the belts do not show damage
and continue to operate properly, they do not need to be replaced,
except as described in theReplacing the front passenger and second
row bench seat belt assemblies after a collisionsection of this chapter.
Safety belt assemblies not in use during a collision should also be
inspected and replaced if either damage or improper operation is noted.
Failure to inspect and if necessary replace the safety belt
assembly under the above conditions could result in severe
personal injuries in the event of a collision.
Refer toInteriorin theCleaningchapter.
Replacing the front passenger and second row bench seat belt
assemblies after a collision
All front passenger and second row bench seat belt assemblies adjacent
to a sliding door have special energy management retractors designed to
further reduce the risk of injury in the event of a head-on collision.
These retractors should be replaced if they were used in any accident in
which the front airbags deploy. If the safety belt assemblies are not
replaced, there may be increased risk of injury in the event of a
subsequent collision.
Seating and Safety Restraints
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