2004 FORD EXPEDITION child seat

Reasons given... Consider...
“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 are
ejected 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 BeltMinderfeature
Read steps1-9thoroughly before proceeding with the
deactivation/activation programming procedure.
The BeltMinder
feature can be deactivated/activated by performing the
following procedure:
Before following the procedure, make sure that:
•The parking brake is set
•The gearshift is in P (Park) (automatic transmission)
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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. Replace 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, shoulder belt guide on seatback (if equipped), child
safety seat LATCH and tether anchors, and attaching hardware, should
be inspected after a collision. Ford Motor Company recommends that all
safety belt assemblies in use 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. Safety belt assemblies not in
use during a collision should also be inspected and replaced if either
damage or improper operation is noted.
Refer toInteriorin theCleaningchapter.
AIR BAG SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM (SRS)
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Important SRS precautions
The SRS is designed to work with
the safety belt to help protect the
driver and right front passenger
from certain upper body injuries. Air
bags DO NOT inflate slowly; there is
a risk of injury from a deploying air
bag.
All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver, should always
properly wear their safety belts, even when an air bag (SRS) is
provided.
Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
recommends a minimum distance of at least 25 cm (10 inches)
between an occupant’s chest and the driver air bag module.
Never place your arm over the air bag module as a deploying air
bag can result in serious arm fractures or other injuries.
To properly position yourself away from the air bag:
•Move your seat to the rear as far as you can while still reaching the
pedals comfortably.
•Recline the seat slightly one or two degrees from the upright position.
Do not put anything on or over the air bag module. Placing
objects on or over the air bag inflation area may cause those
objects to be propelled by the air bag into your face and torso causing
serious injury.
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Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the air bag
supplemental restraint systems or its fuses. See your Ford or
Lincoln Mercury dealer.
The front passenger air bag is not designed to offer protection to
an occupant in the center front seating position.
Modifying or adding equipment to the front end of the vehicle
(including frame, bumper, front end body structure and tow
hooks) may affect the performance of the air bag system, increasing
the risk of injury. Do not modify the front end of the vehicle.
Additional equipment may affect the performance of the air bag
sensors increasing the risk of injury.
Children and air bags
Children must always be properly
restrained. Accident statistics
suggest that children are safer when
properly restrained in the rear
seating positions than in the front
seating position. Failure to follow
these instructions may increase the
risk of injury in a collision.
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.
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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 Air Bag 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 on each side of vehicle).
•A headliner designed to flex 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 crash sensors mounted in the front doors (one on each side).
•Two crash sensors located at the c-pillar behind the rear doors (one
on each side).
•Rollover 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. 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 opening.
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.
2004 Expedition(exd)
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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 to theAir bag readiness
section in theInstrument Clusterchapter. Routine maintenance of the
air bag is not required.
Any difficulty with the system is indicated by one or more of the
following:
•The readiness light (same light as for front air bag system) 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 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
or rollover event.
Disposal of air bags and air bag equipped vehicles (including
pretensioners)
See your local dealership or qualified technician. Air bags MUST BE
disposed of by qualified personnel.
SAFETY RESTRAINTS FOR CHILDREN
See the following sections for directions on how to properly use safety
restraints for children. Also seeAir bag supplemental restraint system
(SRS)in this chapter for special instructions about using air bags.
Important child restraint precautions
You are required by law to use safety restraints for children in the U.S.
and Canada. If small children (generally children who are four years old
or younger and who weigh 18 kg [40 lbs] or less) ride in your vehicle,
you must put them in safety seats made especially for children. Many
states require that children use approved booster seats until they are
eight years old. Check your local and state or provincial laws for specific
requirements regarding the safety of children in your vehicle. When
possible, always place children under age 12 in the rear seat of your
vehicle. Accident statistics suggest that children are safer when properly
restrained in the rear seating positions than in the front seating position.
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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.
Always follow the instructions and warnings that come with any infant or
child restraint you might use.
Children and safety belts
If the child is the proper size, restrain the child in a safety seat.
Children who are too large for child safety seats (as specified by your
child safety seat manufacturer) should always wear safety belts.
Follow all the important safety restraint and air bag precautions that
apply to adult passengers in your vehicle.
If the shoulder belt portion of a combination lap and shoulder belt can
be positioned so it does not cross or rest in front of the child’s face or
neck, the child should wear the lap and shoulder belt. Moving the child
closer to the center of the vehicle may help provide a good shoulder belt
fit.
Do not leave children, unreliable adults, or pets unattended in
your vehicle.
Child booster seats
Children outgrow a typical convertible or toddler seat when they weigh
40 pounds and are around 4 years of age. Although the lap/shoulder belt
will provide some protection, these children are still too small for
lap/shoulder belts to fit properly, which could increase the risk of serious
injury.
To improve the fit of both the lap and shoulder belt on children who
have outgrown child safety seats, Ford Motor Company recommends use
of a belt-positioning booster.
Booster seats position a child so that safety belts fit better. They lift the
child up so that the lap belt rests low across the hips and the knees
bend comfortably. Booster seats also make the shoulder belt fit better
and more comfortably for growing children.
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When children should use booster seats
Children need to use booster seats from the time they outgrow the
toddler seat until they are big enough for the vehicle seat and
lap/shoulder belt to fit properly. Generally this is when they weigh about
80 lbs (about 8 to 12 years old).
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.
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