2004 FORD EXPLORER seats

REAR SEATS
Folding down the 60/40 rear seats (if equipped)
If the rear seat is equipped with adjustable head restraints, they should
be placed in the full down position before folding the seat back down.
1. Pull upward on the release handle
to cycle the seats to the load-floor
position.
2. Rotate the seatback downward
into the load floor position.
3. Press down on the top outboard
area of the seatback until a click is
heard. The seat is now latched in
the floor position.
To return the seat to the upright position:
•Pull the release handle upward to unlatch the seat.
•Rotate the seatback upward until the seatback latches in the upright
position. The seatback will click when it is locked into position.
Folding down the 40/20/40 rear seats or bucket seats
Ensure that the headrest is in the down position and no objects such as
books, purses or briefcases are on the floor in front of the second row
seats before folding them down.
Move front passenger seat forward so that the second row seat headrest
clears the front seat.
For assistance, refer to the label located on the lower position of the
opening.
1. Locate handle on the side of the
seat cushion by the door.
2. Pull forward on the upper portion
of the release handle and push the
seatback toward the front of the
vehicle.
3. Press down on the top outboard
area of the seatback until a click is
heard.
2004 Explorer(exp)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
99

Your seats are equipped with an Interlock Safety Mechanism which will
not allow the seats to return to a usable position if the seat is not fully
latched to the floor!
To exit the 3rd row seat, pull the
red access control lever up releasing
the seat from the floor and rotate
the seat up towards the front seat.
Always latch the vehicle seat to the floor, whether the seat is
occupied or empty. If not latched, the seat may cause injury
during a sudden stop.
Folding the middle 2nd row seat (If equipped)
To fold the seatback down:
1. Locate the lever on the top left of
the seatback.
2. Pull the lever up and push the
seatback toward the front of the
vehicle.
3. Press down on the top outboard
area of the seatback until a click is
heard.
2004 Explorer(exp)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
101

3. Push the closeout panel forward
over the space between the seats.
To put seat in upright position:
1. Pull back the slider panel on the
seatback to release the closeout
panel.
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 to
Safety 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
2004 Explorer(exp)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
103

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.
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.
2004 Explorer(exp)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
106

In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly more likely
to die than a person wearing a safety 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.
Safety belts and seats can become hot in a vehicle that has been
closed up in sunny weather; they could burn a small child. Check
seat covers and buckles before you place a child anywhere near them.
Energy Management Feature
•This vehicle has a safety belt system with an energy management
feature at the front seating positions to help further reduce the risk of
injury in the event of a head-on collision.
•This 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.
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.
2004 Explorer(exp)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
107

•Front and rear seats
2. To unfasten, push the release button and remove the tongue from the
buckle.
•Front and rear seats
All safety restraints in the vehicle are combination lap and shoulder
belts. All of the passenger combination lap and shoulder belts have two
types of locking modes described below:
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
The automatic locking mode is not available on the driver safety belt.
When to use 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.
2004 Explorer(exp)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
108

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.
How to use the automatic locking mode
•Buckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt.
•Grasp the shoulder portion and
pull downward until the entire
belt is pulled out.
•Allow 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.
How to disengage the automatic locking mode
Unbuckle the combination lap and shoulder belt and allow it to retract
completely to disengage the automatic locking mode and activate the
vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
2004 Explorer(exp)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
109

After any vehicle collision, the combination lap and shoulder belt
system at all passenger seating positions must be checked by a
qualified technician to verify that the “automatic locking retractor”
feature for child seats is still functioning properly, in addition to other
checks for proper seat belt system 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. In addition, all
seat belts should be checked for proper function. Failure to replace the
belt and retractor assembly could increase the risk of injury in
collisions.
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 Canopy
system 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 Canopy
and safety belt
pretensioners.
Refer to theSafety belt maintenancesection in this chapter.
2004 Explorer(exp)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
110