2004 FORD MUSTANG 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.
Combination lap and shoulder belts
Before fastening the
safety belt, make sure
the shoulder belt
passes through the belt
guide on the top of the
seatback.
Coupe shown,
convertible is similar
and safety belt must also pass through the belt
guide.
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 Mustang(mus)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
69

2. To unfasten, push
the release button and
remove the tongue
from the buckle.
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 pay out webbing in a
controlled manner. This feature is designed to
help reduce the belt force acting on the
occupant’s chest.
After any vehicle collision, the safety belt
system at all outboard seating positions
(except driver, which has no“automatic locking
retractor”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 safety belts should be
checked for proper function.
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.
2004 Mustang(mus)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
70

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:
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.
This mode should be usedany timea child safety
seat is installed in a passenger front or outboard
rear seating position. 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.
2004 Mustang(mus)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
71

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
Ford Motor Company recommends that all
safety belt assemblies and attaching
hardware should be inspected by a qualified
technician after any collision. Safety belt
assemblies not in use during a collision should also
be inspected and replaced if either damage or
improper operation is noted.
2004 Mustang(mus)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
72

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 front
passenger and rear outboard seat belt
systems 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.
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.
2004 Mustang(mus)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
73

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
illuminates1-2 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
will turn on for 3 seconds and
then turn off. The indicator
chime will 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.
If... Then...
The driver’s safety belt is
not buckled
approximately 5 seconds
after the safety belt
warning light has turned
off...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.
2004 Mustang(mus)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
74

If... Then...
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.
“Safety belts don’t work”Safety belts,when used
properly,reduce risk of death
to front seat occupants by45%
in cars,and by60% in light
trucks.
“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.
2004 Mustang(mus)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
75

Reasons given... Consider...
“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, the
BeltMinder will be disabled for that ignition cycle
only.
Deactivating/activating the BeltMinder feature
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, ensure that the
following conditions are met:
•The parking brake is set.
2004 Mustang(mus)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
76