2004 FORD RANGER child restraint

Locks and Security 53
Keys 53
Locks 53
Anti-theft system 54
Seating and Safety Restraints 60
Seating 60
Safety restraints 62
Air bags 74
Child restraints 83
Driving 96
Starting 96
Brakes 100
Transmission operation 103
Vehicle loading 118
Trailer towing 121
Roadside Emergencies 132
Getting roadside assistance 132
Hazard flasher switch 133
Fuel pump shut-off switch 133
Fuses and relays 134
Changing tires 144
Jump starting 151
Wrecker towing 156
Customer Assistance 157
Reporting safety defects (U.S. only) 166
2004 Ranger(ran)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English (fus)
Table of Contents
2

To return seat to original position, slide the seat bottom back, then push
the seatback up to lock it in place. The seat will lock, and you will have
to use the release bar to move the seat back to the original position.
REAR SEATS
Center facing jump seat (2 door SuperCab) (if equipped)
To open, pull inboard and down on the seat handle.
To stow the seat, pull seat bottom back to the fully upright position.
Do not install a child seat in a center facing jump seat.
Center facing jump seat (4 door SuperCab) (if equipped)
To open, pull seat assembly down,
then raise seatback.
To stow the seat, fold seat back
down and raise seat assembly to the
fully upright position.
Do not install a child seat in
a center facing jump seat.
Booster seats must be installed only in seating positions
equipped with a combination lap/shoulder belt.
SAFETY RESTRAINTS
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.
2004 Ranger (ran)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
62

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.
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.
On four-door SuperCab vehicles, do not open the rear door when
the rear safety belt is still buckled.
2004 Ranger (ran)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
63

This mode should be usedany timea child safety seat is installed in a
passenger front seat. Refer to Safety restraints for children orSafety
seats for children later 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
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 seat 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.
2004 Ranger (ran)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
65

Reasons given... Consider...
“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 by 45% in cars, and by
60% 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.
“ 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.
2004 Ranger (ran)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
71

5. Buckle then unbuckle the safety belt three times, ending with the
safety belt unbuckled.
•After step 5 the safety belt warning light will be turned on for three
seconds.
6. Within seven seconds of the safety belt warning light turning off,
buckle then unbuckle the safety belt.
• This will disable BeltMinder if it is currently enabled, or enable
BeltMinder if it is currently disabled.
7. Confirmation of disabling BeltMinder is provided by the safety belt
warning light flashing four times per second for three seconds.
8. Confirmation of enabling BeltMinder is provided by:
• The safety belt warning light flashing four times per second for three
seconds.
• Followed by three seconds with the safety belt warning light off.
• Once again, the safety belt warning light will flash four times per
second for three seconds.
9. After receiving confirmation, the deactivation/activation procedure is
complete.
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 safety belt buckle
assemblies, buckle support assemblies (slide bar-if equipped), shoulder
belt height adjusters (if equipped), 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.
The energy absorbing functions may have been activated in a collision so
the restraints should be examined; if the front air bags have deployed,
the pretensioners have also deployed and must be replaced —regardless
of whether there was an occupant in the passenger seat or not.
2004 Ranger (ran)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
73

Children and air bags
For additional important safety information, read all information on
safety restraints in this guide.
Never place a rearward facing child safety restraint in front of an
activated airbag. Airbags have been known to kill or injure
children in front facing child safety restraints. Whenever placing a child
safety seat in a front seating position (including center if equipped),
turn off the passenger side air bag switch after being certain the child
is properly restrained. If using a forward facing child safety restraint in
the front outboard seat, slide the seat all the way back, and turn off
the passenger air bag. If using a rear facing child safety seat in the
front outboard seating position, make sure the passenger airbag is
turned off and slide the passenger seat all the way forward until the
safety seat rests on the dashboard. See Passenger air bag on/off
switch in this chapter.
Do not install a child seat in
a center facing jump seat.
An air bag can kill or injure a child in a child seat. Child seats
should never be placed in the front seats, unless passenger air
bag switch is turned off. See Passenger air bag on/off switch in this
chapter.
Rear facing child seats should NEVER be placed in the front
seats unless the passenger airbag switch is turned off.
2004 Ranger (ran)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
76

Booster seats must be installed only in seating positions
equipped with a combination lap/shoulder belt.
To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit where they
can be properly restrained.
How does the air bag supplemental restraint system work?
The air bag SRS is designed to
activate when the vehicle sustains
sufficient longitudinal deceleration.
The fact that the air bags did not
inflate in a collision does not mean
that something is wrong with the
system. Rather, it means the forces
were not of the type sufficient to
cause activation. Air bags are
designed to inflate in frontal and
near-frontal collisions, not rollover,
side-impact, or rear-impacts.
The air bags inflate and deflate
rapidly upon activation. After air bag
deployment, it is normal to notice a
smoke-like, powdery residue or
smell the burnt propellant. This may
consist of cornstarch, talcum
powder (to lubricate the bag) or
sodium compounds (e.g., baking
soda) that result from the
combustion process that inflates the
air bag. Small amounts of sodium
hydroxide may be present which
may irritate the skin and eyes, but
none of the residue is toxic.
While the system is designed to help
reduce serious injuries, it may also
cause minor abrasions, swelling or temporary hearing loss. Because air
bags must inflate rapidly and with considerable force, there is the risk of
death or serious injuries such as fractures, facial and eye injuries or
internal injuries, particularly to occupants who are not properly
2004 Ranger (ran)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English (fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
77