2004 LINCOLN NAVIGATOR Owners Manual

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 to Safety Belt section in this chapter.
Front safety belt pretensioners
The front outboard safety belt pretensioners are designed to tighten the
safety belts of the driver and front ouboard passenger firmly against the
occupant ’ s body during a 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 outboard 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 to Safety Belt section 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 Light section in the Instrument Cluster chapter.
Routine maintenance of the Personal Safety System is not required.
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, 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.
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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.
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.
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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
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.
• 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
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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
In this mode, the shoulder belt is 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.
When to use the automatic locking mode
• Anytime a child safety seat (except a booster) is installed in the
vehicle. Children 12 years old and under should be properly restrained
in the rear seat whenever possible. Refer to Safety restraints for
children or Safety seats for children later in this chapter.
How to use the automatic locking mode
1. Buckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt.
2. Grasp the shoulder portion and
pull downward until the entire belt
is pulled out.
3. 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.
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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 return to the
vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
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 safety belt assembly “ automatic locking retractor ” feature or
any other safety belt function is not operating properly. In addition, all
safety 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 the Safety belt maintenance section in this chapter.
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Front and second row safety belt height adjustment
Your vehicle has safety belt height
adjustments for the driver, right
front passenger and second row
outboard passengers. Adjust the
height of the shoulder belt so the
belt rests across the middle of your
shoulder.
To lower the shoulder belt height,
push the button and slide the height
adjuster down. To raise the height
of the shoulder belt, push the
button and slide the height adjuster
up. Pull down on the height adjuster
to make sure it is locked in place.
Position the safety belt
height adjusters so that the
belt rests across the middle of
your shoulder. Failure to adjust
the safety belt properly could
reduce the effectiveness of the
seat belt and increase the risk of
injury in a collision.
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.
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Conditions of operation
If... Then...
The driver safety belt is not
buckled before the ignition switch
is turned to the ON position... The safety belt warning light
illuminates 1-2 minutes and the
warning chime sounds 4-8
seconds.
The driver 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 safety belt is buckled
before the ignition switch is turned
to the ON position... The safety belt warning light and
indicator chime 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.
The driver ’ s safety belt is buckled
before the ignition switch is turned
to the ON position... The BeltMinder
feature will not
activate.
The purpose of the BeltMinder
is to remind occasional wearers to wear
safety belts all of the time.
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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 ” 36 700 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 ” 3of4 fatal crashes occur within 25 miles 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.
“ Seat 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. People who are ejected are 40
times more likely to DIE. Safety belts help
prevent ejection, WE CAN ’ T “ PICK OUR CRASH ” .
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