2004 Mercury Mountaineer air condition

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 toSafety 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
different occupant conditions and crash severity before activating the
appropriate safety devices to help better protect a range of occupants in
a variety of frontal crash situations.
Your vehicle’s Personal Safety System consists of:
•Driver and passenger dual-stage air bag supplemental restraints.
•Front safety belts with pretensioners, energy management retractors,
and safety belt usage sensors.
•Driver’s seat position sensor.
•Front crash severity sensor.
•Restraints Control Module (RCM).
•Restraint system warning light and back-up tone.
•The electrical wiring for the air bags, crash sensor(s), safety belt
pretensioners, front safety belt usage sensors, driver seat position
sensor, and indicator lights.
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How does the personal safety system work?
The Personal Safety System can adapt the deployment strategy of your
vehicle’s safety devices according to crash severity and occupant
conditions. A collection of crash and occupant sensors provides
information to the Restraints Control Module (RCM). During a crash, the
RCM activates the safety belt pretensioners and/or either one or both
stages of the dual-stage air bag supplemental restraints based on crash
severity and occupant conditions.
The fact that the pretensioners or air bags did not activate for both front
seat occupants in a collision does not mean that something is wrong with
the system. Rather, it means the Personal Safety System determined the
accident conditions (crash severity, belt usage, etc.) were not
appropriate to activate these safety devices. Front air bags are designed
to activate only in frontal and near-frontal collisions, not rollovers,
side-impacts, or rear-impacts unless the collision causes sufficient
longitudinal deceleration.
Driver and passenger dual-stage air bag supplemental restraints
The dual-stage air bags offer the capability to tailor the level of air bag
inflation energy. A lower, less forceful energy level is provided for more
common, moderate-severity impacts. A higher energy level is used for
the most severe impacts. Refer toAir bag Supplemental Restraints
section in this chapter.
Front crash severity sensor
The front crash severity sensor enhances the ability to detect the
severity of an impact. Positioned up front, it provides valuable
information early in the crash event on the severity of the impact. This
allows your Personal Safety System to distinguish between different
levels of crash severity and modify the deployment strategy of the
dual-stage air bags and safety belt pretensioners.
Driver’s seat position sensor
The driver’s seat position sensor allows your Personal Safety System to
tailor the deployment level of the driver dual-stage air bag based on seat
position. The system is designed to help protect smaller drivers sitting
close to the driver air bag by providing a lower air bag output level.
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
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safety belt pretensioner activation depending upon safety belt usage.
Refer toSafety Beltsection 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 toSafety Beltsection 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 theWarning Lightsection in theInstrument Clusterchapter.
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.
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.
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Failure to inspect and if necessary replace the safety belt
assembly under the above conditions could result in severe
personal injuries in the event of a collision.
Refer toInteriorin theCleaningchapter.
AIR BAG SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM (SRS)
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
supplemental restraint system (SRS) is provided.
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The SRS consists of:
•driver and passenger air bag modules (which include the inflators and
air bags).
•Safety canopy
system (if equipped). Refer toSafety canopy

systemlater in this chapter.
•one or more impact and safing sensors.
•a readiness light and tone.
•diagnostic module.
•and the electrical wiring which connects the components.
The diagnostic module monitors its own internal circuits and the
supplemental air bag electrical system wiring (including the impact
sensors), the system wiring, the air bag system readiness light, the air
bag back up power and the air bag ignitors.
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 toAir bag readinesssection
in theInstrument Clusterchapter. Routine maintenance of the air bag is
not required.
A difficulty with the system is indicated by one or more of the following:
•The readiness light 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/or 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.
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The Safety Canopy
is mounted to the roof side-rail sheet metal, behind
the headliner, above the first and second row seats. In certain lateral
collisions or rollover events, the Safety Canopy
system will be activated,
regardless of which seats are occupied. The Safety Canopy
is designed to
inflate between the side window area and occupants to further enhance
protection provided in side impact collisions and rollover events.
The fact that the Safety Canopy
system did not activate 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. The Safety
Canopy
is designed to inflate in certain side impact collisions or rollover
events, not in rear impact, frontal or near-frontal collisions, unless the
collision causes sufficient lateral deceleration or rollover likelihood.
Several Safety Canopy
system components get hot after
inflation. Do not touch them after inflation.
If the Safety Canopy

system has deployed,the
Safety Canopy
will not
function again. The Safety
Canopy
system (including the
A, B and C pillar trim) must be
inspected and serviced by a
qualified technician in
accordance with the vehicle
service manual.If the Safety
Canopy
is not replaced, the
unrepaired area will increase the
risk of injury in a collision.
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.
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Starting the engine
1. Turn the key to 3 (ON) without
turning the key to 4 (START). If
there is difficulty in turning the key,
rotate the steering wheel until the
key turns freely. This condition may
occur when:
•the front wheels are turned
•a front wheel is against the curb
2. Turn the key to 4 (START), then
release the key as soon as the engine starts. Excessive cranking could
damage the starter.
Note:If the engine does not start within five seconds on the first try,
turn the key to OFF, wait 10 seconds and try again. If the engine still
fails to start, press the accelerator to the floor and try again; this will
allow the engine to crank with the fuel shut off in case the engine is
flooded with fuel.
Cold weather starting (flexible fuel vehicles only)
As the outside temperature approaches freezing, ethanol fuel distributors
should supply winter grade ethanol (same as with unleaded gasoline). If
summer grade ethanol is used in cold weather conditions, you may
experience increased cranking times, rough idle or hesitation until the
engine has warmed up. Consult your fuel distributor for the availability of
winter grade ethanol.
Do not crank the engine for more than 30 seconds at a time as starter
damage may occur. If the engine fails to start, turn the key to OFF and
wait 30 seconds before trying again.
Do not use starting fluid such as ether in the air intake system (see Air
Cleaner decal). Such fluid could cause immediate explosive damage to
the engine and possible personal injury.
If you should experience cold weather starting problems on E
85ethanol,
and neither an alternative brand of E
85ethanol nor an engine block
heater is available, the addition of unleaded gasoline to your tank will
improve cold starting performance. Your vehicle is designed to operate
on E
85ethanol alone, unleaded gasoline alone, or any mixture of the two.
SeeChoosing the right fuelin theMaintenance and specifications
chapter for more information on ethanol.
4
3
2
1
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If the engine fails to start using the preceding instructions (flexible
fuel vehicles only)
1. Press and hold down the accelerator 1/3 to 1/2 way to floor, then
crank the engine.
2. When the engine starts, release the key, then gradually release the
accelerator pedal as the engine speeds up. If the engine still fails to start,
repeat Step 1.
Using the engine block heater (if equipped)
An engine block heater warms the engine coolant which aids in starting
and heater/defroster performance. Use of an engine block heater is
strongly recommended if you live in a region where temperatures reach
-10°F (-23°C) or below. For best results, plug the heater in at least three
hours before starting the vehicle. The heater can be plugged in the night
before starting the vehicle.
To reduce the risk of electrical shock, do not use your heater
with ungrounded electrical systems or two-pronged (cheater)
adapters.
Guarding against exhaust fumes
Carbon monoxide is present in exhaust fumes. Take precautions to avoid
its dangerous effects.
If you smell exhaust fumes inside your vehicle, have your dealer
inspect your vehicle immediately. Do not drive if you smell
exhaust fumes.
Important ventilating information
If the engine is idling while the vehicle is stopped for a long period of
time, open the windows at least one inch (2.5 cm) or adjust the heating
or air conditioning to bring in fresh air.
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