2005 FORD FREESTAR child restraint

•This will enable the BeltMinder feature for that seating position if it is
currently disabled. As confirmation, the restraint system warning light
will flash 4 times per second for 3 seconds, followed by 3 seconds with
the light off, then followed by the restraint system warning light
flashing 4 times per second for 3 seconds again.
Safety belt extension assembly
If the safety belt is too short when fully extended, a 9 inch (23 cm) or
12 inch (31 cm) safety belt extension assembly can be added (part
numbers 611C22–A and 611C22–B respectively). These assemblies can
be obtained from your dealer at no cost.
Use only extensions manufactured by the same supplier as the safety
belt. Manufacturer identification is located at the end of the webbing on
the label. Also, use the safety belt extension only if the safety belt is too
short for you when fully extended.
Do not use extensions to change the fit of the shoulder belt
across the torso.
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, replacing if necessary. All safety belt
assemblies, including retractors, buckles, front seat belt buckle
assemblies, buckle support assemblies (slide bar-if equipped), shoulder
belt height adjusters (if equipped), child safety seat tether bracket
assemblies (if equipped), LATCH child seat tether anchors and lower
anchors (if equipped), and attaching hardware, should be inspected after
a collision. Ford 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,
except as described in theReplacing the front seat belt assemblies
after a collisionsection of this chapter. Safety belt assemblies not in use
during a collision should also be inspected and replaced if either damage
or improper operation is noted.
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.
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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.
Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
recommends a minimum distance of at least 10 inches (25 cm)
between an occupant’s chest and the driver air bag module.
Never place your arm over the air bag module as a deploying air
bag can result in serious arm fractures or other injuries.
To properly position yourself away from the air bag:
•Move your seat to the rear as far as you can while still reaching the
pedals comfortably.
•Recline the seat slightly one or two degrees from the upright position.
Do not put anything on or over the air bag module. Placing
objects on or over the air bag inflation area may cause those
objects to be propelled by the air bag into your face and torso causing
serious injury.
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Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the air bag
supplemental restraint systems or its fuses. See your Ford or
Lincoln Mercury dealer.
Modifying or adding equipment to the front end of the vehicle
(including frame, bumper, front end body structure and tow
hooks) may affect the performance of the air bag system, increasing
the risk of injury. Do not modify the front end of the vehicle.
Children and air bags
Children must always be properly
restrained. Accident statistics
suggest that children are safer when
properly restrained in the rear
seating positions than in the front
seating position. Failure to follow
these instructions may increase the
risk of injury in a collision.
Air bags can kill or injure a
child in a child seat.
NEVERplace a rear-facing child
seat in front of an active air bag. If
you must use a forward-facing
child seat in the front seat, move
the seat all the way back.
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Several air bag system components get hot after inflation. Do not
touch them after inflation.
If the air bag has deployed,the air bag will not function
again and must be replaced immediately.If the air bag is not
replaced, the unrepaired area will increase the risk of injury in a
collision.
The SRS consists of:
•driver and passenger air bag modules (which include the inflators and
air bags).
•side air bags (if equipped). Refer toSide air bag 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.
Front passenger sensing system
The front passenger sensing system will turn off the front passenger’s
frontal air bag under certain conditions. The driver’s air bag and side air
bag are not part of the front passenger sensing system. The front
passenger sensing system works with sensors that are part of the front
passenger’s seat and safety belt. The sensors are designed to detect the
presence of a properly-seated occupant and determine if the front
passenger’s frontal air bag should be enabled (may inflate) or not.
The front passenger sensing system is designed to meet the regulatory
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208
and is designed to turn off the front passenger’s frontal air bag if:
•the front passenger seat is unoccupied,
•an infant or small child weighing less than 50 pounds (23 kg) is in the
front seat, either in a child restraint, in a booster seat, or sitting
directly on the vehicle seat,
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•a front passenger takes his/her weight off the seat for a period of time
For larger children and very small adults, the passenger sensing system
may leave the air bag system enabled, or turn it OFF. The occupant’s
seating position may determine whether or not the air bag is enabled.
Even with the front passenger sensing system, children 12 and
under should be properly restrained in the back seat.
When the front passenger seat is
occupied and the sensing system
has turned off the passenger’s
frontal air bag, thepassenger airbag
offorpass airbag offindicator will
light and stay lit to remind you that
the front passenger frontal air bag is
off. When the front passenger seat is
not occupied (empty seat) or in the
event that the front passenger
frontal air bag is enabled (may
inflate), the indicator light will be unlit.
The indicator light is located in the center stack of the instrument panel
to the right of the radio.
The front passenger sensing system is designed to turn off the front
passenger’s frontal air bag when a rear facing infant seat, a
forward-facing child restraint, or a booster seat is detected. If the child
restraint has been installed and the indicator is not lit, then turn the
vehicle off, remove the child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the
restraint following the child restraint manufacturer’s directions.
The front passenger sensing system is designed to enable (may inflate)
the right front passenger’s frontal air bag anytime the system senses that
a person of adult size is sitting properly in the front passenger seat.
When the passenger sensing system has allowed the air bag to be
enabled, the indicator will be unlit and stay unlit to remind you that the
air bag is enabled (may inflate).
If a person of adult-size is sitting in the front passenger’s seat, but the
passenger air bag offorpass air bag offindicator is lit, it could be
that the person isn’t sitting properly in the seat. If this happens, turn the
vehicle off and ask the person to place the seatback in the full upright
position, then sit upright in the seat, centered on the seat cushion, with
the person’s legs comfortably extended. Restart the vehicle and have the
person remain in this position for about two minutes. This will allow the
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How does the Safety Canopysystem work?
The design and development of the
Safety Canopy
system included
recommended testing procedures
that were developed by a group of
automotive safety experts known as
the Side Air Bag Technical Working
Group. These recommended testing
procedures help reduce the risk of
injuries related to the deployment of
side airbags (including the Safety
Canopy
).
The Safety Canopy
system
consists of the following:
•An inflatable nylon curtain with a
gas generator concealed behind
the headliner and above the doors
(one on each side of vehicle).
•A headliner designed to flex open above the side doors to allow Safety
Canopy
deployment.
•The same readiness airbag light, electronic control and diagnostic unit
as used for the front airbags.
•Two crash sensors mounted under the front seats (one on each side).
•Two crash sensors located at the c-pillar behind the rear doors (one
on each side).
•Rollover sensor in the restraints control module (RCM).
The Safety Canopy
system, in combination with seat belts, can help
reduce the risk of severe injuries in the event of a significant side impact
collision or rollover event.
Children 12 years old and under should always be properly restrained in
the second or third row seats. The Safety Canopy
will not interfere
with children restrained using a properly installed child or booster seat
because it is designed to inflate downward from the headliner above the
doors along the side window opening.
The Safety Canopy
system is designed to activate when the vehicle
sustains lateral deceleration sufficient to cause the side crash sensor to
close an electrical circuit that initiates Safety Canopy
inflation or when
a certain likelihood of a rollover event is detected by the rollover sensor.
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•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 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
or rollover event.
Disposal of air bags and air bag equipped vehicles (including
pretensioners)
See your local dealership or qualified technician. Air bags MUST BE
disposed of by qualified personnel.
SAFETY RESTRAINTS FOR CHILDREN
See the following sections for directions on how to properly use safety
restraints for children. Also seeAir bag supplemental restraint system
(SRS)in this chapter for special instructions about using air bags.
Important child restraint precautions
You are required by law to use safety restraints for children in the U.S.
and Canada. If small children (generally children who are four years old
or younger and who weigh 40 lbs[18 kg] or less) ride in your vehicle, you
must put them in safety seats made especially for children. Many states
require that children use approved booster seats until they are eight
years old. Check your local and state or provincial laws for specific
requirements regarding the safety of children in your vehicle. When
possible, always place children under age 12 in the rear seat of your
vehicle. Accident statistics suggest that children are safer when properly
restrained in the rear seating positions than in the front seating position.
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.
Always follow the instructions and warnings that come with any infant or
child restraint you might use.
Children and safety belts
If the child is the proper size, restrain the child in a safety seat. Children
who are too large for child safety seats (as specified by your child safety
seat manufacturer) should always wear safety belts.
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Follow all the important safety restraint and air bag precautions that
apply to adult passengers in your vehicle.
If the shoulder belt portion of a combination lap and shoulder belt can
be positioned so it does not cross or rest in front of the child’s face or
neck, the child should wear the lap and shoulder belt. Moving the child
closer to the center of the vehicle may help provide a good shoulder belt
fit.
Do not leave children, unreliable adults, or pets unattended in
your vehicle.
Child booster seats
Children outgrow a typical convertible or toddler seat when they weigh
40 pounds (18 kg) and are around 4 years of age. Although the
lap/shoulder belt will provide some protection, these children are still too
small for lap/shoulder belts to fit properly, which could increase the risk
of serious injury.
To improve the fit of both the lap and shoulder belt on children who
have outgrown child safety seats, Ford Motor Company recommends use
of a belt-positioning booster.
Booster seats position a child so that safety belts fit better. They lift the
child up so that the lap belt rests low across the hips and the knees
bend comfortably. Booster seats also make the shoulder belt fit better
and more comfortably for growing children.
When children should use booster seats
Children need to use booster seats from the time they outgrow the
toddler seat until they are big enough for the vehicle seat and
lap/shoulder belt to fit properly. Generally this is when they weigh about
80 lbs (36 kg) (about 8 to 12 years old).
Booster seats should be used until you can answer YES to ALL of these
questions:
•Can the child sit all the way back
against the vehicle seat back with
knees bent comfortably at the
edge of the seat without
slouching?
•Does the lap belt rest low across the hips?
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