2005 Mercury Sable belt

Safety belt usage sensors
The driver and front outboard passenger safety belt buckles are
equipped with sensors that detect if the safety belts are fastened. The
sensors provide information to the Personal Safety System which can
then adapt the air bag deployment or safety belt pretensioner activation
based upon safety belt usage.
The Personal Safety System provides the most benefit to belted
occupants. The system monitors and tailors the air bag
deployment based upon safety belt usage. Failure to properly wear
your safety belt will increase your risk of injury.
Front safety belt height adjustment
Your vehicle has safety belt height
adjustments for the driver and front
passenger. Adjust the height of the
shoulder belt so the belt rests
across the middle of your shoulder.
To lower the shoulder belt height,
pull the control down and slide the
height adjuster down. To raise the
height of the shoulder belt, slide the
height adjuster up. To raise the
height of the shoulder belt from its
lowest position, pull the control down 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.
Lap belts
Adjusting the center front lap belt
The center front lap belt does not adjust automatically.
The lap belt should fit snugly and as low as possible around the
hips, not across the waist.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:USA_English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
100

Insert the tongue into the correct
buckle (the buckle closest to the
direction the tongue is coming
from). To lengthen the belt, turn the
tongue at a right angle to the belt
and pull across your lap until it
reaches the buckle. To tighten the
belt, pull the loose end of the belt
through the tongue until it fits snugly across the hips.
Shorten and fasten the belt when
not in use.
Safety belts for rear-facing occupants (wagon only)
Never use child safety seats in the third seat of a wagon.
Your vehicle is equipped with safety belts containing an adjust tongue at
the rear-facing seating positions.
When the adjust tongue of the lap/shoulder combination seat belt is
latched into the buckle, the tongue will allow the lap portion to become
shorter, but locks the webbing in place to restrict it from becoming
longer.
Before you reach and latch a combination lap and shoulder belt having
an adjust tongue into the buckle, you may have to lengthen the lap belt
portion of it. To lengthen the lap belt, pull some webbing out of the
shoulder belt retractor. While holding the webbing below the tongue,
grasp the tongue so that it is parallel to the webbing and slide the
tongue upward. Provide enough length so that the tongue can reach the
buckle.
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2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
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To fasten the belt, pull the combination lap and shoulder belt from the
retractor so that the shoulder belt portion of the safety belt crosses your
shoulder and chest. Be sure the belt is not twisted. If the belt is twisted,
remove the twist. Insert the tongue into the proper buckle for your
seating position until you hear a snap and feel it latch. Make sure the
tongue is securely fastened to the buckle by pulling on the tongue.
The lap belt should fit snugly and as low as possible around the
hips, not across the waist.
Front and rear seat occupants, including pregnant women,
should wear safety belts for optimum protection in an accident.
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.
Due to folding rear seats, sometimes the buckles and tongues toward the
center of the vehicle may be hidden by the rear edge of the seat cushion.
Pull them out so they will be accessible.
While you are fastened in the seat belt, the shoulder belt adjusts to your
movement. However, if you brake hard, turn hard or your vehicle
receives an impact of 5 mph (8 km/h) or more, the safety belt will
become locked and help reduce your forward movement.
To unfasten the belt, push the red release button on the end of the
buckle. This allows the tongue to unlatch from the buckle. While the belt
retracts, guide the tongue to its original position to prevent it from
striking you or the vehicle.
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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2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
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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
illuminates 1-2 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 and
indicator chime remain off.
BeltMinder
The BeltMinder
feature is a supplemental warning to the safety belt
warning function. This feature provides additional reminders by
intermittently sounding a chime and illuminating the safety belt warning
lamp in the instrument cluster when the driver’s and front passenger’s
safety belt is unbuckled.
The BeltMinder
feature uses information from the passenger occupant
classification sensor to determine if a front seat passenger is present and
therefore potentially in need of a warning. To avoid activating the
BeltMinder
feature for objects placed in the front passenger seat,
warnings will only be given to large front seat occupants as determined
by the passenger occupant classification sensor.
Both the driver’s and passenger’s safety belt usages are monitored and
either may activate the BeltMinder
feature. The warnings are the same
for the driver and the front passenger. If the BeltMinder
warnings have
expired (warnings for approximately 5 minutes) for one occupant (driver
or front passenger), the other occupant can still activate the
BeltMinder
feature.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:USA_English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
103

If... Then...
The driver’s and front
passenger’s safety belts are
buckled before the ignition
switch is turned to the ON
position or less than 1-2
minutes have elapsed since the
ignition switch has been turned
ON...The BeltMinder
feature will not
activate.
The driver’s or front
passenger’s safety belt is not
buckled when the vehicle has
reached at least 3 mph (5
km/h) and 1-2 minutes have
elapsed since the ignition
switch has been turned to
ON...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 the safety belts are
buckled.
The driver’s or front
passenger’s safety belt becomes
unbuckled for approximately 1
minute while the vehicle is
traveling at least 3 mph (5
km/h) and more than 1-2
minutes have elapsed since the
ignition switch has been turned
to ON...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 the safety belts are
buckled.
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2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
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Seating and Safety Restraints
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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”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 within25
miles (40 km) 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 deathto front seat
occupants by45% 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.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:USA_English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
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Reasons given... Consider...
“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.
One time disable
If at any time the driver/front passenger quickly buckles then unbuckles
the BeltMinder
feature for that seating position, the BeltMinder
is
disabled for the current ignition cycle. The BeltMinder
feature will
re-enable during the same ignition cycle if the occupant buckles and
remains buckled for approximately 30 seconds. Confirmation is not given
for the one time disable.
Deactivating/activating the BeltMinderfeature
The driver and front passenger BeltMinder
are
deactivated/activated independently. When deactivating/activating
one seating position, do not buckle the other position as this will
terminate the process.
Read steps1-4thoroughly before proceeding with the
deactivation/activation programming procedure.
Note: The driver and front passenger BeltMinder
features must be
disabled/enabled separately. Both cannot be disable/enabled during the
same key cycle.
The driver and front passenger BeltMinder
features can be
deactivated/activated by performing the following procedure:
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2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
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Seating and Safety Restraints
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Before following the procedure, make sure that:
•The parking brake is set
•The gearshift is in P (Park) (automatic transmission)
•The ignition switch is in the OFF position
•The driver and front passenger safety belts are unbuckled
To reduce the risk of injury, do not deactivate/activate the Belt
Minder feature while driving the vehicle.
1. Turn the ignition switch to the RUN (or ON) position. (DO NOT
START THE ENGINE)
2. Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off. (Approximately 1
minute)
•Step 3 must be completed within 50 seconds after the safety belt
warning light turns off.
3. For the seating position being disabled, buckle then unbuckle the safety
belt 9 times, ending in the unbuckled state. (Step 3 must be completed
within 50 seconds after the safety belt warning light turns off.)
•After step 3, the restraint system warning light (airbag light) will be
turned on for three seconds.
4. Within 10 seconds of the light turning on, buckle then unbuckle the
safety belt.
•This will disable the BeltMinder
feature for that seating position if it
is currently enabled. As confirmation, the restraint system warning
light will flash 4 times per second for 3 seconds.
•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, there is a 8 inch (20 cm)
safety belt extension assembly that can be added (part number 611C22).
This assembly 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.
REVIEW COPY
2005 Sable(sab), Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)(own2002),
Market:USA_English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
107