2006 FORD FIVE HUNDRED Owners Manual

To reduce the risk of possible serious injury: Do not hang objects
off seat back or stow objects in map pocket (if equipped) when
a child is in the front passenger seat. Do not place objects underneath
the front passenger seat or between the seat and the center console (if
equipped). Check the “passenger airbag off” or “pass airbag off”
indicator lamp for proper airbag status. Refer toFront passenger
sensing systemsection for additional details. Failure to follow these
instructions may interfere with the front passenger seat sensing
system.
The control is located on the outboard side of the seat cushion.
Press the front or rear portion to tilt
the seat.
•Driver
Press the control to move the seat
forward, backward, up or down.
•Driver
Press the control to move the seat
forward, or backward.
•Passenger
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Press the control (if equipped) to
recline the seatback forward or
rearward.
Heated seats (if equipped)
To operate the heated seats:
•Push the control located on the
climate control system panel once
to activate high heat.
•Push twice to activate low heat.
•Push a third time to deactivate.
The indicator light on the control will illuminate when activated. For low
heat, one light will be lit; for high heat, both lights will be lit.
The heating of the seat turns off after 10 minutes or when the vehicle is
turned off.
Memory seats/power mirrors/adjustable pedals (if equipped)
This system allows automatic
positioning of the driver seat, power
mirrors, and adjustable pedals to
two programmable positions.
The memory seat control is located
on the driver door.
•To program position 1, move the
driver seat, mirrors and pedals (if
equipped) to the desired position
using the associated controls.
Press the SET control. The SET control indicator light will briefly
illuminate. While the light is illuminated, press control 1.
•To program position 2, repeat the previous procedure using control 2.
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A position can be recalled:
•in any gearshift position if the ignition isnotin the RUN position.
•only in P (Park) or N (Neutral) if the ignition is in the RUN position.
A memory seat position may be programmed at any time.
The memory positions are also recalled when you press your remote
entry transmitter UNLOCK control (if the transmitter is programmed to
a memory position) or, when you enter a valid personal entry code that
is programmed to a memory position.
To program the memory feature to a remote entry transmitter and for
more information on how to use the keypad, refer toRemote entry
systemin theLocks and Securitychapter.
REAR SEATS
Head restraints (if equipped)
Lift the head restraint so that it is located directly or as close as possible
behind your head.
The head restraints can be moved
up by pulling up on the head
restraint.
Push release button to lower head
restraint.
Split-folding rear seat
One or both rear seatbacks can be folded down to provide additional
cargo space.
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To lower the seatback(s) from
inside the vehicle, pull the strap
located on the outboard side of the
seatback to release it, and then fold
seatback down.
When raising the seatback(s), make sure you hear the seat latch into
place.
Before returning the seatback to its original position, make sure
that cargo or any objects are not trapped behind the seatback.
After returning the seatback to its original position, pull on the
seatback to ensure that it has fully latched. An unlatched seat may
become dangerous in the event of a sudden stop or collision.
Seat mounted cup holders and armrest storage compartment
(if equipped)
If your vehicle is equipped with cup holders and a storage compartment,
they are located in the rear seat armrest. To access the cup holders,
rotate armrest into use position. To open the storage compartment (if
equipped), pull up on the latch.
Use only soft cups in the cupholder. Hard objects can injure you
in a collision.
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SAFETY RESTRAINTS
Personal Safety System
The Personal Safety Systemprovides an improved overall level of
frontal crash protection to front seat occupants and is designed to help
further reduce the risk of airbag-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 Systemconsists of:
•Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints.
•Front outboard safety belts with pretensioners, energy management
retractors (first row only), and safety belt usage sensors.
•Driver’s seat position sensor.
•Passenger occupant classification sensor
•Front crash severity sensor.
•Restraints Control Module (RCM) with impact and safing sensors.
•Restraint system warning light and back-up tone.
•The electrical wiring for the airbags, crash sensor(s), safety belt
pretensioners, front safety belt usage sensors, driver seat position
sensor, passenger occupant classification sensor, and indicator lights.
How does the Personal Safety Systemwork?
The Personal Safety Systemcan 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 airbag supplemental restraints based on crash
severity and occupant conditions.
The fact that the pretensioners or airbags 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 Systemdetermined
the accident conditions (crash severity, belt usage, etc.) were not
appropriate to activate these safety devices. Front airbags 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. The pretensioners are designed to activate in
frontal and near-frontal collisions, and in side collisions and rollovers
when the vehicle is equipped with the Safety Canopysystem.
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Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints
The dual-stage airbags offer the capability to tailor the level of airbag
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 toAirbag 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 Systemto distinguish between different
levels of crash severity and modify the deployment strategy of the
dual-stage airbags and safety belt pretensioners.
Driver’s seat position sensor
The driver’s seat position sensor allows your Personal Safety Systemto
tailor the deployment level of the driver dual-stage airbag based on seat
position. The system is designed to help protect smaller drivers sitting
close to the driver airbag by providing a lower airbag output level.
Front passenger sensing system
For airbags to do their job they must inflate with great force, and this
force can pose a potentially deadly risk to occupants that are very close
to the airbag when it begins to inflate. For some occupants, this occurs
because they are initially sitting very close to the airbag. For other
occupants, this occurs when the occupant is not properly restrained by
safety belts or child safety seats and they move forward during pre-crash
braking. The most effective way to reduce the risk of unnecessary
injuries is to make sure all occupants are properly restrained. Accident
statistics suggest that children are much safer when properly restrained
in the rear seating positions than in the front.
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.
Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
The front passenger sensing system can automatically turn off the
passenger front airbag. The system is designed to help protect small
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(child size) occupants from airbag deployments when they are
improperly seated or restrained in the front passenger seat contrary to
proper child-seating or restraint usage recommendations. Even with this
technology, parents areSTRONGLYencouraged to always properly
restrain children in the rear seat. The sensor also turns off the passenger
front airbag and seat-mounted side airbag (if equipped) when the
passenger seat is empty to prevent unnecessary replacement of airbag(s)
after a collision.
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 Systemto tailor the airbag deployment and
safety belt pretensioner activation depending upon safety belt usage.
Refer toSafety beltsection in this chapter.
Front safety belt pretensioners
The safety belt pretensioners at the front outboard seating positions are
designed to tighten the safety belts firmly against the occupant’s body
during frontal collisions, and in side collisions and rollovers when the
vehicle is equipped with the Safety Canopysystem. This helps increase
the effectiveness of the safety belts. In frontal collisions, the safety belt
pretensioners can be activated alone or, if the collision is of sufficient
severity, together with the front airbags.
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 toEnergy management feature
section in this chapter.
Determining if the Personal Safety Systemis operational
The Personal Safety Systemuses a warning light in the instrument
cluster or a back-up tone to indicate the condition of the system. Refer
to theWarning lights and chimessection in theInstrument Cluster
chapter. Routine maintenance of the Personal Safety Systemis not
required.
The Restraints Control Module (RCM) monitors its own internal circuits
and the circuits for the airbag supplemental restraints, crash sensor(s),
safety belt pretensioners, front safety belt buckle sensors, driver seat
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position sensor, and passenger occupant classification 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 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 Systemserviced at an authorized dealer immediately. Unless
serviced, the system may not function properly in the event of a
collision.
Safety belt 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
supplemental restraint system (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.
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