2007 FORD ESCAPE child restraint

Seating and Safety Restraints 89
Seating 89
Safety restraints 97
Airbags 112
Child restraints 127
Tires, Wheels and Loading 139
Tire Information 141
Tire Inflation 143
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) 156
Vehicle loading 160
Trailer towing 166
Recreational towing 171
Driving 172
Starting 172
Brakes 175
Transmission operation 178
Roadside Emergencies 197
Getting roadside assistance 197
Hazard flasher switch 198
Fuel pump shut-off switch 199
Fuses and relays 199
Changing tires 206
Lug Nut Torque 218
Jump starting 218
Wrecker towing 224
Customer Assistance 226
Reporting safety defects (U.S. only) 232
Cleaning 233
Table of Contents
2
2007 Escape(204)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)

BREAKING-IN YOUR VEHICLE
Your vehicle does not need an extensive break-in. Try not to drive
continuously at the same speed for the first 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of
new vehicle operation. Vary your speed frequently in order to give the
moving parts a chance to break in.
Drive your new vehicle at least 500 miles (800 km) before towing a
trailer. For more detailed information about towing a trailer, refer to
Trailer towingin theTires, Wheels and Loadingchapter.
Do not add friction modifier compounds or special break-in oils since
these additives may prevent piston ring seating. SeeEngine oilin the
Maintenance and Specificationschapter for more information on oil
usage.
SPECIAL NOTICES
New Vehicle Limited Warranty
For a detailed description of what is covered and what is not covered by
your vehicle’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty, refer to theWarranty
Guidethat is provided to you along with yourOwner’s Guide.
Special instructions
For your added safety, your vehicle is fitted with sophisticated electronic
controls.
Please read the sectionSupplemental restraint system (SRS)
in theSeating and Safety Restraintschapter. Failure to follow
the specific warnings and instructions could result in personal injury.
Front seat mounted rear-facing child or infant seats should
NEVERbe placed in front of an active passenger airbag.
2007 Escape(204)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Introduction
6

Adjusting the front power seat (if equipped)
Never adjust the driver’s seat or seatback when the vehicle is
moving.
Do not pile cargo higher than the seatbacks to avoid injuring
people in a collision or sudden stop.
Always drive and ride with your seatback upright and the lap
belt snug and low across the hips.
Reclining the seatback can cause an occupant to slide under the
seat’s safety belt, resulting in severe personal injuries in the
event of a collision.
Sitting improperly out of position or with the seat back reclined
too far can take off weight from the seat cushion and affect the
decision of the passenger sensing system, resulting in serious injury or
death in a crash. Always sit upright against your seatback, with your
feet on the floor.
To reduce the risk of possible serious injury: Do not hang objects
off seat back or stow objects in the seatback 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.
2007 Escape(204)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
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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, like infants
in rear-facing child seats, 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
(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 passenger seat-mounted side airbag (if equipped) when
the passenger seat is empty.
When the front passenger seat is occupied and the sensing system has
turned off the passenger’s frontal airbag, the “pass airbag off” indicator
will light and stay lit to remind you that the front passenger frontal
airbag is off. SeeFront passenger sensing systemin the airbags section
of this chapter.
2007 Escape(204)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
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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 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 airbag
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.
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.
2007 Escape(204)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
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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.
2. To unfasten, push the release
button and remove the tongue from
the buckle.
Energy Management Feature
•This vehicle has a safety belt system with an energy management
feature at the front outboard seating positions to help further reduce
the risk of injury in the event of a head-on collision.
•The front outboard safety belt system has a retractor assembly that is
designed to extend the safety belt webbing in a controlled manner.
This helps reduce the belt force acting on the user’s chest.
2007 Escape(204)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
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All safety belts in the vehicle are combination lap and shoulder belts.
The passenger safety 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
movement. For example, if the driver brakes suddenly or turns a corner
sharply, or the vehicle receives an impact of approximately 5 mph
(8 km/h) or more, the combination safety belts will lock to help reduce
forward movement of the driver and passengers.
Automatic locking mode
When to use the automatic locking mode
In this mode, the shoulder belt is automatically 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.
This mode should be usedany timea child safety seat, except a
booster, is installed in passenger front or rear seating positions. Children
12 years old and under should be properly restrained in the rear seat
whenever possible. Refer toSafety restraints for childrenorSafety
seats for childrenlater in this chapter.
How to use the automatic locking mode
•Buckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt.
2007 Escape(204)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
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•Grasp the shoulder portion and
pull downward until the entire
belt is pulled out.
•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.
How to disengage the automatic locking mode
Disconnect the combination lap/shoulder belt and allow it to retract
completely to disengage the automatic locking mode and activate the
vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
After any vehicle collision, the safety belt systems at all seating
positions (except the driver position, which doesn’t have this
feature) must be checked by an authorized dealer to verify that the
automatic locking retractor feature for child seats is still functioning
properly. In addition, all safety belts should be checked for proper
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 when checked
by an authorized dealer. Failure to replace the Belt and Retractor
assembly could increase the risk of injury in collisions.
2007 Escape(204)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
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