
WARNING:In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
significantly more likely to die than a person wearing a safety
belt.
WARNING: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.
WARNING:When possible, all children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in a rear seating position.
WARNING: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.
WARNING:Front and rear seat occupants, including pregnant
women, should wear safety belts for optimum protection in an
accident.
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.
2009 Econoline(eco)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
99

•Front and rear seats
2. To unfasten, push the release button and remove the tongue from the
buckle.
•Front and rear seats
All safety restraints in the vehicle are combination lap and shoulder
belts. All of the passenger combination lap and shoulder belts have three
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.
2009 Econoline(eco)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
100

This mode should be usedany timea child safety seat, except a
booster, is installed in passenger front or rear seating position (if
equipped). 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.
•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.
2009 Econoline(eco)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
101

WARNING:After any vehicle collision, the safety belt systems
at all seating positions (except the driver position, which does
not 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.
WARNING: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.
Safety belt pretensioner
Your vehicle is equipped with safety belt pretensioners at the driver and
front outboard passenger seating positions.
The safety belt pretensioner tightens the safety belts firmly against the
occupant’s body at the start of the crash.
WARNING:The driver and front passenger safety belt system
(including retractors, buckles and height adjusters) must be
replaced if the vehicle is involved in a collision that results in
deployment of front airbags and safety belt pretensioners.
Front safety belt height adjustment
The front seat and outboard
positions are equipped with a height
adjuster. Adjust the height of the
shoulder belt so the belt rests
across the middle of your shoulder.
To adjust the shoulder belt height,
push the button and slide the height
adjuster down. Release the button
and pull down on the height
adjuster to make sure it is locked in
place. To adjust the belt upward,
slide the adjuster up. Pull down on the height adjuster to make sure it is
locked in place.
2009 Econoline(eco)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
102

S.O.S. Post Crash Alert
The S.O.S Post Crash Alert automatically flashes the turn signal lamps
and sounds the horn three times at four second intervals in the event of
a serious impact that deploys an airbag (front, side, side curtain or
Safety Canopy) or the safety belt pretensioners.
The S.O.S. Post Crash Alert can be turned off when any one of the
following actions are taken by the driver or any other person:
•pressing the hazard control button,
•or pressing the panic button on the remote entry transmitter.
The feature will continue to operate until the vehicle runs out of power.
Disposal of airbags and airbag equipped vehicles
(including pretensioners)
Contact your authorized dealer as soon as possible. Airbags MUST BE
disposed of by qualified personnel.
Passenger airbag ON/OFF switch (if equipped)
Note: The passenger airbag ON/OFF
switch (if equipped) may be on
vehicles with no rear seats and a
gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR)
greater than 8500 lb (3856 kg). See
Vehicle loading – with and
without a trailerin theTires,
Wheels and loadingchapter.
WARNING:An airbag
ON/OFF switch (if
equipped) may have been installed
in this vehicle. Before driving,
alwayslook at the face of the
switchtobesuretheswitchisin
the proper position in accordance
with these instructions and
warnings. Failure to put the
switch in a proper position can
increase the risk of serious injury
or death in a collision.
2009 Econoline(eco)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
112

Turning the passenger airbag off
1. Insert the ignition key, turn the
switch to OFF position and hold in
OFF position while removing the
key.
2. When the ignition is turned to the
ON position the OFF light
illuminates briefly, momentarily
shuts off and then turns back on.
This indicates that the passenger
airbag is deactivated.
WARNING:If the light fails to illuminate when the passenger air
bag switch is in the OFF position and the ignition switch is in
ON, contact your authorized dealer as soon as possible.
WARNING:In order to avoid inadvertent activation of the
switch, always remove the ignition key from the passenger air
bag ON/OFF switch.
WARNING:An infant in a rear-facing seat faces a high risk of
serious or fatal injuries from a deploying passenger airbag. Rear
facing infant seats should NEVER be placed in the front seats, unless
the passenger airbag is turned off.
Turning the passenger airbag back on
The passenger airbag remains OFF until you turn it back ON.
1. Insert the ignition key and turn
the switch to ON.
2. The OFF light will briefly
illuminate when the ignition is
turned to On. This indicates that the
passenger airbag is operational.
2009 Econoline(eco)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
113

WARNING:If the OFF light is illuminated when the passenger
airbag switch is in the ON position and the ignition switch is in
ON, have the passenger airbag switch serviced at an authorized dealer
immediately.
The passenger side airbag should always be ON (the airbag OFF light
shouldnotbe illuminated) unless the passenger is a person who meets
the requirements stated either in Category 1, 2 or 3 of the
NHTSA/Transport Canada deactivation criteria which follows.
WARNING:The safety belts for the driver and right front
passenger seating positions have been specifically designed to
function together with the airbags in certain types of crashes. When
you turn OFF your airbag, you not only lose the protection of the
airbag, you also may reduce the effectiveness of your safety belt
system, which was designed to work with the airbag. If you are not a
person who meets the requirements stated in the NHTSA/Transport
Canada deactivation criteria turning OFF the airbag can increase the
risk of serious injury or death in a collision.
WARNING:If your vehicle has rear seats, always transport
children who are 12 and younger in the rear seat. Always use
safety belts and child restraints properly. DO NOT place a child in a
rear facing infant seat in the front seat unless your vehicle is equipped
with an airbag ON/OFF switch and the passenger airbag is turned OFF.
This is because the back of the infant seat is too close to the inflating
airbag and the risk of a fatal injury to the infant when the airbag
inflates is substantial.
The vast majority of drivers and passengers are much safer with an
airbag than without. To do their job and reduce the risk of life
threatening injuries, airbags must open with great force, and this force
can pose a potentially deadly risk in some situations, particularly when a
front seat occupant is not properly buckled up. The most effective way
to reduce the risk of unnecessary airbag injuries without reducing the
overall safety of the vehicle is to make sure all occupants are properly
restrained in the vehicle, especially in the front seat. This provides the
protection of safety belts and permits the airbags to provide the
additional protection they were designed to provide. If you choose to
deactivate your airbag, you are losing the very significant risk reducing
benefits of the airbag and you are also reducing the effectiveness of the
2009 Econoline(eco)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
114

WARNING:This vehicle has special energy management safety
belts for the driver and right front passenger. These particular
belts are specifically designed to work with airbags to help reduce the
risk of injury in a collision. The energy management safety belt is
designed to give or release additional belt webbing in some accidents
to reduce concentration of force on an occupant’s chest and reduce the
risk of certain bone fractures and injuries to underlying organs. In a
crash, if the airbag is turned OFF, this energy management safety belt
might permit the person wearing the belt to move forward enough to
incur a serious or fatal injury. The more severe the crash, and the
heavier the occupant, the greater the risk is. Be sure the airbag is
turned ON for any person who does not qualify under the NHTSA
deactivation criteria.
SAFETY RESTRAINTS FOR CHILDREN
See the following sections for directions on how to properly use safety
restraints for children. Also seeAirbag supplemental restraint system
(SRS)in this chapter for special instructions about using airbags.
Important child restraint precautions
WARNING:Always make sure your child is secured properly in
a device that is appropriate for their height, age and weight.
Child safety restraints must be purchased separately from the vehicle.
Failure to follow these instructions and guidelines may result in an
increased risk of serious injury or death to your child.
WARNING:All children are shaped differently. The
Recommendations for Safety Restraints are based on probable
child height, age and weight thresholds from NHTSA and other safety
organizations or are the minimum requirements of law. Ford
recommends checking with a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger Safety
Technician (CPST) and your pediatrician to make sure your child seat
is appropriate for your child, and is compatible with and properly
installed in the vehicle. To locate a child seat fitting station and CPST
contact the NHTSA toll free at 1-888-327-4236 or on the internet at
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov. Failure to properly restrain children in safety
seats made especially for their height, age, and weight may result in an
increased risk of serious injury or death to your child.
2009 Econoline(eco)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
117