2009 FORD FLEX belt

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, seat-mounted side airbags and Safety
Canopy™, and safety belt pretensioners.
Safety belt extension assembly
If the safety belt is too short when fully extended, there is an 8 inch
(20 cm) safety belt extension assembly that can be added (part number
611C22). This assembly can be obtained from an authorized dealer.
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.
WARNING:Do not use extensions to change the fit of the
shoulder belt across the torso.
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.
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.
2009 Flex(471)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
176

Belt-Minder
The Belt-Minder
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
light in the instrument cluster when the driver’s and front passenger’s
safety belt is unbuckled.
The Belt-Minder
feature uses information from the front passenger
sensing system to determine if a front seat passenger is present and
therefore potentially in need of a warning. To avoid activating the
Belt-Minder
feature for objects placed in the front passenger seat,
warnings will only be given to large front seat occupants as determined
by the front passenger sensing system.
Both the driver’s and passenger’s safety belt usages are monitored and
either may activate the Belt-Minder
feature. The warnings are the same
for the driver and the front passenger. If the Belt-Minder
warnings have
expired (warnings for approximately five minutes) for one occupant
(driver or front passenger), the other occupant can still activate the
Belt-Minder
feature.
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 to on...The Belt-Minder
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 Belt-Minder
feature is activated
- the safety belt warning light
illuminates and the warning chime
sounds for six seconds every
30 seconds, repeating for
approximately five minutes or until
the safety belts are buckled.
2009 Flex(471)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
177

If... Then...
The driver’s or front
passenger’s safety belt becomes
unbuckled for approximately
one 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 Belt-Minder
feature is activated
- the safety belt warning light
illuminates and the warning chime
sounds for six seconds every
30 seconds, repeating for
approximately five minutes or until
the safety belts are buckled.
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.
Belt-Minder
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.
2009 Flex(471)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
178

Reasons given... Consider...
“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.
“I have an airbag” Airbags 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”.
WARNING:Do not sit on top of a buckled safety belt or insert a
latchplate into the buckle to avoid the Belt-Minder
chime. To
do so may adversely affect the performance of the vehicle’s air bag
system.
One-time disable
If at any time the driver/front passenger quickly buckles then unbuckles
the safety belt for that seating position, the Belt-Minder
is disabled for
the current ignition cycle. The Belt-Minder
feature will 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.
2009 Flex(471)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
179

Deactivating/activating the Belt-Minderfeature
The driver and front passenger Belt-Minder
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 Belt-Minder
features must be
disabled/enabled separately. Both cannot be disable/enabled during the
same key cycle.
The driver and front passenger Belt-Minder
features can be
deactivated/activated by performing the following procedure:
Before following the procedure, make sure that:
•The parking brake is set
•The gearshift is in P (Park)
•The ignition switch is in the off position
•The driver and front passenger safety belts are unbuckled
WARNING:While the design allows you to deactivate your
Belt-Minder
, this system is designed to improve your chances of
being safely belted and surviving an accident. We recommend you
leave the Belt-Minder
system activated for yourself and others who
may use the vehicle. 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 on position. DO NOT START THE
ENGINE.
2. Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off (Approximately one
minute).
•Step 3 must be completed within 50 seconds after the safety belt
warning light turns off.
3. For the seating position being disabled, at a moderate speed, buckle
then unbuckle the safety belt nine 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 safety belt warning light will be turned on for three
seconds.
2009 Flex(471)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
180

4. Within approximately seven seconds of the light turning off, buckle
then unbuckle the safety belt.
•This will disable the Belt-Minder
feature for that seating position if it
is currently enabled. As confirmation, the safety belt warning light will
flash four times per second for three seconds.
•This will enable the Belt-Minder
feature for that seating position if it
is currently disabled. As confirmation, the safety belt warning light will
flash four times per second for three seconds, followed by three
seconds with the light off, then followed by the safety belt warning
light flashing four times per second for three seconds again.
AIRBAG SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM (SRS)
The airbag supplemental restraint system (SRS) is designed to work in
conjunction with the safety belts to help protect the driver and front
outboard passenger from certain upper body injuries. The term
“supplemental restraint” means the airbags are intended as a supplement
to the safety belts. Airbags offer the most protection when used with
safety belts for crash conditions for which airbags are designed to deploy.
Airbags do not offer any protection in crashes for which they do not
deploy.
2009 Flex(471)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
181

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.
Airbags DO NOT inflate slowly;
there is a risk of injury from a
deploying airbag.
WARNING:Do not place any object between an occupant and
an airbag or near any other airbag covering. The airbag may not
inflate properly and might force an object into that person causing
severe injury or death. The instrument panel grab handle should never
be used for storage. The path of an inflating airbag must be kept clear
at all times.
WARNING: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.
WARNING:When possible, all children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in a rear seating position.
WARNING: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 airbag module.
WARNING:Never place your arm over the air bag module as a
deploying air bag can result in serious arm fractures or other
injuries.
2009 Flex(471)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
182

WARNING:Several air bag system components get hot after
inflation. Do not touch them after inflation.
WARNING: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 airbag modules (which include the inflators and
airbags).
•side airbags and Safety Canopy™. Refer toSeat-mounted side airbag
systemandSafety Canopy™ systemlater in this chapter.
•one or more impact and safing sensors.
•driver and front passenger safety belt pretensioner
•a readiness light and tone.
•diagnostic module.
•the electrical wiring which connects the components.
•Front passenger sensing system. Refer toFront passenger sensing
systemlater in this chapter.
•“Passenger airbag off” or “pass airbag off” indicator lamp. Refer to
Front passenger sensing systemlater in this chapter.
The diagnostic module monitors its own internal circuits and the
supplemental airbag electrical system wiring (including the impact
sensors), the system wiring, the airbag system readiness light, the airbag
back up power and the airbag ignitors.
Front passenger sensing system
The front passenger sensing system is designed to meet the regulatory
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208
and is designed to disable (will not inflate) the front passenger’s frontal
airbag under certain conditions.
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 airbag should be enabled (may inflate) or
disabled (will not inflate).
2009 Flex(471)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
185