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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.
WARNING: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.
WARNING:When possible, all children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in a rear seating position.
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 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.
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 System to tailor the airbag deployment and
safety belt pretensioner activation depending upon safety belt usage.
Refer toSafety restraintssection in this chapter.
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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. 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.
Safety belt energy management retractors
The front and rear 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 featurein this chapter.
Determining if the Personal Safety System is operational
The Personal Safety System uses 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 System is 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
position sensor, and front passenger sensing system. 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 System serviced at an authorized dealer immediately. Unless
serviced, the system may not function properly in the event of a
collision.
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Pregnant women should always
wear their safety belt. The lap belt
portion of a combination lap and
shoulder belt should be positioned
low across the hips below the belly
and worn as tight as comfort will
allow. The shoulder belt should be
positioned to cross the middle of
the shoulder and the center of the
chest.
Energy Management Feature
•This vehicle has a safety belt system with an energy management
feature at the front and rear outboard seating positions to help further
reduce the risk of injury in the event of a head-on collision.
•The front and rear 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.
Safety belt locking modes
All safety restraints in the vehicle are combination lap and shoulder
belts. The driver safety belt has the first locking mode and the front
outboard passenger and rear seat safety belts have both types of locking
modes described as follows:
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.
In addition, the retractor is designed to lock if the webbing is pulled out
too quickly. If this occurs, let the belt retract slightly and pull webbing
out again in a slow and controlled manner.
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.
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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
CanopySystem and safety belt pretensioners.
WARNING:Failure to replace the safety belt assembly under
the above conditions could result in severe personal injuries in
the event of a collision.
Safety belt extension assembly
If the safety belt is too short when fully extended, a 9 inch (23 cm) or
12 inch (31 cm) safety belt extension assembly can be added (part
numbers 611C22–A and 611C22–B respectively). These assemblies 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 minute and the warning
chime sounds 6 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.
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If... Then...
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.
Belt-Minder
The Belt-Minderfeature 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 Belt-Minderfeature 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-Minderfeature 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-Minderfeature. The warnings are the same
for the driver and the front passenger. If the Belt-Minderwarnings have
expired (warnings for approximately five minutes) for one occupant
(driver or front passenger), the other occupant can still activate the
Belt-Minderfeature.
Note:If you are using MyKey™, the Belt-Minderwarning will not
expire. Refer toMyKey™in theLocks and securitychapter.
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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-Minderfeature 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-Minderfeature 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 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 Belt-Minderfeature 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.
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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
events36700 crashes occur every day.The more we
drive, the more we are exposed torareevents,
even for good drivers.1 in 4 of us will be
seriously injured in a crash during our
lifetime.
I’m not going far3of4fatal crashes occur within25miles
(40 km) of home.
Belts are
uncomfortableYour Ford safety belts are designed 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 hurryPrime time for an accident.Belt-Minder
reminds us to take a few seconds to buckle up.
Safety belts don’t
workSafety belts,when used properly,reduce risk
of deathto front seat occupants by45% in
cars,and by60% in light trucks.
Traffic is lightNearly 1 of 2 deaths occur in single-vehicle
crashes,many when no other vehicles are
around.
Belts wrinkle my
clothesPossibly, 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 beltsSet 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 airbagAirbags 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
clearNot a good idea.Peoplewho areejected are
40 times more likely to DIE.Safety belts help
prevent ejection, WE CAN’TPICK OUR
CRASH.
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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
1 minute).
•Step 3 must be completed within 30 seconds after the safety belt
warning light turns off.
3. For the seating position being disabled, buckle then unbuckle the
safety belt three times at a moderate speed, ending in the unbuckled
state.
•After Step 3, the safety belt warning light will be turned on for three
seconds.
4. Within approximately seven seconds of the light turning off, buckle
then unbuckle the safety belt.
•This will disable the Belt-Minderfeature 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-Minderfeature 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.
•After receiving confirmation, the deactivation/activation procedure is
complete.
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