2012 FORD ESCAPE ECU

Reasons given... Consider...
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 are
ejected are 40 times more likely
to DIE.Safety belts help prevent
ejection, WE CAN’TPICK OUR
CRASH.
WARNING:Do not sit on top of a buckled safety belt or insert a
latchplate into the buckle to avoid the Belt-Minderchime. To
do so may adversely affect the performance of the vehicle’s air bag
system.
Deactivating/activating the Belt-Minderfeature
The driver and front passenger Belt-Minderare
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:If you are using MyKey, the Belt-Mindercannot be disabled.
Also, if the Belt-Minderhas been previously disabled, it will be
re-enabled after the use of MyKey. Refer toMyKeyin theLocks and
securitychapter.
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If the airbag readiness lamp is lit, do the following:
The driver and/or adult passengers should check for any objects that
may be lodged underneath the front passenger seat or cargo interfering
with the seat.
If objects are lodged and/or cargo is interfering with the seat; please take
the following steps to remove the obstruction:
•Pull the vehicle over.
•Turn the vehicle off.
•Driver and/or adult passengers should check for any objects lodged
underneath the front passenger seat or cargo interfering with the seat.
•Remove the obstruction(s) (if found).
•Restart the vehicle.
•Wait at least two minutes and verify that the airbag readiness lamp is
no longer illuminated
•If the airbag readiness lamp remains illuminated, this may or may/not
be a problem due to the front passenger sensing system.
DO NOT attempt to repair or service the system; take your vehicle
immediately to an authorized dealer.
If it is necessary to modify an advanced front airbag system to
accommodate a person with disabilities, contact the Ford Customer
Relationship Center at the phone number shown in theCustomer
Assistancechapter of this Owner’s Guide.
WARNING:Any alteration/modification to the front passenger
seat may affect the performance of the front passenger sensing
system.
Determining if the system is operational
The SRS uses a readiness light in the instrument cluster or a tone to
indicate the status of the system. Refer toAirbag readinesssection in
theInstrument Clusterchapter. Routine maintenance of the airbag is
not required.
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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 consult 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. In Canada, check with your local
St. John Ambulance office for referral to a CPST or for further
information, contact your provincial ministry of transportation, your
local St. John Ambulance office at http://www.sfa.ca, or Transport
Canada at 1–800–333–0371 (http://www.tc.gc.ca). 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.
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WARNING: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, which may result in serious injury or
death.
WARNING:Never use pillows, books, or towels to boost a child.
They can slide around and increase the likelihood of injury or
death in a collision.
WARNING:Always restrain an unoccupied child seat or booster
seat. These objects may become projectiles in a collision or
sudden stop, which may increase the risk of serious injury.
WARNING:Never place, or allow a child to place, the shoulder
belt under a child’s arm or behind the back because it reduces
the protection for the upper part of the body and may increase the risk
of injury or death in a collision.
WARNING:Do not leave children, unreliable adults, or pets
unattended in your vehicle.
Transporting children
Always make sure your child is secured properly in a device that is
appropriate for their age, height and weight. All children are shaped
differently. The child height, age and weight thresholds provided are
recommendations or the minimum requirements of law. The National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides education and
training to ensure that all children ages 0 to 16 are properly restrained in
the correct restraint system. Ford recommends checking with a NHTSA
Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) and your
pediatrician to make sure your seat is appropriate for your child and
properly installed in the vehicle. To locate a child seat fitting station and
CPST contact the NHTSA toll free at1-888-327-4236or on the internet
at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov. In Canada, check with your local St. John
Ambulance office for referral to a CPST or for further information,
contact your provincial ministry of transportation, your local St. John
Ambulance office at http://www.sfa.ca, or Transport Canada at
1–800–333–0371 (http://www.tc.gc.ca).
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Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder
belts
The rear seat head restraints must be removed when using a child
seat that utilizes the top tether anchor.
Check to make sure the child seat is properly secured before each use.
Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating
position whenever possible. If all children cannot be seated and
restrained properly in a rear seating position, properly restrain the
largest child in the front seat.
When installing a child safety seat with combination lap/shoulder belts:
•Use the correct safety belt buckle for that seating position.
•Insert the belt tongue into the proper buckle until you hear a snap
and feel it latch. Make sure the tongue is securely fastened in the
buckle.
•Keep the buckle release button pointing up and away from the safety
seat, with the tongue between the child seat and the release button,
to help prevent accidental unbuckling.
•Place vehicle seat back in upright position.
•Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer to step 5
below. This vehicle does not require the use of a locking clip.
WARNING:Depending on where you secure a child restraint,
and depending on the child restraint design, you may block
access to certain safety belt buckle assemblies and/or LATCH lower
anchors, rendering those features potentially unusable. To avoid risk of
injury, occupants should only use seating positions where they are able
to be properly restrained.
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4. Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle (the buckle closest to
the direction the tongue is coming
from) for that seating position until
you hear a snap and feel the latch
engage. Make sure the tongue is
latched securely by pulling on it.
5. To put the retractor in the
automatic locking mode, grasp the
shoulder portion of the belt and pull
downward until all of the belt is
pulled out.
6. Allow the belt to retract to remove slack. The belt will click as it
retracts to indicate it is in the automatic locking mode.
7. Try to pull the belt out of the retractor to make sure the retractor is
in the automatic locking mode (you should not be able to pull more belt
out). If the retractor is not locked, repeat Steps 5 and 6.
8. Remove remaining slack from the
belt. Force the seat down with extra
weight, e.g., by pressing down or
kneeling on the child restraint while
pulling up on the shoulder belt in
order to force slack from the belt.
This is necessary to remove the
remaining slack that will exist once
the additional weight of the child is
added to the child restraint. It also
helps to achieve the proper
snugness of the child seat to the
vehicle. Sometimes, a slight lean
towards the buckle will additionally
help to remove remaining slack from the belt.
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9. Attach the tether strap (if the
child seat is equipped). Refer to
Attaching child safety seats with
tether strapslater in this chapter.
10. Before placing the child in the
seat, forcibly move the seat forward
and back to make sure the seat is
securely held in place. To check
this, grab the seat at the belt path
and attempt to move it side to side
and forward and back. There should
be no more than 1 inch (2.5 cm) of movement for proper installation.
11. Ford recommends checking with a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger
Safety Technician (CPST) to make certain the child restraint is properly
installed. In Canada, check with your local St. John Ambulance office for
referral to a CPST.
Attaching child safety seats with LATCH (Lower Anchors and
Tethers for CHildren) attachments
The LATCH system is composed of three vehicle anchor points: two (2)
lower anchors located where the vehicle seat back and seat cushion meet
(called the “seat bight”) and one (1) top tether anchor located behind
that seating position.
LATCH compatible child safety seats have two rigid or webbing mounted
attachments that connect to the two lower anchors at the LATCH
equipped seating positions in your vehicle. This type of attachment
method eliminates the need to use safety belts to attach the child seat,
however the safety belt can still be used to attach the child seat. For
forward-facing child seats, the top tether strap must also be attached to
the proper top tether anchor, if a top tether strap has been provided
with your child seat. Ford Motor Company recommends the use of a
child safety seat having a top tether strap. SeeAttaching child safety
seats with tether strapsandRecommendations for attaching safety
restraints for childrenin this chapter for more information.
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Your vehicle has LATCH lower anchors for child seat installation at the
seating positions marked with the child seat symbol.
The LATCH anchors are located at
the rear section of the rear seat
between the cushion and seatback.
Follow the child seat manufacturer’s
instructions to properly install a
child seat with LATCH attachments.
Follow the instructions on attaching
child safety seats with tether straps.
Refer toAttaching child safety
seats with tether strapslater in this
chapter.
Attach LATCH lower attachments of
the child seat only to the anchors
shown.
WARNING:Never attach two child safety seats to the same
anchor. In a crash, one anchor may not be strong enough to hold
two child safety seat attachments and may break, causing serious
injury or death.
WARNING:Depending on where you secure a child restraint,
and depending on the child restraint design, you may block
access to certain safety belt buckle assemblies and/or LATCH lower
anchors, rendering those features potentially unusable. To avoid risk of
injury, occupants should only use seating positions where they are able
to be properly restrained.
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