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.
All seating positions in this vehicle have lap and shoulder safety belts. All
occupants of the vehicle should always properly wear their safety belts,
even when an airbag supplemental restraint system is provided.
The safety belt system consists of:
•lap and shoulder safety belts
•shoulder safety belt with automatic locking mode, (except driver
safety belt)
•height adjuster at the front outboard seating positions
•safety belt pretensioner at the front outboard seating positions
•belt tension sensor at the front outboard passenger seating position.
•Safety belt warning light and chime. SeeSafety belt warning
light and indicator chimelater in this chapter.
•Crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. SeeCrash sensors and airbag indicatorin the
Supplemental Restraint Systemchapter.
The safety belt pretensioners are designed to activate in frontal,
near-frontal and side collisions, and in rollovers. The safety belt
pretensioners at the front seating positions are designed to tighten the
safety belts firmly against the occupant’s body when activated. 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.
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Restraint of Pregnant Women
WARNING:Always ride and drive with your seat back upright
and the safety belt properly fastened. The lap portion of the
safety belt should fit snug and be positioned low across the hips. The
shoulder portion of the safety belt should be positioned across the
chest. Pregnant women should also follow this practice. See the
following figure.
Pregnant women should always
wear their safety belts. 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.
Safety Belt Locking Modes
WARNING:After any vehicle collision, the safety belt system at
all passenger seating positions 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.
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All safety restraints in the vehicle are combination lap and shoulder
belts. The driver safety belt has the first type of 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.
When to use the automatic locking mode
This mode should be used any time a child safety seat is installed in a
front outboard passenger seating position in a Regular Cab / SuperCab /
SuperCrew or any rear seating position of a SuperCab or SuperCrew. The
optional front seat’s center safety belt has a cinch mechanism. SeeUsing
the Safety Belt With Cinch Tongue (Front Center Seat)in this chapter.
Children 12 years old and under should be properly restrained in a rear
seat whenever possible. See theChild Safetychapter.
How to use the automatic locking mode
1. Buckle the combination lap and shoulder
belt.
2. 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.
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CHILD RESTRAINT AND SAFETY BELT MAINTENANCE
Inspect the vehicle safety belts and child safety seat systems periodically
to make sure they work properly and are not damaged. Inspect the
vehicle and child seat safety belts to make sure there are no nicks, tears
or cuts. Replace if necessary. All vehicle safety belt assemblies, including
retractors, buckles, front safety belt buckle assemblies, buckle support
assemblies (slide bar-if equipped), shoulder belt height adjusters (if
equipped), shoulder belt guide on seat back (if equipped), child safety
seat LATCH and tether anchors, and attaching hardware, should be
inspected after a collision. Read the child restraint manufacturer’s
instructions for additional inspection and maintenance information
specific to the child restraint. Ford Motor Company recommends that all
safety belt assemblies in use in vehicles involved in a collision be
replaced. However, if the collision was minor and an authorized dealer
finds that the belts do not show damage and continue to operate
properly, they do not need to be replaced. Safety belt assemblies not in
use during a collision should also be inspected and replaced if either
damage or improper operation is noted.
For proper care of soiled safety belts, seeCleaning the Interiorin the
Vehicle Carechapter.
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PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
WARNING:Airbags DO NOT inflate slowly or gently, and the
risk of injury from a deploying airbag is the greatest close to the
trim covering the airbag module.
WARNING:All occupants of your vehicle, including the driver,
should always properly wear their safety belts, even when an
airbag supplemental restraint system is provided.
WARNING:Always transport children 12 years old and under in
the back seat and always properly use appropriate child
restraints.
WARNING:Never place your arm over the airbag module as a
deploying airbag can result in serious arm fractures or other
injuries.
WARNING:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
NEVER place a rear-facing child seat in front of an active airbag.
If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the
seat all the way back.
WARNING:Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the
airbag supplemental restraint systems or its fuses. Contact your
authorized dealer as soon as possible.
WARNING:Several airbag system components get hot after
inflation. Do not touch them after inflation.
WARNING:If the airbag has deployed, the airbag will not
function again and must be replaced immediately. If the airbag is
not replaced, the unrepaired area will increase the risk of injury in a
collision.
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DRIVER AND PASSENGER AIRBAGS
WARNING:Never place your arm or any objects over an airbag
module. Placing your arm over a deploying airbag can result in
serious arm fractures or other injuries. Objects placed on or over the
airbag inflation area may cause those objects to be propelled by the
airbag into your face and torso causing serious injury.
WARNING:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
Never place a rear-facing child seat in front of an active airbag. If
you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the
seat all the way back.
The driver and front passenger
airbags will deploy during significant
frontal and near-frontal collisions.
The driver and passenger front airbag system consists of the following:
•Driver and passenger airbag modules.
•Crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. SeeCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorlater in
this chapter.
•Front passenger sensing system.
Proper Driver and Front Passenger Seating Adjustment
WARNING:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) recommends a minimum distance of at least 10 inches
(25 centimeters) between an occupant’s chest and the driver airbag
module.
To properly position yourself away from the airbag:
•Move your seat to the rear as far as you can while still reaching the
pedals comfortably.
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•Recline the seat slightly (one or two degrees) from the upright position.
After all occupants have adjusted their seats and put on safety belts, it is
very important that they continue to sit properly. A properly seated
occupant sits upright, leaning against the seat back, and centered on the
seat cushion, with their feet comfortably extended on the floor. Sitting
improperly can increase the chance of injury in a crash event. For
example, if an occupant slouches, lies down, turns sideways, sits forward,
leans forward or sideways, or puts one or both feet up, the chance of
injury during a crash is greatly increased.
Children and Airbags
WARNING:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
NEVER place a rear-facing child seat in front of an active airbag.
If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the
seat all the way back.
Children must always be properly
restrained. Accident statistics
suggest that children are safer when
properly restrained in the rear
seating positions than in the front
seating position. Failure to follow
these instructions may increase the
risk of injury in a collision.
If two adults and a child occupy a Regular Cab, properly restrain the
child in the center front unless doing so would interfere with driving
your vehicle. This provides lap and shoulder belt protection for all
occupants, and airbag protection for the adults. A child or infant
properly restrained in the center front seat should not incur risk of
serious injury from the airbags.
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FRONT PASSENGER SENSING SYSTEM
WARNING:Even with Advanced Restraints Systems, children 12
and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating
position.
WARNING: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 front passenger sensing system, resulting
in serious injury or death in a crash.
Always sit upright against your seatback, with your feet on the floor.
WARNING:To reduce the risk of possible serious injury: Do not
stow objects in seat back map pocket (if equipped) or hang
objects off seat back if 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 status
indicator lamp for proper airbag status. Failure to follow these
instructions may interfere with the front passenger seat sensing system.
WARNING:Any alteration or modification to the front passenger
seat may affect the performance of the front passenger sensing
system.
WARNING:The front passenger airbag is not designed to offer
protection to an occupant in the center seating position.
WARNING:An out of position front center occupant could affect
the decision of the front passenger sensing system.
The system works with sensors that are part of the passenger’s seat and
safety belt to detect the presence of a properly seated occupant and
determine if the front passenger’s frontal airbag should be enabled or
not.
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