Introduction 9
Child Safety 18
Child seats...........................................20
Child seat positioning...................................20
Booster seats.........................................22
Installing child safety seats...............................25
Child safety locks......................................35
Safety Belts 36
Fastening the safety belts................................38
Safety belt height adjustment.............................42
Safetybeltwarninglightandindicatorchime..................43
Safety belt-minder.....................................43
Child restraint and safety belt maintenance...................45
Supplementary Restraints System 46
Driver and passenger airbags.............................48
Side airbags..........................................56
Safety canopy curtain airbags.............................57
Crash sensors and airbag indicator.........................59
Airbag disposal........................................60
Keys and Remote Control 61
General information on radio frequencies.....................61
Remote control.......................................62
Keys...............................................62
Replacing a lost key or remote control.......................66
MyKey 67
Settings, MyKey.......................................67
Creating.............................................68
Clearing.............................................69
System status.........................................70
Remote start, MyKey...................................70
Troubleshooting, MyKey.................................71
Table of Contents1
2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)
SYMBOL GLOSSARY
WARNING:You risk death or serious injury to yourself and
others if you do not follow the instruction highlighted by the
warning symbol.
These are some of the symbols you may see on your vehicle.
Symbol Description Symbol Description Symbol Description
Safety alertSee Owner’s
ManualAnti-lock
braking
system
Avoid
smoking,
flames, or
sparksBatteryBattery acid
Brake fluid –
non
petroleum
baseBrake systemCabin air
filter
Check fuel
capChild Safety
Door Lock
and UnlockChild seat
lower anchor
Child seat
tether anchorCruise
controlDo not open
when hot
Engine air
filterEngine
coolantEngine
coolant
temperature
Engine oilExplosive gasFan warning
Fasten safety
beltFront airbagFront fog
lamps
10Introduction
2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)
INSTALLING CHILD SEATS
Using Lap and Shoulder Belts
WARNING:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
NEVERplace 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:Children 12 and under should be properly restrained
in the rear seat whenever possible.
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 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.
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 prevent accidental unbuckling.
•Place the vehicle seat upon which the child seat will be installed in
the upright position.
•This vehicle does not require the use of a locking clip.
Child Safety25
2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)
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, unbuckle the belt and repeat Steps 5
and 6.
8. Remove remaining slack from the
belt. Force the seat down with extra
weight, for example, by pressing
down or kneeling on the child
restraint while pulling up on the
shoulder belt in order to force slack
from the belt.
Child Safety27
2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)
Tether Strap Attachment
1. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the back of the seat.
For vehicles with adjustable head restraints, route the tether strap under
the head restraint and between the head restraint posts, otherwise route
the tether strap over the top of the seat back. If the top of the safety
seat hits the head restraint, raise the head restraint to let the child seat
fit further rearward.
2. Locate the correct anchor for the selected seating position.
3. You may need to pull the seat back forward to access the tether
anchors. Make sure the seat is locked in the upright position before
installing the child seat.
4. Remove the tether cover.
5. Clip the tether strap to the anchor as shown.
•Front seats (Regular Cab)/Rear
seats (Crew Cab)
If the tether strap is clipped incorrectly, the child safety seat may not be
retained properly in the event of a crash.
6. Tighten the child safety seat tether strap according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
Child Safety33
2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)
3. Install the child safety seat tightly
using the vehicle belts. Follow the
instructions in this chapter.
4. Tighten the tether strap
according to the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions.
A single loop can be used to route and anchor more than one child seat.
For example, the center loop can be used as a routing loop for a child
safety seat in the center rear seat and as an anchoring loop for child
seats installed in the outboard rear seats.
CHILD SAFETY LOCKS (IF EQUIPPED)
When these locks are set, the rear doors cannot be opened from the
inside.
The childproof locks are located on
the rear edge of each rear door and
must be set separately for each
door.
Move the lock control up or down
to engage or disengage the
childproof lock.
Child Safety35
2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)
WARNING:When possible, all children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in a rear seating position. Failure
to follow this could seriously increase the risk of injury or death.
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.
•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 Restraints Systemchapter.
The safety belt pretensioners are designed to activate in frontal,
near-frontal and side crashes, 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 crashes, the safety
belt pretensioners can be activated alone or, if the crash is of sufficient
severity, together with the front airbags.
Safety Belts37
2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)
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 crash, 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 crashes.
40Safety Belts
2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)