2013 FORD FLEX warning light

Introduction 9
Child Safety 17
Child seats...........................................19
Child seat positioning...................................19
Booster seats.........................................21
Installing child seats with lap and shoulder belts................24
Installing child safety seats with lower anchors and tethers for
children.............................................29
Installing child safety seats with tether straps..................31
Safety Belts 36
Fastening the safety belts................................38
Safety belt height adjustment.............................41
Safetybeltwarninglightandindicatorchime..................42
Safety belt-minder.....................................42
Rear inflatable safety belt................................45
Child restraint and safety belt maintenance...................47
Personal Safety System 48
Supplementary Restraints System 49
Driver and passenger airbags..............................51
Front passenger sensing system............................53
Side airbags..........................................56
Safety canopy curtain airbags.............................58
Crash sensors and airbag indicator..........................60
Airbag disposal........................................61
Keys and Remote Control 62
General information on radio frequencies.....................62
Remote control........................................63
Keys...............................................63
Replacing a lost key or remote control.......................69
Table of Contents1
2013 Flex(471)
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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 Flex(471)
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USA(fus)

Symbol Description Symbol Description Symbol Description
Fuel pump
resetFuse
compartmentHazard
warning
flasher
Heated rear
windowInterior
luggage
compartment
releaseJack
Lighting
controlLow tire
pressure
warningMaintain
correct fluid
level
Panic alarmParking aid
systemParking
brake system
Power
steering fluidPower
windows
front and
rearPower
window
lockout
Service
engine soonSide airbagStability
control
Windshield
defrost and
demistWindshield
washer and
wiper
Introduction11
2013 Flex(471)
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USA(fus)

INSTALLING CHILD SEATS WITH 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 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.
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 vehicle seat back in upright position.
•For second row seating positions, if needed, the recliner may be
adjusted slightly to improve child seat fit. If needed the head restraints
may be removed.
•For third row seating positions the head restraints may be stowed to
improve child seat fit, if needed. Refer toRear seatsin theSeats
chapter for information on folding the head restraints.
•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.
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2013 Flex(471)
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USA(fus)

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 and
rear inflatable safety belt).
•Height adjuster at the front outboard seating positions
•Retractor and anchor pretensioner at the front outboard seating
positions.
•Belt tension sensor at the front outboard passenger seating position.
•Safety belt warning light and chime. Refer toSafety Belt
Warning Light and Indicator Chimelater in this chapter.
•Crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. Refer toCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorin
theSupplemental Restraint Systemchapter.
The safety belt pretensioners and rear inflatable safety belts are designed
to activate in frontal, near-frontal and side collisions, and in rollovers.
The safety belt pretensioners on the retractor and anchor 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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2013 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

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.
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.
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 or lap 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(s) 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.
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SAFETY BELT WARNING LIGHT AND INDICATOR CHIME
This lamp illuminates and an audible warning will sound if the
driver’s safety belt has not been fastened when the vehicle’s
ignition is turned on.
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.
SAFETY BELT-MINDER
This feature supplements the safety belt warning function by providing
additional reminders by intermittently sounding a chime and illuminating
the safety belt warning light when the driver’s or front passenger’s seat is
occupied and the safety belt is unbuckled.
The system 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.
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.
42Safety Belts
2013 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

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 6 mph
(9.7 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
25 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
one minute while the vehicle is
traveling at least 6 mph
(9.7 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
25 seconds, repeating for
approximately five minutes or until
the safety belts are buckled.
Safety Belts43
2013 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing
USA(fus)