
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
•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 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.
34Safety Belts
2013 Transit Connect(tst)
Owners Guide gf, 2nd Printing, November 2012
USA(fus)

FASTENING THE SAFETY BELTS
The front outboard and rear safety restraints in your vehicle are
combination lap and shoulder belts.
1. Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle (the buckle closest to
the direction the tongue is coming
from) until you hear a snap and feel
it latch. Make sure the tongue is
securely fastened in the buckle.
2. To unfasten, press the release
button and remove the tongue from
the buckle.
When in use, place the rear safety
belts in the belt guides on the
outboard seat backs.
Safety Belts35
2013 Transit Connect(tst)
Owners Guide gf, 2nd Printing, November 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.
36Safety Belts
2013 Transit Connect(tst)
Owners Guide gf, 2nd Printing, November 2012
USA(fus)

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 about 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, except a booster,
is installed in passenger front or rear seating positions. Children 12 years
old and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating position
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.
3. 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.
How to Disengage the Automatic Locking Mode
Unbuckle the combination lap and shoulder belt and allow it to retract
completely to disengage the automatic locking mode and activate the
vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
Safety Belts37
2013 Transit Connect(tst)
Owners Guide gf, 2nd Printing, November 2012
USA(fus)

Safety Belt Extension Assembly
WARNING:Do not use extensions to change the fit of the
shoulder belt across the torso.
If the safety belt is too short when fully extended, you can obtain a
safety belt extension assembly 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.
SAFETY BELT HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT
WARNING:Position the safety belt height adjusters so that the
belt rests across the middle of your shoulder. Failure to adjust
the safety belt properly could reduce the effectiveness of the safety belt
and increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Adjust the height of the shoulder belt so the belt rests across the middle
of your shoulder.
To adjust the shoulder belt height
downward, press the button (A)
and slide the height adjuster (B)
upwards slightly and then down.
Release the button and pull down
on the height adjuster to make sure
it is locked in place.
To adjust the belt upward, slide the adjuster up. You do not need to push
the button to slide the adjuster upwards.
A
B
38Safety Belts
2013 Transit Connect(tst)
Owners Guide gf, 2nd Printing, November 2012
USA(fus)

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-Minder® feature for objects
placed in the front passenger seat, warnings will only be given to front seat
occupants as determined by the front passenger sensing system.
If the Belt-Minder® warnings have expired (warnings for about
five minutes) for one occupant (driver or front passenger), the other
occupant can still activate the Belt-Minder® feature.
Safety Belts39
2013 Transit Connect(tst)
Owners Guide gf, 2nd Printing, November 2012
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-Minder® feature 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-Minder® feature is activated
- the safety belt warning light
illuminates and the warning chime
sounds for six seconds every
25 seconds, repeating for about
five minutes or until the safety belts
are buckled.
The driver’s or front
passenger’s safety belt becomes
unbuckled for about 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-Minder® feature is activated
- the safety belt warning light
illuminates and the warning chime
sounds for six seconds every
25 seconds, repeating for about
five minutes or until the safety belts
are buckled.
40Safety Belts
2013 Transit Connect(tst)
Owners Guide gf, 2nd Printing, November 2012
USA(fus)

Deactivating and Activating the Belt-Minder® Feature
WARNING:While the design allows you to deactivate your
Belt-Minder®, this system is designed to improve your chances of
being safely belted and surviving an accident. We recommend you leave
the Belt-Minder system activated for yourself and others who may use
the vehicle. To reduce the risk of injury, do not deactivate or activate
the Belt-Minder feature while driving the vehicle.
Read Steps1-3thoroughly before proceeding with the programming
procedure.
The Belt-Minder feature can be deactivated and activated by performing
the following procedure:
Before following the procedure, make sure that:
•the parking brake is set.
•the transmission selector lever is in positionP.
•the ignition is off.
•the driver and front passenger safety belts are unbuckled.
1. Turn the ignition on. DO NOT START THE ENGINE.
2. Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off (about one to
two minutes).
•Step 3 must be completed within 50 seconds after the safety belt
warning light turns off.
3. Buckle then unbuckle the driver’s safety belt nine times at a moderate
speed, ending in the unbuckled state. As confirmation, the safety belt
warning light will flash three times.
•This will disable the Belt-Minder feature for that seating position if it
is currently enabled.
•This will enable the Belt-Minder feature for that seating position if it is
currently disabled.
Safety Belts41
2013 Transit Connect(tst)
Owners Guide gf, 2nd Printing, November 2012
USA(fus)