2013 FORD TRANSIT CONNECT Owners Manual

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 large objects (unless storing rear seat headrests)
underneath the front passenger seat. or between the seat and the
center console (if equipped).
Check the pass airbag off indicator lamp for proper airbag Status.
Failure to follow these instructions may interfere with the passenger
seat sensing system.
WARNING:Any alteration/modification to the front passenger
seat may affect the performance of the front passenger sensing
system.
This system works with sensors that are part of the front 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
(may inflate) or not.
The front passenger sensing system
uses a pass airbag off indicator
which will illuminate and stay lit to
remind you that the front passenger
frontal airbag is disabled. The indicator lamp is located at the top of the
instrument panel center stack area above the radio.
PASS OFFAIRBAG
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Note:The indicator lamp will illuminate for a short period of time when
the ignition is turned to the on position to confirm it is functional.
The front passenger sensing system is designed to disable (will not
inflate) the front passenger’s frontal airbag when a rear facing infant
seat, a forward-facing child restraint, or a booster seat is detected. Even
with this technology, parents areSTRONGLYencouraged to always
properly restrain children in the rear seat. The sensor also turns off the
passenger front airbag and seat-mounted side airbag when the passenger
seat is empty.
•When the front passenger sensing system disables (will not inflate)
the front passenger frontal airbag, the indicator lamp will illuminate
and stay lit to remind you that the front passenger frontal airbag is
disabled.
•If the child restraint has been installed and the indicator lamp is not
lit, then turn the vehicle off, remove the child restraint from the
vehicle and reinstall the restraint following the child restraint
manufacturer’s instructions.
The front passenger sensing system is designed to enable (may inflate)
the front passenger’s frontal airbag anytime the system senses that a
person of adult size is sitting properly in the front passenger seat.
•When the front passenger sensing system enables the front passenger
frontal airbag (may inflate), the indicator will be unlit and stay unlit.
If a person of adult size is sitting in the front passenger’s seat, but the
passenger airbag off or pass airbag off indicator lamp is lit, it is possible
that the person isn’t sitting properly in the seat. If this happens:
•Turn the vehicle off and ask the person to place the seatback in the
full upright position.
•Have the person sit upright in the seat, centered on the seat cushion,
with the person’s legs comfortably extended.
•Restart the vehicle and have the person remain in this position for
about two minutes. This will allow the system to detect that person
and enable the passenger’s frontal airbag.
•If the indicator lamp remains lit even after this, the person should be
advised to ride in the rear seat.
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OccupantPass Airbag Off
Indicator LampPassenger Airbag
Empty Unlit Disabled
Small child Lit Disabled
Adult Unlit Enabled
Note:When the passenger airbag off light is illuminated, the passenger
(seat mounted) side airbag may be disabled to avoid the risk of airbag
deployment injuries.
After all occupants have adjusted their seats and put on safety belts,
it’s 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.
To know if the front passenger sensing system is operating
properly, refer toCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorlater in
this chapter.
If the airbag readiness lamp is lit, do the following:
The driver and 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 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.
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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
Assistancesection of this Owner’s Manual.
SIDE AIRBAGS
WARNING:Do not place objects or mount equipment on or near
the airbag cover, on the side of the seat backs (of the front
seats), or in front seat areas that may come into contact with a
deploying airbag. Failure to follow these instructions may increase
the risk of personal injury in the event of a crash.
WARNING:Do not use accessory seat covers. The use of
accessory seat covers may prevent the deployment of the side
airbags and increase the risk of injury in an accident.
WARNING:Do not lean your head on the door. The side airbag
could injure you as it deploys from the side of the seat back.
WARNING:Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the
airbag, its fuses or the seat cover on a seat containing an airbag,
as you could be seriously injured or killed. Contact your authorized
dealer as soon as possible.
WARNING:If the side airbag has deployed, the airbag will not
function again. The side airbag system (including the seat) must
be inspected and serviced by an authorized dealer. If the airbag is not
replaced, the unrepaired area will increase the risk of injury in a crash.
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The side airbags are located on the outboard side of the seat backs of
the front seats. In certain lateral crashes, the airbag on the side affected
by the crash will be inflated, except that the passenger sensing system
will deactivate the passenger seat-mounted side airbag if it detects an
empty passenger seat.
The system consists of the
following:
•a tag on the seat back indicating
that side airbags are found on
your vehicle
•side airbags located inside the
seat back of the driver and front
passenger seats.
•crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. SeeCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorlater in
this chapter.
•front passenger sensing system.
Note:The passenger sensing system will deactivate the passenger
seat-mounted side airbag if it detects an empty passenger seat.
The design and development of the side airbag system included
recommended testing procedures that were developed by a group of
automotive safety experts known as the Side Airbag Technical Working
Group. These recommended testing procedures help reduce the risk of
injuries related to the deployment of side airbags.
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CRASH SENSORS AND AIRBAG INDICATOR
WARNING:Modifying or adding equipment to the front end of
your vehicle (including frame, bumper, front end body structure
and tow hooks) may affect the performance of the airbag system,
increasing the risk of injury. Do not modify the front end of your
vehicle.
Your vehicle has a collection of crash and occupant sensors which
provide information to the restraints control module which deploys
(activates) the front safety belt pretensioners, driver airbag, passenger
airbag, seat mounted side airbags, and the Safety Canopy. Based on the
type of accident (frontal impact, side impact or rollover) the restraints
control module will deploy the appropriate safety devices.
The restraints control module also monitors the readiness of the above
safety devices plus the crash and occupant sensors. The readiness of the
safety system is indicated by a warning indicator light in the instrument
cluster or by a backup tone if the warning light is not working. See the
Instrument Clusterchapter. Routine maintenance of the airbag is not
required.
A difficulty with the system is indicated by one or more of the following:
•The readiness light will either flash or stay lit.
•The readiness light will not illuminate immediately after the
ignition is turned on.
•A series of five beeps will be heard. The tone pattern will repeat
periodically until the problem or light are repaired.
If any of these things happen, even intermittently, have the supplemental
restraint system serviced at an authorized dealer immediately. Unless
serviced, the system may not function properly in the event of a crash.
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The safety belt pretensioners and the airbag supplemental restraint
system are designed to activate when the vehicle sustains longitudinal or
lateral deceleration sufficient to cause the restraints control module to
deploy a safety device or when a certain likelihood of a rollover event is
detected by the rollover sensor.
The fact that the safety belt pretensioners or airbags did not activate for
both front seat occupants in a crash does not mean that something is
wrong with the system. Rather, it means the restraints control module
determined the accident conditions (such as crash severity, belt usage)
were not appropriate to activate these safety devices.
•Front airbags are designed to activate only in frontal and near-frontal
crashes (not rollovers, side impacts or rear impacts) unless the crash
causes sufficient longitudinal deceleration.
•The safety belt pretensioners are designed to activate in frontal,
near-frontal and side crashes, and in rollovers.
•Side airbags are designed to inflate in side-impact crashes, not
rollovers, rear impacts, frontal or near-frontal crashes, unless the crash
causes sufficient lateral deceleration.
•The Safety Canopy is designed to inflate in certain side impact crashes
or rollover events, not in rear impact, frontal or near-frontal crashes,
unless the crash causes sufficient lateral deceleration or rollover
likelihood.
AIRBAG DISPOSAL
Contact your authorized dealer as soon as possible. Airbags MUST BE
disposed of by qualified personnel.
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GENERAL INFORMATION ON RADIO FREQUENCIES
This device control complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules and with
Industry Canada license-exempt RSS standard(s). Operation is subject
to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful
interference, and (2) This device must accept any interference received,
including interference that may cause undesired operation.
Note:Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party
responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate
the equipment. The termICbefore the radio certification number only
signifies that Industry Canada technical specification were met.
The typical operating range for your transmitter is approximately 33 feet
(10 meters). A decrease in operating range could be caused by:
•weather conditions
•nearby radio towers
•structures around the vehicle
•other vehicles parked next to your vehicle.
The radio frequency used by your remote control can also be used by
other short distance radio transmissions, for example amateur radios,
medical equipment, wireless headphones, remote controls and alarm
systems. If the frequencies are jammed, you will not be able to use your
remote control. You can lock and unlock the doors with the key.
Note:Make sure your vehicle is locked before leaving it unattended.
Note:If you are in range, the remote control will operate if you press
any button unintentionally.
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