
PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
WARNINGS
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. All occupants of your vehicle,
including the driver, should
always properly wear their safety
belts, even when an airbag
supplemental restraint system is
provided. Failure to properly wear your
safety belt could seriously increase
the risk of injury or death. Always transport children 12
years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use
appropriate child restraints. Failure to
follow this could seriously increase
the risk of injury or death. Never place your arm over the
airbag module as a deploying
airbag can result in serious arm
fractures or other injuries. 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 upon which the
child seat is installed all the way back. Do not attempt to service, repair,
or modify the airbag
supplemental restraint systems or its
fuses as you could be seriously injured
or killed. Contact your authorized
dealer as soon as possible. WARNINGS
Several airbag system
components get hot after
inflation. To reduce the risk of injury,
do not touch them after inflation. 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 crash. The airbags are a supplemental
restraint system and are designed to
work with the safety belts to help
protect the driver and right front
passenger from certain upper body
injuries. Airbags do not inflate slowly;
there is a risk of injury from a
deploying airbag.
Note:
You will hear a loud bang and
see a cloud of harmless powdery
residue if an airbag deploys. This is
normal.
The airbags inflate and deflate rapidly
upon activation. After airbag
deployment, it is normal to notice a
smoke-like, powdery residue or smell
the burnt propellant. This may consist
of cornstarch, talcum powder (to
lubricate the bag) or sodium
compounds (for example, baking
soda) that result from the combustion
process that inflates the airbag. Small
amounts of sodium hydroxide may be
present which may irritate the skin
and eyes, but none of the residue is
toxic.
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MKZ (CC9) Supplementary Restraints System

While the system is designed to help
reduce serious injuries, contact with a
deploying airbag may also cause
abrasions or swelling. Temporary
hearing loss is also a possibility as a
result of the noise associated with a
deploying airbag. Because airbags
must inflate rapidly and with
considerable force, there is the risk of
death or serious injuries such as
fractures, facial and eye injuries or
internal injuries, particularly to
occupants who are not properly
restrained or are otherwise out of
position at the time of airbag
deployment. Thus, it is extremely
important that occupants be properly
restrained as far away from the airbag
module as possible while maintaining
vehicle control.
Routine maintenance of the airbags
is not required.
DRIVER AND PASSENGER
AIRBAGS
WARNINGS
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. WARNINGS
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 upon which the
child seat is installed all the way back. The driver and front passenger airbags
will deploy during significant frontal
and near frontal crashes.
The driver and passenger front airbag
system consists of:
•
driver and passenger airbag
modules.
• front passenger sensing system. · crash sensors and
monitoring system with
readiness indicator. See
Crash Sensors and Airbag
Indicator (page 50).
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MKZ (CC9) Supplementary Restraints SystemE151127

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.
• 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 upon which the
child seat is installed 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
crash.
KNEE AIRBAG
A driver
’s and passenger ’s knee airbag
is located under or within the
instrument panel. During a crash, the
restraints control module may
activate the driver ’s and passenger ’s
knee airbag (individually or both)
based on crash severity and
respective occupant conditions. Under
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certain crash and occupant
conditions, the driver
’s and
passenger ’s knee airbag may deploy
(individually or both) but the
corresponding front airbag may not
activate. As with front and side
airbags, it is important to be properly
seated and restrained to reduce the
risk of death or serious injury. Make sure the knee airbags
are operating properly. See
Crash Sensors and Airbag
Indicator
(page 50).
FRONT PASSENGER
SENSING SYSTEM WARNINGS
Even with Advanced Restraints
Systems, children 12 and under
should be properly restrained in a rear
seating position. Failure to follow this
could seriously increase the risk of
injury or death. 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
seat back, with your feet on the floor. Any alteration or modification to
the front passenger seat may
affect the performance of the front
passenger sensing system which
could seriously increase the risk of
injury or death. 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 passenger airbag status
indicator that will illuminate indicating
that the front passenger frontal airbag
is either ON (enabled) or OFF
(disabled).
The indicator lamp is located in the
center stack of the instrument panel.
Note:
The passenger airbag status
indicator OFF and ON indicator lamps
will illuminate for a short period of time
when the ignition is first turned on to
confirm it is functional.
The front passenger sensing system
is designed to disable (will not inflate)
the front passenger's frontal airbag
when the front passenger seat is
unoccupied, or a rear facing infant
seat, a forward-facing child restraint,
or a booster seat is detected. Even
with this technology, parents are
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strongly encouraged 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 passenger airbag status
indicator will illuminate the OFF
lamp and stay lit to remind you
that the front passenger frontal
airbag is disabled.
• If the child restraint has been
installed and the passenger airbag
status indicator illuminates the ON
lamp, 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 passenger airbag
status indicator will illuminate the
ON lamp and remain illuminated.
If a person of adult size is sitting in the
front passenger ’s seat, but the 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 seat back 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 OFF lamp remains
lit even after this, the person
should be advised to ride in the
rear seat. Passenger airbag
Passenger airbag status
indicator
Occupant
Disabled
OFF: Lit
Empty
ON: Unlit Disabled
OFF: Lit
Child
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MKZ (CC9) Supplementary Restraints System

Passenger airbag
Passenger airbag status
indicator
Occupant
ON: Unlit Enabled
OFF: Unlit
Adult
ON: Lit
Note: When the passenger airbag
status indicator 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
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.
The conditions listed above may
cause the weight of a properly seated
occupant to be incorrectly interpreted
by the front passenger sensing
system. The person in the front
passenger seat may appear heavier
or lighter due to the conditions
described in the list above. To know if the front
passenger sensing system is
operating properly, See
Crash Sensors and Airbag
Indicator (page 50). Do not attempt to repair or service the
system. Take your vehicle
immediately to an authorized dealer.
If it is necessary to modify an
advanced front airbag system to
accommodate a person with
disabilities, contact the Ford
Customer Relationship Center. See
Getting the Services You Need
(page
258).
SIDE AIRBAGS WARNINGS
Do not place objects or mount
equipment on or near the airbag
cover, on the side of the seatbacks (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. 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.
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MKZ (CC9) Supplementary Restraints System

WARNINGS
Do not lean your head on the
door. The side airbag could injure
you as it deploys from the side of the
seatback. 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. 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. The side airbags are located on the
outboard side of the seatbacks of the
front seats. In certain sideways
crashes, the airbag on the side
affected by the crash will be inflated.
The airbag was designed to inflate
between the door panel and occupant
to further enhance the protection
provided occupants in side impact
crashes. The system consists of the following:
•
A label or embossed side panel
indicating that side airbags are
fitted to your vehicle.
• Side airbags located inside the
driver and front passenger
seatbacks.
• Front passenger sensing system. ·Crash sensors and
monitoring system with
readiness indicator. See
Crash Sensors and Airbag
Indicator (page 50).
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.
SIDE CURTAIN AIRBAGS WARNINGS
Do not place objects or mount
equipment on or near the
headliner at the siderail that may
come into contact with a deploying
side curtain airbag. Failure to follow
these instructions may increase the
risk of personal injury in the event of
a crash.
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MKZ (CC9) Supplementary Restraints SystemE152533

WARNINGS
Do not lean your head on the
door. The side curtain airbag
could injure you as it deploys from the
headliner. Do not attempt to service, repair,
or modify the side curtain
airbags, its fuses, the A, B, or C pillar
trim, or the headliner on a vehicle
containing side curtain airbags.
Contact your authorized dealer as
soon as possible. All occupants of the vehicle
including the driver should
always wear their safety belts even
when an airbag supplemental
restraint system and side curtain
airbag is provided. To reduce risk of injury, do not
obstruct or place objects in the
deployment path of the side curtain
airbag. If the side curtain airbags have
deployed, the side curtain
airbags will not function again. The
side curtain airbags (including the A,
B and C pillar trim and headliner)
must be inspected and serviced by an
authorized dealer. If the side curtain
airbag is not replaced, the unrepaired
area will increase the risk of injury in a
crash. The side curtain airbags will deploy
during significant side crashes. The
side curtain airbags are mounted to
the roof side-rail sheet metal, behind
the headliner, above each row of
seats. In certain sideways crashes, the
side curtain airbag on the impacted side of the vehicle will be activated.
The side curtain airbags are designed
to inflate between the side window
area and occupants to further
enhance protection provided in side
impact crashes.
The system consists of the following:
•
Side curtain airbags located above
the trim panels over the front and
rear side windows identified by a
label or wording on the headliner
or roof-pillar trim.
• A flexible headliner which opens
above the side doors to allow side
air curtain deployment. Crash sensors and
monitoring system with
readiness indicator. See
Crash Sensors and Airbag
Indicator (page 50).
Children 12 years old and under should
always be properly restrained in the
back seats. The side curtain airbags
will not interfere with children
restrained using a properly installed
child or booster seat because it is
designed to inflate downward from
the headliner above the doors along
the side window opening.
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MKZ (CC9) Supplementary Restraints SystemE75004