2014 FORD ESCAPE Owners Manual

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 correctly
could reduce the effectiveness of the
safety belt and increase the risk of injury in
a crash.
E87511
To adjust the shoulder belt height, squeeze
the button and slide the height adjuster up
or down. Release the button and pull down
on the height adjuster to make sure it is
locked in place.
SAFETY BELT WARNING LAMP
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
Then... If...
The safety belt warning light illuminates 1-
2 minutes and the warning chime sounds
4-8 seconds. The driver's safety belt is not buckled
before the ignition switch is turned to the
on position...
The safety belt warning light and warning
chime turn off. 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 indicator
chime remain off. The driver's safety belt is buckled before
the ignition switch is turned to the on posi-
tion...
30
Safety Belts

SAFETY BELT MINDER
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 large 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.
Then... If...
The Belt-Minder feature will not activate. 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 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
is not buckled when your 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 your 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...
31
Safety Belts

Deactivating and Activating the
Belt-Minder Feature
WARNING
While the system allows you to
deactivate it, this system is designed
to improve your chances of being
safely belted and surviving an accident.
We recommend you leave the system
activated for yourself and others who may
use your vehicle. To reduce the risk of
injury, do not deactivate or activate the
system while driving your vehicle.
Note:The driver and front passenger
warning are deactivated and activated
independently. When deactivating or
activating one seating position, do not
buckle the other position as this will
terminate the process.
Read Steps 1 - 4 thoroughly before
proceeding with the programming
procedure.
Before following the procedure, make sure
that:
• the parking brake is set
• the transmission selector lever is in
position P
• 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 minute). After
Step 2, wait an additional five seconds
before proceeding with Step 3. Once
Step 3 is started, the procedure must
be completed within 60 seconds.3. For the seating position being disabled,
buckle then unbuckle the safety belt
four times at a moderate speed, ending
in the unbuckled state. After Step 3,
the safety belt warning light will turn
on.
4. While the safety belt warning light is
on, buckle and then unbuckle the
safety belt. After Step 4, the safety belt
warning light will flash for confirmation.
• This will disable the feature for that
seating position if it is currently
enabled.
• This will enable the feature for that
seating position if it is currently
disabled.
CHILD RESTRAINT AND
SAFETY BELT MAINTENANCE
Inspect the vehicle safety belts and child
safety seat systems periodically to make
sure they work properly and are not
damaged. Inspect the vehicle and child
seat safety belts to make sure there are no
nicks, tears or cuts. Replace if necessary.
All vehicle safety belt assemblies, including
retractors, buckles, front safety belt buckle
assemblies, buckle support assemblies
(slide bar-if equipped), shoulder belt
height adjusters (if equipped), shoulder
belt guide on seat back (if equipped), child
safety seat LATCH and tether anchors, and
attaching hardware, should be inspected
after a crash. Read the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions for additional
inspection and maintenance information
specific to the child restraint.
32
Safety Belts

Ford Motor Company recommends that
all safety belt assemblies in use in vehicles
involved in a crash be replaced. However,
if the crash was minor and an authorized
dealer finds that the belts do not show
damage and continue to operate properly,
they do not need to be replaced. Safety
belt assemblies not in use during a crash
should also be inspected and replaced if
either damage or improper operation is
noted.
Properly care for safety belts. See Vehicle
Care (page 227).
33
Safety Belts

The Personal Safety System provides an
improved overall level of frontal crash
protection to front seat occupants and is
designed to help further reduce the risk of
airbag-related injuries. The system is able
to analyze different occupant conditions
and crash severity before activating the
appropriate safety devices to help better
protect a range of occupants in a variety
of frontal crash situations.
Your vehicle's Personal Safety System
consists of:
• Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag
supplemental restraints.
• Front outboard safety belts with
pretensioners, energy management
retractors (first row only), and safety
belt usage sensors.
• Driver’s seat position sensor.
• Front passenger sensing system.
• Passenger airbag off and on indicator
lamp.
• Front crash severity sensors.
• Restraints control module with impact
and safing sensors.
• Restraint system warning light and
backup tone.
• The electrical wiring for the airbags,
crash sensor(s), safety belt
pretensioners, front safety belt usage
sensors, driver seat position sensor,
front passenger sensing system, and
indicator lights.
How Does the Personal Safety
System Work?
The Personal Safety System can adapt the
deployment strategy of your vehicle’s
safety devices according to crash severity
and occupant conditions. A collection of
crash and occupant sensors provides
information to the restraints controlmodule. During a crash, the restraints
control module may activate the safety
belt pretensioners and may activate either
one or both stages of the dual-stage airbag
supplemental restraints based on crash
severity and occupant conditions.
34
Personal Safety System™

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 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.
Several airbag system components
get hot after inflation. Do not touch
them after inflation as this may result
in serious injury.
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 collision.
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.
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.
35
Supplementary Restraints System

SOS POST-CRASH ALERT
SYSTEM
The system flashes the turn signal lamps
and sounds the horn (intermittently) in the
event of a serious impact that deploys an
airbag (front, side, side curtain or Safety
Canopy) or the safety belt pretensioners.
The horn and lamps will turn off when:
• the hazard control button is pressed
• the panic button (if equipped) is
pressed on the remote entry
transmitter, or
• your vehicle runs out of power.
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.
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.
E151127
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 42).
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.
36
Supplementary Restraints System

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.
E142846
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 knee airbag is located under the
instrument panel. During a crash, the
restraints control module may activate the
driver's knee airbag based on crash severity
and occupant conditions. Under certain
crash and occupant conditions, the driver’s
knee airbag may deploy but the driver’s
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 airbag is
operating properly. See Crash
Sensors and Airbag Indicator
(page 42).
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 seatback 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.
37
Supplementary Restraints System