2014 FORD TAURUS sensor

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.
SAFETY CANOPY® CURTAIN AIRBAGS
WARNING:Do not place objects or mount equipment on or near
the headliner at the siderail that may come into contact with a
deploying curtain airbag. Failure to follow these instructions may
increase the risk of personal injury in the event of a crash.
WARNING:Do not lean your head on the door. The curtain
airbag could injure you as it deploys from the headliner.
WARNING:Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the
curtain airbags, its fuses, the A, B, or C pillar trim, or the
headliner on a vehicle containing curtain airbags, as you could be
seriously injured or killed. Contact your authorized dealer as soon as
possible.
52Supplementary Restraints System
2014 Taurus
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, April 2013
USA(fus)

WARNING:All occupants of your vehicle including the driver
should always wear their safety belts even when an airbag
supplemental restraint system and curtain airbag is provided. Failure to
properly wear your safety belt could seriously increase the risk of injury
or death.
WARNING:To reduce risk of injury, do not obstruct or place
objects in the deployment path of the curtain airbag.
WARNING:If the curtain airbags have deployed, the curtain
airbags will not function again. The curtain airbags (including the
A, B and C pillar trim and headliner) must be inspected and serviced
by an authorized dealer. If the curtain airbag is not replaced, the
unrepaired area will increase the risk of injury in a crash.
The Safety Canopy will deploy during significant side crashes or when a
certain likelihood of a rollover event is detected by the rollover sensor.
The Safety Canopy is mounted to the roof side-rail sheet metal, behind
the headliner, above each row of seats. In certain sideways crashes or
rollover events, the Safety Canopy will be activated, regardless of which
seats are occupied. The Safety Canopy is designed to inflate between the
side window area and occupants to further enhance protection provided
in side impact crashes and rollover events.
The system consists of:
•safety canopy curtain airbags
located above the trim panels
over the front and rear side
windows identified by wording on
the B-pillar trim.
•a flexible headliner which opens above the side doors to allow air
curtain deployment.
•crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. SeeCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorin this
chapter.
Supplementary Restraints System53
2014 Taurus
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, April 2013
USA(fus)

Children 12 years old and under should always be properly restrained in
the rear seats. The Safety Canopy 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.
The design and development of the Safety Canopy 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 (including the Safety
Canopy).
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.
54Supplementary Restraints System
2014 Taurus
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, April 2013
USA(fus)

The safety belt pretensioners and the airbag supplemental restraint
system are designed to activate when the vehicle sustains frontal or
sideways 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.
•The design of the front airbags is to activate only in frontal and
near-frontal crashes (not rollovers, side impacts or rear impacts)
unless the crash causes sufficient frontal deceleration.
•The design of the safety belt pretensioners is to activate in frontal,
near-frontal and side crashes, and in rollovers.
•The design of the side airbags is to inflate in certain side impact
crashes. Side airbags may activate in other types of crashes if the
vehicle experiences sufficient sideways motion or deformation.
•The design of the Safety Canopy is to inflate in certain side impact
crashes or rollover events. The Safety Canopy may activate in other
types of crashes if the vehicle experiences sufficient sideways motion
or deformation, or a certain likelihood of rollover.
AIRBAG DISPOSAL
Contact your authorized dealer as soon as possible. Airbags must be
disposed of by qualified personnel.
Supplementary Restraints System55
2014 Taurus
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, April 2013
USA(fus)

Note:If any door or the luggage compartment is open, or if the hood is
open on vehicles with an anti-theft alarm or remote start, the horn
sounds twice and the lamps will not flash.
Opening the Trunk
Press the button twice within three seconds to open the trunk.
Make sure to close and latch the trunk before driving your vehicle.
An unlatched trunk may cause objects to fall out or block your view.
Activating Intelligent Access (If Equipped)
The intelligent access key must be within 3 feet (1 meter) of your
vehicle.
At the Front Doors
Pull a front exterior door handle to unlock and open the door.
Press and hold the door handle lock
sensor to lock your vehicle. To avoid
unlocking the door inadvertently,
make sure to only touch the lock
sensor and not other areas of the
door handle.
Note:Keep the door handle surface clean to avoid issues with operation.
At the Trunk
Press the exterior trunk release button hidden near the license plate.
Smart Unlocks for Integrated Keyhead Transmitter
This feature helps to prevent you from locking yourself out of your
vehicle if your key is still in the ignition.
When you open one of the front doors and lock your vehicle with the
power door lock control, all the doors will lock then unlock if your key is
still in the ignition.
You can still lock your vehicle with the key in the ignition. To do this,
use the keyless entry keypad with the driver door closed, or press the
lock button on the transmitter even if the doors are not closed.
If both front doors are closed, you can lock your vehicle by any method,
regardless of whether the key is in the ignition or not.
Locks69
2014 Taurus
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, April 2013
USA(fus)

WINDSHIELD WIPERS
Note:Fully defrost the windshield before switching on the windshield
wipers.
Note:Make sure the windshield wipers are switched off before entering
a car wash.
Note:Clean the windshield and wiper blades if they begin to leave
streaks or smears. If that does not resolve the issue, install new wiper
blades.
Note:Do not operate the wipers on a dry windshield. This may scratch
the glass, damage the wiper blades or cause the wiper motor to burn out.
Always use the windshield washers before wiping a dry windshield.
Rotate the end of the control away
from you to increase the speed of
the wipers. Rotate toward you to
decrease the speed of the wipers.
RAIN-SENSING WIPERS (IF EQUIPPED)
Note:Wet road conditions may result in inconsistent or unexpected
wiping or smearing. Lower the sensitivity, switch to normal or high-speed
wiping or turn the wipers off to reduce smearing.
Note:Turn off the wipers before entering a car wash.
Use the rotary control to adjust the
sensitivity to one of the interval
moisture settings. The wipers will
not cycle until moisture is detected
on the windshield. The wiper speed
will vary based on the amount of
moisture detected on the windshield
and the sensitivity setting. The
wipers will continue to wipe as long as moisture is detected.
Keep the outside of the windshield clean, especially the area around the
interior mirror where the sensor is located, or sensor performance may
be affected.
Wipers and Washers87
2014 Taurus
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, April 2013
USA(fus)

AUTOMATIC HIGH BEAM CONTROL (IF EQUIPPED)
The system will automatically turn on your high beams if it is dark
enough and no other traffic is present. When it detects an approaching
vehicle’s headlights, a preceding vehicle’s tail lamps or street lighting, the
system will turn off the high beams (low beams remain on) before they
distract other drivers.
Note:If it appears that automatic control of the high beams is not
functioning properly, check the windshield in front of the camera for
blockage. A clear view of the road is required for proper system
operation. Any windshield damage in the area of the camera field-of-view
should be repaired.
Note:If a blockage is detected (e.g. bird dropping, bug splatter, snow, or
ice) and no changes are observed, the system will go into low beam
mode until the blockage is cleared. A message may also appear in the
instrument cluster display noting the front camera is blocked.
Note:Typical road dust, dirt and water spots will not affect the
automatic high beam system’s performance. However, in cold or
inclement weather conditions, the automatic high beam system’s
availability may be decreased. If the driver wants to change the beam
state independently of the system, the driver may turn the high beams
on or off using the multifunction switch stalk. Automatic control will
resume when conditions are correct.
Note:Modification of the vehicle ride height (e.g. using much larger
tires) may degrade feature performance.
A camera sensor is centrally mounted behind the windshield of the
vehicle, and monitors the conditions to decide when to switch the high
beams off and on.
Once the system is active the high beams will switch on if:
•The ambient light level is low enough that high beams are needed.
•There is no traffic in front of the vehicle.
•Vehicle speed is greater than 25 mph (40 km/h).
•Severe weather is not detected.
92Lighting
2014 Taurus
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, April 2013
USA(fus)

INTERIOR MIRROR
WARNING:Do not adjust the mirror when your vehicle is
moving.
Note:Do not clean the housing or glass of any mirror with harsh
abrasives, fuel or other petroleum or ammonia based cleaning products.
You can adjust the interior mirror to your preference. Some mirrors also
have a second pivot point. This lets you move the mirror head up or
down and from side to side.
Pull the tab below the mirror toward you to reduce glare at night.
Auto-Dimming Mirror (If Equipped)
Note:Do not block the sensors on the front and back of the mirror.
Mirror performance may be affected. A rear center passenger or raised
rear center head restraint may also block light from reaching the sensor.
The mirror will dim automatically to reduce glare when bright lights are
detected from behind your vehicle. It will automatically return to normal
reflection when you select reverse gear to make sure you have a clear
view when backing up.
SUN VISORS
Slide-On-Rod
Rotate the visor toward the side
window and extend it rearward for
extra sunlight coverage.
Retract the visor before moving it
back toward the windshield and
storing it.
100Windows and Mirrors
2014 Taurus
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, April 2013
USA(fus)