
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.
E151849
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
45
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 248).
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 prev ent the
deployment of the side airbags and
increase the risk of injury in an
accident.
47
Supplementary Restraints System

The fact that the safety belt
pretensioners or front 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 (crash severity, belt usage)
were not appropriate to activate these
safety devices.
• The design of the front airbags isto activate only in frontal and
near-frontal crashes (not rollovers,
side impacts or rear impacts)
unless the crash causes sufficient
frontal deceleration.
• The safety belt pretensioners and optional rear inflatable safety belts
are designed to activate in frontal,
near-frontal and side crashes.
• The knee airbag(s) may deploy based on crash severity and
occupant conditions.
• The design of the side airbags and side curtain airbags is to inflate in
certain side impact crashes. Side
airbags and side curtain airbags
may activate in other types of
crashes if the vehicle experiences
sufficient sideways motion or
deformation.
AIRBAG DISPOSAL
Contact your authorized dealer as
soon as possible. Airbags must be
disposed of by qualified personnel.
51
Supplementary Restraints System

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 the headlights of an
approaching vehicle, the tail lamps of
the preceding vehicle or street lighting,
the system will turn off the high
beams before they distract other
drivers. The low beams remain on.
Note:If it appears that automatic
control of the high beams is not
functioning properly, check the
windshield in front of the camera for a
blockage. A clear view of the road is
required for proper system operation.
Have any windshield damage in the
area of the camera’s field-of-view
repaired.
Note: If the system detects a blockage
such as bird droppings, bug splatter,
snow or ice, and you do not observe
changes, the system will go into low
beam mode until you clear the
blockage. 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 performance
of the automatic high beam system .
However, in cold or inclement weather
conditions, you will notice a decrease
in the availability of the high beam
system, especially at start up. If you
want to change the beam state
independently of the system, you may
switch the high beams on or off using
the multifunction switch. Automatic
control will resume when conditions
are correct.
Note: Modification of the vehicle ride
height such as using much larger tires,
may degrade feature performance.
A camera sensor, centrally mounted
behind the windshield of your vehicle,
continuously monitors 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
• there is no traffic in front of the vehicle
• the vehicle speed is greater than 25 mph (40 km/h)
The high beams will switch off if:
• the system detects the headlamps of an approaching vehicle or the
tail lamps of a preceding vehicle.
• vehicle speed falls below 16 mph (25 km/h)
• the ambient light level is high enough that high beams are not
required
84
Lighting

A/C: Press the button to turn on or turn off the air conditioning system.
To improve air conditioning when starting your vehicle, drive with the
windows slightly open for two to three minutes. Use A/C with
recirculated air to improve cooling performance and efficiency.
F
MAX A/C: Press the button to switch on. Recirculated air flows through
the instrument panel air vents, air conditioning automatically adjusts
to the highest speed and the temperature dial returns to the full cool
position. This re-cooling of the interior is more economical and efficient.
G
AUTO: Press the button to switch on. Recirculated air flows through
the instrument panel air vents, air conditioning automatically adjusts
to the highest speed and the temperature dial returns to the full cool
position. This re-cooling of the interior is more economical and efficient.
H
Heated rear window: Turns the heated rear window on and off. See
Heated Windows and Mirrors (page 130).
I
Defrost: Distributes air through the windshield defroster vents and
de-mister vents. You can also use this setting to defog and clear the
windshield of a thin covering of ice.
J
HINTS ON CONTROLLING
THE INTERIOR CLIMATE
General Hints
Note:
Prolonged use of recirculated
air may cause the windows to fog up.
Note: You may feel a small amount of
air from the footwell air vents
regardless of the air distribution setting.
Note: To reduce humidity build-up
inside your vehicle, do not drive with
the system switched off or with
recirculated air always switched on.
Note: Do not place objects under the
front seats as this may interfere with
the airflow to the rear seats. Note:
Remove any snow, ice or leaves
from the air intake area at the base of
the windshield.
Automatic Climate Control
Note: Do not adjust the settings when
your vehicle interior is extremely hot or
cold. The system automatically adjusts
to the previously stored settings. For
the system to function efficiently, the
instrument panel and side air vents
should be fully open.
Note: At low ambient temperatures
with AUTO selected, the system directs
air toward the windshield and side
windows for as long as the engine
remains cold.
Note: When you switch the system off,
outside air cannot enter your vehicle.
129
Climate Control

Note:When the system is in AUTO
mode, and the interior and exterior
temperatures are high, the system
automatically selects recirculated air
to maximize cooling of the interior.
When the system reaches the selected
air temperature, it automatically
switches to outside air.
Note: When you select windshield
defrosting and defogging, the
instrument panel and footwell level
functions automatically switch off and
air conditioning switches on. Outside
air flows into your vehicle.
Heating the Interior Quickly
1. Press the AUTO button.
2. Adjust the temperature control to the desired setting.
Recommended Settings for
Heating
1. Press the AUTO button.
2. Adjust the temperature control toa comfortable setting.
Cooling the Interior Quickly
1. Press the MAX A/C button.
2. Adjust the temperature control tothe desired setting.
Recommended Settings for
Cooling
1. Press the AUTO button.
2. Adjust the temperature to acomfortable setting.
Side Window Defogging in Cold
Weather
1. Press the defrost button.
2. Adjust the temperature control tothe desired setting.
HEATED WINDOWS AND
MIRRORS
Heated Rear Window
Note: You must switch the ignition on
to use this feature.
Press the button to clear the rear
window of thin ice and fog. Press the
button again within 10 minutes to
switch it off. It switches off
automatically after 10 minutes, or
when you switch the ignition off.
Do not use razor blades or other
sharp objects to clean the inside
of the rear window or to remove
decals from the inside of the rear
window. This may cause damage
to the heated grid lines, which your
warranty does not cover.
Heated Exterior Mirror
Note: Do not remove ice from the
mirrors with a scraper or attempt to
readjust the mirror glass if it has frozen
in place. These actions could cause
damage to the glass and mirrors.
Note: Do not clean the housing or
glass of any mirror with harsh
abrasives, fuel or other
petroleum-based cleaning products.
130
Climate Control

USING ALL-WHEEL DRIVE
All-wheel drive uses all four wheels
to power the vehicle. This increases
traction, enabling you to drive over
terrain and road conditions that a
conventional two-wheel drive vehicle
cannot. The AWD system is active all
the time and requires no input from
the operator.
Note:Your AWD vehicle is not
intended for off-road use. The AWD
feature gives your vehicle some limited
off-road capabilities in which driving
surfaces are relatively level,
obstruction-free and otherwise similar
to normal on-road driving conditions.
Operating your vehicle under other than
those conditions could subject the
vehicle to excessive stress which might
result in damage which is not covered
under your warranty.
Note: A warning message will be
displayed in the information display
when an AWD system fault is present
See Information Messages (page 106).
An AWD system fault will cause the
AWD system to default to front-wheel
drive only mode. When this warning
message is displayed, have your vehicle
serviced at an authorized dealer Note:
A warning message will be
displayed in the information display if
the AWD system has overheated See
Information Messages (page 106).
This condition may occur if the vehicle
was operated in extreme conditions
with excessive wheel slip, such as deep
sand. To resume normal AWD function
as soon as possible, stop the vehicle in
a safe location and stop the engine for
at least 10 minutes. After the engine
has been restarted and the AWD
system has adequately cooled, the
warning message will turn off and
normal AWD function will return.
Do not use a spare tire of a different
size other than the tire provided. If the
mini-spare tire is installed, the AWD
system may disable automatically
and enter front-wheel drive only mode
to protect driveline components. This
condition will be indicated by a
warning in the information display
See Information Messages (page
106). If there is a warning message in
the information display from using the
spare tire, this indicator should turn
off after reinstalling the repaired or
replaced normal road tire and cycling
the ignition off and on. It is
recommended to reinstall the repaired
or replaced road tire as soon as
possible. Major dissimilar tire sizes
between the front and rear axles
could cause the AWD system to stop
functioning and default to front-wheel
drive or damage the AWD system.
173
All-Wheel Drive (If Equipped)

Note:Excessive tire slippage can
cause driveline damage.
AWD vehicles have advantages over
2WD vehicles in snow and ice but can
skid like any other vehicle.
Should you start to slide while driving
on snowy or icy roads, turn the
steering wheel in the direction of the
slide until you regain control.
Avoid sudden applications of power
and quick changes of direction on
snow and ice. Apply the accelerator
slowly and steadily when starting
from a full stop.
Avoid sudden braking as well.
Although an AWD vehicle may
accelerate better than a two-wheel
drive vehicle in snow and ice, it won’t
stop any faster, because as in other
vehicles, braking occurs at all four
wheels. Do not become overconfident
as to road conditions.
Make sure you allow sufficient
distance between you and other
vehicles for stopping. Drive slower
than usual and consider using one of
the lower gears. In emergency
stopping situations, apply the brake
steadily. Since your vehicle is
equipped with a four wheel (ABS), do
not “pump” the brakes. See Hints on
Driving With Anti-Lock Brakes
(page 180). for more information on
the operation of the anti-lock brake
system (ABS). Maintenance and Modifications
The suspension and steering systems
on your vehicle have been designed
and tested to provide predictable
performance whether loaded or
empty and durable load carrying
capability. For this reason, Ford Motor
Company strongly recommends that
you do not make modifications such
as adding or removing parts (such as
lowering kits or stabilizer bars) or by
using replacement parts not
equivalent to the original factory
equipment.
Any modifications to a vehicle that
raise the center of gravity can make it
more likely the vehicle will rollover as
a result of a loss of control. Ford Motor
Company recommends that caution
be used with any vehicle equipped
with a high load or device (such as
ladder or luggage racks).
Failure to maintain your vehicle
properly may void the warranty,
increase your repair cost, reduce
vehicle performance and operational
capabilities and adversely affect driver
and passenger safety. Frequent
inspection of vehicle chassis
components is recommended if the
vehicle is subjected to off-highway
usage.
178
All-Wheel Drive (If Equipped)