2015 FORD FLEX seats

PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
WARNING:Always drive and ride with your seatback upright
and the lap belt snug and low across the hips.
WARNING:Never let a passenger hold a child on his or her lap
while the vehicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the
child from injury in a crash, which may result in serious injury or death.
WARNING:To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
where they can be properly restrained.
WARNING:All occupants of the 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.
WARNING:Do not allow people to travel in any area of your
vehicle that does not have seats and safety belts. Riding in a
cargo area, inside or outside of the vehicle, is extremely dangerous. In a
crash, people riding in these areas are more likely to be seriously
injured or killed. Make sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and
using a safety belt correctly. Failure to follow this warning could result
in serious personal injury or death.
WARNING:In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
significantly more likely to die than a person wearing a safety
belt.
WARNING:Each seating position in your vehicle has a specific
safety belt assembly which is made up of one buckle and one
tongue that are designed to be used as a pair. 1) Use the shoulder belt
on the outside shoulder only. Never wear the shoulder belt under the
arm. 2) Never swing the safety belt around your neck over the inside
shoulder. 3) Never use a single belt for more than one person.
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WARNING:When possible, all children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in a rear seating position. Failure
to follow this could seriously increase the risk of injury or death.
WARNING:Safety belts and seats can become hot in a vehicle
that has been closed up in sunny weather; they could burn a
small child. Check seat covers and buckles before you place a child
anywhere near them.
WARNING:Front and rear seat occupants, including pregnant
women, should wear safety belts for optimum protection in an
accident.
All seating positions in this vehicle have lap and shoulder safety belts. All
occupants of the vehicle should always properly wear their safety belts,
even when an airbag supplemental restraint system is provided.
The safety belt system consists of:
•Lap and shoulder safety belts.
•Shoulder safety belt with automatic locking mode (except driver and
rear inflatable safety belt).
•Height adjuster at the front outboard seating positions.
•Safety belt pretensioner at the front outboard seating positions.
•Belt tension sensor at the front outboard passenger seating position.
•Safety belt warning light and chime. SeeSafety Belt
Warning Light and Indicator Chimelater in this chapter.
•Crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. SeeCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorin the
Supplemental Restraint Systemchapter.
The safety belt pretensioners and rear inflatable safety belts are designed
to activate in frontal, near-frontal and side crashes, and in rollovers. The
safety belt pretensioners at the front seating positions are designed to
tighten the safety belts firmly against the occupant’s body when
activated. This helps increase the effectiveness of the safety belts. In
frontal crashes, the safety belt pretensioners can be activated alone or, if
the crash is of sufficient severity, together with the front airbags.
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Pregnant women should always
wear their safety belts. The lap belt
portion of a combination lap and
shoulder belt should be positioned
low across the hips below the belly
and worn as tight as comfort will
allow. The shoulder belt should be
positioned to cross the middle of
the shoulder and the center of the
chest.
Safety Belt Locking Modes
WARNING:After any vehicle crash, the safety belt system at all
passenger seating positions must be checked by an authorized
dealer to verify that the automatic locking retractor feature for child
seats is still functioning properly. In addition, all safety belts should be
checked for proper function.
WARNING:The belt and retractor assembly must be replaced if
the safety belt assembly automatic locking retractor feature or
any other safety belt function is not operating properly when checked
by an authorized dealer. Failure to replace the belt and retractor
assembly could increase the risk of injury in crashes.
All safety restraints in the vehicle are combination lap and shoulder
belts. The driver safety belt has the first locking mode. The front
outboard passenger and rear seat safety belts have both types of locking
modes described as follows:
Vehicle Sensitive Mode
This is the normal retractor mode, which allows free shoulder or lap belt
length adjustment to your movements and locking in response to vehicle
movement. For example, if the driver brakes suddenly or turns a corner
sharply, or the vehicle receives an impact of about 5 mph (8 km/h) or
more, the combination safety belts will lock to help reduce forward
movement of the driver and passengers.
In addition, the retractor(s) is designed to lock if the webbing is pulled
out too quickly. If this occurs, let the belt retract slightly and pull
webbing out again in a slow and controlled manner.
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Read Steps1-5thoroughly before proceeding with the programming
procedure.
Before following the procedure, make sure that:
•The parking brake is set.
•The transmission is in park (P).
•The ignition is off.
•The driver and front passenger safety belts are unbuckled.
1. Switch the ignition on. Do not start the engine.
2. Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off (about one minute).
3. Wait 10 seconds after the safety belt warning light turns off.
•Once you complete Step 3, you must complete Step 4 within
20 seconds.
4. For the seating position you are switching off, buckle then unbuckle
the safety belt three times at a moderate speed, ending in the unbuckled
state.
•After Step 4, the safety belt warning light turns on for three seconds.
5. Within about seven seconds of the light turning off, buckle then
unbuckle the safety belt.
•This will switch the feature off for that seating position if it is
currently on.
•This will switch the feature on for that seating position if it is
currently off.
REAR INFLATABLE SAFETY BELT (IF EQUIPPED)
WARNING:Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the rear
inflatable safety belt as you could be seriously injured or killed.
Note:The rear inflatable safety belts are compatible with most infant
and child safety car seats and belt positioning booster seats when
properly installed. This is because they are designed to fill with a cool
gas at a lower pressure and at a slower rate than traditional airbags.
After inflation, the shoulder portion of the safety belt remains cool to the
touch.
The rear inflatable safety belts are located in the shoulder portion of the
safety belts of the second-row outboard seating positions.
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Stowing the Rear Inflatable Safety Belt
The rear inflatable safety belt has a snap retainer for stowing the safety
belt against the quarter trim panel when it is not in use. This will
prevent the safety belt tongue from rattling against the side of the seat
and keep it out of the way when folding or tumbling the second row
seats.
Press the retainer on the safety belt
onto the mating snap to stow. To
use the safety belt, pull it away
from the quarter trim panel.
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 seatback (if equipped), rear inflatable
safety belts (if equipped), child safety seat LATCH and tether anchors,
and attaching hardware, should be inspected after a crash. See the child
restraint manufacturer’s instructions for additional inspection and
maintenance information specific to the child restraint.
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.
For proper care of soiled safety belts, seeInteriorin theCleaning
chapter.
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Proper Driver and Front Passenger Seating Adjustment
WARNING:The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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. Properly seated
occupants sit upright, lean against the seat back, and center themselves
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.
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OccupantPassenger airbag
status indicatorPassenger airbag
ChildOFF: Lit
Disabled
ON: Unlit
AdultOFF: Unlit
Enabled
ON: Lit
Note:When the passenger airbag status indicator OFF lamp is
illuminated, the passenger side airbag (seat mounted) 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 seatback, 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.
If you think that the state of the passenger airbag status indicator lamp
is incorrect, check for the following:
•Objects lodged underneath the seat.
•Objects between the seat cushion and the center console.
•Objects hanging off the seatback.
•Objects stowed in the seatback map pocket.
•Objects placed on the occupant’s lap.
•Cargo interference with the seat.
•Other passengers pushing or pulling on the seat.
•Rear passenger feet and knees resting or pushing on the seat.
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 previous list.
Make sure the front passenger sensing system is operating
properly. SeeCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorlater in this
chapter.
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If the airbag readiness light is lit, do the following:
The driver and adult passengers should check for objects lodged
underneath the front passenger seat, or cargo interfering with the seat.
If there are lodged objects or cargo is interfering with the seat, take the
following steps to remove the obstruction:
•Pull the vehicle over.
•Turn the vehicle off.
•Driver and 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 light in
the instrument cluster is no longer illuminated.
•If the airbag readiness light in the instrument cluster 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.
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 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.
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 seatback.
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