2015 FORD FLEX warning

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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2015 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2014
USA(fus)

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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2015 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2014
USA(fus)

FASTENING THE SAFETY BELTS
The front outboard and rear safety restraints in your vehicle are
combination lap and shoulder belts.
1. Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle (the buckle closest to
the direction the tongue is coming
from) until you hear a snap and feel
it latch. Make sure the tongue is
securely fastened in the buckle.
2. To unfasten, press the release
button and remove the tongue from
the buckle.
Using Safety Belts During Pregnancy
WARNING:Always ride and drive with your seatback upright
and the safety belt properly fastened. The lap portion of the
safety belt should fit snug and be positioned low across the hips. The
shoulder portion of the safety belt should be positioned across the
chest. Pregnant women should also follow this practice. See the
following figure.
40Safety Belts
2015 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2014
USA(fus)

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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2015 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2014
USA(fus)

Safety Belt Extension Assembly
WARNING:Do not use extensions to change the fit of the
shoulder belt across the torso.
WARNING:Do not use extensions with an inflatable safety belt.
Safety belt extensions are vehicle-specific. See an authorized dealer to
make sure you obtain the proper safety belt extension for your vehicle.
Use only extensions manufactured by the same supplier as the safety
belt. A safety belt extension is not available for the inflatable safety belt.
Also, use the safety belt extension only if the safety belt is too short for
you when fully extended.
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 properly could reduce the effectiveness of the safety belt
and increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Adjust the height of the shoulder belt so the belt rests across the middle
of your shoulder.
To adjust the shoulder belt height:
1. Squeeze the button and slide the
height adjuster up or down.
2. Release the button and pull down
on the height adjuster to make sure
it is locked in place.
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2015 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2014
USA(fus)

SAFETY BELT WARNING LIGHT 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
If... Then...
The driver safety belt is not
buckled before the ignition
switch is turned to the on
position...The safety belt warning light
illuminates 1-2 minutes and the
warning chime sounds 4-8 seconds.
The driver safety belt is
buckled while the indicator
light is illuminated and the
warning chime is sounding...The safety belt warning light and
warning chime turn off.
The driver safety belt is
buckled before the ignition
switch is turned to the on
position...The safety belt warning light and
indicator chime remain off.
SAFETY BELT-MINDER™
This feature supplements the safety belt warning function by providing
additional reminders that intermittently sound a tone and illuminate the
safety belt warning light when you are in the driver seat or you have a
front seat passenger and a 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 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.
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2015 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2014
USA(fus)

If... Then...
You and the front seat
passenger buckle your safety
belts before you switch the
ignition on or less than
1-2 minutes elapse after you
switch the ignition on...The Belt-Minder feature will not
activate.
You or the front seat passenger
do not buckle your safety belts
before your vehicle reaches at
least 6 mph (9.7 km/h) and
1-2 minutes elapse after you
switch the ignition...The Belt-Minder feature activates, the
safety belt warning light illuminates
and a warning tone sounds for
6 seconds every 25 seconds, repeating
for about 5 minutes or until you and
the front seat passenger buckle your
safety belts.
The driver or front passenger
safety belt becomes unbuckled
for about one minute while the
vehicle is traveling at least
6 mph (9.7 km/h) and more
than 1-2 minutes elapse after
you switch the ignition on...The Belt-Minder feature activates, the
safety belt warning light illuminates
and a warning tone sounds for
6 seconds every 25 seconds, repeating
for about 5 minutes or until you and
the front seat passenger buckle your
safety belts.
Deactivating and Activating the Belt-Minder Feature
WARNING:While the design allows you to deactivate your
Belt-Minder, this system is designed to improve your chances of
being safely belted and surviving an accident. We recommend you leave
the Belt-Minder system activated for yourself and others who may use
the vehicle. To reduce the risk of injury, do not deactivate or activate
the Belt-Minder feature while driving the vehicle.
Note:The driver and front passenger warnings switch on and off
independently. When you perform this procedure for one seating
position, do not buckle the other position as this will terminate the
process.
Note:If you are using MyKey, you cannot disable the Belt-Minder. Also,
if you have previously disabled the Belt-Minder, it will be re-enabled
during the use of MyKey. See theMyKeychapter.
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2015 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2014
USA(fus)

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.
46Safety Belts
2015 Flex(471)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, October 2014
USA(fus)