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.
The Vehicle Personal Safety System consists
of:
•
Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag
supplemental restraints.
• Front seat outboard safety belts with
pretensioners, energy management
retractors and safety belt usage sensors.
• Driver 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
sensors, 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 the safety devices
according to crash severity and occupant
conditions. A collection of crash and
occupant sensors provides information to
the restraints control module. During a crash,
the restraints control module may deploy the
safety belt pretensioners, one or both stages
of the dual-stage airbags based on crash
severity and occupant conditions.
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™
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. WARNINGS
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. 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 crash. 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.
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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.
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. 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 55).
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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.
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. 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.
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.
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WARNINGS
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. 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 strongly
encouraged to always properly restrain
children in the rear seat. The sensor also
turns off the passenger front airbag and
seat-mounted side airbag when the
passenger seat is empty. •
When the front passenger sensing
system disables (will not inflate) the front
passenger frontal airbag, the passenger
airbag status indicator will illuminate the
OFF lamp and stay lit to remind you that
the front passenger frontal airbag is
disabled.
• If the child restraint has been installed
and the passenger airbag status indicator
illuminates the ON lamp, then turn the
vehicle off, remove the child restraint
from the vehicle and reinstall the restraint
following the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions.
The front passenger sensing system is
designed to enable (may inflate) the front
passenger's frontal airbag anytime the
system senses that a person of adult size is
sitting properly in the front passenger seat.
• When the front passenger sensing
system enables the front passenger
frontal airbag (may inflate), the passenger
airbag status indicator will illuminate the
ON lamp and remain illuminated.
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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.
Make sure the front passenger
sensing system is operating
properly. See Crash Sensors and
Airbag Indicator (page 55).
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 254). 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
prevent the deployment of the side airbags
and increase the risk of injury in an accident. Do not lean your head on the door. The
side airbag could injure you as it
deploys from the side of the seatback. Do not attempt to service, repair, or
modify the airbag, its fuses or the seat
cover on a seat containing an airbag as you
could be seriously injured or killed. Contact
your authorized dealer as soon as possible. WARNINGS
If the side airbag has deployed, the
airbag will not function again. The side
airbag system (including the seat) must be
inspected and serviced by an authorized
dealer. If the airbag is not replaced, the
unrepaired area will increase the risk of injury
in a crash. The side airbags are located on the outboard
side of the seatbacks of the front seats. In
certain sideways crashes, the airbag on the
side affected by the crash will be inflated.
The airbag was designed to inflate between
the door panel and occupant to further
enhance the protection provided occupants
in side impact crashes.
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The system consists of the following:
•
A label or embossed side panel
indicating that side airbags are fitted to
your vehicle.
• Side airbags located inside the driver and
front passenger seatbacks.
• Front passenger sensing system. ·Crash sensors and monitoring
system with readiness indicator.
See Crash Sensors and Airbag
Indicator (page 55).
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.
DRIVER 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
55). SAFETY CANOPY™ WARNINGS
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. Do not lean your head on the door. The
curtain airbag could injure you as it
deploys from the headliner. 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. 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.
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WARNINGS
To reduce risk of injury, do not obstruct
or place objects in the deployment
path of the curtain airbag. 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 the following:
•
Safety canopy curtain airbags located
above the trim panels over the front and
rear side windows identified by a label
or wording on the headliner or roof-pillar
trim.
• A flexible headliner which opens above
the side doors to allow air curtain
deployment •
The crash sensors and monitoring system
have a readiness indicator. See Crash
Sensors and Airbag Indicator (page 55). 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).
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