2023 FORD EXPLORER warning

Recommendations for Attaching Child Safety Restraints for Children
Use Any Attachment Method as Indicated Below by X
CombinedWeight ofChild andChildRestraint
RestraintType
SeatbeltOnlySeatbeltand LATCH(LowerAnchorsand TopTetherAnchor)
Seatbeltand TopTetherAnchor
LATCH(LowerAnchorsOnly)
LATCH(LowerAnchorsand TopTetherAnchor)
XXUp to 65 lb(29.5 kg)
Rear facingchildrestraint
XOver 65 lb(29.5 kg)
Rear facingchildrestraint
XXXUp to 65 lb(29.5 kg)
Forwardfacingchildrestraint
XXOver 65 lb(29.5 kg)
Forwardfacingchildrestraint
Note:The child restraint must rest tightlyagainst the vehicle seat upon which it isinstalled. It may be necessary to lift orremove the head restraint. See Seats (page144).
CHILD SAFETY LOCKS
WARNING: You cannot open therear doors from inside if you have put thechild safety locks on.
36
2023 Explorer (CTW) Canada/United States of America, enUSA, Edition date: 202209, First-PrintingChild Safety

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
WARNING: Always drive and ridewith your seatback upright and the lapbelt snug and low across the hips.
WARNING: Children must alwaysbe properly restrained.
WARNING: Do not allow apassenger to hold a child on their lapwhen your vehicle is moving. Failure tofollow this instruction could result inpersonal injury or death in the event of asudden stop or crash.
WARNING: All occupants of yourvehicle, including the driver, shouldalways properly wear their seatbelts,even when an airbag supplementalrestraint system is provided. Failure toproperly wear your seatbelt couldseriously increase the risk of injury ordeath.
WARNING: It is extremelydangerous to ride in a cargo area, insideor outside of a vehicle. In a crash, peopleriding in these areas are more likely to beseriously injured or killed. Do not allowpeople to ride in any area of your vehiclethat is not equipped with seats andseatbelts. Make sure everyone in yourvehicle is in a seat and properly using aseatbelt. Failure to follow this warningcould result in serious personal injury ordeath.
WARNING: In a rollover crash, anunbelted person is significantly morelikely to die than a person wearing aseatbelt.
WARNING: Each seating positionin your vehicle has a specific seatbeltassembly made up of one buckle andone tongue designed to be used as a pair.Use the shoulder belt on the outsideshoulder only. Never wear the shoulderbelt under the arm. Never use a singleseatbelt for more than one person.
WARNING: Even with advancedrestraints systems, properly restrainchildren 12 and under in a rear seatingposition. Failure to follow this couldseriously increase the risk of injury ordeath.
WARNING: Seatbelts and seatsmay be hot in a vehicle that is in thesunshine. The hot seatbelts or seats mayburn a small child. Check seat covers andbuckles before you place a childanywhere near them.
All seating positions in your vehicle havelap and shoulder seatbelts. All occupantsof the vehicle should always properly weartheir seatbelts, even when an airbagsupplemental restraint system is provided.
The seatbelt system consists of:
•Lap and shoulder seatbelts.
•Shoulder seatbelt with automaticlocking mode, (except driver seatbelt).
•Height adjuster at the front outermostseating positions.
•Seatbelt pretensioners at the frontoutermost and second row outermostseating positions.
•Belt tension sensor at the frontoutermost passenger seating position.
•Seatbelt warning light and chime.
38
2023 Explorer (CTW) Canada/United States of America, enUSA, Edition date: 202209, First-PrintingSeatbeltsE71880

•Crash sensors and monitoring systemwith readiness indicator.
The seatbelt pretensioners are designedto tighten the seatbelts when activated. Infrontal and near-frontal crashes, theseatbelt pretensioners may be activatedalone or, if the crash is of sufficient severity,together with the front airbags. Thepretensioners may also activate when aSafety Canopy airbag deploys.
FASTENING THE SEATBELTS
The front outboard and rear safetyrestraints in the vehicle are combinationlap and shoulder belts.
1.Insert the belt tongue into the properbuckle (the buckle closest to thedirection the tongue is coming from)until you hear a snap and feel it latch.Make sure that you securely fasten thetongue in the buckle.
2.To unfasten, press the release buttonand remove the tongue from thebuckle.
Using Seatbelts During Pregnancy
WARNING: Always ride and drivewith your seatback upright and properlyfasten your seatbelt. Fit the lap portionof the seatbelt snugly and low acrossthe hips. Position the shoulder portion ofthe seatbelt across your chest. Pregnantwomen must follow this practice. Seethe following figure.
39
2023 Explorer (CTW) Canada/United States of America, enUSA, Edition date: 202209, First-PrintingSeatbeltsE67017 E142587 E142588 E142590

Pregnant women should always wear theirseatbelt. Position the lap belt portion of acombination lap and shoulder belt lowacross the hips below the belly and wornas tight as comfort allows. Position theshoulder belt to cross the middle of theshoulder and the center of the chest.
Seatbelt Locking Modes
WARNING: If your vehicle isinvolved in a crash, have the seatbeltsand associated components inspectedas soon as possible. Failure to follow thisinstruction could result in personal injuryor death.
All safety restraints in the vehicle arecombination lap and shoulder belts. Thedriver seatbelt has the first type of lockingmode, and the front outboard passengerand rear seat seatbelts have both types oflocking modes described as follows:
Vehicle Sensitive Mode
This is the normal retractor mode, whichallows free shoulder belt lengthadjustment to your movements andlocking in response to vehicle movement.For example, if the driver brakes suddenlyor turns a corner sharply, or the vehiclereceives an impact of about 5 mph(8 km/h) or more, the combinationseatbelts lock to help reduce forwardmovement of the driver and passengers.
In addition, the design of the retractor is tolock if you pull the webbing out too quickly.If the seatbelt retractor locks, slowly lowerthe height adjuster to allow the seatbeltto retract. If the retractor does not unlock,pull the seatbelt out slowly then feed a
small length of webbing back toward thestowed position. For rear seatbelts, reclinethe rear seat backrest or push the seatbackrest cushion away from the seatbelt.Feed a small length of webbing backtoward the stowed position.
Automatic Locking Mode
In this mode, the shoulder beltautomatically pre-locks. The belt retractsto remove any slack in the shoulder belt.The automatic locking mode is notavailable on the driver seatbelt.
When to Use the Automatic LockingMode
Use this mode any time you install a childsafety seat, except a booster, in passengerfront or rear seating positions. Properlyrestrain children 12 years old and under ina rear seating position whenever possible.See Child Safety (page 23).
How to Use the Automatic LockingMode
1.Buckle the combination lap andshoulder belt.
2.Grasp the shoulder portion and pulldownward until you pull the entire beltout. Allow the belt to retract. As thebelt retracts, you will hear a clickingsound. This indicates the seatbelt isnow in the automatic locking mode.
40
2023 Explorer (CTW) Canada/United States of America, enUSA, Edition date: 202209, First-PrintingSeatbeltsE142591

How to Disengage the AutomaticLocking Mode
Unbuckle the combination lap andshoulder belt and allow it to retractcompletely to disengage the automaticlocking mode and turn on the vehiclesensitive (emergency) locking mode.
SEATBELT HEIGHT
ADJUSTMENT
WARNING: Position the seatbeltheight adjuster so that the seatbelt restsacross the middle of your shoulder.Failure to adjust the seatbelt correctlycould reduce its effectiveness andincrease the risk of injury in a crash.
1.Adjust the height of the shoulder beltso the belt rests across the middle ofyour shoulder.
2.Slide the adjuster up to raise the belt.Press the button and slide it down tolower the belt.
SEATBELT WARNING LAMP
AND INDICATOR CHIME
This lamp illuminates and anindicator chime will sound if thedriver seatbelt has not beenfastened when the vehicle's ignition isturned on.
Conditions of operation
ThenIf
The seatbelt warning lamp illuminates andthe indicator chime sounds for a fewseconds.
The driver seatbelt is not buckled beforethe ignition switch is turned to the on posi-tion...
The seatbelt warning lamp and indicatorchime turn off.The driver seatbelt is buckled while thewarning lamp is illuminated and the indic-ator chime is sounding...
The seatbelt warning lamp and indicatorchime remain off.The driver seatbelt is buckled before theignition switch is turned to the on position...
41
2023 Explorer (CTW) Canada/United States of America, enUSA, Edition date: 202209, First-PrintingSeatbeltsE201573 E71880

SEATBELT REMINDER
WARNING: The system will onlyprovide protection when you use theseatbelt correctly.
This system monitors all seating positionsand provides audio and graphic feedback.
This lamp illuminates and awarning tone sounds if you donot fasten your seatbelt whenyou switch the ignition on. The lamp andtone switch off when you fasten yourseatbelt or about one minute has elapsed.
When the initial warning expires for thedriver, more warnings are provided for thedriver and front outermost passenger. Thislamp illuminates and a warning tonesounds if you or your front passenger donot fasten the seatbelt buckle and thevehicle speed exceeds 6 mph (9.7 km/h).To deactivate the warning, seeDeactivating and Activating theBelt-Minder Feature.
Note:To avoid inadvertent warnings, donot place large objects on the frontpassenger seat.
This lamp illuminates when youswitch the ignition on, identifyingthe number of seating positionswith fastened buckles. It illuminates againwhen a seating position changes fromunfastened to fastened.
This warning displays and a tone soundsif an occupant unfastens the rear seatbeltbuckle or it becomes unfastened.
Note:If a rear seat is unoccupied, or anoccupant never fastens the seatbelt buckleto begin with, the warning will not display.
Note:Front seating positions appear in thiswarning display. Warnings for unfastenedfront seatbelt buckles appear in the initialwarning lamp.
Seatbelt Status
To view the seatbelt status, use theinformation display controls on thesteering wheel. See General Information(page 115).
42
2023 Explorer (CTW) Canada/United States of America, enUSA, Edition date: 202209, First-PrintingSeatbeltsE71880 E206718 E274569 E274570

Seatbelt fastened.A
Seatbelt not fastened.B
Seatbelt recently unfastened.C
FaultD
Deactivating and Activating theBelt-Minder Feature - Front outermostseats only
WARNING: While the systemallows you to deactivate it, this systemis designed to improve your chances ofbeing safely belted and surviving anaccident. We recommend you leave thesystem activated for yourself and otherswho may use the vehicle.
Note:The driver and front passengerwarnings switch on and off independently.When you perform this procedure for oneseating position, do not buckle the otherposition as this terminates the process.
Read Steps 1 - 4 before starting theprocedure.
Make sure that:
•You set the parking brake.
•The transmission is in park (P).
•The ignition is off.
•You close all vehicle doors.
•You unbuckle the driver and frontpassenger seatbelts.
1.Switch the ignition on. Do not start theengine.
2.Wait until the seatbelt warning lampturns off (about one minute). AfterStep 2, wait an additional five secondsbefore proceeding with Step 3. Onceyou start Step 3, you must completethe procedure within 60 seconds.
3.For the seating position you areswitching off, buckle then unbuckle theseatbelt three times at a moderatespeed, ending in the unbuckled state.After Step 3, the seatbelt warning lampturns on.
4.When the seatbelt warning lamp is on,buckle then unbuckle the seatbelt.After Step 4, the seatbelt warning lampflashes for confirmation.
•This switches the feature off if it iscurrently on.
•This switches the feature on if it iscurrently off.
CHILD RESTRAINT AND
SEATBELT MAINTENANCE
Inspect the vehicle seatbelts and childsafety seat systems periodically to makesure they work properly and are notdamaged. Inspect the vehicle and childrestraint seatbelts to make sure there areno nicks, tears or cuts. Replace ifnecessary. All vehicle seatbelt assemblies,including retractors, buckles, front seatbeltbuckle assemblies, buckle supportassemblies (slide bar-if equipped),shoulder belt height adjusters (ifequipped), shoulder belt guide on seatbackrest (if equipped), child safety seatLATCH and tether anchors, and attachinghardware, should be inspected after acrash. Read the child restraintmanufacturer's instructions for additionalinspection and maintenance informationspecific to the child restraint.
43
2023 Explorer (CTW) Canada/United States of America, enUSA, Edition date: 202209, First-PrintingSeatbeltsE274703

We recommend that all seatbeltassemblies in use in vehicles involved in acrash be replaced. However, if the crashwas minor and an authorized dealer findsthat the belts do not show damage andcontinue to operate properly, they do notneed to be replaced. Seatbelt assembliesnot in use during a crash should also beinspected and replaced if either damageor improper operation is noted.
Properly care for seatbelts. See VehicleCare (page 339).
SEATBELT EXTENSIONS
WARNING: Persons who fit intothe vehicle's seatbelt should not use anextension. Unnecessary use could resultin serious personal injury in the event ofa crash.
WARNING: Only use extensionsprovided free of charge by our dealers.The dealer will provide an extensiondesigned specifically for this vehicle,model year and seating position. The useof an extension intended for anothervehicle, model year or seating positionmay not offer you the full protection ofyour vehicle's seatbelt restraint system.
WARNING: Never use seatbeltextensions to install child restraints.
WARNING: Do not use extensionsto change the way the seatbelt fitsacross the torso, over the lap or to makethe seatbelt buckle easier to reach.
If, because of body size or driving position,it is not possible to properly fasten theseatbelt over your lap and shoulder, anextension that is compatible with theseatbelts is available free of charge fromour dealers. Only use our seatbeltextensions made by the original equipmentseatbelt manufacturer with our seatbelts.Ask your authorized dealer if your extensionis compatible with your vehicle restraintsystem.
44
2023 Explorer (CTW) Canada/United States of America, enUSA, Edition date: 202209, First-PrintingSeatbelts