2023 LINCOLN AVIATOR Owners Manual

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
WARNING: Always drive and ride
with your seatback upright and the lap belt
snug and low across the hips.
WARNING: Children must always be
properly restrained.
WARNING: Do not allow a passenger
to hold a child on their lap when your
vehicle is moving. Failure to follow this
instruction could result in personal injury
or death in the event of a sudden stop or
crash.
WARNING: All occupants of your
vehicle, including the driver, should always
properly wear their seatbelts, even when
an airbag supplemental restraint system is
provided. Failure to properly wear your
seatbelt could seriously increase the risk
of injury or death.
WARNING: It is extremely dangerous
to ride in a cargo area, inside or outside of
a vehicle. In a crash, people riding in these
areas are more likely to be seriously
injured or killed. Do not allow people to
ride in any area of your vehicle that is not
equipped with seats and seatbelts. Make
sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat
and properly using a seatbelt. 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 seatbelt.
WARNING: Each seating position in
your vehicle has a specific seatbelt
assembly made up of one buckle and one
tongue designed to be used as a pair. Use
the shoulder belt on the outside shoulder
only. Never wear the shoulder belt under
the arm. Never use a single seatbelt for
more than one person.
WARNING: Even with advanced
restraints systems, properly restrain
children 12 and under in a rear seating
position. Failure to follow this could
seriously increase the risk of injury or
death.
WARNING: Seatbelts and seats may
be hot in a vehicle that is in the sunshine.
The hot seatbelts or seats may burn a small
child. Check seat covers and buckles
before you place a child anywhere near
them.
All seating positions in your vehicle have lap
and shoulder seatbelts. All occupants of the
vehicle should always properly wear their
seatbelts, even when an airbag supplemental
restraint system is provided.
The seatbelt system consists of:
• Lap and shoulder seatbelts.
• Shoulder seatbelt with automatic locking
mode, (except driver seatbelt).
• Height adjuster at the front outermost
seating positions.
46
Seatbelts

• Seatbelt pretensioners at the front
outermost and second row outermost
seating positions.
• Belt tension sensor at the front outermost
passenger seating position.
E71880€ Seatbelt warning light and chime.
E67017€ Crash sensors and monitoring system
with readiness indicator.
The seatbelt pretensioners are designed to
tighten the seatbelts when activated. In
frontal and near-frontal crashes, the seatbelt
pretensioners may be activated alone or, if
the crash is of sufficient severity, together
with the front airbags. The pretensioners may
also activate when a Safety Canopy airbag
deploys.
FASTENING THE SEATBELTS
The front outboard and rear safety restraints
in the 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 that
you securely fasten the tongue in the
buckle.
2. To unfasten, press the release button
and remove the tongue from the buckle.
Using Seatbelts During Pregnancy
WARNING: Always ride and drive
with your seatback upright and properly
fasten your seatbelt. Fit the lap portion of
the seatbelt snugly and low across the
hips. Position the shoulder portion of the
seatbelt across your chest. Pregnant
women must follow this practice. See the
following figure.
47
Seatbelts

E1422590
Pregnant women should always wear their
seatbelt. Position the lap belt portion of a
combination lap and shoulder belt low across
the hips below the belly and worn as tight
as comfort allows. Position the shoulder belt
to cross the middle of the shoulder and the
center of the chest.
Seatbelt Locking Modes
WARNING: If your vehicle is involved
in a crash, have the seatbelts and
associated components inspected as soon
as possible. Failure to follow this instruction
could result in personal injury or death.All safety restraints in the vehicle are
combination lap and shoulder belts. The
driver seatbelt has the first type of locking
mode, and the front outboard passenger and
rear seat seatbelts have both types of locking
modes described as follows:
Vehicle Sensitive Mode
This is the normal retractor mode, which
allows free shoulder 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 seatbelts lock to help reduce
forward movement of the driver and
passengers.
In addition, the design of the retractor is to
lock if you pull the webbing out too quickly.
If the seatbelt retractor locks, slowly lower
the height adjuster to allow the seatbelt to
retract. If the retractor does not unlock, pull
the seatbelt out slowly then feed a smalllength of webbing back toward the stowed
position. For rear seatbelts, recline the rear
seat backrest or push the seat backrest
cushion away from the seatbelt. Feed a small
length of webbing back toward the stowed
position.
Automatic Locking Mode
In this mode, the shoulder belt automatically
pre-locks. The belt retracts to remove any
slack in the shoulder belt. The automatic
locking mode is not available on the driver
seatbelt.
When to Use the Automatic Locking Mode
Use this mode any time you install a child
safety seat, except a booster, in passenger
front or rear seating positions. Properly
restrain children 12 years old and under in a
rear seating position whenever possible.
See Child Safety (page 27).
48
Seatbelts

How to Use the Automatic Locking Mode
E142591E142591
1. Buckle the combination lap and shoulder
belt.
2. Grasp the shoulder portion and pull
downward until you pull the entire belt
out. Allow the belt to retract. As the belt
retracts, you will hear a clicking sound.
This indicates the seatbelt is now in the
automatic locking mode.How to Disengage the Automatic Locking
Mode
Unbuckle the combination lap and shoulder
belt and allow it to retract completely to
disengage the automatic locking mode and
turn on the vehicle sensitive (emergency)
locking mode.
SEATBELT HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT
WARNING: Position the seatbelt
height adjuster so that the seatbelt rests
across the middle of your shoulder. Failure
to adjust the seatbelt correctly could
reduce its effectiveness and increase the
risk of injury in a crash.
E201573E201E201E201E20EE201E2012E201E201E201EE2E201E201E201201220120120100EEEEE2E201E201257375735735735735735735735573775735735735733573573573573573573
1. Adjust the height of the shoulder belt so
the belt rests across the middle of your
shoulder.
2. Slide the adjuster up to raise the belt.
Press the button and slide it down to
lower the belt.
SEATBELT WARNING LAMP AND
INDICATOR CHIME
E71880
This lamp illuminates and an
indicator chime will sound if the
driver seatbelt has not been
fastened when the vehicle's ignition is turned
on.
49
Seatbelts

Conditions of operation
Then If
The seatbelt warning lamp illuminates and the indicator chime sounds
for a few seconds. The driver seatbelt is not buckled before the ignition switch is turned
to the on position...
The seatbelt warning lamp and indicator chime turn off. The driver seatbelt is buckled while the warning lamp is illuminated
and the indicator chime is sounding...
The seatbelt warning lamp and indicator chime remain off. The driver seatbelt is buckled before the ignition switch is turned to
the on position...
SEATBELT REMINDER
WARNING: The system will only
provide protection when you use the
seatbelt correctly.
This system monitors all seating positions
and provides audio and graphic feedback.
E71880
This lamp illuminates and a
warning tone sounds if you do not
fasten your seatbelt when you
switch the ignition on. The lamp and tone
switch off when you fasten your seatbelt or
about one minute has elapsed.
When the initial warning expires for the
driver, more warnings are provided for the
driver and front outermost passenger. This
lamp illuminates and a warning tone sounds
if you or your front passenger do not fasten
the seatbelt buckle and the vehicle speed
exceeds 6 mph (9.7 km/h). To deactivate the
warning, see Deactivating and Activating the
Belt-Minder Feature.Note:To avoid inadvertent warnings, do not
place large objects on the front passenger
seat.
E206718
This lamp illuminates when you
switch the ignition on, identifying
the number of seating positions
with fastened buckles. It illuminates again
when a seating position changes from
unfastened to fastened.
50
Seatbelts

E274569E274569
This warning displays and a tone sounds if
an occupant unfastens the rear seatbelt
buckle or it becomes unfastened.
Note:If a rear seat is unoccupied, or an
occupant never fastens the seatbelt buckle
to begin with, the warning will not display.
Note:Front seating positions appear in this
warning display. Warnings for unfastened
front seatbelt buckles appear in the initial
warning lamp.
Seatbelt Status
To view the seatbelt status, use the
information display controls on the steering
wheel. See General Information (page 136).
E274570E274570
03E274703
Seatbelt fastened. A
Seatbelt not fastened. B
Seatbelt recently unfastened. C
Fault D
Deactivating and Activating the Belt-Minder
Feature - Front outermost seats only
WARNING: While the system allows
you to deactivate it, this system is designed
to improve your chances of being safely
belted and surviving an accident. We
recommend you leave the system
activated for yourself and others who may
use the vehicle.
51
Seatbelts

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 terminates the process.
Read Steps 1 - 4 before starting the
procedure.
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 front
passenger seatbelts.
1. Switch the ignition on. Do not start the
engine.
2. Wait until the seatbelt warning lamp turns
off (about one minute). After Step 2, wait
an additional five seconds before
proceeding with Step 3. Once you start
Step 3, you must complete the procedure
within 60 seconds.3. For the seating position you are switching
off, buckle then unbuckle the seatbelt
three times at a moderate speed, ending
in the unbuckled state. After Step 3, the
seatbelt warning lamp turns on.
4. When the seatbelt warning lamp is on,
buckle then unbuckle the seatbelt. After
Step 4, the seatbelt warning lamp flashes
for confirmation.
• This switches the feature off if it is
currently on.
• This switches the feature on if it is
currently off.
CHILD RESTRAINT AND SEATBELT
MAINTENANCE
Inspect the vehicle seatbelts and child safety
seat systems periodically to make sure they
work properly and are not damaged. Inspect
the vehicle and child restraint seatbelts to
make sure there are no nicks, tears or cuts.
Replace if necessary. All vehicle seatbelt
assemblies, including retractors, buckles,
front seatbelt buckle assemblies, buckle
support assemblies (slide bar-if equipped),shoulder belt height adjusters (if equipped),
shoulder belt guide on seat backrest (if
equipped), child safety seat LATCH and
tether anchors, and attaching hardware,
should be inspected after a crash. Read the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions for
additional inspection and maintenance
information specific to the child restraint.
We recommend that all seatbelt 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. Seatbelt assemblies not in use
during a crash should also be inspected and
replaced if either damage or improper
operation is noted.
Properly care for seatbelts. See Vehicle
Care (page 421).
52
Seatbelts

SEATBELT EXTENSIONS
WARNING: Persons who fit into the
vehicle's seatbelt should not use an
extension. Unnecessary use could result
in serious personal injury in the event of a
crash.
WARNING: Only use extensions
provided free of charge by our dealers.
The dealer will provide an extension
designed specifically for this vehicle, model
year and seating position. The use of an
extension intended for another vehicle,
model year or seating position may not
offer you the full protection of your
vehicle's seatbelt restraint system.
WARNING: Never use seatbelt
extensions to install child restraints.
WARNING: Do not use a seatbelt
extension with an inflatable seatbelt.
WARNING: Do not use extensions
to change the way the seatbelt fits across
the torso, over the lap or to make the
seatbelt buckle easier to reach.
If, because of body size or driving position,
it is not possible to properly fasten the
seatbelt over your lap and shoulder, an
extension that is compatible with the
seatbelts is available free of charge from our
dealers. Only use our seatbelt extensions
made by the original equipment seatbelt
manufacturer with our seatbelts. Ask your
authorized dealer if your extension is
compatible with your vehicle restraint system.
53
Seatbelts