sensor FORD TRANSIT 2011 Owners Manual

Note: Including to the extent that any law pertaining to Event
Data Recorders applies to SYNCor its features, please note the
following: Once 911 Assist (if equipped) is enabled (set ON), 911
Assist may, through any paired and connected cell phone, disclose
to emergency services that the vehicle has been in a crash
involving the deployment of an airbag or, in certain vehicles, the
activation of the fuel pump shut-off. Certain versions or updates
to 911 Assist may also be capable of being used to electronically
or verbally provide to 911 operators the vehicle location (such as
latitude and longitude), and/or other details about the vehicle or
crash or personal information about the occupants to assist 911
operators to provide the most appropriate emergency services. If
you do not want to disclose this information, do not activate the
911 Assist feature. See your SYNCsupplement for more
information.
Additionally, when you connect to Traffic, Directions and
Information (if equipped, U.S. only) the service uses GPS
technology and advanced vehicle sensors to collect the vehicle’s
current location, travel direction, and speed (“vehicle travel
information”) only to help provide you with the directions, traffic
reports, or business searches your request. If you do not want
Ford or its vendors to receive this information, do not activate
the service. Ford Motor Company and the vendors it uses to
provide you with this information do not store your vehicle travel
information. For more information, see Traffic, Directions and
Information, Terms and Conditions. See your SYNCsupplement
for more information.
Vehicle Modification Data Recording
Some aftermarket products may cause severe engine and/or transmission
damage; refer to theWhat is not coveredsection inThe new vehicle
limited warranty for your vehiclechapter of your vehicle’sWarranty
Guidefor more information. Some vehicles are equipped with
Powertrain Control Systems that can detect and store information about
vehicle modifications that, for example, increase horsepower and torque
output; this information cannot be erased and will stay in the system’s
memory even if the modification is removed. When a dealer or repair
facility works on your vehicle, it may be necessary for them to access the
information in the Powertrain Control System. This information will likely
identify if any unauthorized modifications have been made to the system,
which may be used to determine if the warranty has been violated and if
repairs will be covered by warranty.
Introduction
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Automatic dimming interior rear view mirror (if equipped)
The interior rear view mirror has an auto-dimming function. The
electronic day/night mirror will change from the normal (high reflective)
state to the non-glare (darkened) state when bright lights (glare) reach
the mirror. When the mirror detects bright light from behind the vehicle,
it will automatically adjust (darken) to minimize glare.
The mirror will automatically return to the normal state whenever the
vehicle is placed in R (Reverse) to ensure a bright clear view when
backing up.
Do not block the sensors on the front and back of the interior
rear view mirror since this may impair proper mirror
performance.
Note:A rear center passenger and/or raised rear center headrest (if
equipped) may also block the light from reaching the sensor.
Do not clean the housing or glass of any mirror with harsh
abrasives, fuel or other petroleum-based cleaning products.
Note:If equipped with a rearview camera system, a video image will
display in the mirror when the vehicle is put in R (Reverse). As you shift
into any other gear from R (Reverse), the image will remain for a few
seconds and then turn off. Refer toRearview camera systemin the
Drivingchapter.
EXTERIOR MIRRORS
Power side view mirrors (if equipped)
WARNING:Do not adjust the mirror while the vehicle is in
motion.
To adjust your mirrors:
1. Rotate the control clockwise to
adjust the right mirror or
counterclockwise to adjust the left
mirror.
2. Move the control in the direction
you wish to tilt the mirror.
3. Return the control to the center position to lock mirrors in place.
Heated side view mirrors (if equipped)
Both mirrors are heated automatically to remove ice, mist and fog when
the rear window defroster is activated.
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•Unlocked
SAFETY RESTRAINTS
Personal Safety System™
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.
Your vehicle’s Personal Safety System consists of:
•Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints.
•Front safety belts with pretensioners, energy management retractors,
and safety belt usage sensors.
•Driver’s seat position sensor.
•Two front crash severity sensors.
•Front passenger sensing system
•“Passenger airbag off” or “pass airbag off” indicator lamp
•Restraints Control Module (RCM) with impact and safing sensors.
•Restraint system warning light and backup tone.
•The electrical wiring for the airbags, crash sensor(s), safety belt
pretensioners, front safety belt usage sensors, driver seat position
sensor, and indicator lights.
How does the Personal Safety System work?
The Personal Safety System can adapt the deployment strategy of your
vehicle’s safety devices according to crash severity and conditions. A
collection of crash sensors provides information to the Restraints Control
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Module (RCM). During a crash, the RCM may activate the safety belt
pretensioners and/or either none, one, or both stages of the dual-stage
airbag supplemental restraints based on crash severity and conditions.
The fact that the pretensioners or airbags did not activate for both front
seat occupants in a collision does not mean that something is wrong with
the system. Rather, it means the Personal Safety System determined the
accident conditions (crash severity, belt usage, etc.) were not
appropriate to activate these safety devices. Front airbags are designed
to activate only in frontal and near-frontal collisions, not rollovers,
side-impacts, or rear-impacts unless the collision causes sufficient
longitudinal deceleration.
Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints
The dual-stage airbags offer the capability to tailor the level of airbag
inflation energy. A lower, less forceful energy level is provided for more
common, moderate-severity impacts. A higher energy level is used for
the most severe impacts. Refer toAirbag supplemental restraint
system (SRS)section in this chapter.
Front crash severity sensors
The front crash severity sensors enhance the ability to detect the
severity of an impact. Positioned up front, they provide valuable
information early in the crash event on the severity of the impact. This
allows your Personal Safety System to distinguish between different
levels of crash severity and modify the deployment strategy of the
dual-stage airbags and safety belt pretensioners.
Driver’s seat position sensor
The driver’s seat position sensor allows your Personal Safety System to
tailor the deployment level of the driver dual-stage airbag based on seat
position. The system is designed to help protect smaller drivers sitting
close to the driver airbag by providing a lower airbag output level.
Front passenger sensing system
For airbags to do their job they must inflate with great force, and this
force can pose a potentially deadly risk to occupants that are very close
to the airbag when it begins to inflate. For some occupants, like infants
in rear-facing child seats, this occurs because they are initially sitting
very close to the airbag. For other occupants, this occurs when the
occupant is not properly restrained by safety belts or child safety seats
and they move forward during pre-crash braking. The most effective way
to reduce the risk of unnecessary injuries is to make sure all occupants
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are properly restrained. Accident statistics suggest that children are
much safer when properly restrained in the rear seating positions than in
the front.
WARNING:Air bags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
NEVERplace a rear-facing child seat in front of an active air
bag. If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move
the seat all the way back.
WARNING:Always transport children 12 years old and under in
the back seat and always properly use appropriate child
restraints.
The front passenger sensing system can automatically turn off the
passenger front airbag. The system is designed to help protect small
(child size) occupants from airbag deployments when they are
improperly seated or restrained in the front passenger seat contrary to
proper child-seating or restraint usage recommendations. Even with this
technology, parents areSTRONGLYencouraged to always properly
restrain children in the rear seat. The sensor also turns off the airbag
when the passenger seat is empty to prevent unnecessary replacement of
the airbag(s) after a collision.
When the front passenger seat is occupied and the sensing system has
turned off the passenger’s frontal airbag, the “pass airbag off” indicator
will light and stay lit to remind you that the front passenger frontal
airbag is off. SeeFront passenger sensing systemin theAirbag
supplemental restraint system (SRS)section of this chapter.
Front safety belt usage sensors
The front safety belt usage sensors detect whether or not the driver and
front outboard passenger safety belts are fastened. This information
allows your Personal Safety System to tailor the airbag deployment and
safety belt pretensioner activation depending upon safety belt usage.
Front outboard safety belt pretensioners
The safety belt pretensioners at the front outboard seating positions are
designed to tighten the safety belts firmly against the occupant’s body
during frontal collisions, and in side collisions and rollovers. This helps
increase the effectiveness of the safety belts. In frontal collisions, the
safety belt pretensioners can be activated alone or, if the collision is of
sufficient severity, together with the front airbags.
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Front outboard safety belt energy management retractors
The front safety belt energy management retractors allow webbing to be
pulled out of the retractor in a gradual and controlled manner in
response to the occupant’s forward momentum. This helps reduce the
risk of force-related injuries to the occupant’s chest by limiting the load
on the occupant. Refer to theEnergy management featuresection in
this chapter.
Determining if the Personal Safety System is operational
The Personal Safety System uses a warning light in the instrument
cluster or a backup tone to indicate the condition of the system. Refer to
theWarning lights and chimessection in theInstrument Cluster
chapter. Routine maintenance of the Personal Safety System is not
required.
The Restraints Control Module (RCM) monitors its own internal circuits
and the circuits for the airbag supplemental restraints, crash sensor(s),
safety belt pretensioners, front safety belt buckle sensors, front
passenger sensing system, and the driver seat position sensor. In
addition, the RCM also monitors the restraints warning light in the
instrument cluster. A difficulty with the system is indicated by one or
more of the following.
•The warning light will either flash or stay lit.
•The warning light will not illuminate immediately after ignition is
turned on.
•A series of five beeps will be heard. The tone pattern will repeat
periodically until the problem and warning light are repaired.
If any of these things happen, even intermittently, have the Personal
Safety System serviced at an authorized dealer immediately. Unless
serviced, the system may not function properly in the event of a
collision.
Safety restraints precautions
WARNING:Always drive and ride with your seatback upright
and the lap belt snug and low across the hips.
WARNING:To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
where they can be properly restrained.
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WARNING:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) recommends a minimum distance of at least 10 inches
(25 cm) between an occupant’s chest and the driver airbag module.
WARNING:Never place your arm over the air bag module as a
deploying air bag can result in serious arm fractures or other
injuries.
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.
WARNING:Do not put anything on or over the air bag module.
Placing objects on or over the air bag inflation area may cause
those objects to be propelled by the air bag into your face and torso
causing serious injury.
WARNING:Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the
airbag supplemental restraint systems or its fuses. Contact your
authorized dealer as soon as possible.
WARNING:Modifying or adding equipment to the front end of
the vehicle (including frame, bumper, front end body structure
and tow hooks) may affect the performance of the airbag system,
increasing the risk of injury. Do not modify the front end of the
vehicle.
WARNING:Additional equipment may affect the performance of
the airbag sensors increasing the risk of injury. Please refer to
theBody Builders Layout Bookfor instructions about the appropriate
installation of additional equipment.
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Children and airbags
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 collision.
WARNING:Airbags can kill
or injure a child in a child
seat.NEVERplace 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 all the
way back.
How does the airbag supplemental restraint system work?
The airbag SRS is designed to
activate when the vehicle sustains a
longitudinal deceleration sufficient
to cause the airbag sensors to close
an electrical circuit that initiates
airbag inflation. The fact that the
airbags did not inflate in a collision
does not mean that something is
wrong with the system. Rather, it
means the forces were not sufficient
enough to cause activation. Airbags
are designed to inflate in frontal and
near-frontal collisions, not rollover, side-impact, or rear-impacts unless
the collision causes sufficient longitudinal deceleration.
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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 or sodium compounds which
may irritate the skin and eyes, but
none of the residue is toxic.
While the SRS is designed to help
reduce serious injuries, contact with
a deploying airbag may also cause
abrasions, swelling or temporary
hearing loss. 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. It is
extremely important that occupants be properly restrained as far away
from the airbag module as possible while maintaining vehicle control.
The SRS consists of:
•driver and passenger airbag modules (which include the inflators and
airbags)
•seat-mounted side airbags
•one or more impact and safing sensors
•a readiness light and tone
•a diagnostic module
•and the electrical wiring which connects the components
The diagnostic module monitors its own internal circuits and the
supplemental airbag electrical system wiring (including the impact
sensors), the system wiring, the airbag system readiness light, the airbag
backup power and the airbag ignitors.
WARNING:Several air bag system components get hot after
inflation. Do not touch them after inflation.
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WARNING:If the air bag has deployed,the air bag will not
function again and must be replaced immediately.If the air
bag is not replaced, the unrepaired area will increase the risk of injury
in a collision.
Front passenger sensing system
The front passenger sensing system is designed to meet the regulatory
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208
and is designed to disable (will not inflate) the front passenger’s frontal
airbag under certain conditions.
The front passenger sensing system works with sensors that are part of
the front passenger’s seat and safety belt. The sensors are designed to
detect the presence of a properly seated occupant and determine if the
front passenger’s frontal airbag should be enabled (may inflate) or
disabled (will not inflate).
The front passenger sensing system will disable (will not inflate) the
front passenger’s frontal airbag if:
•the front passenger seat is unoccupied, or has small/medium objects in
the front seat,
•the system determines that an infant is present in a rear-facing infant
seat that is installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions,
•the system determines that a small child is present in a forward-facing
child restraint that is installed according to the manufacturer’s
instructions,
•the system determines that a small child is present in a booster seat,
•a front passenger takes his/her weight off of the seat for a period of
time,
•a child or a small person occupies the front passenger seat.
Note:When the passenger airbag off light is illuminated, the passenger
(seat mounted) side airbag may be disabled to avoid the risk of airbag
deployment injuries.
The front passenger sensing system
uses apassenger airbag offor
pass airbag offindicator which will
illuminate and stay lit to remind you
that the front passenger frontal airbag is disabled. The indicator lamp is
located at the top of the instrument panel center stack area above the
radio and next to the hazard warning indicator.
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