LINCOLN AVIATOR 2004 Owners Manual

To enter the 3rd row seat:
1. Fold down the 2nd row seat.
2. Push the handle all the way
forward until the seat releases from
the floor.
3. Push the seat upward and fold
away from the third row.
Never drive with the seat flipped up in an unlatched condition.
To prevent damage to the seat or safety belts, ensure the safety
belts are not buckled when folding the 2nd or 3rd row seats.
To return the seat to a seating
position:
1. Push the seat down and latch to
the floor with a moderate amount of
effort and speed.
2. Make sure the seat is latched to
the floor.
3. Push the handle forward just
enough so that the seat back is
released.
4. Bring the seat back to an upright position. The seatback should lock
into position.
Note:If the seat back is ªlocked outº and cannot return to the upright
position, repeat Step 2 and unlatch the seat from the floor. Repeat
latching to the floor with a moderate amount of force and speed. Your
seats are equipped with an Interlock Safety Mechanism which will not
allow the seats to return to a usable position if the seat is not fully
latched to the floor!
Seating and Safety Restraints
161

To exit the 3rd row seat, pull the
red access control lever up releasing
the seat from the floor and rotate
the seat up towards the front seat.
Always latch the vehicle seat to the floor, whether the seat is
occupied or empty. If not latched, the seat may cause injury
during a sudden stop.
Folding the middle 2nd row seat (If equipped)
To fold the seatback down:
1. Locate the lever on the top left of
the seatback.
2. Pull the lever up and push the
seatback toward the front of the
vehicle.
3. Press down on the top outboard
area of the seatback until a click is
heard.
Seating and Safety Restraints
162

To return the seatback to the
upright position:
1. Pull the lever and lift the
seatback toward the rear of the
vehicle.
2. Rotate the seatback until you
hear a click, locking it in the upright
position.
3rd row stow feature
The 3rd row seat has a tip/stow feature to increase cargo space without
removing the seat from the vehicle.
Lower the head restraints before putting the seat in the stowed position.
To put seat in stowed position:
1. Pull the seat release lever located
on top of the seatback while
pushing the seatback down onto the
seat cushion.
2. The seatback will latch into place.
Seating and Safety Restraints
163

3. Push the closeout panel forward
over the space between the seats.
To put seat in upright position:
1. Pull back the slider panel on the
seatback to release the closeout
panel.
2. Pull the seat release lever located
on top of the seatback while lifting
the seatback into the upright
position.
3. The seatback will latch into place.
The third row seat is equipped with combination lap and shoulder belts
in both seating positions. For information on the proper operation of the
safety restraints, refer toSafety Restraintsin this chapter.
Seating and Safety Restraints
164

SAFETY RESTRAINTS
Safety restraints precautions
Always drive and ride with your seatback upright and the lap
belt snug and low across the hips.
To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit where they
can be properly restrained.
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 collision.
All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver, should always
properly wear their safety belts, even when an air bag (SRS) is
provided.
It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area, inside or
outside of a vehicle. In a collision, 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
safety belts. Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and using a
safety belt properly.
In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly more likely
to die than a person wearing a safety belt.
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.
Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
Seating and Safety Restraints
165

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.
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.
²Front and rear seats
2. To unfasten, push the release
button and remove the tongue from the buckle.
²Front and rear seats
All safety restraints in the vehicle
are combination lap and shoulder belts. All of the passenger combination
lap and shoulder belts have two types of locking modes described below:
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 approximately 8 km/h (5
mph) or more, the combination safety belts will lock to help reduce
forward movement of the driver and passengers.
Seating and Safety Restraints
166

Automatic locking mode
In this mode, the shoulder belt is pre-locked. The belt will still retract to
remove any slack in the shoulder belt.
The automatic locking mode is not available on the driver safety belt.
When to use the automatic locking mode
²Anytimea child safety seat (except a booster) is installed in the
vehicle. Children 12 years old and under should be properly restrained
in the rear seat whenever possible. Refer toSafety restraints for
childrenorSafety seats for childrenlater in this chapter.
How to use the automatic locking mode
1. Buckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt.
2. Grasp the shoulder portion and
pull downward until the entire belt
is pulled out.
3. Allow the belt to retract. As the belt retracts, you will hear a clicking
sound. This indicates the safety belt 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 return to the
vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
Seating and Safety Restraints
167

After any vehicle collision, the combination lap and shoulder belt
system at all passenger seating positions must be checked by a
qualified technician to verify that the ªautomatic locking retractorº
feature for child seats is still functioning properly, in addition to other
checks for proper seat belt system function.
BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE REPLACED if
the safety belt assembly ªautomatic locking retractorº feature or
any other safety belt function is not operating properly. In addition, all
safety belts should be checked for proper function. Failure to replace
the belt and retractor assembly could increase the risk of injury in
collisions.
Safety belt pretensioner
Your vehicle is equipped with safety belt pretensioners at the driver and
right front passenger seating positions.
The safety belt pretensioner removes some slack from the safety belt
system at the start of a crash. The safety belt pretensioner uses the
same crash sensor system as the front airbags and Safety Canopyy
system. When the safety belt pretensioner deploys, the lap and shoulder
belt are tightened.
When the Safety Canopyysystem and/or the front airbags are activated,
the safety belt pretensioners for the driver and right front passenger
seating positions will be activated when the respective seatbelt is
properly buckled.
The driver and the right front passenger seat belt system
(including retractors, buckles and height adjusters) must be
replaced if the vehicle is involved in a collision that results in
deployment of front air bags or Safety Canopyyand safety belt
pretensioners.
Refer to theSafety belt maintenancesection in this chapter.
Seating and Safety Restraints
168

Front and second row safety belt height adjustment
Your vehicle has safety belt height
adjustments for the driver, right
front passenger and second row
outboard passengers. Adjust the
height of the shoulder belt so the
belt rests across the middle of your
shoulder.
To lower the shoulder belt height,
push the button and slide the height
adjuster down. To raise the height
of the shoulder belt, push the
button and slide the height adjuster up. Pull down on the height adjuster
to make sure it is locked in place.
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 seat belt and
increase the risk of injury in a collision.
Safety belt warning light and indicator chime
The safety belt warning light illuminates in the instrument cluster and a
chime sounds to remind the occupants to fasten their safety belts.
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.
Seating and Safety Restraints
169

BeltMinder
The BeltMinder feature is a supplemental warning to the safety belt
warning function. This feature provides additional reminders to the
driver that the driver's safety belt is unbuckled by intermittently
sounding a chime and illuminating the safety belt warning lamp in the
instrument cluster.
If... Then...
The driver's safety belt is not
buckled before the vehicle has
reached at least 5 km/h (3
mph) and approximately 5
seconds has elapsed after the
safety belt warning light has
turned off.The BeltMinder feature is activated -
the safety belt warning light
illuminates and the warning chime
sounds for 6 seconds every 30
seconds, repeating for approximately
5 minutes or until safety belt is
buckled.
The driver's safety belt is
buckled while the safety belt
indicator light is illuminated
and the safety belt warning
chime is sounding...The BeltMinder feature will not
activate.
The driver's safety belt is
buckled before the ignition
switch is turned to the ON
position...The BeltMinder feature will not
activate.
The following are reasons most often given for not wearing safety belts:
(All statistics based on U.S. data)
Reasons given... Consider...
ªCrashes are rare eventsº36700 crashes occur every day.The
more we drive, the more we are
exposed to ªrareº events, even for
good drivers.1 in 4 of us will be
seriously injured in a crash during
our lifetime.
ªI'm not going farº3of4fatal crashes occur within25
miles of home.
Seating and Safety Restraints
170