warning FORD ESCAPE 2015 3.G Owner's Manual

SAFETY BELT MINDER
Belt-Minder™
This feature supplements the safety belt
warning function by providing additional
reminders that intermittently sound a tone
and illuminate the safety belt warning light
when you are in the driver seat or you have
a front seat passenger and a safety belt is
unbuckled.
The system uses information from the
front passenger sensing system to
determine if a front seat passenger is
present and therefore potentially in need
of a warning. To avoid activating the
Belt-Minder feature for objects you place
in the front passenger seat, only the front
seat passengers receive warnings as
determined by the front passenger sensing
system.
If the Belt-Minder warnings expire
(warnings for about five minutes) for one
passenger (driver or front passenger), the
other passenger can still cause the
Belt-Minder feature to turn on. Then...
If...
The Belt-Minder feature will not activate.
You and the front seat passenger buckle
your safety belts before you switch the
ignition on or less than 1-2 minutes elapse after you switch the ignition on...
The Belt-Minder feature activates, the
safety belt warning light illuminates and a warning tone sounds for 6 seconds every
25 seconds, repeating for about 5 minutes or until you and the front seat passenger buckle your safety belts.
You or the front seat passenger do not
buckle your safety belts before your vehicle reaches at least 6 mph (9.7 km/h) and 1-2
minutes elapse after you switch the ignition on...
The Belt-Minder feature activates, the
safety belt warning light illuminates and a warning tone sounds for 6 seconds every
25 seconds, repeating for about 5 minutes or until you and the front seat passenger buckle your safety belts.
The safety belt for the driver or front
passenger is unbuckled for about 1 minute
while the vehicle is traveling at least 6 mph (9.7 km/h) and more than 1-2 minutes
elapse after you switch the ignition on...
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Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Safety Belts

Deactivating and Activating the
Belt-Minder Feature
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 your vehicle. 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 will terminate the process.
Read Steps 1 - 4 thoroughly before
proceeding with the programming
procedure.
Before following the procedure, make sure
that:
• The parking brake is set.
• The transmission is in park (P).
• The ignition is off.
• The driver and front passenger safety
belts are unbuckled.
1. Switch the ignition on. Do not start the
engine.
2. Wait until the safety belt warning light 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
safety belt three times at a moderate
speed, ending in the unbuckled state.
After Step 3, the safety belt warning
light turns on. 4. While the safety belt warning light is
on, buckle and then unbuckle the
safety belt. After Step 4, the safety belt
warning light flashes for confirmation.
• This will switch the feature off for that
seating position if it is currently on.
• This will switch the feature on for that
seating position if it is currently off.
CHILD RESTRAINT AND
SAFETY BELT MAINTENANCE
Inspect the vehicle safety belts and child
safety seat systems periodically to make
sure they work properly and are not
damaged. Inspect the vehicle and child
seat safety belts to make sure there are no
nicks, tears or cuts. Replace if necessary.
All vehicle safety belt assemblies, including
retractors, buckles, front safety belt buckle
assemblies, buckle support assemblies
(slide bar-if equipped), shoulder belt
height adjusters (if equipped), shoulder
belt guide on seat back (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.
Ford Motor Company recommends that
all safety belt 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. Safety
belt assemblies not in use during a crash
should also be inspected and replaced if
either damage or improper operation is
noted.
Properly care for safety belts. See Vehicle
Care (page 231).
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Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Safety Belts

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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Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Personal Safety System
™

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. 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.
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.
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Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Supplementary Restraints System

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 46). 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. 40
Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Supplementary Restraints SystemE151127

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 seatback 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.
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. The indicator lamp is located in the center
stack of the instrument panel.
The front passenger sensing system is
designed to disable (will not inflate) the
front passenger frontal airbag under
certain conditions:
•
The front passenger seat is
unoccupied.
• The system determines an infant is
present in a child restraint.
• A passenger takes their weight off the
seat for a period of time.
• If there is a problem with the airbag
system or the passenger sensing
system.
Even with this technology, parents are
strongly encouraged to always properly
restrain children in the rear seat.
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Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Supplementary Restraints SystemE142846 E145987

The conditions listed above may cause the
weight of a properly seated occupant to
be incorrectly interpreted by the 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 46).
If the airbag readiness lamp is lit, do
the following:
Check for objects that are lodged
underneath the front passenger seat, or
cargo interfering with the seat.
If there are lodged objects, or cargo is
interfering with the seat, take the following
steps to remove the obstruction:
• Pull the vehicle over.
• Turn the vehicle off.
• Driver or adult passengers should
check for any objects lodged
underneath the front passenger seat
or cargo interfering with the seat.
• Remove the obstruction(s) (if found).
• Restart the vehicle.
• Wait at least two minutes and verify
that the airbag readiness lamp is no
longer illuminated.
• If the airbag readiness lamp remains
illuminated, this may or may not be a
problem due to the front passenger
sensing system.
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 your
authorized dealer. 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. 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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Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Supplementary Restraints System

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 46).
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
46).
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.
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Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Supplementary Restraints SystemE152533

WARNINGS
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. 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 46).
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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Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Supplementary Restraints SystemE75004

CRASH SENSORS AND
AIRBAG INDICATOR
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. Your vehicle has a collection of crash and
occupant sensors which provide
information to the restraints control
module. The restraints control module
deploys (activates) the front safety belt
pretensioners, driver airbag, passenger
airbag, knee airbag(s), seat mounted side
airbags and Safety Canopy airbags. Based
on the type of crash (frontal impact or side
impact), the restraints control module will
deploy the appropriate safety devices.
The restraints control module also
monitors the readiness of the above safety
devices plus the crash and occupant
sensors. The readiness of the safety
system is indicated by a warning indicator
light in the instrument cluster or by a
backup tone if the warning light is not
working. Routine maintenance of the
airbag is not required.
A difficulty with the system is indicated by
one or more of the following:
The readiness light will not
illuminate immediately after the
ignition is turned on.
• The readiness light will either flash or
stay lit.
• A series of five beeps will be heard. The
tone pattern will repeat periodically
until the problem, the light or both are
repaired. If any of these things happen, even
intermittently, have the supplemental
restraint system serviced at an authorized
dealer immediately. Unless serviced, the
system may not function properly in the
event of a crash.
The safety belt pretensioners and the front
airbag supplemental restraint system are
designed to activate when the vehicle
sustains frontal deceleration sufficient to
cause the restraints control module to
deploy a safety device.
The fact that the safety belt pretensioners
or front airbags did not activate for both
front seat occupants in a crash does not
mean that something is wrong with the
system. Rather, it means the restraints
control module determined the accident
conditions (crash severity, belt usage)
were not appropriate to activate these
safety devices.
•
The design of the front airbags is to
activate only in frontal and near-frontal
crashes (not rollovers, side impacts or
rear impacts) unless the crash causes
sufficient frontal deceleration.
• The safety belt pretensioners are
designed to activate in frontal,
near-frontal and side crashes.
• The knee airbag(s) may deploy based
on crash severity and occupant
conditions.
• The design of the side airbags is to
inflate in certain side crashes. The
design of the Safety Canopy is to
inflate in certain side impact crashes
and when a certain likelihood of
rollover is detected by the rollover
sensor. Side airbags and Safety Canopy
airbags may activate in other types of
crashes if the vehicle experiences
sufficient sideways motion or
deformation.
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Escape (TM2), enUSA, First Printing Supplementary Restraints System