FORD EXPEDITION 2004 2.G Owners Manual

•Restraint system warning light and back-up tone.
•The electrical wiring for the air bags, 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 occupant
conditions. A collection of crash and occupant sensors provides
information to the Restraints Control Module (RCM). During a crash, the
RCM activates the safety belt pretensioners and/or either one or both
stages of the dual-stage air bag supplemental restraints based on crash
severity and occupant conditions.
The fact that the pretensioners or air bags 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 air bags 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 air bag supplemental restraints
The dual-stage air bags offer the capability to tailor the level of air bag
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 toAir bag Supplemental Restraints
section in this chapter.
Front crash severity sensor
The front crash severity sensor enhances the ability to detect the
severity of an impact. Positioned up front, it provides 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 air bags 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 air bag based on seat
position. The system is designed to help protect smaller drivers sitting
close to the driver air bag by providing a lower air bag output level.
2004 Expedition(exd)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
161

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 air bag deployment and
safety belt pretensioner activation depending upon safety belt usage.
Refer toSafety Beltsection in this chapter.
Front safety belt pretensioners
The front outboard safety belt pretensioners are designed to tighten the
safety belts of the driver and front ouboard passenger firmly against the
occupant’s body during a collision. This maximizes the effectiveness of
the safety belts and helps properly position the occupant relative to the
air bag to improve protection. The safety belt pretensioners can be either
activated alone or, if the collision is of sufficient severity, together with
the air bags.
Front safety belt energy management retractors
The front outboard 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 toSafety Beltsection 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 back-up tone to indicate the condition of the system. Refer
to theWarning Lightsection in theInstrument Clusterchapter.
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 air bag supplemental restraints, crash sensor(s),
safety belt pretensioners, front safety belt buckle sensors, 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 the 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.
2004 Expedition(exd)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
162

If any of these things happen, even intermittently, have the Personal
Safety System serviced at your dealership or by a qualified technician
immediately. Unless serviced, the system may not function properly in
the event of a collision.
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.
2004 Expedition(exd)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
163

Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
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.
•Front seats
•Rear seats
2004 Expedition(exd)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
164

2. To unfasten, push the release
button and remove the tongue from
the buckle.
The front outboard, rear outboard, and second and third row center
safety restraints in the vehicle are combination lap and shoulder belts.
The front center safety restraint (if equipped) is a manually-adjustable
lap belt. All of the passenger 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.
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
•Anytimea 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.
2004 Expedition(exd)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
165

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.
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“automatic locking retractor”
feature for child seats is still functioning properly, in addition to other
checks for proper seat belt system function.
2004 Expedition(exd)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
166

BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE REPLACED if
the safety belt assembly“automatic locking retractor”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 Canopy

system. When the safety belt pretensioner deploys, the lap and shoulder
belt are tightened.
When the Safety Canopy
system 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 Canopy
and safety belt
pretensioners.
Refer to theSafety belt maintenancesection in this chapter.
2004 Expedition(exd)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
167

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.
First row center lap belt (if equipped)
Adjusting the lap belt
The lap belt should fit snugly and as low as possible around the
hips, not across the waist.
The lap belt does not adjust automatically.
2004 Expedition(exd)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
168

Insert the tongue into the correct
buckle (the buckle closest to the
direction the tongue is coming
from). To lengthen the belt, turn the
tongue at a right angle to the belt
and pull across your lap until it
reaches the buckle. To tighten the
belt, pull the loose end of the belt
through the tongue until it fits
snugly across the hips.
Shorten and fasten the belt when
not in use.
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.
2004 Expedition(exd)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
169

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.
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 approximately 5
seconds 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.
2004 Expedition(exd)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
170