airbag FORD F250 2013 User Guide

PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
WARNING:Always drive and ride with your seat back 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.
WARNING: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 crash.
WARNING:All occupants of the 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.
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 safety belts. Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat
and using a safety belt properly.
WARNING:In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly
more likely to die than a person wearing a safety belt.
WARNING: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.
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WARNING:When possible, all children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in a rear seating position. Failure
to follow this could seriously increase the risk of injury or death.
WARNING: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.
WARNING:Front and rear seat occupants, including pregnant
women, should wear safety belts for optimum protection in an
accident.
All seating positions in this vehicle have lap and shoulder safety belts.
All occupants of the vehicle should always properly wear their safety
belts, even when an airbag supplemental restraint system is provided.
The safety belt system consists of:
•lap and shoulder safety belts.
•shoulder safety belt with automatic locking mode, (except driver
safety belt).
•height adjuster at the front outboard seating positions
•safety belt pretensioner at the front outboard seating positions.
•Safety belt warning light and chime. SeeSafety Belt
Warning Light and Indicator Chimelater in this chapter.
•Crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. SeeCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorin the
Supplemental Restraints Systemchapter.
The safety belt pretensioners are designed to activate in frontal,
near-frontal and side crashes, and in rollovers. The safety belt
pretensioners at the front seating positions are designed to tighten the
safety belts firmly against the occupant’s body when activated. This helps
increase the effectiveness of the safety belts. In frontal crashes, the safety
belt pretensioners can be activated alone or, if the crash is of sufficient
severity, together with the front airbags.
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2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)

PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
WARNING: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.
WARNING:All occupants of your vehicle, including the driver,
should always properly wear their safety belts, even when an
airbag supplemental restraint system is provided.
WARNING:Always transport children 12 years old and under in
the back seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
WARNING:Never place your arm over the airbag module as a
deploying airbag can result in serious arm fractures or other
injuries.
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 all the way back.
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:Several airbag system components get hot after
inflation. Do not touch them after inflation.
WARNING: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.
46Supplementary Restraints System
2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)

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.
SOS POST-CRASH ALERT SYSTEM™
The system flashes the turn signal lamps and sounds the horn
(intermittently) in the event of a serious impact that deploys an airbag
equipped on your vehicle, such as front, side, side curtain or Safety
Canopy®.
The horn and lamps will turn off when:
•the hazard control button is pressed
•the panic button (if equipped) is pressed on the remote entry
transmitter, or
•your vehicle runs out of power.
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2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)

DRIVER AND PASSENGER AIRBAGS
WARNING: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.
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 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
•crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness
indicator. SeeCrash Sensors and Airbag Indicatorlater
in this chapter.
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2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)

Proper Driver and Front Passenger Seating Adjustment
WARNING:The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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. Properly seated
occupants sit upright, lean against the seat back, and center themselves
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 all the way back.
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.
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2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)

If two adults and a child occupy a Regular Cab, properly restrain the
child in the center front unless doing so would interfere with driving
your vehicle. This provides lap and shoulder belt protection for all
occupants, and airbag protection for the adults. A child or infant
properly restrained in the center front seat should not incur risk of
serious injury from the airbags.
FRONT PASSENGER SENSING SYSTEM
WARNING:Even with Advanced Restraints Systems, children 12
and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating position.
WARNING:The front passenger airbag is not designed to offer
protection to an occupant in the center seating position.
High-series vehicles (if equipped)
The front passenger sensing system
uses a passenger airbag status
indicator that will illuminate,
indicating that the front passenger
frontal airbag is eitherON(enabled)
orOFF(disabled). The indicator
lamp is located by the radio.
Note:The passenger airbag status indicatorOFFandONlamps will
illuminate for a short period of time when the ignition is first turned on
to confirm it is functional.
Switch positionPassenger Airbag
Status IndicatorPassenger Airbag
OffOFF: Lit
Disabled
ON: Unlit
OnOFF: Unlit
Enabled
ON: Lit
50Supplementary Restraints System
2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)

Low-series vehicles (if equipped)
The front passenger sensing system
uses a pass airbag off indicator which
will illuminate and stay lit to remind
you that the front passenger frontal
airbag is disabled. The indicator lamp
is located by the radio.
Note:The indicator lamp will illuminate for a short period of time when
the ignition is first turned on to confirm it is functional.
Passenger Airbag ON/OFF Switch (if equipped)
WARNING:An airbag ON/OFF switch may be installed in this
vehicle. Before driving, always look at the face of the switch to
be sure the switch is in the proper position in accordance with these
instructions and warnings. Failure to put the switch in a proper position
can increase the risk of serious injury or death in a collision.
Turning the Passenger Airbag Off
WARNING:If the light fails to illuminate when the passenger air
bag switch is off and the ignition is on, have the passenger air
bag switch serviced at your authorized dealer immediately.
WARNING:In order to avoid inadvertent activation of the
switch, always remove the ignition key from the passenger air
bag ON/OFF switch.
WARNING:An infant in a rear-facing seat faces a high risk of
serious or fatal injuries from a deploying passenger airbag. Rear
facing infant seats should NEVER be placed in the front seats, unless
the passenger airbag is turned off.
PASS AIRBAG
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2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)

1. Insert the ignition key, turn the
switch off and hold in off while
removing the key.
2.
When the ignition is turned on, the
pass airbag off light illuminates briefly,
momentarily shuts off and then turns
back on. This indicates that the
passenger airbag is deactivated.
Turning the Passenger Airbag Back On
WARNING:The safety belts for the driver and right front
passenger seating positions have been specifically designed to
function together with the airbags in certain types of crashes. When
you turn OFF your airbag, you not only lose the protection of the
airbag, you also may reduce the effectiveness of your safety belt
system, which was designed to work with the airbag. If you are not a
person who meets the requirements stated in the NHTSA/Transport
Canada deactivation criteria turning OFF the airbag can increase the
risk of serious injury or death in a collision.
WARNING:If your vehicle has rear seats, always transport
children who are 12 and younger in the rear seat. Always use
safety belts and child restraints properly. DO NOT place a child in a
rear facing infant seat in the front seat unless your vehicle is equipped
with an airbag ON/OFF switch and the passenger airbag is turned OFF.
This is because the back of the infant seat is too close to the inflating
airbag and the risk of a fatal injury to the infant when the airbag
inflates is substantial.
WARNING:If the pass airbag off light is illuminated when the
passenger airbag switch is on and the ignition is on, have the
passenger airbag switch serviced at your authorized dealer immediately.
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2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)

The passenger airbag remains off until you turn it back on.
1. Insert the ignition key and turn
the ignition on.
2. The pass airbag off light will
briefly illuminate when the ignition
is turned to on. This indicates that
the passenger airbag is operational.
The passenger side airbag should always be ON (the pass airbag off light
should not be illuminated) unless the passenger is a person who meets the
requirements stated either in Category 1, 2 or 3 of the NHTSA/Transport
Canada deactivation criteria which follows.
The vast majority of drivers and passengers are much safer with an airbag
than without. To do their job and reduce the risk of life threatening
injuries, airbags must open with great force, and this force can pose a
potentially deadly risk in some situations, particularly when a front seat
occupant is not properly buckled up. The most effective way to reduce the
risk of unnecessary airbag injuries without reducing the overall safety of
the vehicle is to make sure all occupants are properly restrained in the
vehicle, especially in the front seat. This provides the protection of safety
belts and permits the airbags to provide the additional protection they
were designed to provide. If you choose to deactivate your airbag, you are
losing the very significant risk reducing benefits of the airbag and you are
also reducing the effectiveness of the safety belts, because safety belts in
modern vehicles are designed to work as a safety system with the airbags.
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2013 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, December 2012
USA(fus)