maintenance FORD FLEX 2014 1.G Owners Manual

Introduction 9
Child Safety 17
Child seat positioning...................................19
Booster seats.........................................21
Installing child seats....................................24
Child safety locks......................................36
Safety Belts 37
Fastening the safety belts................................39
Safety belt height adjustment.............................42
Safetybeltwarninglightandindicatorchime..................42
Safety belt-minder.....................................43
Rear inflatable safety belt................................46
Child restraint and safety belt maintenance...................48
Personal Safety System 49
Supplementary Restraints System 50
Driver and passenger airbags.............................52
Front passenger sensing system...........................53
Side airbags..........................................57
Safety canopy curtain airbags.............................59
Crash sensors and airbag indicator.........................61
Airbag disposal........................................62
Keys and Remote Control 63
General information on radio frequencies.....................63
Remote control.......................................64
Keys...............................................64
Replacing a lost key or remote control.......................70
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Roadside Emergencies 265
Getting roadside assistance..............................265
Hazard warning flashers................................266
Fuel cut-off switch....................................266
Jump-starting the vehicle...............................267
Customer Assistance 270
Reporting safety defects (U.S. only).......................277
Reporting safety defects (Canada only).....................277
Fuses 278
Changing a fuse......................................278
Fuse specification chart................................279
Maintenance 287
General information...................................287
Opening and closing the hood............................288
Under hood overview..................................289
Engine oil dipstick....................................291
Engine oil check......................................291
Engine coolant check..................................292
Automatic transmission fluid check........................298
Brake fluid check.....................................302
Power steering fluid check..............................302
Fuel filter...........................................302
Washer fluid check....................................303
Battery ............................................303
Checking the wiper blades..............................305
Changing the wiper blades..............................305
Air filter(s).........................................306
Adjusting the headlamps................................308
Changing a bulb......................................310
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Vehicle Care 315
Cleaning products.....................................315
Cleaning the exterior..................................315
Waxing.............................................317
Repairing minor paint damage............................317
Cleaning the engine...................................317
Cleaning the windows and wiper blades.....................318
Cleaning the interior...................................319
Cleaning the instrument panel and instrument cluster lens.......319
Cleaning leather seats..................................320
Cleaning the alloy wheels...............................321
Vehiclestorage.......................................321
Wheels and Tires 324
Tire care...........................................326
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)...................342
Changing a road wheel.................................347
Technical specifications.................................353
Wheel lug nut torque..................................353
Capacities and Specifications 355
Engine specifications..................................355
Engine drivebelt......................................355
Maintenance product specifications and capacities.............356
Part numbers........................................359
Vehicle identification number............................359
Vehicle certification label...............................360
Transmission code designation............................361
Accessories 362
Accessories.........................................362
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Ford Extended Service Plan 364
Audio System 367
MyFord™ system.....................................369
Satellite radio information...............................380
Auxiliary input jack...................................382
USB port...........................................384
SYNC® 385
Pairing your phone for the first time.......................390
911 Assist™.........................................405
Vehicle Health Report..................................408
MyFord Touch® (If Equipped) 433
Privacy Information...................................438
Infotainment display...................................439
Voice recognition.....................................440
Listening to music....................................444
Phone features.......................................465
Information Menu.....................................472
Settings............................................484
Climatefeatures......................................495
Navigation system.....................................498
Appendices 510
Scheduled Maintenance 529
Normal scheduled maintenance and log.....................534
Index 546
The information contained in this publication was correct at the time of going to
print. In the interest of continuous development, we reserve the right to change
specifications, design or equipment at any time without notice or obligation. No
part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, stored in a retrieval
system or translated into any language in any form by any means without our
written permission. Errors and omissions excepted.
© Ford Motor Company 2013
8Table of Contents
2014 Flex(471)
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USA(fus)

PERCHLORATE MATERIAL
Note:Certain components in your vehicle, such as airbag modules,
safety belt pretensioners, and remote control batteries, may contain
perchlorate material. Special handling may apply for service or vehicle
end of life disposal. See www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate for
more information.
FORD CREDIT (U.S. ONLY)
Ford Credit offers a full range of financing and lease plans to help you
acquire your vehicle. If you have financed or leased your vehicle through
Ford Credit, thank you for your business.
For your convenience, we offer a number of ways to contact us, as well
as help manage your account.
Phone: 1-800-727-7000
For more information regarding Ford Credit, as well as access to
Account Manager, please go to www.fordcredit.com.
REPLACEMENT PARTS RECOMMENDATION
Your vehicle has been built to the highest standards using quality parts.
We recommend that you demand the use of genuine Ford and Motorcraft
parts whenever your vehicle requires scheduled maintenance or repair.
You can clearly identify genuine Ford and Motorcraft parts by looking for
the Ford, FoMoCo or Motorcraft branding on the parts or their
packaging.
Scheduled Maintenance and Mechanical Repairs
One of the best ways for you to make sure that your vehicle provides years
of service is to have it maintained in line with our recommendations using
parts that conform to the specifications detailed in this owner’s manual.
Genuine Ford and Motorcraft parts meet or exceed these specifications.
Collision Repairs
We hope that you never experience a collision, but accidents do happen.
Genuine Ford replacement collision parts meet our stringent requirements
for fit, finish, structural integrity, corrosion protection and dent resistance.
During vehicle development, we validate that these parts deliver the
intended level of protection as a whole system. A great way to know for
sure you are getting this level of protection is to use genuine Ford
replacement collision parts.
14Introduction
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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 seatback (if equipped), rear inflatable
safety belts (if equipped), child safety seat LATCH and tether anchors,
and attaching hardware, should be inspected after a crash. See 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.
For proper care of soiled safety belts, seeInteriorin theCleaning
chapter.
48Safety Belts
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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.
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.
Supplementary Restraints System51
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CRASH SENSORS AND AIRBAG INDICATOR
WARNING:Modifying or adding equipment to the front end of
your 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 your
vehicle.
Your vehicle has a collection of crash and occupant sensors which
provide information to the restraints control module which deploys
(activates) the front safety belt pretensioners, rear inflatable safety belts,
driver airbag, passenger airbag, passenger knee airbag, seat mounted side
airbags, and the Safety Canopy. Based on the type of accident (frontal
impact, side impact or rollover) 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. See the
Instrument Clusterchapter. 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 either flash or stay lit.
•The readiness 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 or light is 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, rear inflatable safety belts and the airbag
supplemental restraint system are designed to activate when the vehicle
sustains frontal or sideways deceleration sufficient to cause the restraints
control module to deploy a safety device or when a certain likelihood of
a rollover event is detected by the rollover sensor.
Supplementary Restraints System61
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Park lamps
Illuminates when the park lamps are on.
Powertrain malfunction/reduced power (RTT)
Illuminates when a powertrain or an AWD fault has been
detected. Contact your authorized dealer as soon as possible.
Safety belt
Reminds you to fasten your safety belt. A Belt-Minder® chime
will also sound to remind you to fasten your safety belt.
Service engine soon
Theservice engine soonindicator light illuminates when the
ignition is first turned to the on position to check the bulb and to
indicate whether the vehicle is ready for Inspection/Maintenance
(I/M) testing. Normally, the “service engine soon” light will stay on until the
engine is cranked, then turn itself off if no malfunctions are present.
However, if after 15 seconds the “service engine soon” light blinks eight
times, it means that the vehicle is not ready for I/M testing. See the
Readiness for inspection/maintenance (I/M) testingin theFuel and
Refuelingchapter.
Solid illumination after the engine is started indicates the on-board
diagnostics system (OBD-II) has detected a malfunction. Refer to
On-board diagnostics (OBD-II)in theFuel and Refuelingchapter. If
the light is blinking, engine misfire is occurring which could damage your
catalytic converter. Drive in a moderate fashion (avoid heavy acceleration
and deceleration) and have your vehicle serviced immediately by your
authorized dealer.
WARNING:Under engine misfire conditions, excessive exhaust
temperatures could damage the catalytic converter, the fuel
system, interior floor coverings or other vehicle components, possibly
causing a fire.
Instrument Cluster11 5
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Keys and Intelligent
Access MessagesAction / Description
Max Number of Keys
LearnedDisplayed during spare key programming when
the maximum number of keys have been
programmed.
Press Brake to Start Displayed when the start/stop button is
pressed without the brake pedal being applied.
This is a reminder that the brake pedal must
be applied when the start/stop button is
pressed in order to start the engine.
Restart Now or Key is
NeededDisplayed when the start/stop button is
pressed to shut off the engine and a Intelligent
Access Key is not detected inside the vehicle.
Accessory Power is
ActiveDisplayed when the vehicle is in the accessory
ignition state.
Starting System Fault This message is displayed when there is a
problem with your vehicle’s starting system.
See your authorized dealer for service.
Maintenance
MessagesAction / Description
LOW Engine Oil
PressureStop the vehicle as soon as safely possible,
turn off the engine. Check the oil level. If the
warning stays on or continues to come on with
your engine running, contact your authorized
dealer as soon as possible.
Change Engine Oil
SoonDisplayed when the engine oil life remaining is
10% or less.
Oil Change Required Displayed when the oil life left reaches 0%.
Engine Coolant
OvertemperatureDisplayed when the engine coolant
temperature is excessively high.
Washer Fluid Level
LOWIndicates the washer fluid reservoir is less than
one quarter full. Check the washer fluid level.
Steering Malfunction
Service NowDisplays when the steering system needs
service. See your authorized dealer.
132Information Displays
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