FORD FREESTAR 2007 1.G Owners Manual

3. Lower back of seat onto the rear
tubs until both release controls latch
into place. Be sure that the seat is
locked in place both front and back.
Do not place the seat front hooks on the front most pin of the front tub.
Doing so will not allow the seat to fully install in vehicle.
Ensure seat is latched to vehicle floor by pushing/pulling on seat.
If not latched, the seat may cause injury during a sudden stop.
Stowing the third row seat
1. If the comfort guide is on the
center lap/shoulder belt, slip the
guide off the belt and stow the
guide in the pocket on the back of
the seat.
2007 Freestar(win)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
131

2. If you plan to carry very large
objects or items that might damage
the center lap/shoulder belt, detach
the belt from the seat. Use a key or
safety belt tongue to release the
buckle.
3. Store the tongue of the sliding
latchplate in the belt pocket.
2007 Freestar(win)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
132

4. Store the belt in the housing
found on the ceiling by inserting the
smaller tongue in the slot provided.
Note:The seat can be stowed with
the safety belt connected if desired.
Store the tongue of the sliding
latchplate in the belt pocket to
avoid potential damage to the seat.
5. Push the head restraint release buttons and move the head restraints
fully down. Remove all objects from the seat and stowage tub.
6. From the rear of the vehicle, fold seat back bypulling and releasing
the number 1 strap.
2007 Freestar(win)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
133

Important:If you don’t let go of
the number 1 strap before the seat
back folds completely, the seat may
not stow flat in the tub. Refer to the
label attached to the rear of the
vehicle seat.
7. Release the cushion latches by pulling the number 2 strap.
2007 Freestar(win)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
134

8. Pull the number 3 strap on the seat back to tumble seat all the way in
to the tub in the floor.
Do not use the seat anchors as cargo tie downs.
Unstowing the third row seat
Ensure seat latching area is free of objects.
1. Lift the seat out of the tub in the
floor by pulling up on the exposed
strap or handle. Once seat is at a
vertical position, push the seat over,
letting it fall onto the latches.
2007 Freestar(win)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
135

2. To return the seat back to the
seating position, pull the number 1
strap, then while holding the
number 1 strap, pull the number 3
strap to raise the seat back.
3. Release the number 1 strap to
allow the seat to lock, then release
the number 3 strap.
4. Pull up on the head restraints to adjust them.
5. If the center lap/shoulder belt is detached, remove the belt from the
ceiling storage area just ahead of the liftgate opening and buckle the
tongue on the end of the belt to the mini-buckle on the left side of the
center seat.
Ensure seat is latched to vehicle floor by pushing/pulling on seat.
If not latched, the seat may cause injury during a sudden stop.
Before returning the seatback to its original position, make sure
that cargo or any objects are not trapped behind the seatback.
After returning the seatback to its original position, pull on the
seatback to ensure that it has fully latched. An unlatched seat may
become dangerous in the event of a sudden stop or collision.
Third row seat features
The seat is equipped with a recline
function to allow for adjustment of
the seat back for improved comfort.
To activate the recliner, pull and
hold the strap located near the
plastic shield in the center of the
seat. When seat is adjusted to
desired location, release the strap.
2007 Freestar(win)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
136

Reclining the seatback can cause an occupant to slide under the
seat’s safety belt, resulting in severe personal injuries in the
event of a collision.
Tailgate function
The 3rd row seat is equipped with a tailgate function to be utilized when
the vehicle is parked and engine turned off. This rearward-facing position
allows the customer to open the liftgate and sit facing out of the vehicle
rearward.
This is not a position suitable for driving. Do not drive the
vehicle with the seat in this position. The safety belts are not
functional when the seat is in the tailgate position.
Ensure head restraints are moved to their full down position, all safety
belts are released from the seat, seat and stowage tub are free of objects.
1. Push the head restraint release buttons and move all head restraints
fully down.
2. To access the tailgate function,
the seat must be in the seating
position. If the seat is not in the
seating position, follow all the steps
of theUnstowing the third row
seat section.Once the seat is in the
seating position, release the cushion
latches by pulling the number 2
strap. Then, pull the seat rearward
by the number 3 strap and set the
seat on the liftgate scuff plate. The
number 1 strap is not used to
access this position.
Do not sit on the head restraints.
2
2007 Freestar(win)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
137

3. To return the seat, ensure seat
latching area is free of objects.
Then, raise the seat off the liftgate
scuff plate and push at the top of
the seat back to rotate the seat back
onto the latches. Pull up on the
head restraints to raise them.
Ensure seat is latched to vehicle floor by pushing/pulling on seat.
If not latched, the seat may cause injury during a sudden stop.
SAFETY RESTRAINTS
Personal Safety System
The Personal Safety Systemprovides 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.
Your vehicle’s Personal Safety Systemconsists of:
•Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints.
•Front outboard safety belts with pretensioners, energy management
retractors (first row only), and safety belt usage sensors.
•Driver’s seat position sensor.
•Front passenger sensing system
•“Passenger airbag off” or “pass airbag off” indicator lamp
•Front crash severity sensor.
•Restraints Control Module (RCM) with impact and safing sensors.
•Restraint system warning light and back-up tone.
•The electrical wiring for the airbags, crash sensor(s), safety belt
pretensioners, front safety belt usage sensors, driver seat position
sensor, front passenger sensing system, and indicator lights.
2007 Freestar(win)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
138

How does the Personal Safety Systemwork?
The Personal Safety Systemcan 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 airbag supplemental restraints based on crash
severity and occupant conditions.
The fact that the pretensioners or airbags 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 Systemdetermined
the accident conditions (crash severity, belt usage, etc.) were not
appropriate to activate these safety devices. Front airbags 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. The pretensioners are designed to activate in
frontal collisions, and in side collisions and rollovers when the vehicle is
equipped with the available Safety Canopysystem.
Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints
The dual-stage airbags offer the capability to tailor the level of airbag
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 toAirbag 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 Systemto distinguish between different
levels of crash severity and modify the deployment strategy of the
dual-stage airbags and safety belt pretensioners.
Driver’s seat position sensor
The driver’s seat position sensor allows your Personal Safety Systemto
tailor the deployment level of the driver dual-stage airbag based on seat
position. The system is designed to help protect smaller drivers sitting
close to the driver airbag by providing a lower airbag output level.
Front passenger sensing system
For airbags to do their job they must inflate with great force, and this
force can pose a potentially deadly risk to occupants that are very close
2007 Freestar(win)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
139

to the airbag when it begins to inflate. For some occupants, this occurs
because they are initially sitting very close to the airbag. For other
occupants, this occurs when the occupant is not properly restrained by
safety belts or child safety seats and they move forward during pre-crash
braking. The most effective way to reduce the risk of unnecessary
injuries is to make sure all occupants are properly restrained. Accident
statistics suggest that children are much safer when properly restrained
in the rear seating positions than in the front.
Air bags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.NEVERplace a
rear-facing child seat in front of an active air bag. If you must
use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the seat all the
way back.
Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
The front passenger sensing system can automatically turn off the
passenger front airbag. The system is designed to help protect small
(child size) occupants from airbag deployments when they are
improperly seated or restrained in the front passenger seat contrary to
proper child-seating or restraint usage recommendations. Even with this
technology, parents areSTRONGLYencouraged to always properly
restrain children in the rear seat. The sensor also turns off the
passenger’s front airbag, and side airbag if equipped, when the passenger
seat is empty to prevent unnecessary replacement of the airbag(s) after
a collision.
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 Systemto tailor the airbag deployment and
safety belt pretensioner activation depending upon safety belt usage.
Refer toSafety beltsection in this chapter.
Front safety belt pretensioners
The safety belt pretensioners at the front outboard seating positions are
designed to tighten the safety belts firmly against the occupant’s body
during frontal collisions, and in side collisions and rollovers when the
vehicle is equipped with the Safety Canopysystem. This helps increase
the effectiveness of the safety belts. In frontal collisions, the safety belt
pretensioners can be activated alone or, if the collision is of sufficient
severity, together with the front airbags.
2007 Freestar(win)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
140