FORD TAURUS 2003 4.G Manual Online

Front safety belt energy management retractors
The front 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 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.
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 belt 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.
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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 seat 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.
Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
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.
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2. To unfasten, push the release
button and remove the tongue from
the buckle.
Energy management retractors
Your vehicle has a seat belt system equipped with energy management
retractors at the driver and front outboard passenger seating positions.
An energy management retractor is a device which pays out webbing in a
controlled manner. This feature is designed to help further reduce the
risk of force-related injuries to the occupant.
Seat belt systems equipped with an energy management retractor must
be replaced if they were in use during a frontal collision which resulted
in deployment of the frontal air bags. Refer to theSafety belt
maintenancesection in this chapter.
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 automatically 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.
This mode should be usedany timea child safety seat 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 children
orSafety seats for childrenlater in this chapter.
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How to use the automatic locking mode
•Buckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt.
•Grasp the shoulder portion and
pull downward until the entire
belt is pulled out.
•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
Ford Motor Company recommends that all safety belt assemblies
and attaching hardware should be inspected by a qualified
technician after any collision. Safety belt assemblies not in use during a
collision should also be inspected and replaced if either damage or
improper operation is noted.
Disconnect the combination lap/shoulder belt and allow it to retract
completely to disengage the automatic locking mode and activate the
vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
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After any vehicle collision, the seat belt system at all outboard
seating positions (except driver, which has no“automatic locking
retractor”feature) must be checked by a qualified technician to verify
that the“automatic locking retractor”feature for child seats is still
functioning properly. In addition, all seat belts should be checked for
proper function.
BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE REPLACED if
the seat belt assembly“automatic locking retractor”feature or
any other seat belt function is not operating properly when checked
according to the procedures in Workshop Manual.
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
front outboard passenger seating positions.
The safety belt pretensioners are designed to activate only when the
safety belts are fastened during certain frontal or near-frontal collisions
with sufficient longitudinal deceleration. A safety belt pretensioner isa
device which tightens the webbing of the lap and shoulder belts in such
a way that they fit more snugly against the body.
The driver and front outboard passenger safety belt system (including
retractors, buckles and height adjusters) must be replaced if the vehicle
is involved in a collision that results in the activation of the safety belt
pretensioners. Refer to theSafety belt maintenancesection in this
chapter.
In the event of a collision resulting in the deployment of the
front air bags, the front safety belts must be replaced if they
were in use. Failure to replace the safety belt assembly could result in
severe personal injuries in the event of a collision.
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Safety belt usage sensors
The driver and front outboard passenger safety belt buckles are
equipped with sensors that detect if the safety belts are fastened. The
sensors provide information to the Personal Safety System which can
then adapt the air bag deployment or safety belt pretensioner activation
based upon safety belt usage.
The Personal Safety System provides the most benefit to belted
occupants. The system monitors and tailors the air bag
deployment based upon safety belt usage. Failure to properly wear
your safety belt will increase your risk of injury.
Front safety belt height adjustment
Your vehicle has safety belt height
adjustments for the driver and front
passenger. Adjust the height of the
shoulder belt so the belt rests
across the middle of your shoulder.
To lower the shoulder belt height,
pull the control down and slide the
height adjuster down. To raise
the height of the shoulder belt,
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.
Lap belts
Adjusting the center lap belt
The lap belt does not adjust automatically.
The lap belt should fit snugly and as low as possible around the
hips, not across the waist.
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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 belts for rear-facing occupants (wagon only)
Never use child safety seats in the third seat of a wagon.
Your vehicle is equipped with safety belts containing an adjust tongue at
the rear-facing seating positions.
When the adjust tongue of the lap/shoulder combination seat belt is
latched into the buckle, the tongue will allow the lap portion to become
shorter, but locks the webbing in place to restrict it from becoming
longer.
Before you reach and latch a combination lap and shoulder belt having
an adjust tongue into the buckle, you may have to lengthen the lap belt
portion of it. To lengthen the lap belt, pull some webbing out of the
shoulder belt retractor. While holding the webbing below the tongue,
grasp the tongue so that it is parallel to the webbing and slide the
tongue upward. Provide enough length so that the tongue can reach the
buckle.
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To fasten the belt, pull the combination lap and shoulder belt from the
retractor so that the shoulder belt portion of the safety belt crosses your
shoulder and chest. Be sure the belt is not twisted. If the belt is twisted,
remove the twist. Insert the tongue into the proper buckle for your
seating position until you hear a snap and feel it latch. Make sure the
tongue is securely fastened to the buckle by pulling on the tongue.
The lap belt should fit snugly and as low as possible around the
hips, not across the waist.
Front and rear seat occupants, including pregnant women,
should wear safety belts for optimum protection in an accident.
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.
Due to folding rear seats, sometimes the buckles and tongues toward the
center of the vehicle may be hidden by the rear edge of the seat cushion.
Pull them out so they will be accessible.
While you are fastened in the seat belt, the shoulder belt adjusts to your
movement. However, if you brake hard, turn hard or your vehicle
receives an impact of 8 km/h (5 mph) or more, the safety belt will
become locked and help reduce your forward movement.
To unfasten the belt, push the red release button on the end of the
buckle. This allows the tongue to unlatch from the buckle. While the belt
retracts, guide the tongue to its original position to prevent it from
striking you or the vehicle.
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.
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Conditions of operation
If... Then...
The driver’s 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’s 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’s 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 before the vehicle has
reached at least 5 km/h (3
mph) and 1-2 minutes have
elapsed since the ignition
switch has been turned to
ON...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.
The driver’s safety belt is
buckled before the ignition
switch is turned to the ON
position...The BeltMinder feature will not
activate.
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The following are reasons most often given for not wearing safety belts:
(All statistics based on U.S. data)
Reasons given... Consider...
“Crashes are rare events”36700 crashes occur every day.The
more we drive, the more we are
exposed to“rare”events, even for
good drivers.1 in 4 of us will be
seriously injured in a crash during
our lifetime.
“I’m not going far”3of4fatal crashes occur within25
miles of home.
“Belts are uncomfortable”We design our safety belts to enhance
comfort. If you are uncomfortable -
try different positions for the safety
belt upper anchorage and seatback
which should be as upright as
possible; this can improve comfort.
“I was in a hurry”Prime time for an accident.
BeltMinder reminds us to take a few
seconds to buckle up.
“Seat belts don’t work”Safety belts,when used properly,
reduce risk of deathto front seat
occupants by45% in cars,and by
60% in light trucks.
“Traffic is light”Nearly 1 of 2 deaths occur in
single-vehicle crashes,many when
no other vehicles are around.
“Belts wrinkle my clothes”Possibly, but a serious crash can do
much more than wrinkle your clothes,
particularly if you are unbelted.
“The people I’m with don’t
wear belts”Set the example, teen deaths occur 4
times more often in vehicles with
TWO or MORE people. Children and
younger brothers/sisters imitate
behavior they see.
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