airbag disable FORD TAURUS 2012 6.G Owners Manual

Reasons given... Consider...
“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.
“I have an airbag” Airbags offer greater protection when
used with safety belts. Frontal airbags
are not designed to inflate in rear and
side crashes or rollovers.
“I’d rather be thrown clear” Not a good idea.Peoplewho are
ejected are 40 times more likely
to DIE.Safety belts help prevent
ejection, WE CAN’T “PICK OUR
CRASH”.
WARNING:Do not sit on top of a buckled safety belt or insert a
latchplate into the buckle to avoid the Belt-Minderchime. To
do so may adversely affect the performance of the vehicle’s airbag
system.
Deactivating/activating the Belt-Minderfeature
The driver and front passenger Belt-Minderare
deactivated/activated independently. When deactivating/activating
one seating position, do not buckle the other position as this will
terminate the process.
Read Steps1-5thoroughly before proceeding with the
deactivation/activation programming procedure.
Note:The driver and front passenger Belt-Minderfeatures must be
disabled/enabled separately. Both cannot be disable/enabled during the
same key cycle.
Seating and Safety Restraints
169
2012 Taurus
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

•This will enable the Belt-Minderfeature for that seating position if it
is currently disabled. As confirmation, the safety belt warning light will
flash four times per second for three seconds, followed by three
seconds with the light off, then followed by the safety belt warning
light flashing four times per second for three seconds again.
AIRBAG SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM (SRS)
The airbag supplemental restraint system (SRS) is designed to work in
conjunction with the safety belts to help protect the driver and front
outboard passenger from certain upper body injuries. The term
“supplemental restraint” means the airbags are intended as a supplement
to the safety belts. Airbags alone cannot protect as well as airbags plus
safety belts in impacts for which the airbags are designed to deploy, and
airbags do not offer any protection in crashes for which they do not
deploy.
Seating and Safety Restraints
171
2012 Taurus
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

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 collision.
The SRS consists of:
•driver and passenger airbag modules (which include the inflators and
airbags).
•side airbags and Safety Canopy. Refer toSeat-mounted side airbag
systemandSafety Canopysystemlater in this chapter.
•one or more impact and safing sensors.
•driver and front passenger safety belt pretensioner
•a readiness light and tone.
•diagnostic module.
•the electrical wiring which connects the components.
•Front passenger sensing system. Refer toFront passenger sensing
systemlater in this chapter.
•“Passenger airbag off” or “pass airbag off” indicator lamp. Refer to
Front passenger sensing systemlater in this chapter.
The diagnostic module monitors its own internal circuits and the
supplemental airbag electrical system wiring (including the impact
sensors), the system wiring, the airbag system readiness light, the airbag
back-up power and the airbag ignitors.
Front passenger sensing system
The front passenger sensing system is designed to meet the regulatory
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208
and is designed to disable (will not inflate) the front passenger’s frontal
airbag under certain conditions.
The front passenger sensing system works with sensors that are part of
the front passenger’s seat and safety belt. The sensors are designed to
detect the presence of a properly seated occupant and determine if the
front passenger’s frontal airbag should be enabled (may inflate) or
disabled (will not inflate).
The front passenger sensing system will disable (will not inflate) the
front passenger’s frontal airbag if:
•the front passenger seat is unoccupied, or has small/medium objects in
the front seat,
Seating and Safety Restraints
175
2012 Taurus
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

•the system determines that an infant is present in a rear-facing infant
seat that is installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions,
•the system determines that a small child is present in a forward-facing
child restraint that is installed according to the manufacturer’s
instructions,
•the system determines that a small child is present in a booster seat,
•a front passenger takes his/her weight off of the seat for a period of
time,
•a child or a small person occupies the front passenger seat.
Note:When the passenger airbag off light is illuminated, the passenger
(seat mounted) side airbag may be disabled to avoid the risk of airbag
deployment injuries.
The front passenger sensing system
uses apassenger airbag offor
pass airbag offindicator which will
illuminate and stay lit to remind you
that the front passenger frontal
airbag is disabled. The indicator
lamp is located on the instrument panel above the radio or navigation
screen.
Note: The indicator lamp will illuminate for a short period of time when
the ignition is turned to the on position to confirm it is functional.
When the front passenger seat is not occupied (empty seat) or in the
event that the front passenger frontal airbag is enabled (may inflate), the
indicator lamp will be unlit.
The front passenger sensing system is designed to disable (will not
inflate) the front passenger’s frontal airbag when a rear facing infant
seat, a forward-facing child restraint, or a booster seat is detected.
•When the front passenger sensing system disables (will not inflate)
the front passenger frontal airbag, the indicator lamp will illuminate
and stay lit to remind you that the front passenger frontal airbag is
disabled.
•If the child restraint has been installed and the indicator lamp is not
lit, then turn the vehicle off, remove the child restraint from the
vehicle and reinstall the restraint following the child restraint
manufacturer’s instructions.
The front passenger sensing system is designed to enable (may inflate)
the front passenger’s frontal airbag anytime the system senses that a
person of adult size is sitting properly in the front passenger seat.
Seating and Safety Restraints
176
2012 Taurus
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

•When the front passenger sensing system enables the front passenger
frontal airbag (may inflate), the indicator will be unlit and stay unlit.
If a person of adult size is sitting in the front passenger’s seat, but the
passenger airbag offorpass airbag offindicator lamp is lit, it is
possible that the person isn’t sitting properly in the seat. If this happens:
•Turn the vehicle off and ask the person to place the seatback in the
full upright position.
•Have the person sit upright in the seat, centered on the seat cushion,
with the person’s legs comfortably extended.
•Restart the vehicle and have the person remain in this position for
about two minutes. This will allow the system to detect that person
and enable the passenger’s frontal airbag.
•If the indicator lamp remains lit even after this, the person should be
advised to ride in the rear seat.
OccupantPass Airbag Off
Indicator LightPassenger Airbag
Empty seat Unlit Disabled
Small child in child
safety seat or boosterLit Disabled
Small child with safety
belt buckled or
unbuckledLit Disabled
Adult Unlit Enabled
WARNING:Even with Advanced Restraints Systems, children
12 and under should be properly restrained in a rear seating
position.
After all occupants have adjusted their seats and put on safety belts, it’s
very important that they continue to sit properly. A properly seated
occupant sits upright, leaning against the seat back, and centered 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.
Seating and Safety Restraints
177
2012 Taurus
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

WARNING:Sitting improperly out of position or with the seat
back reclined too far can take off weight from the seat cushion
and affect the decision of the front passenger sensing system, resulting
in serious injury or death in a crash.
Always sit upright against your seatback, with your feet on the floor.
The front passenger sensing system may detect small or medium objects
placed on the seat cushion. For most objects that are in the front
passenger seat, the passenger airbag will be disabled. Even though the
passenger airbag is disabled, thepass airbag offlamp may or may not
be illuminated according to the table below.
ObjectsPass Airbag Off
Indicator LightPassenger Airbag
Small (i.e. three-ring
binder, small purse,
bottled water)Unlit Disabled
Medium (i.e. heavy
briefcase, fully packed
luggage)Lit Disabled
Empty seat, or small
to medium object with
safety belt buckledLit Disabled
If you think that the status of the passenger airbag off indicator lamp is
incorrect, check for the following:
•Objects lodged underneath the seat
•Objects between the seat cushion and the center console (if
equipped)
•Objects hanging off the seat back
•Objects stowed in the seatback map pocket (if equipped)
•Objects placed on the occupant’s lap
•Cargo interference with the seat
•Other passengers pushing or pulling on the seat
•Rear passenger feet and knees resting or pushing on the seat
The conditions listed above may cause the weight of a properly seated
occupant to be incorrectly interpreted by the passenger sensing system.
The person in the front passenger seat may appear heavier or lighter due
to the conditions described in the list above.
Seating and Safety Restraints
178
2012 Taurus
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

A
Accessory delay ..........................84
Adaptive Cruise Control .............89
AdvanceTrac ..............................245
AdvanceTrac Sport Mode .........250
Airbag supplemental restraint
system ................171–172, 180, 182
and child safety seats ............173
description ..............172, 180, 182
disposal ....................................186
driver airbag ............174, 181, 183
indicator light .................180, 185
operation .................174, 181, 183
passenger airbag .....174, 181, 183
side airbag ...............................180
Air cleaner filter ...............363, 367
Air conditioning ....................51, 54
automatic temperature
control system ..........................57
manual heating and air
conditioning system .................51
All Wheel Drive (AWD),
driving off road .........................273
Ambient mood/lighting ...............69
Antifreeze
(see Engine coolant) ................339
Anti-lock brake system
(see Brakes) ..............................243
Anti-theft system ..............131, 136
arming the system ..................136
disarming a triggered
system .....................................136
Audio system (see Radio) .........32
Automatic transaxle
fluid, refill capacities ..............368
fluid, specification ..................368Automatic transmission
driving an automatic
overdrive .........................253, 255
fluid, adding ............................358
fluid, checking ........................358
Selectshift (SST) ....................257
Auxiliary input jack (Line in) ....42
B
Battery .......................................337
acid, treating emergencies .....337
jumping a disabled battery ....307
maintenance-free ....................337
replacement, specifications ...367
servicing ..................................337
Belt-Minder.............................167
Blind Spot Information
System .......................................267
Blind spot mirror ......................266
Booster seats .............................199
Brakes ........................................242
anti-lock ...................................243
anti-lock brake system (ABS)
warning light ...........................243
fluid, checking and adding ....358
fluid, refill capacities ..............368
fluid, specifications .................368
lubricant specifications ..........368
parking ....................................244
shift interlock ..........................251
Bulbs ............................................70
C
Capacities for refilling fluids ....368
Cargo cover ...............................101
Cargo net ...................................106
Cell phone use ..............................9
Index
400
2012 Taurus
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)