Safety Belt System: Notes
WARNING:
All safety belt components including retractors, belt tension sensor (BTS), buckles, front seat belt buckle support assemblies (slide bar), if equipped, shoulder belt height adjusters, if equipped, child safety seat tether bracket assemblies, if equipped, and attaching hardware should be inspected after any collision. Ford recommends new safety belt assemblies be installed unless a qualified technician finds the assemblies show no damage and operate correctly. Safety belt assemblies not in use during a collision should also be inspected and new assemblies installed if either damage or incorrect operation is noted. The Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) feature of the safety belt retractor must be checked by a qualified technician to verify that the ALR feature for a child seat is functioning correctly, in addition to other checks for correct safety belt system function. A new belt and retractor assembly must be installed if the safety belt assembly's "automatic locking retractor" feature, or any other safety belt function, is not operating correctly when inspected according to the functional inspection procedure in the article. Failure to install a new belt and retractor assembly could increase the risk of injury in a collision.
WARNING:
Each seating position in the vehicle has a specific safety belt assembly which consists of one buckle and one tongue. The safety belt assembly is designed to be used as a pair and is not to be used across seating positions.
WARNING:
Never put a rear-facing child seat on the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger air bag. If the air bag deploys, it can hit the back of the child seat with enough force to cause severe injury or death to the infant.
WARNING:
A forward-facing child safety seat should only be placed in the front seat when it is unavoidable. If you must place a forward-facing child seat in the front, always move the seat as far back as possible, because the force of the deploying front passenger air bag could cause death or serious injury to the infant. If the vehicle is equipped with a passenger air bag deactivation switch, the passenger air bag must be deactivated.
NOTE:
New safety belt buckles, height adjusters, center adjust tongues, and belts and retractors can be installed separately. However, if a safety belt assembly was in use during a collision, a new belt and retractor must be installed as well as the center adjust tongue, and belt and buckle assembly or the center adjust tongue, and the cable and buckle assembly. When installing new safety belts and buckles, height adjusters, safety cables and buckles, center adjust tongues, and belt and retractors, use only the parts specified in the Ford Master Parts Catalog for the make and model of the vehicle being repaired. Safety belt assemblies must not be interchanged between vehicle models.
The active restraint system consists of the following components:
- Front safety belt buckles, attached to the inboard side of the seats
- Front safety belt retractors and pretensioners, located behind the lower B-pillar trim panels
- Belt tension sensor (BTS), serviced as an assembly with the safety belt buckle of the passenger front seat
- Rear outboard safety belt retractors, located in the package tray area (3-door, 4-door and 5-door vehicles) or behind the load space upper trim panel (wagon vehicles)
- Rear center safety belt retractor on 3-door, 5-door and wagon vehicles, located in back of the seat backrest, mounted to the back panel (includes the LH safety belt buckle)
- Rear center safety belt retractor on 4-door vehicles, located and mounted to the package tray (includes the LH safety belt buckle)
- Rear safety belt buckle assembly (double buckle includes the RH and center safety belt buckles), attached to the floor pan
- Second row child safety seat tether anchors, at all three seating positions, either located under a cover marked with the tether anchor symbol or recessed bars on the back side of the seatback
- Rear lower anchors and tethers for children (LATCH) at the two outboard seating positions, attached to the floor pan