Ford Freestyle (2007 year). Manual — part 37

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”

3 of 4 fatal crashes occur within
25 miles (40 km) 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

威 reminds us to take a few

seconds to buckle up.

“Safety belts don’t work”

Safety belts, when used properly,
reduce risk of death to front seat
occupants by 45% 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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150

Reasons given...

Consider...

“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. People who are
ejected are 40 times more likely
to DIE. Safety belts help prevent
ejection, WE CAN’T “PICK OUR
CRASH”.

Do not sit on top of a buckled safety belt or insert a latchplate
into the buckle to avoid the BeltMinder

威 chime. To do so may

adversely affect the performance of the vehicle’s air bag system.

One time disable

If at any time the driver/front passenger quickly buckles then unbuckles
the safety belt for that seating position, the BeltMinder

威 is disabled for

the current ignition cycle. The BeltMinder

威 feature will enable during the

same ignition cycle if the occupant buckles and remains buckled for
approximately 30 seconds. Confirmation is not given for the one time
disable.

Deactivating/activating the BeltMinder

姞 feature

The driver and front passenger BeltMinder

威 are

deactivated/activated independently. When deactivating/activating
one seating position, do not buckle the other position as this will
terminate the process.

Read Steps 1 - 4 thoroughly before proceeding with the
deactivation/activation programming procedure.

Note: The driver and front passenger BeltMinder

威 features must be

disabled/enabled separately. Both cannot be disable/enabled during the
same key cycle.

The driver and front passenger BeltMinder

威 features can be

deactivated/activated by performing the following procedure:

Before following the procedure, make sure that:
• The parking brake is set
• The gearshift is in P (Park) (automatic transmission)

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151

• The ignition switch is in the OFF position
• The driver and front passenger safety belts are unbuckled

While the design allows you to deactivate your BeltMinder

威, this

system is designed to improve your chances of being safely

belted and surviving an accident. We recommend you leave the
BeltMinder

威 system activated for yourself and others who may use the

vehicle. To reduce the risk of injury, do not deactivate/activate the
BeltMinder

威 feature while driving the vehicle.

1. Turn the ignition switch to the RUN (or ON) position. (DO NOT
START THE ENGINE)

2. Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off. (Approximately
1 minute)
• Step 3 must be completed within 50 seconds after the safety belt

warning light turns off.

3. For the seating position being disabled, at a moderate speed, buckle
then unbuckle the safety belt 9 times, ending in the unbuckled state.
(Step 3 must be completed within 50 seconds after the safety belt
warning light turns off.)
• After Step 3, the restraint system warning light (airbag light) will be

turned on for three seconds.

4. Within 10 seconds of the light turning on, at a moderate speed, buckle
then unbuckle the safety belt.
• This will disable the BeltMinder威 feature for that seating position if it

is currently enabled. As confirmation, the restraint system warning
light will flash 4 times per second for 3 seconds.

• This will enable the BeltMinder威 feature for that seating position if it

is currently disabled. As confirmation, the restraint system warning
light will flash 4 times per second for 3 seconds, followed by
3 seconds with the light off, then followed by the restraint system
warning light flashing 4 times per second for 3 seconds again.

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152

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.

Important SRS precautions

The SRS is designed to work with
the safety belt 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.

All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver, should always
properly wear their safety belts, even when an air bag

supplemental restraint system (SRS) is provided.

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