Ford Taurus (2018 year). Manual — part 7

FASTENING THE SEATBELTS

The front outboard and rear safety
restraints in the vehicle are combination
lap and shoulder belts.

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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, press the release button

and remove the tongue from the
buckle.

Using Seatbelts During Pregnancy

WARNING

Always ride and drive with your
seatback upright and properly fasten
your seatbelt. Fit the lap portion of

the seatbelt snugly and low across the
hips. Position the shoulder portion of the
seatbelt across your chest. Pregnant
women must follow this practice. See the
following figure.

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Pregnant women should always wear their
seatbelt. Position the lap belt portion of a
combination lap and shoulder belt low
across the hips below the belly and worn
as tight as comfort allows. Position the
shoulder belt to cross the middle of the
shoulder and the center of the chest.

Seatbelt Locking Modes

WARNING

After a crash, have a qualified
technician check all the seatbelts to
make sure the seatbelts including

the automatic locking retractor feature for
child restraints operate properly. We
recommend replacing any system that has
damage or does not operate properly.
Failure to do so can result in personal injury
or death in the event of a sudden stop or
another crash.

All safety restraints in the vehicle are
combination lap and shoulder belts. The
driver seatbelt has the first type of locking
mode, and the front outboard passenger
and rear seat seatbelts have both types of
locking modes described as follows:

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 about 5 mph
(8 km/h) or more, the combination
seatbelts lock to help reduce forward
movement of the driver and passengers.

In addition, the retractor is designed to lock
if you pull the webbing out too quickly. If
the seatbelt retractor locks, slowly lower
the height adjuster to allow the seatbelt
to retract. If the retractor does not unlock,
pull the seatbelt out slowly then feed a
small length of webbing back toward the
stowed position. For rear seatbelts, recline
the rear seat backrest or push the seat
backrest cushion away from the seatbelt.
Feed a small length of webbing back
toward the stowed position.

Automatic Locking Mode

In this mode, the shoulder belt
automatically pre-locks. The belt retracts
to remove any slack in the shoulder belt.
The automatic locking mode is not
available on the driver seatbelt.

When to Use the Automatic Locking
Mode

Use this mode any time a child safety seat,
except a booster, is installed in passenger
front or rear seating positions. Properly
restrain children 12 years old and under in
a rear seating position whenever possible.
See Child Safety (page 18).

How to Use the Automatic Locking
Mode

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1.

Buckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt.

2. Grasp the shoulder portion and pull

downward until you pull the entire belt
out. Allow the belt to retract. As the
belt retracts, you will hear a clicking
sound. This indicates the seatbelt is
now in the automatic locking mode.

How to Disengage the Automatic
Locking Mode

Unbuckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt and allow it to retract
completely to disengage the automatic
locking mode and turn on the vehicle
sensitive (emergency) locking mode.

SEATBELT HEIGHT
ADJUSTMENT

WARNING

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
safety belt and increase the risk of injury in
a crash.

Adjust the height of the shoulder belt so
the belt rests across the middle of your
shoulder.

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To adjust the shoulder belt height:

1.

Press the button and slide the height
adjuster up or down.

2. Release the button and pull down on

the height adjuster to make sure it is
locked in place.

SEATBELT WARNING LAMP
AND INDICATOR CHIME

E71880

This lamp illuminates and an
audible warning will sound if the
driver seatbelt has not been

fastened when the vehicle's ignition is
turned on.

Conditions of operation

Then

If

The seatbelt warning light illuminates and

the warning chime sounds for a few

seconds.

The driver seatbelt is not buckled before

the ignition switch is turned to the on posi-

tion...

The seatbelt warning light and warning

chime turn off.

The driver seatbelt is buckled while the

indicator light is illuminated and the

warning chime is sounding...

The seatbelt warning light and indicator

chime remain off.

The driver seatbelt is buckled before the

ignition switch is turned to the on position...

SEATBELT REMINDER

Belt-Minder™

This feature supplements the safety belt
warning function by providing additional
reminders that intermittently sound a tone
and illuminate the safety belt warning light
when you are in the driver seat or you have
a front seat passenger and a safety belt is
unbuckled.

The system uses information from the
front passenger sensing system to
determine if a front seat passenger is
present and therefore potentially in need
of a warning. To avoid activating the
Belt-Minder feature for objects you place
in the front passenger seat, only the front
seat passengers receive warnings as
determined by the front passenger sensing
system.

If the Belt-Minder warnings expire
(warnings for about five minutes) for one
passenger (driver or front passenger), the
other passenger can still cause the
Belt-Minder feature to turn on.

Then...

If...

The Belt-Minder feature will not activate.

You and the front seat passenger buckle

your safety belts before you switch the

ignition on or less than 1-2 minutes elapse

after you switch the ignition on...

The Belt-Minder feature activates, the

safety belt warning light illuminates and a

warning tone sounds for 6 seconds every

25 seconds, repeating for about 5 minutes

or until you and the front seat passenger

buckle your safety belts.

You or the front seat passenger do not

buckle your safety belts before your vehicle

reaches at least 6 mph (9.7 km/h) and 1-2

minutes elapse after you switch the ignition

on...

The Belt-Minder feature activates, the

safety belt warning light illuminates and a

warning tone sounds for 6 seconds every

25 seconds, repeating for about 5 minutes

or until you and the front seat passenger

buckle your safety belts.

The safety belt for the driver or front

passenger is unbuckled for about 1 minute

while the vehicle is traveling at least 6 mph

(9.7 km/h) and more than 1-2 minutes

elapse after you switch the ignition on...

Deactivating and Activating the
Belt-Minder Feature

WARNING

While the system allows you to
deactivate it, this system is designed
to improve your chances of being

safely belted and surviving an accident.
We recommend you leave the system
activated for yourself and others who may
use the vehicle.

Note:

The driver and front passenger

warnings switch on and off independently.
When you perform this procedure for one
seating position, do not buckle the other
position as this will terminate the process.

Note:

If you are using MyKey, you cannot

disable Belt-Minder. Also, if the Belt-Minder
has been previously disabled, it will be
re-enabled during the use of MyKey. See
MyKey™ (page 51).

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

Before following the procedure, make sure
that:
•

The parking brake is set.

•

The transmission is in park (P).

•

The ignition is off.

•

The driver and front passenger safety
belts are unbuckled.

1.

Switch the ignition on. Do not start the
vehicle.

2. Wait until the safety belt warning light

turns off (about one minute). After
Step 2, wait an additional 5 seconds
before proceeding with Step 3. Once
you start Step 3, you must complete
the procedure within 20 seconds.