Ford E-450 (2018 year). Manual — part 8

E190814

1.

Insert the ignition key into the
passenger airbag on and off switch and
turn the switch to on.

2. The off light will briefly illuminate when

the ignition is turned on. This indicates
that the passenger airbag is
operational.

The passenger side airbag should always
be on (the airbag off light should not be
illuminated) unless the passenger is a
person who meets the requirements stated
either in Category 1, 2 or 3 of the National
Highway Traffic Safety
Administration/Transport Canada
deactivation criteria which follows.

The vast majority of drivers and passengers
are much safer with an airbag than
without. To do their job and reduce the risk
of life threatening injuries, airbags must
open with great force, and this force can
pose a potentially deadly risk in some
situations, particularly when a front seat
occupant is not properly buckled up. The
most effective way to reduce the risk of
unnecessary airbag injuries without
reducing the overall safety of the vehicle
is to make sure all occupants are properly
restrained in the vehicle, especially in the
front seat. This provides the protection of
seatbelts and permits the airbags to
provide the additional protection they were
designed to provide. If you choose to
deactivate your airbag, you are losing the

very significant risk reducing benefits of
the airbag and you are also reducing the
effectiveness of the seatbelts, because
seatbelts in modern vehicles are designed
to work as a safety system with the
airbags.

National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration Deactivation Criteria
(Excluding Canada)

WARNING

This vehicle has special energy
management seatbelts for the driver
and right front passenger. These

particular seatbelts are specifically
designed to work with airbags to help
reduce the risk of injury in a crash. The
energy management seatbelt gives or
releases additional seatbelt webbing in
some accidents to reduce the
concentration of force on an occupant's
chest and to reduce the risk of certain bone
fractures and injuries to underlying organs.
In a crash, if the airbag is off, this energy
management seatbelt might permit the
passenger wearing the seatbelt to move
forward enough to have a serious or fatal
injury. The more severe the crash, and the
heavier the occupant, the greater the risk.
Make sure the airbag is on for any
passenger who does not qualify under the
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration deactivation criteria.

1. Infant. An infant (less than 1 year old)
must ride in the front seat because:

•

The vehicle has no rear seat.

•

The vehicle has a rear seat too small
to accommodate a rear-facing infant
seat.

•

The infant has a medical condition
which, according to the infant's
physician, makes it necessary for the
infant to ride in the front so that the
driver can constantly monitor the
child's condition.

2. Child age 1 to 12. A child age 1 to 12 must
ride in the front seat because:

•

The vehicle has no rear seat.

•

Although children ages 1 to 12 ride in
the rear seat(s) whenever possible,
children ages 1 to 12 sometimes must
ride in the front because no space is
available in the rear seat(s) of the
vehicle.

•

The child has a medical condition
which, according to the child's
physician, makes it necessary for the
child to ride in the front seat so that the
driver can constantly monitor the
child's condition.

3. Medical condition. A passenger has a
medical condition which, according to his
or her physician:

•

Causes the passenger airbag to pose
a special risk for the passenger.

•

Makes the potential harm from the
passenger airbag in a crash greater
than the potential harm from turning
off the airbag and allowing the
passenger, even if belted, to hit the
dashboard or windshield in a crash.

Transport Canada Deactivation Criteria
(Canada Only)

WARNING

This vehicle has special energy
management seatbelts for the driver
and right front passenger. These

particular seatbelts are specifically
designed to work with airbags to help
reduce the risk of injury in a crash. The
energy management seatbelt gives or
releases additional seatbelt webbing in
some accidents to reduce the
concentration of force on an occupant's
chest and to reduce the risk of certain bone
fractures and injuries to underlying organs.
In a crash, if the airbag is off, this energy
management seatbelt might permit the
passenger wearing the seatbelt to move
forward enough to have a serious or fatal
injury. The more severe the crash, and the
heavier the occupant, the greater the risk.
Make sure the airbag is on for any
passenger who does not qualify under the
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration deactivation criteria.

1. Infant: An infant (less than 1 year old)
must ride in the front seat because:

•

My vehicle has no rear seat.

•

The rear seat in my vehicle cannot
accommodate a rear-facing infant
seat.

•

The infant has a medical condition
which, according to the infant's
physician, makes it necessary for the
infant to ride in the front seat so that
the driver can monitor the infant's
condition.

2. Child age 12 or under: A child age 12 or
under must ride in the front seat because:

•

My vehicle has no rear seat.

•

Although children age 12 and under ride
in the rear seat whenever possible,
children age 12 and under have no
option but to sometimes ride in the
front seat because rear seat space is
insufficient.

•

The child has a medical condition that,
according to the child's physician,
makes it necessary for the child to ride
in the front seat so that the driver can
monitor the child's condition.

3. Medical condition: A passenger has a
medical condition that, according to his or
her physician:

•

Poses a special risk for the passenger
if the airbag deploys.

•

Makes the potential harm from the
passenger airbag deployment greater
than the potential harm from turning
off the airbag and experiencing a crash
without the protection offered by the
airbag.

Proper Driver and Front Passenger
Seating Adjustment

WARNING

National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA)
recommends a minimum distance

of at least 10 in (25 cm) between an
occupant’s chest and the driver airbag
module.

To properly position yourself away from
the airbag:
•

Move your seat to the rear as far as you
can while still reaching the pedals
comfortably.

•

Recline the seat slightly (one or two
degrees) from the upright position.

After all occupants have adjusted their
seats and put on seatbelts, it is very
important that they continue to sit
properly. Properly seated occupants sit
upright, lean against the seat back, and
center themselves 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.

Children and Airbags

WARNING

Airbags can kill or injure a child in a
child restraint. Never place a
rear-facing child restraint in front of

an active airbag. If you must use a
forward-facing child restraint in the front
seat, move the seat upon which the child
seat is installed all the way back.

E142846

Children must always be properly
restrained. Accident statistics suggest that
children are safer when properly restrained
in the rear seating positions than in the
front seating position. Failure to follow
these instructions may increase the risk of
injury in a crash.

CRASH SENSORS AND
AIRBAG INDICATOR

(If Equipped)

WARNING

Modifying or adding equipment to
the front end of the vehicle (including
frame, bumper, front end body

structure and tow hooks) may affect the
performance of the airbag system,
increasing the risk of injury. Do not modify
the front end of the vehicle.

Your vehicle has a collection of crash and
occupant sensors which provide
information to the restraints control
module. The restraints control module
deploys (activates) the front safety belt
pretensioners, driver airbag and passenger
airbag. Based on the type of accident, the
restraints control module will deploy the
appropriate safety devices.

The restraints control module also
monitors the readiness of the above safety
devices plus the crash sensors. The
readiness of the safety system is indicated
by a warning indicator light in the
instrument cluster or by a backup tone if
the warning light is not working. See
Instrument Cluster (page 51). Routine
maintenance of the airbag is not required.

A difficulty with the system is indicated by
one or more of the following:

E67017

The readiness light will not
illuminate immediately after the
ignition is turned on.

•

The readiness light will either flash or
stay lit.

•

A series of five beeps will be heard. The
tone pattern will repeat periodically
until the problem, the light or both are
repaired.

If any of these things happen, even
intermittently, have the supplemental
restraint system serviced at an authorized
dealer immediately. Unless serviced, the
system may not function properly in the
event of a crash.

The safety belt pretensioners and the
airbag supplemental restraint system are
designed to activate when the vehicle
sustains frontal deceleration sufficient to
cause the restraints control module to
deploy a safety device.

The fact that the safety belt pretensioners
or airbags did not activate in a crash does
not mean that something is wrong with the
system. Rather, it means the restraints
control module determined the accident
conditions (such as crash severity, belt
usage) were not appropriate to activate
these safety devices.
•

The design of the front airbags is to
activate only in frontal and near-frontal
crashes (not rollovers, side impacts or
rear impacts) unless the crash causes
sufficient frontal deceleration.

•

The design of the safety belt
pretensioners is to activate in frontal
or near-frontal crashes and may deploy
in rollovers if the vehicle is equipped
with roll stability control.

AIRBAG DISPOSAL

Contact your authorized dealer as soon as
possible. Airbags must be disposed of by
qualified personnel.