Ford E-450 (2018 year). Manual — part 6

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION

WARNINGS

Always drive and ride with the seat
backrest upright and the lap belt
snug and low across the hips.

To reduce the risk of injury, make
sure children sit where they can be
properly restrained.

Never let a passenger hold a child on
his or her lap while your vehicle is
moving. The passenger cannot

protect the child from injury in a crash
which may result in serious injury or death.

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

when an airbag supplemental restraint
system is provided. Failure to properly wear
your safety belt could seriously increase
the risk of injury or death.

It is extremely dangerous to ride in a
cargo area, inside or outside of a
vehicle. In a crash, people riding in

these areas are more likely to be seriously
injured or killed. Do not allow people to ride
in any area of your vehicle that is not
equipped with seats and safety belts. Be
sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat
and using a safety belt properly.

In a rollover crash, an unbelted
person is significantly more likely to
die than a person wearing a safety

belt.

Each seating position in your vehicle
has a specific safety belt assembly
which is made up of one buckle and

one tongue that are designed to be used
as a pair. 1) Use the shoulder belt on the
outside shoulder only. Never wear the
shoulder belt under the arm. 2) Never
swing the safety belt around your neck over
the inside shoulder. 3) Never use a single
belt for more than one person.

WARNINGS

When possible, all children 12 years
old and under should be properly
restrained in a rear seating position.

Failure to follow this could seriously
increase the risk of injury or death.

Safety belts and seats can become
hot in a vehicle that has been closed
up in sunny weather; they could burn

a small child. Check seat covers and
buckles before you place a child anywhere
near them.

Front and rear seat occupants,
including pregnant women, should
wear safety belts for optimum

protection in an accident.

All seating positions in this vehicle have
lap and shoulder safety belts. All
occupants of the vehicle should always
properly wear their safety belts, even when
an airbag supplemental restraint system
is provided.

The safety belt system consists of:
•

Lap and shoulder safety belts.

•

Shoulder safety belt with automatic
locking mode, (except driver safety
belt).

•

Height adjuster at the front outboard
seating positions.

•

Safety belt pretensioner at the front
outboard seating positions.

E71880

•

Safety belt warning light and chime.

E67017

•

Crash sensors and monitoring system
with readiness indicator.

The safety belt pretensioners at the front
seating positions are designed to tighten
the safety belts when activated. In frontal
and near-frontal crashes, the safety belt
pretensioners may be activated alone or,
if the crash is of sufficient severity, together
with the front airbags.

FASTENING THE SEATBELTS

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

E142587

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.

E142588

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.

E142590

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

If your vehicle is involved in a crash,
have the seatbelts and associated
components inspected as soon as

possible. Failure to follow this instruction
could result in personal injury or death.

All safety restraints in the vehicle are
combination lap and shoulder belts. The
driver seatbelt has the first type of locking
mode. The front outboard passenger
seatbelt has 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 will still
retract 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 the
passenger front seating position. See
Child Safety (page 15).

How to Use the Automatic Locking
Mode

E142591

1.

Buckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt.

2. Grasp the shoulder portion and pull

downward until the entire belt is pulled
out.

3. 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 activate the vehicle
sensitive (emergency) locking mode.

SEATBELT HEIGHT
ADJUSTMENT

WARNING

Position the safety belt height
adjuster 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.

E190812

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...

CHILD RESTRAINT AND
SEATBELT MAINTENANCE

Inspect the vehicle seatbelts and child
restraint systems periodically to make sure
they work properly and are not damaged.
Inspect the vehicle seatbelts to make sure
there are no nicks, tears or cuts. Replace if
necessary. All vehicle seatbelt assemblies,
including retractors, buckles, front seatbelt
buckle assemblies, buckle support
assemblies (slide bar-if equipped),
shoulder belt height adjusters (if

equipped), shoulder belt guide on seatback
(if equipped), rear inflatable seatbelts (if
equipped), child restraint LATCH and
tether anchors, and attaching hardware,
should be inspected after a crash. Read
the child restraint manufacturer's
instructions for additional inspection and
maintenance information specific to the
child restraint.