Ford Taurus X (2009 year). Manual — part 43

WARNING: Never let a passenger hold a child on his or her lap
while the vehicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the

child from injury in a collision.

WARNING: 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.

WARNING: It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision, 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.

WARNING: In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
significantly more likely to die than a person wearing a seat belt.

WARNING: 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.

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

WARNING: Front and rear seat occupants, including pregnant
women, should wear safety belts for optimum protection in an

accident.

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Combination lap and shoulder belts

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.

2. To unfasten, push the release
button and remove the tongue from
the buckle.

All restraints in the vehicle are combination lap and shoulder belts.

While you are fastened in the safety belt, the combination lap/shoulder
belt adjusts to your movement. However, if you brake hard, turn hard, or
if your vehicle receives an impact of 5 mph (8 km/h) or more, the safety
belt will become locked and help reduce your forward movement.

Energy management feature — front outboard
• This vehicle has a safety belt system with an energy management

feature at the front seats to help further reduce the risk of injury in
the event of a head-on collision.

• The energy management feature has a retractor assembly that is

designed to extend the safety belt webbing in a controlled manner.
This helps reduce the belt force acting on the user’s chest.

WARNING: Failure to inspect and replace if necessary the belt
and retractor assembly after an accident could increase the risk

of injury in a collision.

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All safety restraints in the vehicle are combination lap and shoulder
belts. All of the passenger combination lap and shoulder belts have two
types of locking modes described below:

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

Automatic locking mode

When to use the automatic locking mode

In this mode, the shoulder belt is automatically pre-locked. The belt will
still retract to remove any slack in the shoulder belt. The automatic
locking mode is not available on the driver safety belt.

This mode should be used any time a child safety seat (except a
booster) is installed in a passenger front or outboard rear seating
position (if equipped). Children 12 years old and under should be
properly restrained in the rear seat whenever possible. Refer to Safety
restraints for children or Safety seats for children later in this chapter.

How to use the automatic locking mode
• Buckle the combination lap and

shoulder belt.

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176

• Grasp the shoulder portion and

pull downward until the entire
belt is pulled out.

• Allow the belt to retract. As the belt retracts, you will hear a clicking

sound. This indicates the safety belt is now in the automatic locking
mode.

How to disengage the automatic locking mode

WARNING: Ford Motor Company recommends that all
passenger safety belt assemblies and attaching hardware should

be inspected by an authorized dealer after any collision to verify that
the

⬙automatic locking retractor⬙ feature for child seats is still working

properly. Safety belt assemblies should be inspected by an authorized
dealer and must be replaced if either damage or improper operation is
noted. Failure to replace the belt and retractor assembly could
increase the risk of injury in a collision.

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

Safety belt height adjustment

Your vehicle has safety belt height
adjustments for the front outboard
seating positions.

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

To adjust the shoulder belt height,
squeeze the button and slide the
height adjuster up or down. Release
the button and pull down on the
height adjuster to make sure it is locked in place.

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