Ford Explorer Sport (2003 year). Manual — part 17

• The front outboard safety belt system has a retractor assembly that is

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

BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE REPLACED if
the safety belt assembly automatic locking retractor feature or

any other safety belt function is not operating properly when checked
according to the procedures in Workshop Manual. Failure to replace
the Belt and Retractor assembly could increase the risk of injury in
collisions.

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

Automatic locking mode

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

shoulder belt.

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• Grasp the shoulder portion and

pull downward until the entire
belt is extracted.

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

sound. When you hear the clicking sound, the safety belt is now in the
automatic locking mode.

How to disengage the automatic locking mode

Disconnect 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.

After any vehicle collision, the safety belt systems at all outboard
seating positions (except the driver position, which doesn’t have

this feature) must be checked by a qualified technician to verify that
the automatic locking retractor feature for child seats is still
functioning properly. In addition, all seat belts should be checked for
proper function.

BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE REPLACED if
the seat belt assembly “automatic locking retractor” feature or

any other seat belt function is not operating properly when checked
according to the procedures in Workshop Manual. Failure to replace
the Belt and Retractor assembly could increase the risk of injury in
collisions.

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 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.

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71

Front safety belt height adjustment

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

To adjust the shoulder belt height,
push 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.

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
seat belt and increase the risk of
injury in a collision.

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.

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72

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

The front and rear outboard safety restraints in the vehicle are
combination lap and shoulder belts. The front passenger and rear seat
outboard safety belts have two types of locking modes described below:

Safety belt pretensioner

Your vehicle is equipped with safety belt pretensioners at the driver and
right front passenger seating positions.

The safety belt pretensioner removes some slack from the safety belt
system at the start of a crash. The safety belt pretensioner uses the
same crash sensor system as the front airbags and Safety Canopy

娂

system. When the safety belt pretensioner deploys, the lap and shoulder
belt are tightened.

When the Safety Canopy

娂 system and/or the front airbags are activated,

the safety belt pretensioners for the driver and right front passenger
seating positions will be activated when the respective seatbelt is
properly buckled.

The driver and the right front passenger seat belt system
(including retractors, buckles and height adjusters) must be

replaced if the vehicle is involved in a collision that results in
deployment of front air bags or Safety Canopy

娂 and safety belt

pretensioners.

Refer to the Safety belt maintenance section in this chapter.

Safety belt warning light and indicator chime

The seat belt warning light illuminates in the instrument cluster and a
chime sounds to remind the occupants to fasten their safety belts.

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