Ford Super Duty (2018 year). Manual — part 11

DRIVER AND PASSENGER
AIRBAGS

WARNINGS

Never place your arm over the airbag
module as a deploying airbag can
result in serious arm fractures or

other injuries.

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.

E151127

The driver and front passenger airbags
deploy during significant frontal and near
frontal crashes.

The driver and passenger front airbag
system consists of:
•

Driver and passenger airbag modules.

E67017

· Crash sensors and monitoring
system with readiness indicator.
See Crash Sensors and Airbag

Indicator (page 54).

Passenger Airbag On and Off
Switch

(If Equipped)

WARNINGS

Even with advanced restraints
systems, properly restrain children
12 and under in a rear seating

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

The front passenger airbag is not
designed to offer protection to an
occupant in the center seating

position.

Your vehicle may have an airbag
deactivation switch. Before driving,
always look at the switch to make

sure it is in the appropriate position. Failure
to put the switch in the proper position can
increase the risk of serious injury or death
in a crash.

E181984

High-series vehicles (if equipped)

The front passenger airbag on and off
switch has indicators that illuminate,
indicating that the front passenger frontal
airbag is either on or off. The indicator lamp
is near the center of the instrument panel.

Note: The passenger airbag status indicator
OFF and ON lamps illuminate for a short
period of time when you switch the ignition
on to confirm it is functional.

Passenger airbag

Passenger airbag status

indicator

Switch position

Disabled

OFF: Lit

Off

ON: Unlit

Enabled

OFF: Unlit

On

ON: Lit

E229376

Low-series vehicles (if equipped)

The front passenger airbag on and off
switch has an indicator that illuminates
and stays lit to remind you that the front
passenger frontal airbag is off. The
indicator lamp is near the center of the
instrument panel.

Note: The indicator lamp illuminates for a
short period of time when you switch the
ignition on to confirm it is functional.

Turning the Passenger Airbag Off

WARNINGS

If the light does not illuminate when
the passenger airbag switch is off
and you switch the ignition on, have

the passenger airbag switch serviced
immediately by a qualified technician.

To avoid switching on the airbag,
always remove the ignition key with
the switch in the off position.

WARNINGS

If your vehicle has rear seats, always
transport children who are 12 and
younger in the rear seat. Always use

seatbelts and child restraints properly. Do
not place a child in a rear facing infant seat
in the front seat unless your vehicle is
equipped with an airbag on and off switch
and the passenger airbag is turned off. This
is because the back of the infant seat is
too close to the inflating airbag and the
risk of a fatal injury to the infant when the
airbag inflates is substantial.

The passenger airbag on and off switch is
in the glovebox.

E181522

1.

Insert the ignition key, turn the switch
to OFF and hold in OFF while removing
the key.

2. When you switch the ignition on, the

passenger airbag off light illuminates
briefly, momentarily shuts off and then
turns back on. This indicates that the
passenger airbag is deactivated.

Turning the Passenger Airbag Back On

WARNINGS

The seatbelts for the driver and right
front passenger seating positions are
specifically designed to operate

together with the airbags in certain types
of crashes. When you switch off your
airbag, you not only lose the protection of
the airbag, you also may reduce the
effectiveness of your seatbelt system. If
the passenger does not meet the
requirements stated in the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration or
Transport Canada deactivation criteria,
switching off the airbag can increase the
risk of serious injury or death in a crash.

If your vehicle has rear seats, always
transport children who are 12 and
younger in the rear seat. Always use

seatbelts and child restraints properly. Do
not place a child in a rear facing infant seat
in the front seat unless your vehicle is
equipped with an airbag on and off switch
and the passenger airbag is turned off. This
is because the back of the infant seat is
too close to the inflating airbag and the
risk of a fatal injury to the infant when the
airbag inflates is substantial.

If the passenger airbag off light is
illuminated when the passenger
airbag switch is on and the ignition

is on, have the passenger airbag switch
serviced immediately by a qualified
technician.

The passenger airbag remains off until you
turn it back on.

E181521

1.

Insert the ignition key and turn the
switch to ON.

2. The passenger airbag off light will

briefly illuminate when you switch the
ignition on. This indicates that the
passenger airbag is operational.

The passenger side airbag should always
be on (the passenger 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 or 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; or

•

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; or

•

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.