Safety Belt System

 WARNING: All safety belt components must be inspected and corrected as part of any collision repair. Inspect all safety belt components as prescribed by Safety Belt Inspection and Repair After a Collision found in Section 501-20A General Procedures of this manual. Failure to follow this instruction may result in incorrect operation of the safety belt system and increase the risk of serious personal injury or death in a crash.

All safety belts, except the second row outboard seating positions with inflatable safety belts, are continuous-loop, 3-point systems. The combination lap and shoulder belt (continuous-loop) uses a common slip tongue and retractor.

Second row outboard seating positions with inflatable safety belts are a 3-point system which consists of a lap belt and retractor and a shoulder belt and retractor. The 2 are joined together at the buckle tongue and can be separated for service. The buckle tongue is unique to the inflatable safety belt system and is part of the inflatable shoulder belt and retractor.

All retractors are designed to allow the webbing to move freely in and out at all times, except during vehicle hard braking, hard cornering or an impact of 24 km/h (15 mph) or more, when it is automatically locked by a mechanically actuated inertia sensor ( ELR ).

Refer to the symptom chart in Safety Belt System for any concerns regarding safety belt buckle or retractor function.

After any crash, new safety belt system parts (including retractors, buckles, height adjusters [if equipped] and inflators [if equipped]) must be installed. If deployment of a safety belt system part occurs, a new assembly must be installed. When replacing safety belt parts, use only the replacement parts specified in the Ford Catalog™ Advantage or equivalent.

For safety belt system disposal with deployables, refer to Section 501-20B .

The active restraint system consists of the following serviceable items:

• Front safety belt shoulder height adjusters
• Front row safety belt buckle and pretensioners attached to the inboard side of the seats
• Front row adaptive load limiting safety belt retractor located behind the passenger B-pillar trim panel
• Front row safety belt retractor pretensioner located behind the driver B-pillar trim panel
• Second row safety belt inflator attached to the 40 or 60 percent seat (if equipped with inflatable safety belts)
• Second row and third row outboard safety belt retractors located behind the quarter trim panels
• Second row 60/40 seat center safety belt retractor and LH safety belt buckle assembly integrated into the 60 percent seat back (without inflatable belts)
• Second row 60/40 seat center safety belt retractor integrated into the 60 percent seat back (with inflatable belts)
• Second row 60/40 seat LH safety belt buckle attached to the 60 percent seat (with inflatable belts)
• Second row safety belt buckle assembly attached to the seat frame (without inflatable belts)
• Third row safety belt buckle assembly attached to the seat frame
• Lower anchors and tethers for children located at the second row outboard seating positions and third row RH seating position, welded to the seat cushion frame
• Child safety seat tether anchors located at each second row seating position and third row RH seating position, welded to the seat cushion frame

Safety Belt Retractors

• Adaptive load limiting retractor (front passenger only)
• Safety belt retractor pretensioner (driver only)
• Dual locking mode
  • ELR
  • Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) (all except driver seat and second row outboard shoulder retractors with inflatable safety belts)
• Belt Tension Sensor (BTS) (front passenger only)

Adaptive Load Limiting

The adaptive load limiting safety belt retractor is a pyrotechnic device integrated with the front passenger safety belt retractor assembly. The adaptive load limiting safety belt retractor works in conjunction with the passenger safety belt buckle pretensioner to control the tension of the front passenger safety belt. The Restraints Control Module (RCM) monitors the readiness of the adaptive load limiting safety belt retractor. The RCM uses this information and all other information provided by the restraints system to determine what action is to be taken.

The adaptive load limiting safety belt retractor is installed at the front passenger position only.

For adaptive load limiting safety belt retractor diagnosis and disposal information, refer to Section 501-20B .

Safety Belt Retractor and Pretensioner

The pretensioner is a pyrotechnic device that deploys when activated by the RCM to remove excess safety belt webbing from the shoulder and lap safety belt in the event of an impact.

The safety belt retractor and pretensioner is installed at the driver position only.

For safety belt retractor and pretensioner diagnosis and disposal information, refer to Section 501-20B .

Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)

The ALR mode is used when locking a child seat in an outboard seating position. The ALR mode is automatically activated when the safety belt webbing is fully extracted from the retractor and then allowed to retract. As the safety belt webbing is retracted back onto the spool, an audible clicking sound is made indicating the safety belt retractor is in ALR mode and the safety belt webbing will not pull back out of the safety belt retractor. To disengage the ALR mode, allow the safety belt webbing to fully retract back onto the spool. The ALR mode is disengaged when the webbing is free to extract and retract back into the retractor. For testing, refer to the appropriate Functional Test procedure in Safety Belt System .

Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR)

The ELR is a vehicle-sensitive feature designed to activate and lock the safety belt webbing during braking hard, cornering hard or in an impact of approximately 24 km/h (15 mph). The ELR feature helps to reduce the forward movement of the driver and passengers. For testing, refer to the appropriate Functional Test procedure in Safety Belt System .

Belt Tension Sensor (BTS)

The BTS is located at the RH front safety belt anchor point and operates as part of the Occupant Classification System (OCS) system on the front passenger seat. To diagnose the BTS or OCS system, refer to Section 501-20B .

Safety Belt Retractor — Second Row, With Inflatable Safety Belts

Vehicles equipped with inflatable safety belts use 2 retractors, 1 for the lap belt and 1 for the shoulder belt, however only the shoulder belt inflates. The lap belt retractor can be serviced separate from the shoulder belt retractor.

Safety Belt Retractor — Lap Belt

The lap belt has a web loop at its end with a steel bushing in the center of the loop. The lap belt connects to the shoulder belt by sliding a pin through 2 ears on the shoulder belt tongue and the steel bushing on the lap belt. The pin locks into place with a spring clip that is part of the shoulder belt tongue. A plastic cover is fitted over the connection to protect the pin and to keep foreign objects out.

The lap belt retractor has both the ALR and ELR feature.

Safety Belt Retractor — Inflatable Shoulder Belt

The shoulder belt includes the tongue, which is unique to the inflatable safety belt system. The tongue is hollow, which allows gas from the inflator to pass through it. Attached to the tongue is the inflatable shoulder belt, which expands as the gas leaves the tongue and fills the belt. The tongue has a non-removable plastic cover on the end to keep foreign objects out.

The shoulder safety belt retractor only has the ELR feature.

Safety Belt Inflator

The safety belt inflator is a pyrotechnic device that deploys upon receipt of current flow initiated by the RCM . It is a canister that releases inert gas to deploy the inflatable shoulder belt.

For safety belt inflator diagnosis and disposal information, refer to Section 501-20B .

Safety Belt Buckles

Safety Belt Buckle and Pretensioner

The safety belt buckle and pretensioners are located on the inboard side of the seat track and is for front seat occupants.

The safety belt buckle and pretensioner is a pyrotechnic device that removes excess webbing from the safety belt system when deployed. When the pretensioner deploys, the buckle moves downward, removing excess webbing from the lap and shoulder safety belts.

For safety belt buckle pretensioner diagnosis information, refer to Section 501-20B .

Second Row Safety Belt Buckles — Without Inflatable Safety Belts

The second row safety belt buckles are attached to the seat cushion frames and can be serviced separately.

Second Row Safety Belt Buckles — With Inflatable Safety Belts

On vehicles equipped with inflatable safety belts, the safety belt buckle has 3 functions:

• Receives the tongue and holds it in place until the release button is pressed.
• Senses if the inflatable safety belt is buckled using a Hall-effect sensor which is hardwired to the RCM .
• Directs the gas from the safety belt inflator into the tongue for safety belt deployment.

The safety belt buckle is bolted directly to the safety belt inflator. To prevent the inflator gas from leaking during deployment, the buckle is sealed to the inflator with nylon rings.

Third Row Safety Belt Buckles

The third row safety belt buckles are attached to the seat cushion frames and can be serviced separately.

Child Safety Seat Restraints

The child safety seat restraints include the following items:

• Non-serviceable child safety seat tether anchors located at each second row seating position and third row RH seating positions welded to the seat cushion frame.
• Non-serviceable lower anchors and tethers for children located at the second row outboard seating positions and third row RH seating position, welded to the seat cushion frame.

If a child safety seat was in use during a collision, inspect the child safety seat component mounting areas and repair any damage and restore the vehicle to the original production configuration.