2003 Mercury Mountaineer Owner Guide 1st Printing (Spanish) - Page 401

Seating and Safety Restraints After any vehicle collision, the combination lap and shoulder belt system at all passenger seating positions must be checked by a qualified technician to verify that the "automatic locking retractor" feature for child seats is still functioning properly, in addition to other checks for proper seat belt system 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. In addition, all seat belts should be checked for proper function. Failure to replace the belt and retractor assembly could increase the risk of injury in collisions. Safety belt pretensioner Your vehicle is equipped with safety belt pretensioners at the driver and right front passenger seating positions. The safety belt pretensioner is a device which removes excess webbing from the safety belt system. The safety belt pretensioner uses the same crash sensor system as the front air bag and Safety Canopy௢ supplemental restraint systems. When the safety belt pretensioner deploys, webbing from the lap and shoulder belt is tightened. When the Safety Canopy௢ system 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 and/or Safety Canopy௢ and safety belt pretensioners. Refer to the Safety belt maintenance section in this chapter. 114