2003 Ford F250 Owner Guide 5th Printing - Page 92

Seating and Safety Restraints Children and air bags For additional important safety information, read all information on safety restraints in this guide. Children must always be properly restrained. Failure to follow these instructions may increase the risk of injury in a collision. An infant in a rear-facing seat faces a high risk of serious or fatal injuries from a deploying passenger air bag. Rear facing infant seats should NEVER be placed in the front seats, unless the passenger air bag is turned off. See Passenger air bag ON/OFF switch. How does the air bag supplemental restraint system work? The air bag SRS is designed to activate when the vehicle sustains sufficient longitudinal deceleration. The fact that the air bags did not inflate in a collision does not mean that something is wrong with the system. Rather, it means the forces were not of the type sufficient to cause activation. Air bags are designed to inflate in frontal and near-frontal collisions, not rollover, side-impact, or rear-impacts. The air bags inflate and deflate rapidly upon activation. After air bag deployment, it is normal to notice a smoke-like, powdery residue or smell the burnt propellant. This may consist of cornstarch, talcum powder (to lubricate the bag) or sodium compounds (e.g., baking soda) that result from the combustion process that inflates the air bag. Small amounts of sodium hydroxide may be present which may irritate the skin and eyes, but none of the residue is toxic. 92 2003 F250/350/450/550 (f23) Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt) USA English (fus)