2004 Ford Escape Owner's Manual - Page 91

Seating and Safety Restraints Safety belt pretensioner Your vehicle is equipped with safety belt pretensioners at the driver and front passenger seating positions. The safety belt pretensioners are designed to activate during certain frontal or near-frontal collisions with sufficient longitudinal deceleration. A safety belt pretensioner is a device which tightens the webbing of the lap and shoulder belts in such a way that they fit more snugly against the body. The driver and front outboard passenger safety belt system (including retractors, buckles and height adjusters) must be replaced if the vehicle is involved in a collision that results in the activation of the safety belt pretensioners. Refer to the Safety belt maintenance section in this chapter. Failure to replace the safety belt assembly under the above conditions could result in severe personal injuries in the event of a collision. Lap belts Adjusting the center lap belt The lap belt does not adjust automatically. The lap belt should fit snugly and as low as possible around the hips, not across the waist. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle (the buckle closest to the direction the tongue is coming from). To lengthen the belt, turn the tongue at a right angle to the belt and pull across your lap until it reaches the buckle. To tighten the belt, pull the loose end of the belt through the tongue until it fits snugly across the hips. 91 2004 Escape (204) Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt) USA English (fus)