Ford Transit Connect (2016 year). Manual — part 8

The Personal Safety System provides an
improved overall level of frontal crash
protection to front seat occupants and is
designed to help further reduce the risk of
airbag-related injuries. The system is able
to analyze different occupant conditions
and crash severity before activating the
appropriate safety devices to help better
protect a range of occupants in a variety
of frontal crash situations.

The Vehicle Personal Safety System
consists of:
•

Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag
supplemental restraints.

•

Front seat outboard safety belts with
pretensioners, energy management
retractors and safety belt usage
sensors.

•

Driver seat position sensor.

•

Front passenger sensing system.

•

Passenger airbag off and on indicator
lamp.

•

Front crash severity sensors.

•

Restraints control module with impact
and safing sensors.

•

Restraint system warning light and
backup tone.

•

The electrical wiring for the airbags,
crash sensors, safety belt
pretensioners, front safety belt usage
sensors, driver seat position sensor,
front passenger sensing system and
indicator lights.

How Does the Personal Safety
System Work?

The Personal Safety System can adapt the
deployment strategy of the safety devices
according to crash severity and occupant
conditions. A collection of crash and
occupant sensors provides information to
the restraints control module. During a
crash, the restraints control module may
deploy the safety belt pretensioners, one
or both stages of the dual-stage airbags
based on crash severity and occupant
conditions.

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION

WARNINGS

Airbags do not inflate slowly or
gently, and the risk of injury from a
deploying airbag is the greatest close

to the trim covering the airbag module.

All occupants of your vehicle,
including the driver, should always
properly wear their safety belts, even

when an airbag supplemental restraint
system is provided. Failure to properly wear
your safety belt could seriously increase
the risk of injury or death.

Always transport children 12 years
old and under in the back seat and
always properly use appropriate

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

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 seat. Never place a rear-facing
child seat in front of an active airbag.

If you must use a forward-facing child seat
in the front seat, move the seat upon which
the child seat is installed all the way back.

Do not attempt to service, repair, or
modify the airbag supplemental
restraint systems or its fuses as you

could be seriously injured or killed. Contact
your authorized dealer as soon as possible.

Several airbag system components
get hot after inflation. Do not touch
them after inflation as this may result

in serious injury.

If the airbag has deployed, the airbag
will not function again and must be
replaced immediately. If the airbag

is not replaced, the unrepaired area will
increase the risk of injury in a crash.

The airbags are a supplemental restraint
system and are designed to work with the
safety belts to help protect the driver and
right front passenger from certain upper
body injuries. Airbags do not inflate slowly;
there is a risk of injury from a deploying
airbag.

Note: You will hear a loud bang and see a
cloud of harmless powdery residue if an
airbag deploys. This is normal.

The airbags inflate and deflate rapidly
upon activation. After airbag 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 (for example, baking soda)
that result from the combustion process
that inflates the airbag. Small amounts of
sodium hydroxide may be present which
may irritate the skin and eyes, but none of
the residue is toxic.

While the system is designed to help
reduce serious injuries, contact with a
deploying airbag may also cause abrasions
or swelling. Temporary hearing loss is also
a possibility as a result of the noise
associated with a deploying airbag.
Because airbags must inflate rapidly and
with considerable force, there is the risk of
death or serious injuries such as fractures,
facial and eye injuries or internal injuries,
particularly to occupants who are not
properly restrained or are otherwise out of
position at the time of airbag deployment.
Thus, it is extremely important that
occupants be properly restrained as far
away from the airbag module as possible
while maintaining vehicle control.

Routine maintenance of the airbags is not
required.

DRIVER AND PASSENGER
AIRBAGS

WARNINGS

Never place your arm or any objects
over an airbag module. Placing your
arm over a deploying airbag can

result in serious arm fractures or other
injuries. Objects placed on or over the
airbag inflation area may cause those
objects to be propelled by the airbag into
your face and torso causing serious injury.

Airbags can kill or injure a child in a
child seat. Never place a rear-facing
child seat in front of an active airbag.

If you must use a forward-facing child seat
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 will
deploy during significant frontal and near
frontal crashes.

The driver and passenger front airbag
system consists of:
•

Driver and passenger airbag modules.

•

Front passenger sensing system.

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

Indicator (page 43).

Proper Driver and Front Passenger
Seating Adjustment

WARNING

National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA)
recommends a minimum distance

of at least 10 inches (25 centimeters)
between an occupant’s chest and the
driver airbag module.

To properly position yourself away from
the airbag:
•

Move your seat to the rear as far as you
can while still reaching the pedals
comfortably.

•

Recline the seat slightly (one or two
degrees) from the upright position.

After all occupants have adjusted their
seats and put on safety belts, it is very
important that they continue to sit
properly. A properly seated occupant sits
upright, leaning against the seat back, and
centered on the seat cushion, with their
feet comfortably extended on the floor.
Sitting improperly can increase the chance
of injury in a crash event. For example, if
an occupant slouches, lies down, turns
sideways, sits forward, leans forward or
sideways, or puts one or both feet up, the
chance of injury during a crash is greatly
increased.

Children and Airbags

WARNING

Airbags can kill or injure a child in a
child seat. Never place a rear-facing
child seat in front of an active airbag.

If you must use a forward-facing child seat
in the front seat, move the seat upon which
the child seat is installed all the way back.

E142846

Children must always be properly
restrained. Accident statistics suggest that
children are safer when properly restrained
in the rear seating positions than in the
front seating position. Failure to follow
these instructions may increase the risk of
injury in a crash.

FRONT PASSENGER SENSING
SYSTEM

WARNINGS

Even with Advanced Restraints
Systems, children 12 and under
should be properly restrained in a

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

Sitting improperly out of position or
with the seat back reclined too far
can take off weight from the seat

cushion and affect the decision of the front
passenger sensing system, resulting in
serious injury or death in a crash.

WARNINGS

To reduce the risk of possible serious
injury: Do not stow objects in
seatback map pocket or hang

objects off seatback if a child is in the front
passenger seat. Do not place objects
underneath the front passenger seat or
between the seat and the center console.
Check the passenger airbag indicator lamp
for proper airbag status. Failure to follow
these instructions may interfere with the
front passenger seat sensing system.

Any alteration or modification to the
front passenger seat may affect the
performance of the front passenger

sensing system.

This system works with sensors that are
part of the front passenger seat and safety
belt to detect the presence of a
properly-seated occupant and determine
if the front passenger frontal airbag should
be enabled (may inflate) or not.

E170286

The front passenger sensing system uses
a passenger airbag indicator which will
illuminate indicating that the front
passenger frontal airbag is either ON
(enabled) or OFF (disabled).

The indicator lamp is located at the top
center of the instrument panel.

Note: When the ignition is first tuned on,
the indicator lamps will illuminate for a
short period of time to confirm it is
functional.