Seating and Safety Restraints -> SEATING for Your Ford Explorer SUV Third Generation (2002-2005)

Seating and Safety Restraints  
Seating and Safety Restraints  
SEATING  
Notes:  
Reclining the seatback can cause an occupant to slide under the  
seat’s safety belt, resulting in severe personal injuries in the  
event of a collision.  
Do not pile cargo higher than the seatbacks to reduce the risk of  
injury in a collision or sudden stop.  
Adjustable head restraints  
Head restraints help to limit head motion in the event of a rear collision.  
The seats in your vehicle may have adjustable head restraints. Adjust  
your head restraint so that it is located directly or as close as possible  
behind your head.  
The head restraints can be moved  
up and down.  
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Seating and Safety Restraints  
Push control to lower head restraint.  
Adjusting the front manual seat (if equipped)  
Never adjust the driver’s seat or seatback when the vehicle is  
moving.  
Always drive and ride with your seatback upright and the lap  
belt snug and low across the hips.  
Lift handle to move seat forward or  
backward.  
Pull lever up to adjust seatback.  
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Adjusting the front power seat (if equipped)  
The control is located on the  
outboard side of the seat cushion.  
Press front to raise or lower the  
front portion of the seat cushion.  
Press rear to raise or lower the rear  
portion of the seat cushion.  
Press the control to move the seat  
forward, backward, up or down.  
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Memory seats/adjustable pedals/easy entry-exit feature  
This system allows automatic  
positioning of the driver seat and  
adjustable pedals to two  
programmable positions.  
The memory seat control is located  
on the instrument panel to the left  
of the steering wheel.  
To program position one, move  
the driver seat to the desired  
position using the seat controls.  
Press the SET control. The SET control indicator light will briefly  
illuminate (5 seconds). While the light is illuminated, press control 1.  
To program position two, repeat the previous procedure using control  
2.  
A position can only be recalled when the transmission gearshift is in Park  
or Neutral. A memory seat position may be programmed at any time.  
The memory seat positions can also be recalled when you press your  
remote entry transmitter UNLOCK control.  
To program the memory seat to remote entry transmitter, refer to  
Remote entry system in the Locks and security chapter.  
The easy entry/exit feature automatically moves the drivers seat  
backwards slightly (if room is available) when the key is removed from  
the ignition. It will automatically move the seat forward to the original  
position when the key is inserted into the ignition.  
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Using the manual lumbar support  
For more lumbar support, turn the  
lumbar support control toward the  
front of vehicle.  
For less lumbar support, turn the  
lumbar support control toward the  
rear of vehicle.  
Heated seats (if equipped)  
To operate the heated seats:  
Push control located on the seat  
to activate.  
Push again to deactivate.  
The heated seat icon in the dual electronic automatic temperature  
control (DEATC) will illuminate when activated.  
REAR SEATS  
Folding down the 60/40 rear seats (if equipped)  
If the rear seat is equipped with adjustable head restraints, they should  
be placed in the full down position before folding the seat back down.  
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1. Press the lower release control  
downward to unlatch the seatback.  
2. Rotate the seatback downward  
into the load floor position.  
3. Press down on the top outboard  
area of the seatback until a click is  
heard. The seat is now latched in  
the floor position.  
To return the seat to the upright position:  
Press downward on the upper corner of the seatback and hold.  
Pull the release handle upward to unlatch the seat.  
Rotate the seatback upward until the seatback latches in the upright  
position. The seatback will click when it is locked into position.  
Folding down the 40/20/40 rear seats  
Ensure that the headrest is in the down position and no objects such as  
books, purses or briefcases are on the floor in front of the second row  
seats before folding them down.  
Move front passenger seat forward so that the second row seat headrest  
clears the front seat.  
For assistance, refer to the label located on the lower position of the  
opening.  
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1. Locate handle on the side of the  
seat cushion by the door.  
2. Push the handle up and push the  
seatback toward the front of the  
vehicle.  
3. Press down on the top outboard  
area of the seatback until a click is  
heard.  
To return the seat to the upright  
position:  
1. Push the handle up and lift the  
seatback toward the rear of the  
vehicle.  
2. Rotate the seatback until you  
hear a click, locking it in the upright  
position.  
Operating the 2nd row seat for E-Z Entry (if equipped)  
The E-Z Entry seat allows for easier entry and exit to and from the 3rd  
row seat.  
To enter the 3rd row seat:  
1. Fold down the 2nd row seat.  
2. Push the handle all the way up  
until the seat releases from the floor  
and folds away.  
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3. To return the seat to a seating  
position, flip the seat into the  
upright position.  
4. Make sure the seat is latched to  
the floor.  
To exit the 3rd row seat, pull the  
red access control lever up releasing  
the seat from the floor and rotate  
the seat up towards the front seat.  
Always latch the vehicle seat to the floor, whether the seat is  
occupied or empty. If not latched, the seat may cause injury  
during a sudden stop.  
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Folding the middle 2nd row seat (If equipped)  
1. Locate the lever on the side of  
the seatback.  
2. Pull the lever up and push the  
seatback toward the front of the  
vehicle.  
3. Press down on the top outboard  
area of the seatback until a click is  
heard.  
To return the seatback to the  
upright position:  
1. Pull the lever and lift the  
seatback toward the rear of the  
vehicle.  
2. Rotate the seatback until you  
hear a click, locking it in the upright  
position.  
Third row seat (if equipped)  
3rd row stow feature  
The 3rd row seat has a tip/stow feature to increase cargo space without  
removing the seat from the vehicle.  
Lower the head restraints before putting the seat in the stowed position.  
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To put seat in stowed position:  
1. Pull the seat release lever located  
on top of the seatback while  
pushing the seatback down onto the  
seat cushion.  
2. The seatback will latch into place.  
3. Push the closeout panel forward  
over the space between the seats.  
To put seat in upright position:  
1. Pull back the slider panel on the  
seatback to release the closeout  
panel.  
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2. Pull the seat release lever located  
on top of the seatback while lifting  
the seatback into the upright  
position.  
3. The seatback will latch into place.  
The third row seat is equipped with combination lap and shoulder belts  
in both seating positions. For information on the proper operation of the  
safety restraints, refer to Safety Restraints in this chapter.  
SAFETY RESTRAINTS  
Personal Safety System  
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 air bag-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.  
Your vehicle’s Personal Safety System consists of:  
Driver and passenger dual-stage air bag supplemental restraints.  
Front safety belts with pretensioners, energy management retractors,  
and safety belt usage sensors.  
Driver’s seat position sensor.  
Front crash severity sensor.  
Restraints Control Module (RCM).  
Restraint system warning light and back-up tone.  
The electrical wiring for the air bags, crash sensor(s), safety belt  
pretensioners, front safety belt usage sensors, driver seat position  
sensor, and indicator lights.  
How does the personal safety system work?  
The Personal Safety System can adapt the deployment strategy of your  
vehicle’s safety devices according to crash severity and occupant  
conditions. A collection of crash and occupant sensors provides  
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