2003-2004 Ford Crown Victoria BeltMinder System

The BeltMinder feature is a supplemental warning to the safety belt warning function. This feature provides additional reminders by intermittently sounding a chime and illuminating the safety belt warning lamp in the instrument cluster when the driver’s safety belt is unbuckled.

The BeltMinder feature uses information from the passenger occupant classification sensor to determine if a front seat passenger is present and therefore potentially in need of a warning. To avoid activating the BeltMinder feature for objects placed in the front passenger seat, warnings will only be given to large front seat occupants as determined by the passenger occupant classification sensor.

Both the driver’s and passenger’s safety belt usages are monitored and either may activate the BeltMinder feature. The warnings are the same for the driver and the front passenger. If the BeltMinder warnings have expired (warnings for approximately 5 minutes) for one occupant (driver or front passenger), the other occupant can still activate the BeltMinder feature.

If...	Then...
The driver’s and front passenger’s safety belts are buckled before the ignition switch is turned to the ON position or less than 1-2 minutes have elapsed since the ignition switch has been turned ON...	The Belt Minder feature will not activate.
The driver’s or front passenger’s safety belt is not buckled when the vehicle has reached at least 5 km/h (3 mph) and 1-2 minutes have elapsed since the ignition switch has been turned to ON...	The BeltMinder feature is activated - the safety belt warning light illuminates and the warning chime sounds for 6 seconds every 30 seconds, repeating for approximately 5 minutes or until the safety belts are buckled.
The driver’s or front passenger’s safety belt becomes unbuckled for approximately 1 minute while the vehicle is traveling at least 5 km/h (3 mph) and more than 1-2 minutes have elapsed since the ignition switch has been turned to ON...	The BeltMinder feature is activated - the safety belt warning light illuminates and the warning chime sounds for 6 seconds every 30 seconds, repeating for approximately 5 minutes or until the safety belts are buckled.

The following are reasons most often given for not wearing safety belts:
(All statistics based on U.S. data)

Reasons given...	Consider...
“Crashes are rare events”	36700 crashes occur every day. The more we drive, the more we are exposed to “rare” events, even for good drivers. 1 in 4 of us will be seriously injured in a crash during our lifetime.
“I’m not going far”	3 of 4 fatal crashes occur within 25 miles of home.
“Belts are uncomfortable”	We design our safety belts to enhance comfort. If you are uncomfortable - try different positions for the safety belt upper anchorage and seatback which should be as upright as possible; this can improve comfort.
“I was in a hurry”	Prime time for an accident. BeltMinder reminds us to take a few seconds to buckle up.
“Safety belts don’t work”	Safety belts, when used properly, reduce risk of death to front seat occupants by 45% in cars, and by 60% in light trucks.
“Traffic is light”	Nearly 1 of 2 deaths occur in single-vehicle crashes, many when no other vehicles are around.
“Belts wrinkle my clothes”	Possibly, but a serious crash can do much more than wrinkle your clothes, particularly if you are unbelted.
“The people I’m with don’t wear belts”	Set the example, teen deaths occur 4 times more often in vehicles with TWO or MORE people. Children and younger brothers/sisters imitate behavior they see.
“I have an air bag”	Air bags offer greater protection when used with safety belts. Frontal airbags are not designed to inflate in rear and side crashes or rollovers.
“I’d rather be thrown clear”	Not a good idea. People who are ejected are 40 times more likely to DIE. Safety belts help prevent ejection, WE CAN’T “PICK OUR CRASH”.

Do not sit on top of a buckled safety belt to avoid the Belt Minder chime. Sitting on the safety belt will increase the risk of injury in an accident. To disable (one-time) or deactivate the Belt Minder feature please follow the directions stated below.

One time disable

If at any time the driver/front passenger quickly buckles then unbuckles, the BeltMinder feature for that seating position is disabled for the current ignition cycle. The BeltMinder feature will re-enable during the same ignition cycle if the occupant buckles and remains buckled for approximately 30 seconds. Confirmation is not given for the one time disable.

Deactivating/activating the BeltMinder feature

The driver and front passenger BeltMinder are deactivated/activated independently. When deactivating/activating one seating position, do not buckle the other position as this will terminate the process.

Read steps 1 - 4 thoroughly before proceeding with the deactivation/activation programming procedure.

The driver and front passenger BeltMinder features can be deactivated/activated by performing the following procedure:

Before following the procedure, make sure that:

• The parking brake is set
• The gearshift is in P (Park) (automatic transmission)
• The ignition switch is in the OFF position
• The driver and front passenger safety belts are unbuckled
  

To reduce the risk of injury, do not deactivate/activate the Belt Minder feature while driving the vehicle.

1. Turn the ignition switch to the RUN (or ON) position. (DO NOT START THE ENGINE)
2. Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off. (Approximately 1 minute)

• Step 3 must be completed within 50 seconds after the safety belt warning light turns off

3. For the seating position being disabled, buckle then unbuckle the safety belt 9 times, ending in the unbuckled state. (Step 3 must be completed within 50 seconds after the safety belt warning light turns off.)

• After step 3, the restraint system warning light (airbag light) will be turned on for three seconds.

4. Within 10 seconds of the light turning on, buckle then unbuckle the safety belt.

• This will disable the BeltMinder feature for that seating position if it is currently enabled. As confirmation, the restraint system warning light will flash 4 times per second for 3 seconds.
• This will enable the BeltMinder feature for that seating position if it is currently disabled. As confirmation, the restraint system warning light will flash 4 times per second for 3 seconds, followed by 3 seconds with the light off, then followed by the restraint system warning light flashing 4 times per second for 3 seconds again.