Principles of Operation: Belt-Minder®

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2011 Mercury Milan, 2011 Lincoln MKZ, and 2011 Ford Fusion. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

The Belt-Minder® feature is a supplemental warning to the safety belt warning function. This feature provides additional reminders to the driver that the driver and/or front passenger safety belt is unbuckled by intermittently sounding a chime and illuminating the safety belt warning indicator in the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC).

Either the driver or front passenger safety belt systems may activate the Belt-Minder®. If the Belt-Minder® warnings have expired (warnings for approximately 5 minutes) for one occupant (driver or front passenger), the other occupant can still activate the Belt-Minder® feature.

When a MyKey™ is in the ignition, deactivation of the Belt-Minder® will be ignored. The Belt-Minder® feature can be activated or deactivated by the administrator key. Using a MyKey™ (non-administrator key) will override the 5-minute Belt-Minder® timer and the deactivation of the Belt-Minder® feature. Refer to ANTI-THEFT - PASSIVE ANTI-THEFT SYSTEM (PATS) -- FUSION, MILAN & MKZ article or the Owner's Literature for further information on MyKey™ functionality.

The passenger Belt-Minder® feature is activated only when the Occupant Classification Sensor (OCS) system detects a passenger in the RH front seat and the passenger weight exceeds a programmed limit. For information on the OCS system, refer to SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM -- FUSION, MILAN & MKZ article.

To activate or deactivate the Belt-Minder® feature, refer to INSTRUMENTATION, MESSAGE CENTER & WARNING CHIMES -- FUSION, MILAN & MKZ article.

BELT-MINDER REFERENCE TABLE

If...	Then...
the driver and/or front passenger safety belt is 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 and/or front passenger safety belt is not buckled before 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 Belt-Minder® feature is activated - the safety belt warning indicator illuminates and the warning chime sounds for 6 seconds every 30 seconds, repeating for approximately 5 minutes or until the safety belt(s) is buckled. the driver or front passenger 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 Belt-Minder® feature is activated - the safety belt warning indicator illuminates and the warning chime sounds for 6 seconds every 30 seconds, repeating for approximately 5 minutes or until the safety belt(s) is buckled.

If...

Then...

the driver and/or front passenger safety belt is 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 and/or front passenger safety belt is not buckled before 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 Belt-Minder® feature is activated - the safety belt warning indicator illuminates and the warning chime sounds for 6 seconds every 30 seconds, repeating for approximately 5 minutes or until the safety belt(s) is buckled. the driver or front passenger 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 Belt-Minder® feature is activated - the safety belt warning indicator illuminates and the warning chime sounds for 6 seconds every 30 seconds, repeating for approximately 5 minutes or until the safety belt(s) is buckled.