Seatbelt Reminder - Turning Off

Important

Do not drive on the public road without wearing a seatbelt. It's illegal and stupid. This tip is intended for those wanting to disable the warning for low-speed use off the public road only.

Mk3

Remember

This only works on vehicles built from 4 February 2002. Before starting this procedure, make sure that: the handbrake's on, it's in Park or Neutral, the ignition is off, all doors are closed (and you're in the car), all the seatbelts are unbuckled and the headlamps are off.

Deactivating/Activating

1. Turn the ignition switch to position II. (Do not start the engine).
2. Wait until the safety belt warning indicator turns off. (Approximately one to two minutes). Note: The next 3 steps must be completed within 60 seconds or the procedure must be repeated.
3. Buckle then unbuckle the safety belt three times, ending with the safety belt unbuckled.
4. Turn the headlamps ON then OFF.
5. Buckle then unbuckle the safety belt three times ending with the safety belt unbuckled. After this step the safety belt warning indicator will be illuminated for three seconds.
6. Within seven seconds of the safety belt warning indicator turning off, buckle then unbuckle the safety belt. This will enable the belt minder if disabled or disable belt minder if enabled.

The following sequence will confirm the belt minder is enabled:

1. The safety belt warning indicator flashes four times per second for three seconds.
2. Three seconds with the safety belt warning indicator off.
3. The safety belt warning indicator flashes four times per second for three seconds again.

The safety belt warning indicator flashing four times per second for three seconds provides confirmation of belt minder disabled.

After confirmation, the deactivation/activation procedure is complete

Notes

1 If the vehicle doesn't have a seatbelt warning light, use the SRS (airbag) warning indicator instead.

2 If the seatbelt light doesn't normally come on until you move, proceed as above, without initially waiting for the belt warning indicator to go off (in this case, after the second three buckles, the indicator will flash a couple of times, instead of being illuminated for 3 seconds)

Specific vehicles

The following table lists specific vehicles with which this procedure has been tried, and gives any additional vehicle specific information.

Year	Engine	Model	Additional information
2004	Duratorq 2.0	TDCi	Note 2 applies
2002	Duratorq 2.0	TDCi	Note 2 applies
2002	Duratorq 2.0	Ghia X
2003	Duratec 1.8	Graphite

Mk4

1. Apply the parking brake.
2. Place the transmission selector lever in P (Park) - vehicles with automatic transmission or the neutral position - vehicles with manual transmission.
3. Turn the ignition switch to position 0.
4. Close all the vehicle doors from the inside of the vehicle.
5. Unbuckle the driver safety belt.

Then:

1. Turn the ignition switch to position II. (Do not start the engine).
2. The safety belt warning indicator will extinguish within 10 seconds.
3. The remaining steps must be completed within 60 seconds or the procedure must be repeated.
4. Buckle then unbuckle the safety belt nine times, ending with the safety belt unbuckled.
5. The safety belt warning indicator flashes three times to confirm the belt minder status change.
6. To activate the belt minder, repeat Steps 1 through 7.

After confirmation, the deactivation / activation procedure is complete.