"Restraints Indicator Warning Lamp"

[FrigateOrpheon]

Hey everyone. Had my Ford app notify me yesterday of a Restraint Indicator Warning Lamp. Not once did I actually see the airbag idiot light come on, and I would generally just brush this off and chalk it up to the app acting out. However, what got to me was the timing of the notification. It was sent at the exact time I was giving someone with a dead battery a jump. Like I said, I never saw that light on the dash come on, nor have I gotten any warning messages of any kind on the dash. It can't be a coincidence that I had jumpers hooked up and then got this message through the app at the same time though. Has anyone else ever experienced anything similar? Also would hooking the jump leads up to the battery be the proper way of doing this with the BS? I know a lot of modern vehicles have specific jump points that aren't the battery terminals but I didn't see anything like that.

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[dockiwi57]

Hey everyone. Had my Ford app notify me yesterday of a Restraint Indicator Warning Lamp. Not once did I actually see the airbag idiot light come on, and I would generally just brush this off and chalk it up to the app acting out. However, what got to me was the timing of the notification. It was sent at the exact time I was giving someone with a dead battery a jump. Like I said, I never saw that light on the dash come on, nor have I gotten any warning messages of any kind on the dash. It can't be a coincidence that I had jumpers hooked up and then got this message through the app at the same time though. Has anyone else ever experienced anything similar? Also would hooking the jump leads up to the battery be the proper way of doing this with the BS? I know a lot of modern vehicles have specific jump points that aren't the battery terminals but I didn't see anything like that.

I can't speak to the origin of your problem and its relationship to jumping another car's battery. However, I'll share something that I've done over the past few years with new cars. I've stopped carrying jumper cables after doing so for many decades. I've helped a small handful of people needing a jump over the years. No ill effects. But . . .

In the past 10 years or so I've carried a Lithium-ion battery jump/tire inflator combo. Given the increasingly complex electronics of vehicles, I've decided not to risk connecting my battery (and therefore, my electrical system) to another car's failing/failed system. Probably paranoid of me and the physics may not support my concern, but why risk it? I can still be a good samaritan or take care of my own problem as needed. The inflator option is a really handy bonus.

 

[cprcubed]

Here's the "jumpering" info from the 2022 Owners Manual:

Cheers!

 

[jkernitzki]

In the past 10 years or so I've carried a Lithium-ion battery jump/tire inflator combo. Given the increasingly complex electronics of vehicles, I've decided not to risk connecting my battery (and therefore, my electrical system) to another car's failing/failed system. Probably paranoid of me and the physics may not support my concern, but why risk it? I can still be a good samaritan or take care of my own problem as needed. The inflator option is a really handy bonus.

That's honestly the best route. Most anything built in the last ten years or so has too much sensitivity to stray voltage drops or spikes entering the system. A extra benefit of a jump pack is that you can help yourself out of a jam; if you're stuck by yourself, a set of jumper cables aren't much use.

 

[RSH]

My 2021 Badlands had the restraints error once. One of the rear seatbelts got bunched up along the side of the seat, I pulled the seatbelt out from the retractor as far as it would go and I let the seatbelt retract slowly to its normal stowed position. Plenty of occupants have sat and used that seatbelt since and I have not had the error again.

 

[FrigateOrpheon]

My 2021 Badlands had the restraints error once. One of the rear seatbelts got bunched up along the side of the seat, I pulled the seatbelt out from the retractor as far as it would go and I let the seatbelt retract slowly to its normal stowed position. Plenty of occupants have sat and used that seatbelt since and I have not had the error again.

Did you get an airbag fault light or any kind of error message on the dash though? If something were actually wrong, I would expect to see some kind of message or warning in the vehicle itself. But I've got nothing.

I'll double check all the seatbelts, but it's only been me in the vehicle since before this happened.

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