Ford 2009 Escape Owner's Manual page 471

Seating and Safety Restraints
Belt-Minder
The Belt-Minder 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 and front passenger's
safety belt is unbuckled.
The Belt-Minder feature uses information from the front passenger
sensing system to determine if a front seat passenger is present and
therefore potentially in need of a warning. To avoid activating the
Belt-Minder feature for objects placed in the front passenger seat,
warnings will only be given to large front seat occupants as determined
by the front passenger sensing system.
Both the driver's and passenger's safety belt usages are monitored and
either may activate the Belt-Minder feature. The warnings are the same
for the driver and the front passenger. 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.
If...
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 to on...
The driver's or front
passenger's safety belt is not
buckled when the vehicle has
reached at least 3 mph
(5 km/h) and 1-2 minutes have
elapsed since the ignition
switch has been turned to on...
122
2009 Escape (204)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA (fus)
Then...
The Belt-Minder feature will not
activate.
The Belt-Minder 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.