How to Shut Off the Seatbelt Alarm in an '08 Ford Edge

Seat belts should always be worn for safety, but you can disable the alarm if you want.

The 2008 Ford Edge has a feature, like most other newer vehicles, that reminds you when the driver's and front passenger's seat belts are unhooked. This reminder, dubbed Belt-Minder by Ford, includes a flashing dashboard icon and a never-ending alarm that chimes while these seat belts are disconnected. Ford offers the option of turning this feature off, although the company strongly recommends that you always wear your seat belt.

Instructions

1. Put the Edge in "park," engage the parking brake, and turn the engine off. Unhook both front seat belts.

2. Turn the ignition key to "run" or "on" (don't crank the engine). Watch the seat-belt warning icon on the odometer cluster until the icon turns off (about 2 minutes).

3. Choose a front seat belt to deactivate. Connect and disconnect that seat belt nine times (all within 50 seconds after the warning light turns off); end with the seat belt disconnected. Watch the seat-belt warning icon; it will turn on, then turn off. When it turns off, connect and disconnect the seat belt once more. You have about 7 seconds to do this.

4. Watch the seat-belt warning icon; it should flash 12 times, indicating that the deactivation was successful. If it does not, repeat the entire procedure.

5. Remove the key from the ignition, then re-insert it to begin disabling the other front seat-belt alarm if desired. Repeat Steps 2 through 4 with this seat belt.

Tips & Warnings

• If your car battery fails or is replaced, the system will revert to the factory default. You'll need to deactivate the seat-belt alarm(s) again.

• If you decide you want to use the alarm at some point, simply follow the steps again to re-enable the alarm for each desired belt.

References

• Scribd: Ford Edge Owner's Manual (page 170)