2021 Lincoln Aviator Owner’s Manual

The 2021 Lincoln Aviator Owner’s Manual is the most important thing you need to know to enjoy and understand every aspect of this beautiful luxury SUV. Your key to getting the most out of your car is this detailed manual, which was made with the same care and accuracy that goes into making the Aviator. There is a lot of useful information inside about the Aviator’s high-tech features, safety features, upkeep needs, and more. This will give you all the tools and information you need to get the most out of owning one. This manual is meant to give you the confidence to get the most out of your 2021 Lincoln Aviator, whether you’re going on a big trip or just getting through the day. In addition, this guidebook shows how committed Lincoln is to luxury and quality. It shows that the brand is committed to giving every Aviator user a smooth and high-class driving experience. This guide’s easy-to-follow layout, clear instructions, and helpful pictures are meant to make your ownership experience better, so you can fully enjoy the Aviator’s high-end interior, cutting-edge technology, and smooth performance.

CHILD RESTRAINT AND SEATBELT MAINTENANCE

Inspect the vehicle seatbelts and child safety seat systems periodically to make sure they work properly and are not damaged. Inspect the vehicle and child restraint seatbelts to make sure there are no nicks, tears or cuts. Replace if necessary. All vehicle seatbelt assemblies, including retractors, buckles, front seatbelt buckle assemblies, buckle support assemblies (slide bar-if equipped), shoulder belt height adjusters (if equipped), shoulder belt guide on seat backrest (if equipped), child safety seat LATCH and tether anchors, and attaching hardware, should be inspected after a crash. Read the child restraint manufacturer’s instructions for additional inspection and maintenance information specific to the child restraint. We recommend that all seatbelt assemblies in use in vehicles involved in a crash be replaced. However, if the crash was minor and an authorized dealer finds that the belts do not show damage and continue to operate properly, they do not need to be replaced. Seatbelt assemblies not in use during a crash should also be inspected and replaced if either damage or improper operation is noted. Properly care for seatbelts.

SEATBELT EXTENSIONS

Persons who fit into the vehicle’s seatbelt should not use an extension. Unnecessary use could result in serious personal injury in the event of a crash. Only use extensions provided free of charge by our dealers. The dealer will provide an extension designed specifically for this vehicle, model year, and seating position. The use of an extension intended for another vehicle, model year, or seating position may not offer you the full protection of your vehicle’s seatbelt restraint system. Never use seatbelt extensions to install child restraints. Do not use a seatbelt extension with an inflatable seatbelt. Do not use extensions to change the way the seatbelt fits across the torso, over the lap, or to make the seatbelt buckle easier to reach.

If, because of body size or driving position, it is not possible to properly fasten the seatbelt over your lap and shoulder, an extension that is compatible with the seatbelts is available free of charge from our dealers. Only use our seatbelt extensions made by the original equipment seatbelt manufacturer with our seatbelts. Ask your authorized dealer if your extension is compatible with your vehicle restraint system. This system provides an improved overall level of frontal crash protection to front-seat occupants and is designed to help further reduce the risk of airbag-related injuries. The system analyzes different occupant conditions and crash severity before activating the appropriate safety devices to help better protect occupants in a variety of frontal crash situations.

Your vehicle’s Personal Safety System consists of:

• Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints.
• Front seat outermost seatbelts with pretensioners, energy management retractors, and seatbelt usage sensors.
• Front passenger sensing system.
• Passenger airbag off and on indicators.
• Front crash severity sensors.
• Restraints control module with impact and saving sensors.
• Restraint system warning light and tone.
• The electrical wiring for the airbags, crash sensors, seatbelt pretensioners, front seatbelt usage sensors, front passenger sensing system and indicator lights.

How Does the Personal Safety System Work?
The Personal Safety System can adapt the deployment strategy of the safety devices according to crash severity and occupant conditions. A collection of crash and occupant sensors provides information to the restraints control module. During a crash, the restraints control module may deploy the seatbelt pretensioners, one or both stages of the dual-stage airbags based on crash severity and occupant conditions.

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION

Airbags do not inflate slowly or gently, and the risk of injury from a deploying airbag is the greatest close to the trim covering the airbag module. All occupants of your vehicle, including the driver, should always properly wear their seatbelts, even when an airbag supplemental restraint system is provided. Failure to properly wear your seatbelt could seriously increase the risk of injury or death. Even with advanced restraint systems, properly restrain children 12 and under in a rear seating position. Failure to follow this could seriously increase the risk of injury or death.  Do not place your arms on the airbag cover or through the steering wheel. Failure to follow this instruction could result in personal injury. Keep the areas in front of the airbags free from obstruction. Do not affix anything to or over the airbag covers. Objects could become projectiles during airbag deployment or in a sudden stop. Failure to follow this instruction could result in personal injury or death. Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child restraint. Never place a rear-facing child restraint in front of an active airbag. If you must use a forward-facing child restraint in the front seat, move the seat upon which the child restraint is installed all the way back. Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the supplementary restraint system or associated components. Failure to follow this instruction could result in personal injury or death. Several airbag system components get hot after inflation. To reduce the risk of injury, do not touch them after inflation. If a supplementary restraint system component has been deployed, it will not function again. Have the system and associated components inspected as soon as possible. Failure to follow this instruction could result in personal injury or death.

The airbags are a supplemental restraint system and are designed to work with the seatbelts to help protect the driver and right-front passenger from certain upper body injuries. Airbags do not inflate slowly; there is a risk of injury from a deploying airbag.

Note: You will hear a loud bang and see a cloud of harmless powdery residue if an airbag deploys. This is normal. The airbags inflate and deflate rapidly upon activation. After airbag deployment, it is normal to notice a smoke-like, powdery residue or smell the burnt propellant. This may consist of cornstarch, talcum powder (to lubricate the bag) or sodium compounds (for example, baking soda) that result from the combustion process that inflates the airbag. Small amounts of sodium hydroxide may be present which may irritate the skin and eyes, but none of the residue is toxic. While the system is designed to help reduce serious injuries, contact with a deploying airbag may also cause abrasions or swelling. Temporary hearing loss is also a possibility as a result of the noise associated with a deploying airbag. Because airbags must inflate rapidly and with considerable force, there is the risk of death or serious injuries such as fractures, facial and eye injuries or internal injuries, particularly to occupants who are not properly restrained or are otherwise out of position at the time of airbag deployment. Thus, it is extremely important that occupants be properly restrained as far away from the airbag module as possible while maintaining vehicle control. Routine maintenance of the airbags is not required.

DRIVER AND PASSENGER AIRBAGS
Do not place your arms on the airbag cover or through the steering wheel. Failure to follow this instruction could result in personal injury. Keep the areas in front of the airbags free from obstruction. Do not affix anything to or over the airbag covers. Objects could become projectiles during airbag deployment or in a sudden stop. Failure to follow this instruction could result in personal injury or death. Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child restraint. Never place a rear-facing child restraint in front of an active airbag. If you must use a forward-facing child restraint in the front seat, move the seat upon which the child restraint is installed all the way back.

The driver and front passenger airbags will deploy during significant frontal and near frontal crashes.
The driver and passenger front airbag system consists of:

• Driver and passenger airbag modules.
• Front passenger sensing system.
  • Crash sensors and monitoring system with readiness indicator. See Crash Sensors and Airbag

Proper Driver and Front Passenger Seating Adjustment
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends a minimum distance of at least 10 in (25 cm) between an occupant’s chest and the driver airbag module.

To properly position yourself away from the airbag:

• Move your seat to the rear as far as you can while still reaching the pedals comfortably.
• Recline the seat slightly (one or two degrees) from the upright position.

After all occupants have adjusted their seats and put on seatbelts, it is very important that they continue to sit properly. A properly seated occupant sits upright, leaning against the seatback, and centered on the seat cushion, with their feet comfortably extended on the floor. Sitting improperly can increase the chance of injury in a crash event. For example, if an occupant slouches, lies down, turns sideways, sits forward, leans forward or sideways, or puts one or both feet up, the chance of injury during a crash is greatly increased.

Children and Airbags
Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child restraint. Never place a rear-facing child restraint in front of an active airbag. If you must use a forward-facing child restraint in the front seat, move the seat upon which the child restraint is installed all the way back.

Children must always be properly restrained. Accident statistics suggest that children are safer when properly restrained in the rear seating position than in the front seating position. Failure to follow these instructions may increase the risk of injury in a crash.

FRONT PASSENGER SENSING SYSTEM
Even with advanced restraint systems, properly restrain children 12 and under in a rear seating position. Failure to follow this could seriously increase the risk of injury or death. Sitting improperly, out of position, or with the seatback reclined too far can take the weight off the seat cushion and affect the decision of the passenger sensing system, resulting in serious injury or death in the event of a crash. Always sit upright against your seat back, with your feet on the floor. Any alteration or modification to the front passenger seat may affect the performance of the front passenger sensing system. This could seriously increase the risk of injury or death.

This system works with sensors that are part of the front passenger seat and seatbelt to detect the presence of a properly-seated occupant and determine if the front passenger frontal airbag should be enabled (may inflate) or not. The front passenger sensing system uses a passenger airbag status indicator that illuminates indicating that the front passenger frontal airbag is either on (enabled) or off (disabled). The indicators are on the overhead console.

Note: The indicators illuminate briefly when you first switch the ignition on to confirm they are functional.

The front passenger sensing system is designed to disable (will not inflate) the front passenger frontal airbag when the front passenger seat is unoccupied, or a rear-facing infant seat, a forward-facing child restraint, or a booster seat is detected. Even with this technology, parents are strongly encouraged to always properly restrain children in the rear seat.

• When the front passenger sensing system disables (will not inflate) the front passenger frontal airbag, the airbag off indicator illuminates and stays lit to remind you that the front passenger frontal airbag is disabled.
• If you have installed the child restraint and the airbag on indicator illuminates, switch the vehicle off, remove the child restraint from the vehicle, and reinstall the restraint according to the child restraint manufacturer’s instructions.

The front passenger sensing system is designed to enable (may inflate) the front passenger frontal airbag anytime the system senses that a person of adult size is sitting properly in the front passenger seat.

• When the front passenger sensing system enables the front passenger frontal airbag (may inflate), the airbag on indicator illuminates and remains illuminated.

If a person of adult size is sitting in the front passenger seat, but the airbag off indicator is lit, it is possible that the person is not sitting properly in the seat.

If this happens:

• Switch the vehicle off and ask the person to place the seat backrest in an upright position.
• Have the person sit upright in the seat, centered on the seat cushion, with the person’s legs comfortably extended.
• Restart the vehicle and have the person remain in this position for about two minutes. This allows the system to detect that person and enables the passenger frontal airbag.
• If the airbag off indicator remains lit even after this, advise the person to ride in the rear seat.

After all occupants have adjusted their seats and put on seatbelts, it is very important that they continue to sit properly. A properly seated occupant sits upright, leaning against the seat backrest, and centered on the seat cushion, with their feet comfortably extended on the floor. Sitting improperly can increase the chance of injury in a crash event. For example, if an occupant slouches, lies down, turns sideways, sits forward, leans forward or sideways, or puts one or both feet up, the chance of injury during a crash greatly increases.

SIDE AIRBAGS
Do not place objects or mount equipment on or near the airbag cover, on the side of the front or rear seatbacks, or in areas that may come into contact with a deploying airbag. Failure to follow these instructions may increase the risk of personal injury in the event of a crash. Accessory seat covers not released by Ford Motor Company could prevent the deployment of airbags and increase the risk of injuries in a crash. Do not lean your head on the door. The side airbag could injure you as it deploys from the side of the seatback. Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the supplementary restraint system or associated components. Failure to follow this instruction could result in personal injury or death. If a supplementary restraint system component has been deployed, it will not function again. Have the system and associated components inspected as soon as possible. Failure to follow this instruction could result in personal injury or death.

The side airbags are on the outermost side of the front seat backrests. In certain sideways crashes or rollover events, the side airbags will be inflated. The airbag was designed to inflate between the door panel and the occupant to further enhance the protection provided to occupants in side impact crashes.

FAQ

Useful Link

2023 Lincoln Aviator Owner’s Manual
2022 Lincoln Aviator User Manual