STrick i think you've lost Chris on that one! :-)

Just messing!

But TBH i just forget to lock the dammed doors and i know the day i forget my Laptop will get swiped off the seat. And no i can't be bothered to put it in the boot.

Passive CDL please!

It's not to do with cost because all the sensors are fitted (belt minder) just not used.
Belt minder is a MUST to get EURO 5* crash. As the current Fiesta cannot meet 5* even with reflex pack and ESP fitted then it is not enabled as it is seen as "annoying" to some customers. My wife hates it on her Focus, though it does make her put her belt on. (though if you depress the seat belt release catch three times it will go off!!)
"Start Of Trip" locking is not activated as Ford are worried that in the event of impact the Airbag module MAY not unlock the doors and they would get sued for getting you trapped (alledgedly). If you lock the doors yourself they are not liable, though they unlock on impact anyway.
They deactivate instant fuel economy on the fuel computer because people complain when it drops to 2MPG when you floor it!!
Shift up light on ST does not work because the rubbish Visteon Black-Oak ECU doesn't support it.

Scott, all MK 1.5 Focus' and 2000-2007 Mondeos can have Start Of Trip locking activated by locking and unlocking three times, provided the car has double locking fitted.

To change the way the car unlocks (drivers door only or all doors) on models without the function option in the fuel computer, you have to unlock the car with the remote then press and hold the lock and unlock buttons for six seconds till the indicators flash.

Guys,

I can't help but agree with ford on this one. I work in the aerospace industry and we do a lot of work on FMEAs and the like. Basically its a "what if" exercise and I have to agree with Ford by saying I'd rather the car didn't lock itself becasue it might not unlock itself in the event of a crash. Yes, the frequency of getting trapped in a car with fuel tipping on you and your passenger deciding he's Ray Mears and wants to practice his bush craft is quite low (depending on who your mates are), but if the passive door locks failed to "fail safe" you'd have a bad day and from Ford's point of view it would be an expensive mistake.

Look at it from Ford's point of view:

1. Laptop stolen - Car owners fault, should have put the laptop in the boot or had insurance.

2. Owner burnt to death through PDL failure - Ford's fault, compensation pay-out, damage to name etc


However....... I can't see why they don't activate the seatbelt warning light?!?

Umh not sure on that one Steve... But being practical Citroen, Renault and Volvo have it for sure and its a neat feature that can be controlled by the driver from a switch on the dash, simple!

Well, each company will review the risk and come up with a different outcome as assign risk numbers is quite subjective.

Fact is that I wouldn't buy a car on its self locking merits so they're not missing out on my money by not adding the feature. Equally, everybody on this forum has got the car regardless of its self locking. It may be a neat feature but its not impacting sales and could cause an issue in a crash. ie negatives outweigh positives

All it takes is one guy on the risk team who got locked in a car as a child to insist that its a traumatic experience..... bloody childlocks!