Rear Occupant Alert: How to Turn Off + Why Leave It On

Bronco Sport
Jul 27, 2023
3

The Rear Seat Occupant Alert helps prevent a forgotten child or pet

Recently, I’ve had a few people asking me about some of the standard alarms or warnings that occur in the Bronco Sport that can seem annoying based on the circumstances. One of these is the rear occupant alert system.

Bronco Sport Rear Seat Occupant Alert

This particular alert provides both a visible message in the information and entertainment display screen as well as an audible warning to check the back seat for occupants before leaving the vehicle. This alert can be valuable and potentially lifesaving for owners with infants, small children, or pets. As temperatures inside vehicles can soar during the summer months, horrible consequences can and have happened when parents and caregivers have forgotten a sleeping child in a car.

What signals the alert?

Ford has installed this alert system to signal when the vehicle has met the following conditions:

  • A rear door is opened or closed while the ignition is on.
  • You switch the ignition on within 15 minutes of the alert having displayed or sounded.
  • You switch the ignition on within 15 minutes of a rear door opening and closing.


The alert does not detect rear seat occupants; it only monitors when rear doors are opened and closed. If you have no small children and still frequently open and close the rear doors (like me), this alarm can easily be switched off. I did finally disable this alarm a few days ago because my husband was tired of me yelling “I have no babies” at the car every time I parked my Sport.

Directions to Switch the Alert off

Bronco Sport Rear Seat Occupant Alert

To turn off the warning:

  • Press Settings on the Touchscreen
  • Press Vehicle
  • Switch Rear Occupant alert On or Off


The manual also states that once the occupant alert is turned off, you’ll receive a semi-annual reminder that the system is off.

Bronco Sport Rear Seat Occupant Alert

You can then follow the steps to turn the warning back on, if desired. Also, if you have to perform a master reset on you Sport, the warning will default back to the “On” position, and you’ll need to switch it back off.

Keep it on to keep kids and pets safe this summer

This is a quick and easy fix to turn off what might be a useless alarm, but if you are a parent or even an occasional caregiver to a small child, I would encourage you to keep it on, and be sure to check that back seat every time you leave your Bronco Sport. It’s a hot summer, so let’s put up with a little warning to keep our kids and pets safe.

Comments

You must log in or register to post here.