Make Safety a Priority with 9-1-1 Assist

SYNC is the system that can be activated right from your steering wheel. It allows you to change the radio and make a phone call with just voice commands. It doesn't matter where your phone is in your car, saying "call Jane" will work as long as the phone is connected via Bluetooth. When you connect your phone to the car through Bluetooth for the first time, one of the things you have the ability to turn on is 9-1-1 Assist. You may be wondering what it is and if it worth turning on.

9-1-1 Assist gives your vehicle the ability to call 9-1-1 when you can't. If your car gets into an accident that causes the airbags to go off, the SYNC system will call 9-1-1. Whether you are out of it and don't realize you need to call 9-1-1, or you physically can't, 9-1-1 Assist has you covered. When prompted by the operator, SYNC has the ability answer questions about your location and the crash. It then opens up the line to you. If you can't speak, you can rest assured that help is on the way. If you can speak, you can add more details that SYNC might not have covered (like what happened).

SYNC will alert you that it is making the call and say

"SYNC will attempt to call 9-1-1. To cancel the call, press and hold the Phone button."

Unless you press the Phone button to cancel within approximately 10 seconds, SYNC will make the call and inform you that:

"A 9-1-1 Assist call is being placed. SYNC will speak to the 9-1-1 Call Taker first before opening the line. Please wait."

You'll then hear the phone ringing as the call is placed to 9-1-1.

If you turn off the vehicle and open the door during a 9-1-1 Assist call, the call will not be disconnected. SYNC will use its Privacy Mode feature to transfer the call from hands-free communication to your paired phone.

If a 9-1-1 Assist call is in progress, the vehicle controls for ending the call are locked out. The only way to end the call is to press "End" on the phone handset. This ensures that the Emergency Call Taker has the most control of the situation.

To operate, 9-1-1 Assist requires that your vehicle's electrical system (including the battery), your wireless service provider's signal, and the paired mobile phone are all available and operating. Depending on the severity of the accident, the vehicle's systems could be damaged to such an extent that 9-1-1 Assist would not be able to initiate or maintain a call to 9-1-1.

So, should you set it up? That depends on personal preference. We would be more than happy to walk you through the process of syncing your phone to your car, and activating 9-1-1 Assist here at Island Ford.