child restraint DODGE AVENGER 2014 2.G Owners Manual

▫Transmitter Battery Replacement ...........26
▫ General Information ....................27
 REMOTE START SYSTEM — IF EQUIPPED ....28
▫ How To Use Remote Start ................28
 DOOR LOCKS .........................31
▫ Manual Door Locks .....................31
▫ Power Door Locks .....................32
▫ Child-Protection Door Lock System —
Rear Doors ..........................34
 POWER WINDOWS .....................36
▫ Power Window Switches .................36
▫ Auto Window Down — If Equipped ........37
▫ Auto Window Up With Anti-Pinch
Protection — If Equipped ................38 ▫
Window Lockout Switch .................39
▫ Wind Buffeting .......................39
 TRUNK RELEASE .......................40
 TRUNK SAFETY WARNING ................40
▫ Trunk Internal Emergency Release ..........41
 OCCUPANT RESTRAINTS ................41
▫ Lap/Shoulder Belts ....................45
▫ Adjustable Upper Shoulder Belt Anchorage . . .51
▫ Rear Seat Belts ........................51
▫ Seat Belts In Passenger Seating Positions ......51
▫ Automatic Locking Retractor Mode (ALR) —
If Equipped ..........................52
▫ Energy Management Feature ..............53
10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

▫Seat Belt Pretensioners ..................54
▫ Supplemental Active Head Restraints (AHR) . . .54
▫ Enhanced Seat Belt Use Reminder System
(BeltAlert®) ..........................58
▫ Seat Belts And Pregnant Women ...........59
▫ Seat Belt Extender .....................59
▫ Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) —
Air Bags ............................60
▫ Air Bag System Components ..............62
▫ Advanced Front Air Bag Features ...........62
▫ Air Bag Deployment Sensors And Controls ....66▫
Event Data Recorder (EDR) ...............73
▫ Child Restraints .......................74
▫ Transporting Pets ......................96
 ENGINE BREAK-IN RECOMMENDATIONS ....96
 SAFETY TIPS ..........................97
▫ Transporting Passengers ..................97
▫ Exhaust Gas ..........................98
▫ Safety Checks You Should Make Inside The
Vehicle .............................99
▫ Periodic Safety Checks You Should Make
Outside The Vehicle ...................101
2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 11

•Advanced Front Air Bags for driver and front passenger
•Supplemental Active Head Restraints (AHR) located
on top of the front seats (integrated into the head
restraint) — if equipped
• Supplemental Side Air Bag Inflatable Curtains (SABIC)
for the driver and passengers seated next to a window
• Supplemental Seat-Mounted Side Air Bags (SAB)
• An energy-absorbing steering column and steering
wheel
• Knee bolsters/blockers for front seat occupants
• Front seat belts incorporate pretensioners that may
enhance occupant protection by managing occupant
energy during an impact event
• All seat belt systems (except the driver’s) include
Automatic Locking Retractors (ALRs), which lock the
seat belt webbing into position by extending the belt all the way out and then adjusting the belt to the
desired length to restrain a child seat or secure a large
item in a seat.
Please pay close attention to the information in this
section. It tells you how to use your restraint system
properly, to keep you and your passengers as safe as
possible.
If you will be carrying children too small for adult-sized
seat belts, the seat belts or the Lower Anchors and Tethers
for CHildren (LATCH) feature also can be used to hold
infant and child restraint systems. For more information
on LATCH, refer to Lower Anchors and Tethers for
CHildren (LATCH).
NOTE: The Advanced Front Air Bags have a multistage
inflator design. This allows the air bag to have different
rates of inflation based on several factors, including the
severity and type of collision.
42 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Here are some simple steps you can take to minimize the
risk of harm from a deploying air bag:
1. Children 12 years old and under should always ridebuckled up in a rear seat.
WARNING!
•Never place a rear facing infant seat in front of an
air bag. A deploying Passenger Advanced Front Air
Bag can cause death or serious injury to a child 12
years or younger, including a child in a rearward
facing infant seat.
• Only use a rearward-facing child restraint in a
vehicle with a rear seat.
Children that are not big enough to wear the vehicle seat
belt properly (see section on Child Restraints) should be
secured in the rear seat in child restraints or belt posi-
tioning booster seats. Older children who do not use
child restraints or belt-positioning booster seats should ride properly buckled up in the rear seat. Never allow
children to slide the shoulder belt behind them or under
their arm. If a child from 2 to 12 years old (not in a rear
facing child seat) must ride in the front passenger seat,
move the seat as far back as possible and use the proper
child restraint. Refer to “Child Restraints”.
You should read the instructions provided with your
child restraint to make sure that you are using it properly.
2. All occupants should always wear their lap and
shoulder belts properly.
3. The driver and front passenger seats should be moved back as far as practical to allow the Advanced Front
Air Bags room to inflate.
4. Do not lean against the door or window. If your vehicle has side air bags, and deployment occurs, the
side air bags will inflate forcefully into the space
between you and the door.
2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 43

Adjustable Upper Shoulder Belt Anchorage
In the front seat, the shoulder belt can be adjusted
upward or downward to position the belt away from
your neck. Push ANCHORAGE button to release the
anchorage, and move it up or down to the position that
fits you best.As a guide, if you are shorter than average, you will
prefer a lower position, and if you are taller than average,
you will prefer a higher position. When you release the
anchorage, try to move it up or down to make sure that
it is locked in position.
Rear Seat Belts
The shoulder belt anchorages of the rear three-point belts
are nonadjustable for outboard and center rear passen-
gers on sedans. The center belt is mounted to the rear
shelf panel and exits through a bezel in the panel.
Seat Belts In Passenger Seating Positions
The seat belts in the passenger seating positions are
equipped with Automatic Locking Retractors (ALR)
which are used to secure a child restraint system. For
additional information, refer to “Installing Child Re-
straints Using The Vehicle Seat Belt” under the “Child
Adjustable Anchorage
2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 51

Restraints” section. The chart below defines the type of
feature for each seating position.
Driver Center Passenger
First Row N/A N/A ALR SecondRow ALR ALR ALR
• N/A — Not Applicable
• ALR — Automatic Locking Retractor
If the passenger seating position is equipped with an
ALR and is being used for normal usage:
Only pull the belt webbing out far enough to comfortably
wrap around the occupant’s mid-section so as to not
activate the ALR. If the ALR is activated, you will hear a
ratcheting sound as the belt retracts. Allow the webbing
to retract completely in this case and then carefully pull out only the amount of webbing necessary to comfort-
ably wrap around the occupant’s mid-section. Slide the
latch plate into the buckle until you hear a
click.Automatic Locking Retractor Mode (ALR) — If
Equipped
In this mode, the shoulder belt is automatically pre-
locked. The belt will still retract to remove any slack in
the shoulder belt. The Automatic Locking Mode is avail-
able on all passenger-seating positions with a combina-
tion lap/shoulder belt. Use the Automatic Locking Mode
anytime a child safety seat is installed in a seating
position that has a belt with this feature. Children 12
years old and under should always be properly re-
strained in a vehicle with a rear seat.
52 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Seat Belt Pretensioners
The seat belts for both front seating positions are
equipped with pretensioning devices that are designed to
remove slack from the seat belt in the event of a collision.
These devices may improve the performance of the seat
belt by assuring that the belt is tight about the occupant
early in a collision. Pretensioners work for all size occu-
pants, including those in child restraints.
NOTE:These devices are not a substitute for proper seat
belt placement by the occupant. The seat belt still must be
worn snugly and positioned properly.
The pretensioners are triggered by the Occupant Re-
straint Controller (ORC). Like the air bags, the preten-
sioners are single use items. A deployed pretensioner or
a deployed air bag must be replaced immediately.
Supplemental Active Head Restraints (AHR)
These head restraints are passive, deployable compo-
nents, and vehicles with this equipment cannot be readily
identified by any markings, only through visual inspec-
tion of the head restraint. The head restraint will be split
in two halves, with the front half being soft foam and
trim, the back half being decorative plastic.
How The Active Head Restraints (AHR) Work
The Occupant Restraint Controller (ORC) determines
whether the severity, or type of rear impact will require
the Active Head Restraints (AHR) to deploy. If a rear
impact requires deployment, both the driver and front
passenger seat AHRs will be deployed.
When AHRs deploy during a rear impact, the front half
of the head restraint extends forward to minimize the gap
between the back of the occupant’s head and the AHR.
54 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

•Being too close to the SAB and SABIC air bags during
deployment could cause you to be severely injured or
killed.
The system includes side impact sensors that are cali-
brated to deploy the side air bags during impacts that
require air bag occupant protection.
WARNING!
• Your vehicle is equipped with left and right
Supplemental Side Air Bag Inflatable Curtain
(SABIC), do not stack luggage or other cargo up
high enough to block the location of the SABIC.
The area where the SABIC is located should remain
free from any obstructions.
(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
•Do not use accessory seat covers or place objects
between you and the side air bags; the performance
could be adversely affected and/or objects could be
pushed into you, causing serious injury.
• Your vehicle is equipped with SABIC air bags, do
not have any accessory items installed which will
alter the roof, including adding a sunroof to your
vehicle. Do not add roof racks that require perma-
nent attachments (bolts or screws) for installation
on the vehicle roof. Do not drill into the roof of the
vehicle for any reason.
• Do not allow occupants to extend any part of their
body outside of the window.
SAB and SABIC air bags are a supplement to the seat belt
restraint system. Occupants, including children who are
up against or very close to SAB or SABIC air bags can be
2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 65

seriously injured or killed. Occupants, especially chil-
dren, should not lean on or sleep against the door, side
windows, or area where the SAB or SABIC air bags
inflate, even if they are in an infant or child restraint.
Always sit upright as possible with your back against the
seat back, use the seat belts properly, and use the
appropriate sized child restraint, infant restraint or
booster seat recommended for the size and weight of the
child.
Knee Impact Bolsters
The Knee Impact Bolsters help protect the knees of the
driver and front passengers, and position front occupants
for the best interaction with the Advanced Front Air
Bags.
Along with seat belts and pretensioners, Advanced Front
Air Bags work with the knee impact bolsters to provide
improved protection for the driver and front passenger.
Air Bag Deployment Sensors And Controls
Occupant Restraint Controller (ORC)
The ORC is part of a Federally regulated safety system
required for this vehicle.
The ORC determines if deployment of the front and/or
side air bags in a frontal or side collision is required.
Based on the impact sensor’s signals, a central electronic
ORC deploys the Advanced Front Air Bags, SABIC air
bags, Supplemental Seat-Mounted Side Air Bags, and
front seat belt pretensioners, as required, depending on
the severity and type of impact.
Advanced Front Air Bags are designed to provide addi-
tional protection by supplementing the seat belts in
certain frontal collisions depending on several factors,
including the severity and type of collision. Advanced
Front Air Bags are not expected to reduce the risk of
injury in rear, side, or rollover collisions.
66 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

•Whether or not the driver and passenger safety belts
were buckled/fastened;
• How far (if at all) the driver was depressing the
accelerator and/or brake pedal; and,
• How fast the vehicle was traveling.
These data can help provide a better understanding of
the circumstances in which crashes and injuries occur.
NOTE: EDR data are recorded by your vehicle only if a
non-trivial crash situation occurs; no data are recorded by
the EDR under normal driving conditions and no per-
sonal data (e.g., name, gender, age, and crash location)
are recorded. However, other parties, such as law en-
forcement, could combine the EDR data with the type of
personally identifying data routinely acquired during a
crash investigation. To read data recorded by an EDR, special equipment is
required, and access to the vehicle or the EDR is needed.
In addition to the vehicle manufacturer, other parties,
such as law enforcement, that have the special equip-
ment, can read the information if they have access to the
vehicle or the EDR.
Child Restraints
Everyone in your vehicle needs to be buckled up at all
times, including babies and children. Every state in the
United States, and every Canadian province, requires
that small children ride in proper restraint systems. This
is the law, and you can be prosecuted for ignoring it.
Children 12 years or younger should ride properly
buckled up in a rear seat, if available. According to crash
statistics, children are safer when properly restrained in
the rear seats rather than in the front.
74 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE