lock DODGE CARAVAN 2004 4.G Owner's Manual

WARNING!
In a collision, you and your passengers can suffer
much greater injuries if you are not properly buck-
led up. You can strike the interior of your vehicle or
other passengers, or you can be thrown out of the
vehicle. Always be sure you and others in your
vehicle are buckled up properly.
Buckle up even though you are an excellent driver, even
on short trips. Someone on the road may be a poor driver
and cause a collision that includes you. This can happen
far away from home or on your own street.
Research has shown that seat belts save lives, and they
can reduce the seriousness of injuries in a collision. Some
of the worst injuries happen when people are thrown
from the vehicle. Seat belts reduce the possibility ofejection and the risk of injury caused by striking the
inside of the vehicle.Everyonein a motor vehicle should
be belted at all times.
Lap/Shoulder Belts
All the outboard seats in your vehicle are equipped with
Lap/Shoulder Belts.
The belt webbing retractor is designed to lock during
very sudden stops or collisions. This feature allows the
shoulder part of the belt to move freely with you under
normal conditions. But in a collision, the belt will lock
and reduce the risk of your striking the inside of the
vehicle or being thrown out.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 39
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As a guide, if you are shorter than average, you will
prefer a lower position, and if you are taller than average,
you'll 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.
Lap/Shoulder Belt Untwisting Procedure
Use the following procedure to untwist a twisted lap/
shoulder belt.
1. Position the latch plate as close as possible to the
anchor point.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 45
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haven't healed significantly within a few days, or if
you have any blistering, see your doctor immediately.
²As the airbags deflate you may see some smoke-like
particles. The particles are a normal by-product of the
process that generates the nontoxic gas used for airbag
inflation. These airborne particles may irritate the skin,
eyes, nose, or throat. If you have skin or eye irritation,
rinse the area with cool water. For nose or throat
irritation, move to fresh air. If the irritation continues,
see your doctor. If these particles settle on your
clothing, follow the garment manufacturer's instruc-
tions for cleaning.
²It is not advisable to drive your vehicle after the
airbags have deployed. If you are involved in another
collision, the airbags and seat belt pretensioners will
not be in place to protect you.
WARNING!
Deployed airbags and seat belt pretensioners cannot
protect you in another collision. Have the airbags
and seat belt pretensioners replaced by an autho-
rized dealer as soon as possible.
Enhanced Accident Response
If the airbags and seat belt pertensioners deploy after an
impact and the electrical system remains functional,
vehicles equipped with power door locks will unlock
automatically. In addition, approximately 10 seconds
after the vehicle has stopped moving, the interior lights
will illuminate until the ignition switch is turned off.
56 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Here are some tips on getting the most out of your child
restraint:
²Before buying any restraint system, make sure that it
has a label certifying that it meets all applicable Safety
Standards. We also recommend that you make sure
that you can install the child restraint in the vehicle
where you will use it, before you buy it.
²The restraint must be appropriate for your child's
weight and height. Check the label on the restraint for
weight and height limits.
²Carefully follow the instructions that come with the
restraint. If you install the restraint improperly, it may
not work when you need it.
The passenger seat belts are equipped with cinching
latch plates, which are designed to keep the lap
portion tight around the child restraint so that it is not
necessary to use a locking clip. Pulling up on theshoulder portion of the lap/shoulder belt will tighten
the belt. The cinching latch plate will keep the belt
tight, however, any seat belt system will loosen with
time, so check the belt occasionally and pull it tight if
necessary.
²In the rear seat, you may have trouble tightening the
lap/shoulder belt on the child restraint because the
buckle or latch plate is too close to the belt path
opening on the restraint. Disconnect the latch plate
from the buckle and twist the short buckle end of the
belt several times to shorten it. Insert the latch plate
into the buckle with the release button facing out.
²If the belt still can't be tightened, or if pulling and
pushing on the restraint loosens the belt, disconnect
the latch plate from the buckle, turn the buckle
around, and insert the latch plate into the buckle
again. If you still can't make the child restraint secure,
try a different seating position.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 61
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Heated Remote Control Mirrors Ð If Equipped
These mirrors are heated to melt frost or ice. This feature
is activated whenever you turn on the Rear Window
Defrost.
Illuminated Vanity Mirrors Ð If Equipped
An illuminated vanity mirror is on the sun visor. To use
the mirror, rotate the sun visor down and swing the
mirror cover upward. The lights turn on automatically.
Closing the mirror cover turns off the lights.
Sun Visor Extension Ð If Equipped
This feature has a pull out extension on the sun visor for
increased coverage.
SEATS
Manual Front Seat Adjuster
The adjusting bar is located under the front of the seat.
Pull the bar up and move the seat to the desired position.
Release the bar to lock the seat into position.
Using body pressure, move forward and rearward on the
seat to be sure the seat adjusters have latched.
80 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE

lever to return the seatback to its full upright position.
Ensure that the seatback is fully latched in the upright
position.
WARNING!
In a collision, you or others in your vehicle could be
injured if seats are not properly latched to their floor
attachments. Always be sure the seats are fully
latched.
2 ± Passenger and 3 ± Passenger Bench Seats
Release levers are located on the rear leg assemblies, near
the floor. To remove the seat, squeeze each release handle
and rotate downwards to deploy the wheels. A lock
indicator button pops up when the seat is unlocked. The
seat assembly can now be removed from the vehicle and
moved on its Easy OuttRollers.To reinstall the seat, align the seat into the detent posi-
tions on the floor. Squeeze the release handle and rotate
upward until the lock indicator button returns into the
handle.
90 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE

Next, push to the left the safety catch located under the
front edge of the hood, near the center.
Use the hood prop rod to secure the hood in the open
position.To prevent possible damage, do not slam the hood to
close it. Lower the hood until it is open approximately 30
cm (12 inches) and then drop it. This should secure both
latches. Never drive your vehicle unless the hood is fully
closed, with both latches engaged.
WARNING!
If the hood is not fully latched, it could fly up when
the vehicle is moving and block your forward vision.
You could have a collision. Be sure all hood latches
are fully latched before driving.
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Interior light Defeat (OFF)
Rotate the dimmer control to the
OFF position (extreme bottom).
The interior lights will remain off
when the doors or liftgate are
open.
Parade Mode (Daytime Brightness Feature)
Rotate the dimmer control to the
first detent. This feature brightens
the odometer, radio and overhead
displays when the park lights or
headlights are on.
Automatic Headlights Ð If Equipped
This system automatically turns
your headlights ON or OFF based
on ambient light levels. To turn
the system ON, turn the headlight
switch to the extreme counter-
clockwise position. When the sys-
tem is ON, the Headlight Time
Delay feature is also ON. This
means your headlights will stay
ON for up to 90 seconds after you turn the ignition
switch OFF. To turn the Automatic System OFF, turn the
headlight switch clockwise to the OFF position.
NOTE:The engine must be running before the head-
lights will come ON in the Automatic mode.
100 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE

Daytime Running Lights (Canada/Fleet Vehicles
Only)
The Daytime Running Lights will come on whenever the
vehicle is running, the headlights are off, and the parking
brake is off. The headlight switch must be used for
normal night time driving.
Lights-on Reminder
If the headlights or the park lights are left on, or if the
dimmer control is in the extreme top position after the
ignition switch is turned off, a chime will sound when the
driver's door is opened.
Battery Protection
This feature provides battery protection to avoid wearing
down the battery if the headlights, park lights, or front
fog lights are left on for extended periods of time when
the ignition switch is in the LOCK position. After 3
minutes of the ignition switch being in the LOCK posi-
tion and the headlight switch in any position other thanOFF or AUTO, the lights will turn off automatically until
the next cycle of the ignition switch or headlight switch.
The battery protection feature will be disabled if the
ignition switch is turned to any other position other than
LOCK during the 3 minute delay.
Headlight Time Delay Ð If Equipped
This feature provides the safety of headlight illumination
for up to 90 seconds, when leaving your vehicle in an
unlighted area.
To activate the delay feature, turn off the ignition switch
while the headlights are still on. Then turn off the
headlights within 45 seconds. The 90 second delay inter-
val begins when headlight switch is turned off. If the
headlights or park lights are turned back on or the
ignition switch is turned on, the delay will be cancelled.
If the headlights are turned off before the ignition, they
will turn off in the normal manner.
UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE 101
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a maximum of 20 seconds or until the lever is released. If
another washer cycle is desired the end of the lever must
be pressed again to get another 20 second washer cycle. If
the lever is depressed while in the delay range, the
wipers will operate for several seconds after the lever is
released, and then resume the intermittent interval pre-
viously selected.
If the end of the lever is depressed while in the OFF
position, the wipers will operate for approximately two
wipe cycles, then turn OFF.
WARNING!
Sudden loss of visibility through the windshield
could lead to an accident. You might not see other
vehicles or other obstacles. To avoid sudden icing of
the windshield during freezing weather, warm the
windshield with defroster before and during wind-
shield washer use.
Intermittent Wiper System
Use the intermittent wipers when weather conditions
make a single wiping cycle, with a variable pause be-
tween cycles, desirable.
Rotate the end of the lever to the first detent position,
then turn the end of the lever to select the desired delay
interval. The delay can be regulated from a maximum of
about 20 seconds between cycles, to a cycle every 2
seconds. The time delay will be doubled if the vehicle
speed is less than 10 mph (16 km/h).
TILT STEERING COLUMN Ð IF EQUIPPED
To tilt the column, pull the small lever, located behind the
turn signal control, toward you and move the wheel up
or down, as desired. Release the lever to lock the wheel
firmly in place.
104 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE