child seat DODGE CARAVAN 2005 4.G Owners Manual

Vehicle Theft Alarm—If Equipped...........27

Sliding Side Door........................29
▫Sliding Door Open Flash.................30
▫Power Sliding Door—If Equipped.........31
▫Child Protection Door Lock...............33

Liftgate...............................35
▫Power Liftgate—If Equipped.............36

Windows.............................38
▫Manual Rear Vent Windows...............38
▫Power Vent Windows—If Equipped........38
▫Power Windows—If Equipped............39

Occupant Restraints......................41▫Lap/Shoulder Belts.....................42
▫Lap/Shoulder Belt Untwisting Procedure.....48
▫Center Lap Belts.......................50
▫Seat Belt Pretensioners...................50
▫Enhanced Driver Seat Belt Use Reminder System
(BeltAlert)...........................51
▫Seat Belts And Pregnant Women............52
▫Seat Belt Extender......................52
▫Driver And Front Passenger Supplemental
Restraint Systems (SRS)—Airbags..........53
▫DaimlerChrysler Corporation Integrated
Child Seat—If Equipped................68
▫Child Restraint........................69
10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Rear Seat Delete Feature (Commercial Vehicles
Only)—If Equipped.....................78
▫Restraining Infants And Small Children
With Seat Delete Feature
(Commercial Vehicles Only)...............79

Engine Break-In Recommendations...........82
Safety Tips............................83
▫Exhaust Gas..........................83
▫Safety Checks You Should Make
Inside The Vehicle......................84
▫Periodic Safety Checks You Should Make Outside
The Vehicle..........................85
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 11
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•If the power sliding door is not in the full open or close
position, it will fully open when a power sliding door
switch is pressed. To close the door, wait until it is fully
open and then press the switch again.
•The power sliding door switches will not operate if the
vehicle is in gear or the vehicle speed is above 0 mph
(0 km/h).
•If the power sliding door encounters multiple obstruc-
tions within the same cycle, the system will automati-
cally stop and must be opened or closed manually.
WARNING!
You or others could be injured if caught in the path
of the sliding door. Make sure the door path is clear
before closing the door.
Child Protection Door Lock
To provide a safer environment for small children riding
in the rear seats, the sliding doors are equipped with a
child protection door lock system.
WARNING!
To avoid trapping anyone in the vehicle in a colli-
sion. Remember that the sliding doors can only be
opened from the outside door handle or the switches
located on the trim panel just in front of the power
sliding door when the child protection locks are
engaged.
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To activate the system, open the sliding door and move
the child lock control, located near the door’s rear latch,
to the ON position.
When the child lock system is engaged the door can be
opened only by using the outside door handle, remotekeyless entry transmitter, switches on the overhead con-
sole or the switches located on the trim panel just in front
of the power sliding door, even though the inside door
lock is in the unlocked position.
The power sliding door will operate from the switches
located on the trim panel just in front of the power sliding
door, regardless of the child lock lever position. To avoid
unintentional operation of the power sliding door from
the rear seats, press the button located in the overhead
console to disable the switches for the rear seat passen-
gers.
NOTE:
•The power sliding door switches will not operate if the
vehicle is in gear or the vehicle speed is above 0 mph
(0 km/h).
•The power sliding door will operate from the remote
keyless entry transmitter, if the vehicle is in Park,
regardless of the child lock lever position.
Child Lock Control
34 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

OCCUPANT RESTRAINTS
Some of the most important safety features in your
vehicle are the restraint systems. These include the front
and rear seat belts for the driver and all passengers, front
airbags for both the driver and front passenger, driver
inflatable knee blocker and if equipped, window bags for
the driver and passengers seated next to a window. If you
will be carrying children too small for adult-size seat
belts, your seat belts or the LATCH feature (Lower
Anchors and Tether for CHildren) also, can be used to
hold infant and child restraint systems.
If your vehicle is equipped with the Occupant Classifi-
cation System (OCS) there will be a Passenger Airbag
Disabled (PAD) Indicator Light located on the center of
the instrument panel.NOTE:The front airbags have a multi stage inflator
design. This allows the airbag to have different rates of
inflation that are based on collision severity.
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.
Passenger Airbag Disabled Light
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WARNING!
•Do not put anything on or around the airbag covers
or attempt to manually open them. You may dam-
age the airbags and you could be injured because
the airbags are not there to protect you. These
protective covers for the airbag cushions are de-
signed to open only when the airbags are inflating.
•If your vehicle is equipped with window bags, do
not stack luggage or other cargo up high enough to
block the location of the window bag. The area
where the window bag is located should remain
free from any obstructions.
•If your vehicle is equipped with window 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.
Along with the seat belts, front airbags work with the
instrument panel knee bolsters to provide improved
protection for the driver and front passenger. Window
bags also work with seat belts to improve occupant
protection.
The seat belts are designed to protect you in many types
of collisions. The front airbags deploy in moderate to
severe frontal collisions.
NOTE:The passenger front airbag may not deploy even
when the driver front airbag has if the Occupant Classi-
fication System (refer to“Occupant Classification Sys-
tem”in this section) has determined the seat is empty or
is occupied by a child.
If your vehicle is equipped, the window bag on the crash
side of the vehicle is triggered in moderate to severe side
collisions. But even in collisions where the airbags inflate,
you need the seat belts to keep you in the right position
for the airbags to protect you properly.
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Here are some simple steps you can take to minimize the
risk of harm from a deploying airbag.
1.Children 12 years old and under should always ride
buckled up in a rear seat.
Infants in rear facing child restraints shouldNEVERride
in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger front airbag.
An airbag deployment can cause severe injury or death to
infants in that position.
Children that are not big enough to properly wear the
vehicle seat belt (refer to section on Child Restraint)
should be secured in the rear seat, in a child restraint or
belt-positioning booster seat. Older children who do not
use child restraints or belt-positioning booster seats
should ride properly buckled up in the rear seat, and in
the outboard seat if possible. Never allow children to
slide the shoulder belt behind them or under their arm.If a child from 1 to 12 years old must ride in the front
passenger seat because the vehicle is crowded, move the
seat as far back as possible, and use the proper child
restraint. See the section on Child Restraint.
You should read the instructions provided with your
child restraint to make sure that you are using it properly.
2.All occupants should 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 front airbags
room to inflate.
4.If your vehicle has window bags, do not lean against
the door, airbags will inflate forcefully into the space
between you and the door.
56 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

•TheSide Impact SRS Window Bagsare designed to
activate only in certain side collisions. When the ORC
and the side impact sensors (with side impact option)
detects a collision requiring the window bags to
inflate, it signals the inflators on the crash side of the
vehicle. A quantity of nontoxic gas is generated to
inflate the window bag. The inflating window bag
pushes the outside edge of the headliner out of the
way and covers the window. The airbag inflates in
about 30 milliseconds (about one quarter of the time it
takes to blink your eyes) with enough force to injure
you if you are not belted and seated properly, or if
items are positioned in the area where the window bag
inflates. This especially applies to children. The win-
dow bag is only about 3
12inches (9 cm) thick when it
is inflated.
•When the ORC and the side impact sensors (with side
impact option) detects a collision requiring theDriver
Inflatable Knee Blocker, it signals the inflator unit. A
quantity of nontoxic gas is generated to inflate the
Driver Inflatable Knee Blocker. The Driver Inflatable
Knee Blocker inflates rearward towards the driver’s
knees to help protect the knees and position you for
the best interaction with the front airbag. The Driver
Inflatable Knee Blocker fully inflates in about 50
milliseconds, this is only about half of the time it takes
you to blink your eyes. It then quickly deflates while
helping to protect the driver’s knees.
•TheKnee Impact Bolstershelp protect the knees, and
position everyone for the best interaction with the
front airbag.
60 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

•If your vehicle contains a Passenger Airbag Disable
indicator light, it will be equipped with theOccupant
Classification System (OCS).The OCS system will
classify an occupant into a size category based on
sensor readings from within the seat cushion. Occu-
pants should try to remain in a normally seated
position. If the occupant’s weight is transferred to
another object in the vehicle (i.e. feet on the dash-
board), the OCS may not be able to properly approxi-
mate occupant size. Furthermore, the occupant size
may appear to increase or decrease due to objects
hanging on the seat, other passengers pushing on the
seat, or objects lodged underneath the seat. Ensure
that the front passenger seat back does not touch
anything placed on the back seat because this can also
affect occupant classification. Also, if you fold down
the rear seat, check to be sure it doesn’t touch the front
passenger seat.If there is a rapid change in temperature or humidity,
the OCS may not be able to properly approximate
occupant size. If your seat including your trim cover
and cushion needs to be serviced in any way (includ-
ing removal or loosening/tightening of seat attach-
ment bolts), take the vehicle to your authorized dealer.
Only manufacturer approved seat accessories may be
used.
If there is a fault present in the system, the AIRBAG
warning light will illuminate indicating that you should
take the vehicle to an authorized dealer. In the presence
of an occupant in the passenger seat, if both the PAD
indicator light and AIRBAG warning light are illumi-
nated the airbag will be disabled.
The ORC will not allow front airbag deployment in the
event of a collision for occupants classified into the
empty or child size categories. The PAD indicator light
will illuminate indicating that the Passenger Airbag is
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 61
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OFF when the OCS has determined that the occupant size
category is a child. Also, when the seat is empty or an
object that weighs less than a predetermined threshold is
placed on the seat, the light will remain OFF. (The PAD
indicator light is an amber light located on the center of
the instrument panel above the radio.)
For almost all sizes of properly seated adults, the airbag
will be enabled in the event of a collision. For small
teenagers and some small adults, depending on size, the
airbag may or may not be enabled in the event of a
collision. Both drivers and passengers should always use
the PAD indicator light as an indication if the frontpassenger is properly positioned or not. If the PAD
indicator light comes on when an adult is in the passen-
ger seat, have the passenger re-position themselves in the
seat until the light goes out.
Remember, if the PAD indicator light is illuminated the
passenger front airbag will not inflate. For almost all
properly installed child restraints, the“PAD Indicator
Light”will be illuminated indicating that the front pas-
senger airbag is turned off and will not inflate. If the
“PAD Indicator Light”is not illuminated, DO NOT
assume the airbag is turned off and move the child
restraint to the rear seat. A deploying passenger airbag
can cause death or serious injury to a child in a rear
facing infant seat.
NOTE:Even though this vehicle is equipped with an
Occupant Classification System, children 12 years and
under should always ride buckled up in a rear seat in an
appropriate child restraint.
Passenger Airbag Disabled Light
62 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE