child seat DODGE CARAVAN 2006 4.G Owners Manual

Vehicle Theft Alarm—If Equipped...........26

Sliding Side Door........................28
▫Sliding Door Open Flash.................30
▫Power Sliding Door—If Equipped.........30
▫Child Protection Door Lock...............33

Liftgate...............................34
▫Power Liftgate—If Equipped.............35

Seat Storage Bin Safety Warning.............38
▫Storage Bin Cover Emergency Release........38
▫Reinstalling Storage Bin Cover Emergency
Release.............................39

Windows.............................40
▫Manual Rear Vent Windows...............40▫Power Vent Windows—If Equipped........40
▫Power Windows—If Equipped............41

Occupant Restraints......................42
▫Lap/Shoulder Belts.....................43
▫Lap/Shoulder Belt Untwisting Procedure.....49
▫Center Lap Belts.......................51
▫Seat Belt Pretensioners...................51
▫Enhanced Seat Belt Use Reminder System
(BeltAlert)...........................52
▫Seat Belts And Pregnant Women............53
▫Seat Belt Extender......................53
▫Driver And Front Passenger Supplemental
Restraint Systems (SRS)—Airbags..........54
10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

▫DaimlerChrysler Corporation Integrated
Child Seat—If Equipped................69
▫Child Restraint........................69

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..........................83
▫Periodic Safety Checks You Should Make
Outside The Vehicle....................84
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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.
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, remote
keyless 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.
Child Lock Control
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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.
LIFTGATE
NOTE:The key that is used to start the vehicle is also
used to lock or unlock the doors and open the liftgate.
To open the liftgate, insert the key into the lock and turn
to the right. On vehicles equipped with power locks the
liftgate can also be unlocked using the remote keyless
entry or by activating the power door lock switches
located on the front doors.
Once unlocked, on vehicles equipped with power locks,
the liftgate can be opened or closed without using the
key. To open the liftgate, depress the liftgate release
switch located on the underside of the license plate bar
and pull the liftgate open with one fluid motion.
34 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Gas props support the liftgate in the open position.
However, because the gas pressure drops with tempera-
ture, it may be necessary to assist the props when
opening the liftgate in cold weather.
SEAT STORAGE BIN SAFETY WARNING
WARNING!
Always close the storage bin covers when your
vehicle is unattended. Do not allow children to have
access to the 2nd row seat storage bins. Once in the
storage bin, young children may not be able to
escape. If trapped in the storage bin, children can die
from suffocation or heat stroke.
Storage Bin Cover Emergency Release
As a security measure, a Storage Bin Cover Emergency
Release strap is built into the storage bin cover latching
mechanism.
Storage Bin Cover Emergency Release
38 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

together to minimize the buffeting. If the buffeting occurs
with the sunroof open, adjust the sunroof opening to
minimize the buffeting.
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 damage
the airbags and you could be injured because the
airbags are not there to protect you. These protective
covers for the airbag cushions are designed 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.
NOTE:Do not use a clothing bar mounted to the coat
hooks in this vehicle. A clothing bar will impede the
proper performance of the window bags.
Along with the seat belts and front seat belt buckle
pretensioners, front airbags work with the intsrument
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.
56 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

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.
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.
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•TheDriver and Passenger Airbag/Inflator Unitsare
located in the center of the steering wheel and the right
side of the instrument panel. When the ORC and
impact sensors detects a collision requiring the air-
bags, it signals the inflator units. A large quantity of
nontoxic gas is generated to inflate the front airbags.
Different airbag inflation rates may be possible based
on collision severity and occupant size. The steering
wheel hub trim cover and the upper right side of the
instrument panel separate and fold out of the way as
the airbags inflate to their full size. The airbags fully
inflate in about 50–70 milliseconds. This is about half
of the time it takes to blink your eyes. The airbags then
quickly deflate while helping to restrain the driver and
front passenger.
The driver’s and passenger’s front airbag gas is vented
through the airbag material towards the instrument
panel. In this way the airbags do not interfere with
your control of the 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.
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removal or loosening/tightening of seat attachment
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 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 front
passenger 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.
Passenger Airbag Disabled Light
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