DODGE CARAVAN 2012 Owners Manual

CAUTION!
To prevent possible damage, do not slam the hood to
close it. Lower the hood until it is open approxi-
mately 12 in (30 cm) and then drop it. This should
secure both latches. Never drive your vehicle unless
the hood is fully closed, with both latches engaged.
WARNING!
Be sure the hood is fully latched before driving your
vehicle. If the hood is not fully latched, it could open
when the vehicle is in motion and block your vision.
Failure to follow this warning could result in serious
injury or death.
LIGHTS
Headlight Switch
The headlight switch is located on the left side of the
instrument panel. The switch controls the operation of
the headlights, parking lights, instrument panel lights,
interior lights and the fog lights.
Headlight Switch With Halo Control
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Rotate the headlight switch clockwise to the first detent
for parking light and instrument panel light operation.
Rotate the headlight switch to the second detent for
headlight, parking light and instrument panel operation.
Automatic Headlights — 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 counterclockwise
position aligning the indicator with the AUTO on the
headlight switch. When the system 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 O (OFF)
position.
NOTE:The engine must be running before the head-
lights will come on in the Automatic mode.
Headlights On With Wipers — If Equipped
When your headlights are in the AUTO mode and the
engine is running, the headlights will automatically turn
on when the wiper system is also turned on. Headlights
on when windshield wipers are on may be found on
vehicles equipped with an automatic headlight system.
Refer to “Electronic Vehicle Information Center (EVIC)/
Customer-Programmable Features” in “Understanding
Your Instrument Panel” for further information.
Headlight Delay — If Equipped
This feature provides the safety of headlight illumination
for up to 90 seconds after exiting your vehicle.
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 parking lights are turned back on or the
ignition switch is turned ON, the delay will be cancelled.
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When exiting the vehicle the driver can choose to have
the headlights remain on for 30, 60 or 90 seconds or not
remain on. To change the timer setting, see your autho-
rized dealer.
The headlight delay time is programmable on vehicles
equipped with an EVIC. Refer to “Electronic Vehicle
Information Center (EVIC)/Customer-Programmable
Features” in “Understanding Your Instrument Panel” for
further information.
If the headlights are turned off before the ignition, they
will turn off in the normal manner.
NOTE:The headlights must be turned off within 45 sec-
onds of turning the ignition OFF to activate this feature.
Lights-On Reminder
If the headlights or the parking 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.
Daytime Running Lights — If Equipped
The headlights on your vehicle will illuminate when the
engine is started and the transmission is in any gear
except PARK. This provides a constant lights on condi-
tion until the ignition is turned OFF. The lights illuminate
at less than 50% of normal intensity. If the parking brake
is applied, the Daytime Running Lights (DRL) will turn
off. Also, if a turn signal is activated, the DRL lamp on the
same side of the vehicle will turn off for the duration of
the turn signal activation. Once the turn signal is no
longer active, the DRL lamp will illuminate.
Front Fog Lights — If Equipped
To activate the front fog lights, turn on the parking
lights or the low beam headlights and push in the
headlight switch control knob. Pressing the head-
light switch control knob in a second time will turn the
front fog lights off.
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Dimmer Controls
The dimmer switch is located next to the headlight
switch.
With the parking lights or headlights on, rotating the
dimmer control upward will increase the brightness of
the instrument panel lights.
Interior Lighting On
Rotate the left dimmer control completely upward to the
second detent (extreme top position) to turn on the
interior lights. The interior lights will remain on when the
dimmer control is in this position.
Interior lights are also turned on when a door or liftgate
is opened, the Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) transmitter is
activated, or when the dimmer control is moved to the
extreme top.
The interior lights will automatically turn off in approxi-
mately 10 minutes for the first activation and 90 seconds
every activation thereafter until the engine is started, if
one of the following occur:
•A door, sliding door or the liftgate is left open
•Any overhead reading light is left on
Dimmer Control
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NOTE:The key must be out of the ignition switch or the
ignition switch must be in the OFF position for this
feature to operate.
Interior Lighting Off
Rotate the left 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 left dimmer control to the first detent. This
feature brightens the odometer, radio and overhead
displays when the parking lights or headlights are on.
Halo Lights — If Equipped
Halo lights are strategically placed soft lighting that help
to illuminate specific areas to aid the occupants in
locating specific features while driving at night.
The Halo control switch is located to the right of the
dimmer switch. To activate the Halo lights, rotate the Halo
switch control upward or downward to in-
crease or decrease the lighting.
Halo Control
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Multifunction Lever
The multifunction lever is located on the left side of the
steering column.
The multifunction lever controls the:
•Turn Signals
•Headlight Beams Low/High
•Flash-To-Pass (Optical Horn)
•Front and Rear Wipers — Washer Functions
Turn Signals
Move the multifunction lever up or down and the arrows
on each side of the instrument cluster flash to show
proper operation of the front and rear turn signal lights.
NOTE:If either light remains on and does not flash, or
there is a very fast flash rate, check for a defective outside
light bulb. If an indicator fails to light when the lever is
moved, it would suggest that the indicator bulb is
defective.
Turn Signal Warning
If the vehicle electronics sense that the vehicle has
traveled at over 18 mph (29 km/h) for about 1 mile
(1.6 km) with the turn signals on, a chime will sound to
alert the driver.Multifunction Lever
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Lane Change Assist
Tap the lever up or down once, without moving beyond
the detent, and the turn signal (right or left) will flash
three times then automatically turn off.
High/Low Beam Switch
When the headlights are turned on, pushing the multi-
function lever toward the instrument panel will switch
from low beams to high beams. Pulling back to the
neutral position returns the headlights to the low beam
operation.
Flash-To-Pass
You can signal another vehicle with your headlights by
lightly pulling the multifunction lever toward you. This
will cause the headlights to turn on at high beam and
remain on until the lever is released.
Battery Protection
This feature provides battery protection to avoid wearing
down the battery if the headlights, parking lights, or
front fog lights are left on for extended periods of time
when the ignition switch is in the LOCK position. After
eight minutes of the ignition switch being in the LOCK
position and the headlight switch in any position other
than OFF 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 eight minute delay.
WINDSHIELD WIPER AND WASHERS
The wipers and washers are operated by a switch within
the multifunction lever. Rotate the end of the multifunc-
tion lever to select the desired wiper speed.
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NOTE:Always remove any buildup of snow that pre-
vents the windshield wiper blades from returning to the
off position. If the windshield wiper switch is turned off
and the blades cannot return to the off position, damage
to the wiper motor may occur.
WARNING!
Sudden loss of visibility through the windshield
could lead to a collision. You might not see other
vehicles or other obstacles. To avoid sudden icing of
the windshield during freezing weather, warm the
windshield with the defroster before and during
windshield washer use.
Intermittent Wiper System
Use the intermittent wiper system when weather condi-
tions make a single wiping cycle, with a variable pause
between cycles, desirable. Rotate the end of the wiper/
washer control lever to one of the first five detents to
select the desired delay interval.
NOTE:
•If the vehicle is moving less than 10 mph (16 km/h),
delay times will be doubled.
Washer And Wiper Controls
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•At driving speeds above 10 mph (16 km/h), the delay
can be regulated from a maximum of approximately
18 second between cycles (first detent), to a cycle every
one second (fifth detent).
Windshield Wiper Operation
Rotate the end of the lever upward, to the first detent past
the intermittent settings for low-speed wiper operation.
Rotate the end of the lever upward to the second detent
past the intermittent settings for high-speed operation.
Windshield Washers
To use the Washer, push on the end of the lever to the
second detent and hold while spray is desired. If the lever
is pushed while on the intermittent setting, the wipers
will turn on and operate for several wipe cycles after the
lever is released, and then resume the intermittent inter-
val previously selected. If the lever is pushed while the
wipers are in the off position, the wipers will operate
several wipe cycles, then turn off.
Mist Feature
Press the end of the multifunction lever inward (toward
the steering column) to the first detent and release for a
single wiping cycle.
NOTE:The mist feature does not activate the washer
pump; therefore, no washer fluid will be sprayed on the
windshield. The wash function must be used in order to
spray the windshield with washer fluid.
Rear Wiper And Washer
Rotating the rotary ring to the first detent activates the
rear intermittent wipers. To activate the washers, rotate
the rotary ring fully forward and the washers will spray
until the ring is released, and then resume the intermit-
tent interval.
NOTE: Rear window wipers function in the intermittent
wiper speed only.
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Rain Sensing Wipers — If Equipped
This feature senses moisture on the windshield and
automatically activates the wipers for the driver. This
feature is especially useful for road splash or overspray
from the windshield washers of the vehicle ahead. Rotate
the end of the multifunction lever to one of the five
intermittent wiper sensitivity settings to activate this
feature.
The sensitivity of the system is adjustable from the
multifunction lever. Wiper sensitivity position 3 has been
calibrated for best overall wiping sensitivity. If the opera-
tor desires more wiping sensitivity, they may select
sensitivity positions 4 or 5. If the operator desires less
wiping sensitivity, they may select sensitivity positions 2
or 1. Place the multifunction lever in the OFF position
when not using the system.NOTE:•The Rain Sensing feature will not operate when the
wiper speed is in the low or high position.
•The Rain Sensing feature may not function properly
when ice or dried saltwater is present on the wind-
shield.
•Use of Rain-X
or products containing wax or silicone
may reduce rain sensor performance.
•The Rain Sensing feature can be turned on and off
through the EVIC (if equipped). Refer to “Electronic
Vehicle Information Center (EVIC)/Personal Settings
(Customer-Programmable Features)” in “Understand-
ing Your Instrument Panel” for further information.
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