steering wheel DODGE CHALLENGER SRT 2018 Owner's Manual

The first stage inflator is triggered immediately during an
impact that requires air bag deployment. A low energy
output is used in less severe collisions. A higher energy
output is used for more severe collisions.
This vehicle may be equipped with a driver and/or front
passenger seat belt buckle switch that detects whether the
driver or front passenger seat belt is buckled. The seat belt
buckle switch may adjust the inflation rate of the Ad-
vanced Front Air Bags.
This vehicle may be equipped with driver and/or front
passenger seat track position sensors that may adjust the
inflation rate of the Advanced Front Air Bags based upon
seat position.
WARNING!
•No objects should be placed over or near the air bag
on the instrument panel or steering wheel because
any such objects could cause harm if the vehicle is in
a collision severe enough to cause the air bag to
inflate.
(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
•Do not put anything on or around the air bag covers
or attempt to open them manually. You may damage
the air bags and you could be injured because the air
bags may no longer be functional. The protective
covers for the air bag cushions are designed to open
only when the air bags are inflating.
• Relying on the air bags alone could lead to more
severe injuries in a collision. The air bags work with
your seat belt to restrain you properly. In some
collisions, air bags won’t deploy at all. Always wear
your seat belts even though you have air bags.
Front Air Bag Operation
Front Air Bags are designed to provide additional protec-
tion by supplementing the seat belts. Front air bags are not
expected to reduce the risk of injury in rear, side, or
rollover collisions. The front air bags will not deploy in all
frontal collisions, including some that may produce sub-
stantial vehicle damage — for example, some pole colli-
sions, truck underrides, and angle offset collisions.
170 SAFETY

On the other hand, depending on the type and location of
impact, front air bags may deploy in crashes with little
vehicle front-end damage but that produce a severe initial
deceleration.
Because air bag sensors measure vehicle deceleration over
time, vehicle speed and damage by themselves are not
good indicators of whether or not an air bag should have
deployed.
Seat belts are necessary for your protection in all collisions,
and also are needed to help keep you in position, away
from an inflating air bag.
When the ORC detects a collision requiring the front air
bags, it signals the inflator units. A large quantity of
non-toxic gas is generated to inflate the front air bags.
The steering wheel hub trim cover and the upper passen-
ger side of the instrument panel separate and fold out of
the way as the air bags inflate to their full size. The front air
bags fully inflate in less time than it takes to blink your
eyes. The front air bags then quickly deflate while helping
to restrain the driver and front passenger.Knee Impact Bolsters
The Knee Impact Bolsters help protect the knees of the
driver and front passenger, and position the front occu-
pants for improved interaction with the front air bags.
WARNING!
•Do not drill, cut, or tamper with the knee impact
bolsters in any way.
• Do not mount any accessories to the knee impact
bolsters such as alarm lights, stereos, citizen band
radios, etc.
Supplemental Side Air Bags
Supplemental Seat-Mounted Side Air Bags (SABs)
This vehicle is equipped with Supplemental Seat-Mounted
Side Air Bags (SABs).
Supplemental Seat-Mounted Side Air Bags (SABs) are
located in the outboard side of the front seats. The SABs are
marked with “SRS AIRBAG” or “AIRBAG” on a label or on
the seat trim on the outboard side of the seats.
5
SAFETY 171

event, and deployment of the Side Air Bags is appropriate,
the rollover sensing system will also deploy the seat belt
pretensioners on both sides of the vehicle.
The SABICs may help reduce the risk of partial or complete
ejection of vehicle occupants through side windows in
certain rollover or side impact events.
Air Bag System Components
NOTE:The Occupant Restraint Controller (ORC) monitors
the internal circuits and interconnecting wiring associated
with electrical Air Bag System Components listed below:
• Occupant Restraint Controller (ORC)
• Air Bag Warning Light
•Steering Wheel and Column
• Instrument Panel
• Knee Impact Bolsters
• Driver and Front Passenger Air Bags
• Seat Belt Buckle Switch
• Supplemental Side Air Bags
• Front and Side Impact Sensors
• Seat Belt Pretensioners •
Seat Track Position Sensors
NOTE: Vehicles with front passenger seat deleted will not
be equipped with the Seat Belt Buckle Switch, Seat Belt
Pretensioner, Supplemental Seat Mounted Side Airbag, and
Seat Track Position Sensors for the front passenger.
All passenger occupants within the vehicle must be in a
seat equipped with a Seat Belt System and Head Restraint
for the safety of the passenger. If the passenger and/or rear
seats have been removed do not ride in those areas.
If A Deployment Occurs
The front air bags are designed to deflate immediately after
deployment.
NOTE: Front and/or side air bags will not deploy in all
collisions. This does not mean something is wrong with the
air bag system.
If you do have a collision which deploys the air bags, any
or all of the following may occur:
• The air bag material may sometimes cause abrasions
and/or skin reddening to the occupants as the air bags
deploy and unfold. The abrasions are similar to friction
rope burns or those you might get sliding along a carpet
or gymnasium floor. They are not caused by contact with
176 SAFETY

Maintaining Your Air Bag System
WARNING!
•Modifications to any part of the air bag system could
cause it to fail when you need it. You could be
injured if the air bag system is not there to protect
you. Do not modify the components or wiring, in-
cluding adding any kind of badges or stickers to the
steering wheel hub trim cover or the upper passenger
side of the instrument panel. Do not modify the front
bumper, vehicle body structure, or add aftermarket
side steps or running boards.
• It is dangerous to try to repair any part of the air bag
system yourself. Be sure to tell anyone who works on
your vehicle that it has an air bag system.
• Do not attempt to modify any part of your air bag
system. The air bag may inflate accidentally or may
not function properly if modifications are made.
Take your vehicle to an authorized dealer for any air
bag system service. If your seat, including your trim
cover and cushion, needs to be serviced in any way
(including removal or loosening/tightening of seat
attachment bolts), take the vehicle to an authorized
(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
dealer. Only manufacturer approved seat accessories
may be used. If it is necessary to modify the air bag
system for persons with disabilities, contact an au-
thorized dealer.
Event Data Recorder (EDR)
This vehicle is equipped with an event data recorder
(EDR). The main purpose of an EDR is to record, in certain
crash or near crash-like situations, such as an air bag
deployment or hitting a road obstacle, data that will assist
in understanding how a vehicle’s systems performed. The
EDR is designed to record data related to vehicle dynamics
and safety systems for a short period of time, typically 30
seconds or less. The EDR in this vehicle is designed to
record such data as:
•How various systems in your vehicle were operating;
• Whether or not the driver and passenger safety belts
were buckled/fastened;
• How far (if at all) the driver was depressing the accel-
erator and/or brake pedal; and,
• How fast the vehicle was traveling.5
SAFETY 179

Operation
When the gear selector is in the DRIVE (D) position, the
transmission will operate automatically, shifting between
the eight available gears. To activate AutoStick, move the
gear selector into the MANUAL (M) position (beside the
DRIVE position). The current transmission gear will be
displayed in the instrument cluster, along with a high-
lightedM(Manual) indication. When the gear selector is
in the MANUAL (M) position, tap the gear selector for-
ward (-) (or tap the (-) shift paddle on the steering wheel)
to downshift the transmission to the next lower gear, or tap
the lever rearward (+) (or tap the (+) shift paddle), to
command an upshift.
NOTE:
• Tapping one of the steering wheel-mounted shift
paddles (+/-), while the gear selector is in DRIVE, will
activate a temporary AutoStick mode. Tapping (-) to
enter AutoStick mode will downshift the transmission to
the next lower gear, while using (+) to enter AutoStick
mode will retain the current gear. The current gear will
be displayed in the instrument cluster, but the Mwill
not be highlighted. The transmission will revert back to normal operation (if the gear selector remains in DRIVE)
after a period of time, depending on accelerator pedal
activity.
• The shift paddles may be disabled (or re-enabled, as
desired) using the SRT Drive Modes.
In AutoStick mode, the transmission will shift up or down
when (+/-) is manually selected by the driver (using the
gear selector, or the shift paddles), unless an engine lug-
ging or overspeed condition would result. It will remain in
the selected gear until another upshift or downshift is
chosen, except as described below.
• In temporary AutoStick mode (gear selector in DRIVE),
the transmission will automatically shift up when maxi-
mum engine speed is reached. Lack of accelerator pedal
activity will cause the transmission to revert to auto-
matic operation.
• If normal AutoStick mode is engaged (gear selector in
MANUAL position), manual gear selection will be main-
tained until the gear selector is returned to DRIVE, or as
described below. The transmission will not upshift au-
tomatically at redline in this mode, nor will downshifts
be obtained if the accelerator pedal is pressed to the
floor.
228 STARTING AND OPERATING

control features. Please refer to “SRT Drive Modes” in
“Multimedia” for further information.
2. Slide the RPM slider bar on the touchscreen. This screenwill allow you to adjust your launch RPM’s for opti-
mum launch/traction.
3. Press the “Activate Launch Mode” button on the touch- screen.
4. Make sure the vehicle is not moving.
5. Make sure the steering wheel is pointing straight.
6. Hold the brake and make sure the vehicle is in “DRIVE”.
7. While holding the brake, rapidly apply and hold the accelerator pedal to wide open throttle. The engine
speed will hold at the RPM that was set in the “Launch
RPM Set-up” screen.
NOTE: Messages will appear in the instrument cluster to
inform the driver if one or more of the above conditions
have not been met.
8. When conditions 4 through 7 have been met, the instru- ment cluster display will read “Launch Ready Release
Brake”.
9. Keep the vehicle pointed straight. Launch mode will be active until the vehicle reaches
62 mph (100 km/h), at which point the ESC system will
return to its current ESC mode.
Launch mode will abort before launch completion, display
“Launch Aborted” in the cluster under any the following
conditions:
•
The accelerator pedal is released during launch.
• The ESC system detects that the vehicle is no longer
moving in a straight line.
• The “ESC OFF” button is pushed to change the system
to another mode.
NOTE: After launch mode has been aborted, ESC will
return to its current ESC mode.
Manual Transmission — If Equipped
Vehicles with a manual transmission have an adjustable
launch RPM controlled through the Uconnect system.
Launch Mode is only available when the following proce-
dure is followed:
1. Push the LAUNCH button on the center stack switch bank.
6
STARTING AND OPERATING 231

NOTE:Pushing the SRT button on the center stack or
pressing the “Apps” button on the touchscreen are two
other options to access launch mode features. Please refer
to “Uconnect Settings” in “Multimedia” for further infor-
mation.
2. Slide the RPM slider bar on the touchscreen. This screen will allow you to adjust your launch RPM’s for opti-
mum launch/traction.
3. Press the “Activate Launch Mode” button on the touch- screen.
4. Make sure the vehicle is not moving.
5. Make sure the steering wheel is pointing straight.
6. Fully depress the clutch pedal and make sure the vehicle is in first gear.
7. While holding the clutch depressed, rapidly apply and hold the accelerator pedal to wide open throttle. The
engine speed will hold at the pre-selected launch RPM.
The engine speed will hold at the RPM that was set in
the “Launch RPM Set-up” screen.
NOTE: Messages will appear in the instrument cluster to
inform the driver if one or more of the above conditions
have not been met. 8. When conditions 4 through 7 have been met, the instru-
ment cluster display will read “Launch Ready Release
Clutch”. Release the clutch quickly and continue to hold
wide open throttle to launch execute shifts. Refer to
“Manual Transmission – If Equipped” in this section for
further information.
Release the clutch and continue to hold wide open throttle
to launch.
9. Keep the vehicle pointed straight.
Launch mode will be active until the vehicle reaches
62 mph (100 km/h), at which point the ESC system will
return to its current ESC mode.
Launch mode will abort before launch completion, display
“Launch Aborted” in the cluster and return to ESC Full ON
under any the following conditions:
• The brake is applied during launch.
• The ESC system detects that the vehicle is no longer
moving in a straight line.
• The “ESC OFF” button is pushed to change the ESC
system to another mode.
232 STARTING AND OPERATING

8. Rotors that pulsate during track use should be replaced.Resurfacing of the rotors is not recommended, as it
removes mass from the rotor, reducing its thermal
capacity. Resurfacing also thins the rotor cheek, making
it less robust and increasing the likelihood of pulsation
in further track use.
FUEL SAVER TECHNOLOGY 6.4L ONLY — IF
EQUIPPED
This feature offers improved fuel economy by shutting off
four of the engine’s eight cylinders during light load and
cruise conditions. The system is automatic with no driver
inputs or additional driving skills required.
NOTE: This system may take some time to return to full
functionality after a battery disconnect.
HYDRAULIC POWER STEERING — IF EQUIPPED
The hydraulic power steering system is sport tuned and
will give you good vehicle response and increased ease of
maneuverability in tight spaces. The system will provide
mechanical steering capability if power assist is lost. If for some reason the power assist is interrupted, it will
still be possible to steer your vehicle. Under these condi-
tions, you will observe a substantial increase in steering
effort, especially at very low vehicle speeds and during
parking maneuvers.
NOTE:
•
Increased noise levels at the end of the steering wheel
travel are considered normal and do not indicate that
there is a problem with the power steering system.
• Upon initial start-up in cold weather, the power steering
pump may make noise for a short amount of time. This
is due to the cold, thick fluid in the steering system. This
noise should be considered normal, and it does not in
any way damage the steering system.
WARNING!
Continued operation with reduced power steering as-
sist could pose a safety risk to yourself and others.
Service should be obtained as soon as possible.
6
STARTING AND OPERATING 235

CAUTION!
Prolonged operation of the steering system at the end
of the steering wheel travel will increase the steering
fluid temperature and it should be avoided when
possible. Damage to the power steering pump may
occur.
Power Steering Fluid Check
Checking the power steering fluid level at a defined service
interval is not required. The fluid should be checked at
every oil change if a leak is suspected, abnormal noises are
apparent, and/or the system is not functioning as antici-
pated. Coordinate inspection efforts through an authorized
dealer.
WARNING!
Fluid level should be checked on a level surface and
with the engine off to prevent injury from moving
parts and to ensure accurate fluid level reading. Do not
overfill. Use only manufacturer’s recommended power
steering fluid.
CAUTION!
Do not use chemical flushes in your power steering
system as the chemicals can damage your power steer-
ing components. Such damage is not covered by the
New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
If necessary, add fluid to restore to the proper indicated
level. With a clean cloth, wipe any spilled fluid from all
surfaces. Refer to “Fluids And Lubricants” in “Technical
Specifications” for further information.
ELECTRIC POWER STEERING — IF EQUIPPED
The electric power steering system will give you good
vehicle response and increased ease of maneuverability in
tight spaces. The system will vary its assist to provide light
efforts while parking and good feel while driving. If the
electric steering system experiences a fault that prevents it
from providing assist, you will still have the ability to steer
the vehicle manually.
Alternate electric power steering efforts can be selected
through the Uconnect System. Refer to “Drive Modes” in
this section for further information.
236 STARTING AND OPERATING

WARNING!
Continued operation with reduced assist could pose a
safety risk to yourself and others. Service should be
obtained as soon as possible.If the Steering icon is displayed and the “SER-
VICE POWER STEERING” or the “POWER
STEERING ASSIST OFF – SERVICE SYSTEM”
message is displayed within the instrument clus-
ter, this indicates the vehicle needs to be taken to the dealer
for service. Refer to “Instrument Cluster Display” in “Get-
ting To Know Your Instrument Panel” for further informa-
tion.
NOTE:
• Even if the power steering assistance is no longer
operational, it is still possible to steer the vehicle. Under
these conditions there will be a substantial increase in
steering effort, especially at low speeds and during
parking maneuvers.
• If the condition persists, see your authorized dealer for
service.
SPEED CONTROL — IF EQUIPPED
When engaged, the Speed Control takes over accelerator
operations at speeds greater than 25 mph (40 km/h).
The Speed Control buttons are located on the right side of
the steering wheel.
Speed Control Buttons
1 — On/Off 4 — SET (-)/Decel
2 — SET (+)/Accel 5 — CANC/Cancel
3 — RES/Resume
6
STARTING AND OPERATING 237