child restraint DODGE GRAND CARAVAN 2014 5.G Owners Manual

▫Power Door Locks — If Equipped ..........37
 WINDOWS ...........................40
▫ Power Vent Windows — If Equipped ........40
▫ Power Windows .......................40
 SLIDING SIDE DOOR ....................45
▫ Power Sliding Side Door — If Equipped ......46
▫ Sliding Side Door Child Protection Lock ......50
 LIFTGATE ............................53
▫ Power Liftgate — If Equipped .............54
 OCCUPANT RESTRAINTS ................57
▫ Lap/Shoulder Belts ....................60
▫ Seat Belts In Passenger Seating Positions ......66▫
Automatic Locking Retractor Mode (ALR) — If
Equipped ............................68
▫ Energy Management Feature ..............69
▫ Seat Belt Pretensioners ..................69
▫ Supplemental Active Head Restraints (AHR) . . .70
▫ Enhanced Seat Belt Use Reminder System
(BeltAlert®) ..........................74
▫ Seat Belts And Pregnant Women ...........75
▫ Seat Belt Extender .....................75
▫ Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) —
Air Bags ............................76
▫ Air Bag System Components ..............78
▫ Advanced Front Air Bag Features ...........78
▫ Air Bag Deployment Sensors And Controls ....83
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 11

▫Event Data Recorder (EDR) ...............91
▫ Child Restraints .......................92
 COMMERCIAL CARGO VEHICLES (NO FACTORY
INSTALLED REAR SEATS) — IF EQUIPPED . . .117
▫ Restraining Infants And Small Children In
Commercial Cargo Vehicles ...............118
▫ Tether Installation For Commercial Cargo
Vehicles ............................118
 ENGINE BREAK-IN RECOMMENDATIONS . . .119 
SAFETY TIPS .........................119
▫ Transporting Passengers .................119
▫ Exhaust Gas .........................120
▫ Safety Checks You Should Make Inside The
Vehicle.............................121
▫ Periodic Safety Checks You Should Make Outside
TheVehicle .........................123
12 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

OCCUPANT RESTRAINTS
Some of the most important safety features in your
vehicle are the restraint systems:
•Three-point lap and shoulder belts for all seating
positions
•
Advanced Front Air Bags for driver and front passenger
• Supplemental Active Head Restraints (AHR) located
on top of the front seats (integrated into the head
restraint)
• Supplemental Driver Side Knee Air Bag
• Supplemental Seat-Mounted Side Air Bags (SAB)
• An energy-absorbing steering column and steering
wheel
• Knee bolsters/blockers for front seat occupants •
Front seat belts incorporate pretensioners that may
enhance occupant protection by managing occupant
energy during an impact event
• The front passenger seat includes an Automatic Lock-
ing Retractor (ALR) which locks the seat belt webbing
into position by extending the belt all the way out and
then adjusting the belt to the desired length to restrain
a child seat or secure a large item in a seat
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.
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 57

NOTE:The Advanced Front Air Bags have a multistage
inflator design. This allows the air bag to have different
rates of inflation based on several factors, including the
severity and type of collision.
Here are some simple steps you can take to minimize the
risk of harm from a deploying air bag:
1. Children 12 years old and under should always ride
buckled up in a rear seat.
WARNING!
• Never place a rear facing infant seat in front of an
air bag. A deploying Passenger Advanced Front Air
Bag can cause death or serious injury to a child 12
years or younger, including a child in a rearward
facing infant seat.
• Only use a rearward-facing child restraint in a
vehicle with a rear seat. Children that are not big enough to wear the vehicle seat
belt properly (see section on Child Restraints) should be
secured in child restraints or belt-positioning booster
seats. Older children who do not use child restraints or
belt-positioning booster seats should ride properly buck-
led up in the passenger seat. Never allow children to
slide the shoulder belt behind them or under their arm.
If a child from 2 to 12 years old (not in a rear facing child
seat) must ride in the front passenger seat, move the seat
as far back as possible and use the proper child restraint.
(Refer to “Child Restraints”).
You should read the instructions provided with your
child restraint to make sure that you are using it properly.
2.
All occupants should always 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 Advanced
Front Air Bags room to inflate.
58 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

pushing anywhere on the anchorage. To move the an-
chorage downward, squeeze the actuation buttons while
simultaneously pushing down on the anchorage assem-
bly.As a guide, if you are shorter than average you will
prefer a lower position, and if you are taller than average
you will 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.
Seat Belts In Passenger Seating Positions
The seat belts in the passenger seating positions are
equipped with an Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) or
a cinching latch plate which are used to secure a child
restraint system. For additional information refer to
“Installing Child Restraints Using the Vehicle Seat Belt”
under the “Child Restraint” section. The chart below
defines the type of feature for each seating position.
Adjustable Anchorage
66 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

WARNING!
•The belt and retractor assembly must be replaced if
the seat belt assembly Automatic Locking Retractor
(ALR) feature or any other seat belt function is not
working properly when checked according to the
procedures in the Service Manual.
• Failure to replace the belt and retractor assembly
could increase the risk of injury in collisions.
Energy Management Feature
This vehicle has a safety belt system with an Energy
Management feature in the front seating positions to help
further reduce the risk of injury in the event of a head-on
collision.
This safety belt system has a retractor assembly that is
designed to release webbing in a controlled manner. This
feature is designed to help reduce the belt force acting on
the occupant’s chest.
Seat Belt Pretensioners
The seat belts for both front seating positions are
equipped with pretensioning devices that are designed to
remove slack from the seat belt in the event of a collision.
These devices may improve the performance of the seat
belt by assuring that the belt is tight about the occupant
early in a collision. Pretensioners work for all size occu-
pants, including those in child restraints.
NOTE: These devices are not a substitute for proper seat
belt placement by the occupant. The seat belt still must be
worn snugly and positioned properly.
The pretensioners are triggered by the Occupant Re-
straint Controller (ORC). Like the air bags, the preten-
sioners are single use items. A deployed pretensioner or
a deployed air bag must be replaced immediately.
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 69

When the air bag deploys, it opens the seam between the
front and side of the seat’s trim cover. Each air bag
deploys independently; a left side impact deploys the left
air bag only and a right-side impact deploys the right air
bag only.
NOTE:
•Air Bag covers may not be obvious in the interior trim,
but they will open during air bag deployment.
• Being too close to the SAB air bags during deployment
could cause you to be severely injured or killed.
The system includes side impact sensors that are cali-
brated to deploy the side air bags during impacts that
require air bag occupant protection.WARNING!
Do not use accessory seat covers or place objects
between you and the side air bags; the performance
could be adversely affected and/or objects could be
pushed into you, causing serious injury.
SAB air bags are a supplement to the seat belt restraint
system. Occupants, including children who are up
against or very close to SAB air bags can be seriously
injured or killed. Occupants, especially children, should
not lean on or sleep against the door, side windows, or
area where the SAB air bags inflate, even if they are in an
infant or child restraint.
Always sit upright as possible with your back against the
seat back, use the seat belts properly, and use the
appropriate sized child restraint, infant restraint or
booster seat recommended for the size and weight of the
child.
80 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

WARNING!(Continued)
•Do not use accessory seat covers or place objects
between you and the side air bags; the performance
could be adversely affected and/or objects could be
pushed into you, causing serious injury.
• Your vehicle is equipped with SABIC air 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.
• Do not allow occupants to extend any part of their
body outside of the window. SAB and SABIC air bags are a supplement to the seat belt
restraint system. Occupants, including children who are
up against or very close to SAB or SABIC air bags can be
seriously injured or killed. Occupants, especially chil-
dren, should not lean on or sleep against the door, side
windows, or area where the SAB or SABIC air bags
inflate, even if they are in an infant or child restraint.
Always sit upright as possible with your back against the
seat back, use the seat belts properly, and use the
appropriate sized child restraint, infant restraint or
booster seat recommended for the size and weight of the
child.
82 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

NOTE:EDR data are recorded by your vehicle only if a
non-trivial crash situation occurs; no data are recorded by
the EDR under normal driving conditions and no per-
sonal data (e.g., name, gender, age, and crash location)
are recorded. However, other parties, such as law en-
forcement, could combine the EDR data with the type of
personally identifying data routinely acquired during a
crash investigation.
To read data recorded by an EDR, special equipment is
required, and access to the vehicle or the EDR is needed.
In addition to the vehicle manufacturer, other parties,
such as law enforcement, that have the special equip-
ment, can read the information if they have access to the
vehicle or the EDR.Child Restraints
Everyone in your vehicle needs to be buckled up at all
times, including babies and children. Every state in the
United States, and every Canadian province, requires
that small children ride in proper restraint systems. This
is the law, and you can be prosecuted for ignoring it.
Children 12 years or younger should ride properly
buckled up in a rear seat, if available. According to crash
statistics, children are safer when properly restrained in
the rear seats rather than in the front.
There are different sizes and types of restraints for
children from newborn size to the child almost large
enough for an adult safety belt. Always check the child
seat Owner ’s Manual to make sure you have the correct
seat for your child. Carefully read and follow all the
instructions and warnings in the child restraint Owner ’s
Manual and on all the labels attached to the car seat.
92 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Before buying any restraint system, make sure that it has
a label certifying that it meets all applicable Safety
Standards. You should also make sure that you can install
it in the vehicle where you will use it.
NOTE:
•
For additional information, refer to www.seatcheck.org or
call 1–866–SEATCHECK. Canadian residents should refer
to Transport Canada’s website for additional information:
• http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/safedrivers-
childsafety-index-53.htm
WARNING!
In a collision, an unrestrained child can become a
projectile inside the vehicle. The force required to
hold even an infant on your lap could become so
great that you could not hold the child, no matter
how strong you are. The child and others could be
badly injured. Any child riding in your vehicle
should be in a proper restraint for the child’s size.
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