Latch DODGE RAM 2500 DIESEL 2006 3.G Owners Manual

Lap/Shoulder Belt Operating Instructions
1. Enter the vehicle and close the door. Sit back and
adjust the seat.
2. The seat belt latch plate is above the back of the front
seat, next to your arm in the rear seat. Grasp the latchplate and pull out the belt. Slide the latch plate up the
webbing as far as necessary to allow the belt to go around
your lap.
3. When the belt is long enough to fit, insert the latch
plate into the buckle until you hear a “click.”
Latch Plate
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 33
2

WARNING!
•A belt buckled into the wrong buckle will not protect
you properly. The lap portion could ride too high on your
body, possibly causing internal injuries. Always buckle
your belt into the buckle nearest you.
•A belt that is too loose will not protect you as well. In
a sudden stop you could move too far forward, increas-
ing the possibility of injury. Wear your seat belt snugly.
•A belt that is worn under your arm is very dangerous.
Your body could strike the inside surfaces of the vehicle
in a collision, increasing head and neck injury. And a
belt worn under the arm can cause internal injuries. Ribs
aren’t as strong as shoulder bones. Wear the belt over
your shoulder so that your strongest bones will take the
force in a collision.
•A shoulder belt placed behind will not protect you
from injury during a collision. You are more likely to hit
your head in a collision if you do not wear your shoulder
belt. The lap and shoulder belt are meant to be used
together.
4. Position the lap belt across your thighs, below your
abdomen. To remove slack in the lap belt portion, pull up
on the shoulder belt. To loosen the lap belt if it is too tight,
tilt the latch plate and pull on the lap belt. A snug belt
reduces the risk of sliding under the belt in a collision.
Removing Slack From Belt
34 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

WARNING!
•A lap belt worn too high can increase the risk of
internal injury in a collision. The belt forces won’t
be at the strong hip and pelvic bones, but across your
abdomen. Always wear the lap belt as low as pos-
sible and keep it snug.
•A twisted belt can’t do its job as well. In a collision
it could even cut into you. Be sure the belt is straight.
If you can’t straighten a belt in your vehicle, take it
to your dealer and have it fixed.
5. Position the shoulder belt on your chest so that it is
comfortable and not resting on your neck. The retractor
will withdraw any slack in the belt.6. To release the belt, push the red button on the buckle.
The belt will automatically retract to its stowed position.
If necessary, slide the latch plate down the webbing to
allow the belt to retract fully.
WARNING!
A frayed or torn belt could rip apart in a collision
and leave you with no protection. Inspect the belt
system periodically, checking for cuts, frays, or loose
parts. Damaged parts must be replaced immediately.
Do not disassemble or modify the system. Seat belt
assemblies must be replaced after a collision if they
have been damaged (bent retractor, torn webbing,
etc.) or if the airbag deployed.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 35
2

Standard Cab Front Center Three Point Belt
1. The front center seat belt on the Standard Cab may be
disconnected to open up utilization of the storage areas
behind the front seats. The black latch plate can be
detached from the black keyed seat belt buckle located on
the inboard side of the passenger seat. Insert the vehicle
ignition key into the center white slot on the black buckle.
The black buckle latch plate can be removed when the
key is pressed into the buckle. Allow the retractor to take
up the surplus webbing, and the buckles will hang
vertically from the cab back exit bezel, thus freeing up all
the area behind the front seats.
2. To reattach the seat belt to the front center seat, pull
the black buckle latch plate forward from the cab back
panel and insert it into the black keyed buckle until there
is an audible click. Refer to the previous section for the
proper seat belt usage.
Detaching Buckle with Key
36 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

WARNING!
•If the black latch and black buckle are not prop-
erly connected when the seat belt is used by an
occupant, the seat belt will not be able to provide
proper restraint and will increase the risk of
injury in a collision.
•When reattaching the black latch and black
buckle, ensure the seat belt webbing is not
twisted. If the webbing is twisted, follow the
preceding procedure to detach the black latch and
black buckle, untwist the webbing, and reattach
the black latch and black buckle.
Inserting Latch Plate
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 37
2

WARNING!
If the black latch and buckle are not connected when
the seat belt is used by an occupant, the seat belt will
not restrain you properly.
Adjustable Upper Shoulder Belt Anchorage
In the front row outboard seats, the shoulder belt can be
adjusted upward or downward to help position the belt
away from your neck. Press the button located on the
upper belt guide, and then move it up or down to the
position that serves you best.
In Use Position
38 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

3. Allow the belt to retract. As the belt retracts, you will
hear a clicking sound. This indicates the safety belt is
now in the automatic locking mode.
How To Disengage The Automatic Locking Mode
Disconnect the combination lap/shoulder belt and allow
it to retract completely to disengage the automatic lock-
ing mode and activate the vehicle sensitive (emergency)
locking mode.
Center Lap Belts
The center seating position for the Quad Cab front seat
has a lap belt only. To fasten the lap belt, slide the latch
plate into the buckle until you hear aclick.To lengthen
the lap belt, tilt the latch plate and pull. To remove slack,
pull the loose end of the webbing. Wear the lap belt snug
against the hips. Sit back and erect in the seat, then adjust
the belt as tightly as is comfortable.
WARNING!
•A lap belt worn too loose or too high is dangerous.
•A belt worn too loose can allow you to slip down
and under the belt in a collision.
•A belt that is too loose or too high will apply crash
forces to the abdomen, not to the stronger hip
bones. In either case, the risk of internal injuries
is greater. Wear a lap belt low and snug.
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 system in the event of a
collision. These devices 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 occupants, including those in child restraints.
40 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Pull the belt from the retractor until there is enough to
allow you to pass through the child restraint and slide
the latch plate into the buckle. Then pull on the belt
until it is all removed from the retractor. Allow the belt
to return to the retractor, pulling on the excess web-
bing to tighten the lap portion about the child re-
straint. Refer to theAutomatic Locking Retractors
(ALR) Modeearlier in this section.
•In the rear seat, you may have trouble tightening the
lap/shoulder belt on the child restraint because the
buckle or latch plate is too close to the belt path
opening on the restraint. Disconnect the latch plate
from the buckle and twist the short buckle-end belt
several times to shorten it. Insert the latch plate into
the buckle with the release button facing out.
•If the belt still can’t be tightened, or if pulling and
pushing on the restraint loosens the belt, disconnect
the latch plate from the buckle, turn the latch plate
around, and insert the latch plate into the buckle
again. If you still can’t make the child restraint secure,
try a different seating position.
•Buckle the child into the seat according to the child
restraint manufacturer’s directions.
•When your child restraint is not in use, secure it in the
vehicle with the seat belt or remove it from the vehicle.
Do not leave it loose in the vehicle. In a sudden stop or
collision, it could strike the occupants or seat backs
and cause serious personal injury.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 59
2

WARNING!
Improper installation can lead to failure of an infant
or child restraint. It could come loose in a collision.
The child could be badly injured or killed. Follow
the manufacturer’s directions exactly when install-
ing an infant or child restraint.
Lower Anchors and Tether for CHildren (LATCH)
Each vehicle is equipped with the child restraint anchor-
age system called LATCH, which stands for Lower
Anchors and Tether for CHildren. LATCH child restraint
anchorage systems are installed in the Standard Cab
passenger seat position and the Quad Cab rear seat
outboard positions. LATCH equipped seating positions
feature both lower anchor bars, located at the back of the
seat cushion, and tether strap anchorages, located behind
the seatback (refer to Child Restraint Tether Anchor later
in this section).Identification dots are located above the standard cab
front seat lower anchorages as a guide for locating lower
anchors.
NOTE:For children riding in the front seat of a Stan-
dard Cab model refer to the “Passenger Airbag On/Off
Switch” located in this section.
Standard Cab Passenger Seat
60 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

some time. In fact, many child restraint manufacturers
will provide add-on tether strap kits for some of their
older products.
Because the lower anchorages are to be introduced to
passenger carrying vehicles over a period of years, child
restraint systems having attachments for those anchor-
ages will continue to have features for installation in
vehicles using the lap or lap/shoulder belt. They will also
have tether straps, and you are urged to take advantage
of all of the available attachments provided with your
child restraint in any vehicle.
NOTE:When using the LATCH attaching system to
install a child restraint, please ensure that all seat belts
not being used for occupant restraints are stowed and outof reach of children. It is recommended that before
installing the child restraint, buckle the seat belt so the
seat belt is tucked behind the child restraint and out of
reach. If the buckled seat belt interferes with the child
restraint installation, instead of tucking the seat belt
behind the child restraint, route the seat belt through the
child restraint belt path and then buckle it. This should
stow the seat belt out of the reach of an inquisitive child.
Remind all children in the vehicle that the seat belts are
not toys and should not be played with, and never leave
your child unattended in the vehicle.
NOTE:If your child restraint seat is not LATCH com-
patible, install the restraint using the vehicle seat belting.
62 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE