airbag DODGE RAM 5500 CHASSIS CAB 2009 4.G Owners Manual

▫Driver And Right Front Passenger
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) –
Airbag ............................. 48
▫ Event Data Recorder (EDR) .............. 57
▫ Child Restraint ....................... 60
 New Engine Break-In .................... 72
▫ 5.7L Gas Engine – 3500 Models Only ....... 72
Safety Tips ........................... 73
▫ Exhaust System ...................... 73
▫ Safety Checks You Should Make Inside The
Vehicle ............................. 74
▫ Safety Checks You Should Make Outside The
Vehicle ............................. 75
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 11
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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, and
front airbags for both the driver and front passenger. If
you will be carrying children too small for adult-size
belts, your seat belts also can be used to hold infant and
child restraint systems.
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.WARNING!
In a collision, you and your passengers can suffer
much greater injuries if you are not properly buckled
up. You can strike the interior of your vehicle or other
passengers, or you can be thrown out of the vehicle.
Always be sure you and others in your vehicle are
buckled up properly.
Buckle up even though you are an excellent driver, even
on short trips. Someone on the road may be a poor driver
and cause a collision that includes you. This can happen
far away from home or on your own street.
Research has shown that seat belts save lives, and that
they can reduce the seriousness of injuries in a collision.
Some of the worst injuries happen when people are
thrown from the vehicle. Seat belts reduce the possibility
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 35
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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.
Regular Cab Front Center Three Point Belt
1. The front center seat belt on the Regular 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 thekey 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.
Detaching Buckle With Key
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 41
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Driver And Right Front Passenger Supplemental
Restraint System (SRS) – Airbag
This vehicle may have front airbags for both the driver
and front passenger (if equipped) as a supplement to the
seat belt restraint systems. The driver’s front airbag is
mounted in the center of the steering wheel. The passen-
ger’s front airbag (if equipped) is mounted in the instru-
ment panel, above the glove compartment. The words
SRS AIRBAG are embossed on the airbag covers.
These airbags are certified to the new Federal regulations
that allow less forceful deployments.This vehicle may also be equippedwithouta passenger’s
front airbag. In this case the passenger’s side airbag will
be replaced with a storage bin.
1 — Driver and Passenger Airbags
2 — Knee Bolsters
48 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

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 inflat-
ing.
•Do not mount any aftermarket equipment such as
trailer brake controllers, snowplow controllers,
auxiliary light switches, radios, etc. on or behind
the knee bolster. Knee bolsters are designed to
work with the airbag and seat belt to protect you.
Mounting any additional equipment on or behind
the knee bolster can cause injury during a crash.Airbags inflate in moderate to high speed impacts. Along
with the seat belts, front airbags work with the instru-
ment panel knee bolsters to provide improved protection
for the driver and front passenger.
The seat belts are designed to protect you in many types
of collisions. The front airbags deploy in moderate to
severe frontal collisions. In certain types of collisions, the
front airbags may be triggered. But even in collisions
where the airbags work, 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 follow to minimize
the risk of harm from a deploying airbag.
•Children 12 years and under should ride buckled up in
a rear seat, if available.
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•Infants in rear-facing child restraints mustNEVER
ride in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger front
airbag unless the airbag is turned off (Regular Cab
Vehicles Only). An airbag deployment can cause se-
vere injury or death to infants in that position. Refer to
the “Passenger Airbag On/Off Switch (if equipped)”
in this section.
•If your vehicle does not have a rear seat, refer to the
“Passenger Airbag On/Off Switch (if equipped)” in
this section
•Children that are not big enough to properly wear the
vehicle seat belt (refer to “Child Restraints” in this
section) should be secured in the rear seat in child
restraints or belt-positioning booster seats. Older chil-
dren who do not use child restraints or belt-
positioning booster seats should ride properly buckled
up in the rear seat. Never allow children to slide the
shoulder belt behind them or under their arms.
•All occupants should use their seat belts properly.
•The driver and front passenger seats should be moved
back as far as practical to allow the airbag room to
inflate.
WARNING!
•Relying on the airbags alone could lead to more
severe injuries in a collision. The airbags work
with your seat belt to restrain you properly. In
some collisions the airbags won’t deploy at all.
Always wear your seat belts even though you have
airbags.
•Being too close to the steering wheel or instrument
panel during airbag deployment could cause seri-
ous injury. Airbags need room to inflate. Sit back,
comfortably extending your arms to reach the
steering wheel or instrument panel.
50 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Airbag System Components
The airbag system consists of the following:
•Occupant Restraint Controller (ORC)
•AIRBAG Readiness Light
•Driver Airbag
•Passenger Airbag (if equipped)
•Steering Wheel and Column
•Instrument Panel
•Crash Sensor
•Interconnecting Wiring
•Knee Impact Bolsters
•Passenger’s Side Front Airbag ON/OFF Switch (Regu-
lar Cab Vehicles Only ) (if equipped)
How The Airbag System Works
•
The Occupant Restraint Controller (ORC) determines
if a frontal collision is severe enough to require the
airbags to inflate.
•The ORC will not detect rollover, or rear collisions.
•The ORC also monitors the readiness of the electronic
parts of the system whenever the ignition switch is in
the START or RUN positions. These include all of the
items listed above except the knee bolsters, the instru-
ment panel, and the steering wheel and column. If the
key is in the OFF position, in the ACC position, or not
in the ignition, the airbags are not on and will not
inflate.
•The ORC also turns on the Airbag Warning Light in
the instrument panel for 6 to 8 seconds when the
ignition is first turned on, and then turns the light off.
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•If it detects a malfunction in any part of the
system, it turns on the light either momen-
tarily or continuously. The instrument clus-
ter will flash the seat belt indicator if it
detects a fault with the airbag indicator.
WARNING!
Ignoring the Airbag Warning Light in your instru-
ment panel could mean you won’t have the airbags to
protect you in a collision. If the light does not come
on, stays on after you start the vehicle, or if it comes
on as you drive, have the airbag system checked right
away.
•When the ORC detects a collision requiring the air-
bags, it signals the inflator units. A large quantity of
nontoxic gas is generated to inflate the airbags. The
airbag covers separate and fold out of the way as the
airbags inflate to their full size. The airbags fully
inflate in milliseconds. This is less time than it takes
you to blink your eyes. The airbags then quickly
deflate while helping to restrain the driver and front
passenger (if equipped with passenger side airbag).
The driver’s front airbag deflates through vents to-
ward the instrument panel. The passenger’s front
airbag (if equipped) is deflated through vent holes in
the sides of the airbag. In this way the airbags do not
interfere with your control of the vehicle.
•The knee impact bolsters help protect the knees and
position you for the best interaction with the front
airbag.
52 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Passenger Airbag On/Off Switch (Regular Cab
Vehicles Only) – If EquippedThe passenger front airbag is to be turned off only if the
passenger:
•is an infant (less than one year old) who must ride in
the front seat because there is no rear seat, because the
rear seat is too small for a rear-facing infant restraint or
because the infant has a medical condition which
makes it necessary for the driver to be able to see the
infant,
•is a child, age one to 12 who must ride in the front seat
because there is no rear seat, because there is no rear
seat position available, or because the child has a
medical condition which makes it necessary for the
driver to be able to see the child,
•has a medical condition which makes passenger airbag
(if equipped) inflation (deployment) a greater risk for
the passenger than the risk of hitting the dashboard
(instrument panel) or windshield in a crash.Passenger Airbag On/Off Switch
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WARNING!
Whenever an airbag is turned off, even a lap/
shoulder belted passenger may hit their head, neck,
or chest on the dashboard (instrument panel) or
windshield in a crash. This may result in serious
injury or death.
To Shut Off the Passenger Airbag (Regular Cab Ve-
hicles Only) – If Equipped
Place the ignition key in the Passenger Airbag On/Off
Switch (if equipped), push the key in and turn clockwise,
and remove the key from the switch. This will shut off the
passenger airbag (if equipped). The OFF light near the
switch will illuminate when the ignition switch is turned
to the ON position. To Turn On the Passenger Airbag (Regular Cab Vehicles
Only) – If Equipped
Place the ignition key in the Passenger Airbag On/Off
Switch (If Equipped), push the key in and turn counter-
clockwise, and remove the key from the switch. This will
turn on the passenger airbag (if equipped). The OFF light
near the switch will be off when the ignition switch is
turned to the ON position.
If A Deployment Occurs
The airbag system is designed to deploy when the ORC
detects a moderate-to-severe frontal collision, and then
immediately to deflate.
NOTE:
A frontal collision that is not severe enough to
need airbag protection will not activate the system. This
does not mean something is wrong with the airbag
system.
54 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE