▫Power Windows.......................27
Occupant Restraints.....................28
▫Lap/Shoulder Belts.....................29
▫Pretensioners.........................34
▫Enhanced Driver Seat Belt Reminder System
(BeltAlert)...........................34
▫Automatic Locking Mode—If Equipped.....35
▫Seat Belts And Pregnant Women............35
▫Seat Belt Extender......................36▫Driver And Right Front Passenger Supplemental
Restraint System (SRS) - Airbag............36
Engine Break-In Recommendations..........56
Safety Tips............................57
▫Exhaust Gas..........................57
▫Safety Checks You Should Make Inside
The Vehicle..........................57
▫Periodic Safety Checks You Should Make
Outside The Vehicle....................58
10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
Auto Down Feature
The driver door power window switch, and some model
passenger door power window switches have an auto
down feature. Press the window switch to the second
detent, release, and the window will go down automati-
cally.
To open the window part way, press the window switch
to the first detent and release it when you want the
window to stop.
To stop the window from going all the way down during
the auto-down operation, pull up on the switch briefly.
The power window switches remain active for 10 min-
utes after the ignition switch has been turned off. Open-
ing either front door will cancel this feature. The time is
customer programmable through the Electronic Vehicle
Information Center (EVIC)—If Equipped. Refer to
“Delay Power Off to Accessories Until Exit”under“Per-
sonal Settings”in the Electronic Vehicle Information
Center section of this manual for details.
Wind Buffeting
Wind buffeting can be described as the perception of
pressure on the ears or a helicopter type sound in the
ears. Your vehicle may exhibit wind buffeting with the
windows down, or the sunroof (if equipped) in certain
open or partially open positions. This is a normal occur-
rence and can be minimized. If the buffeting occurs with
the rear windows open, open the front and rear windows
together to minimize the buffeting. If the buffeting occurs
with the sunroof open, adjust the sunroof opening to
minimize the buffeting.
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, front
airbags for both the driver and front passenger and, if so
equipped, left and right side curtain airbags for the
driver and passengers seated next to a window. 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.
28 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
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 buck-
led 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 which includes you. This can
happen far away from home or on your own street.Research has shown that seat belts save lives, and 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 of
ejection and the risk of injury caused by striking the
inside of the vehicle.Everyonein a motor vehicle should
be belted at all times.
Lap/Shoulder Belts
All seating positions in your vehicle are equipped with
Lap/Shoulder Belts.
The belt webbing retractor is designed to lock during
very sudden stops or impacts. This feature allows the
shoulder part of the belt to move freely with you under
normal conditions. But in a collision, the belt will lock
and reduce your risk of striking the inside of the vehicle
or being thrown out.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 29
2
WARNING!
•Wearing a seat belt incorrectly is dangerous. Seat
belts are designed to go around the large bones of
your body. These are the strongest parts of your
body and can take the forces of a collision the
best. Wearing your belt in the wrong place could
make your injuries in a collision much worse. You
might suffer internal injuries, or you could even
slide out of part of the belt. Follow these instruc-
tions to wear your seat belt safely and to keep
your passengers safe, too.
•Two people should never be belted into a single
seat belt. People belted together can crash into one
another in an accident, hurting one another badly.
Never use a lap/shoulder belt or a lap belt for
more than one person, no matter what their size.
Lap/Shoulder Belt Operating Instructions
1. Enter the vehicle and close the door. Sit back and
adjust the front seat.2. The seat belt latch plate is above the back of your seat.
Grasp the latch plate and pull out the belt. Slide the latch
plate up the webbing as far as necessary to make the belt
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.”
30 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
WARNING!
•A belt that is 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,
increasing 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 sur-
faces of the vehicle in a collision, increasing head
and neck injury. 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 you 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
a bit 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.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 31
2
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.).
Rear Center Lap/Shoulder Belt Retractor Lock-Out
This feature is designed to lock the retractor whenever
the 60% rear seat back is not fully latched. This prevents
someone from wearing the rear center lap/shoulder belt
when the rear seat back is not fully latched.
NOTE:
•
If the rear center lap/shoulder belt can not be pulled
out, check that the rear seat back is fully latched.
32 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
•If the rear seat back is properly latched and the rear
center lap/shoulder belt still can not be pulled out, the
Automatic-Locking Retractor (ALR) system may be
activated. To reset this feature you must let all of the
belt webbing return into the retractor. You will not be
able to pull out more webbing until all of the webbing
has been returned back into the retractor.
WARNING!
The rear center lap/shoulder belt is equipped with a
lock-out feature to ensure that the rear seat back is in
the fully upright and locked position when occu-
pied. If the rear seat back is not fully upright and
locked and the rear center lap/shoulder belt can be
pulled out of the retractor, the vehicle should imme-
diately be taken to your dealer for service. Failure to
follow this warning could result in serious or fatal
injury.
Adjustable Upper Shoulder Belt Anchorage
In the driver and front passenger seats, the shoulder belt
can be adjusted upward or downward to position the beltaway from your neck. Push and fully depress the button
above the webbing to release the anchorage, and then
move it up or down to the position that serves you best.
As a guide, if you are shorter than average, you will
prefer a lower position, and if you are taller than average,
you’ll 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.
In the rear seat, move toward the center of the seat to
position the belt away from your neck.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 33
2
Pretensioners
The seat belts for both front seating positions are
equipped with pretensioning devices that are designed to
remove any slack from the seat belts in the event of a
collision. These devices improve the performance of the
seat belt system by assuring that the belt is tight about the
occupant in a collision. Pretensioners work for all size
occupants, 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 airbag control
module (see Airbag Section). Like the front airbags, the
pretensioners are single use items. After a collision that is
severe enough to deploy the airbags and pretensioners,
both must be replaced.
Enhanced Driver Seat Belt Reminder System
(BeltAlert)
If the driver’s seat belt has not been buckled within 60
seconds of starting the vehicle and if the vehicle speed is
greater than 5 mph (8 km/h), the Enhanced Warning
System (BeltAlert) will alert the driver to buckle their seatbelt. The driver should also instruct all other occupants to
buckle their seat belts. Once the warning is triggered, the
Enhanced Warning System (BeltAlert) will continue to
chime and flash the Seat Belt Warning Light for 96
seconds or until the driver’s seat belt is buckled. The
Enhanced Warning System (BeltAlert) will be reactivated
if the driver’s seat belt is unbuckled for more than 10
seconds and the vehicle speed is greater than 5 mph (8
km/h).
The Enhanced Warning System (BeltAlert) can be en-
abled or disabled by your authorized dealer or by
following these steps:
NOTE:The following steps must occur within the first
60 seconds of the ignition switch being turned to the ON
or START position. DaimlerChrysler does not recom-
mend deactivating the Enhanced Warning System
(BeltAlert).
1. Turn the ignition switch to the LOCK position and
buckle the driver’s seat belt.
2. Start the engine and wait for the Seat Belt Warning
Light to turn off.
34 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE