2005 DODGE STRATUS SEDAN lock

Adjustable Upper Shoulder Belt Anchorage
In the driver and front passenger seats, the shoulder belt
can be adjusted upward or downward to position the belt
away from your neck. Push the lever above the webbing
upward 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.
Seat Belt 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 early 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 front airbag con-
trol 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 preten-
sioners, both must be replaced.
Adjusting Upper Shoulder Belt
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 31
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WARNING!
•Do not put anything on or around the front 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 protec-
tive covers for the airbag cushions are designed to
open only when the airbags are inflating.
•If your vehicle is equipped with left and right window
bags, do not stack luggage or other cargo up high
enough to block the location of the window bag. The
area where the window bag is located should remain
free from any obstructions.
•If your vehicle is equipped with left and right window
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 permanent
attachments (bolts or screws) for installation on the
vehicle roof. Do not drill into the roof of the vehicle for
any reason.
•Do not drill, cut or tamper with the knee bolster in any
way.
•Do not mount any accessories to the knee bolster such
as alarm lights, stereos, citizens band radios etc.
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. Left and right window
airbags also work with seat belts to improve occupant
protection.
The seat belts are designed to protect you in many types
of collisions. The front airbags deploy only in moderate
to severe frontal collisions. If your vehicle is so equipped,
the window bag on the crash side of the vehicle is
triggered in moderate to severe side collisions. In certain
types of collisions where the airbags deploy, 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 take to minimize
the risk of harm from a deploying airbag.
1. Children 12 years old and under should ride buckled
up in the rear seat. Infants in rear-facing child restraints
shouldNEVERride in the front seat of a vehicle with a
passenger front airbag. An airbag deployment could
cause severe injury or death to infants in that position.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 35
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means of adjusting the tension in the strap. Forward-
facing toddler restraints and some rear-facing infant
restraints will also be equipped with a tether strap, a
hook for attachment to the tether strap anchorage and a
means of adjusting the tension of the strap.
You will first loosen the adjusters on the lower straps and
on the tether strap so that you can more easily attach the
hooks or connectors to the vehicle anchorages. Next
attach the lower hooks or connectors over the top of the
anchorage bars, pushing aside the seat cover material.
Then rotate the tether anchorage cover directly behind
the seat where you are placing the child restraint and
attach the tether strap to the anchorage, being careful to
route the tether strap to provide the most direct path
between the anchor and the child restraint. If your
vehicle is equipped with adjustable rear head restraints,
raise the head restraint and, where possible, route the
tether strap under the head restraint and between the two
posts. If not possible, lower the head restraint and route
the tether strap around the outboard side of the head
restraint. Finally, tighten all three straps as you push thechild restraint rearward and downward into the seat,
removing slack in the straps according to the child
restraint manufacturer’s instructions.
WARNING!
Improper installation of a child restraint to the
LATCH anchorages can lead to failure of an infant or
child restraint. The child could be badly injured or
killed. Follow the manufacturer’s directions exactly
when installing an infant or child restraint.
Installing Child Restraints Using the Vehicle Seat
belt
The passenger seat belts are equipped with cinching latch
plates which are designed to keep the lap portion tight
around the child restraint so that it is not necessary to use
a locking clip. Pulling up on the shoulder portion of the
lap/shoulder belt will tighten the belt. The cinching latch
plate will keep the belt tight, however, any seat belt
system will loosen with time, so check the belt occasion-
ally and pull it tight if necessary.
46 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

WARNING!
The cargo area in the rear of the vehicle (with the
rear seatbacks in the locked-up or folded down
position) should not be used as a play area by
children when the vehicle is in motion. They could
be seriously injured in an accident. Children should
be seated and using the proper restraint system.
TO OPEN AND CLOSE THE HOOD
To open the hood, two latches must be released. First pull
the hood release lever located under the left side of the
instrument panel.
Hood Release Lever
62 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE

Then lift the secondary latch located under the front edge
of the hood, near the center and raise the hood.
Use the hood prop rod to secure the hood in the open
position. Place the upper end of the prop rod in the hole
marked“prop”on the underside of the hood.
To prevent possible damage, do not slam the hood to
close it. Use a firm downward push at the center of the
hood to ensure that both latches engage.WARNING!
If the hood is not fully latched it could fly up when
the vehicle is moving and block your forward vision.
You could have a collision. Be sure all hood latches
are fully latched before driving.
LIGHTS
Interior Lights
The map/courtesy lights come on when a door is opened
and the panel lamp dimmer switch (located on the turn
signal control stalk) is in any detent except fully counter-
clockwise (dome lamp ON position) or fully clockwise
(dome lamp OFF position). Rotating the panel dimmer
switch fully counter-clockwise will turn on the lights.
Turn the panel dimmer switch fully clockwise to prevent
the lights from coming on when a door is opened.
NOTE:The interior lights have a“fade to off”feature.
When the lights are turned off, they gradually“fade”off.
Hood Safety Catch
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Headlights, Parking Lights, Instrument Panel
Lights
Turn the end of the control lever to the first detent for
parking light operation. Turn to the second detent for
headlight operation.
To change the brightness of the instrument panel lights,
turn the center portion of the lever up or down. Turning
the dimmer control to the full up position also turns onthe courtesy lights. Turning the dimmer control to the full
down position prevents the courtesy lights from coming
on when a door is opened.
Automatic Headlights—If Equipped
This system automatically turns your headlights on at a
preset level of outdoor lighting. Turn the end of the
control lever to the third detent to turn the system on.
When the system is on, the headlight delay feature is also
on. This means that your headlights will stay on for about
90 seconds after you turn the ignition switch off. To turn
the Automatic system off, turn the control lever clock-
wise, to the off position.
NOTE:The engine must be running before the head-
lights will come on in the automatic mode.
NOTE:The Automatic Headlight System will turn on
the headlights if it detects that the windshield wipers
have been in operation for more than 10 seconds.
Multi-Function Lever
66 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE

Mist
Use this feature when weather conditions make occa-
sional usage of the wipers necessary. Pull down and
release the control lever for a single wiping cycle.
Speed Sensitive Intermittent Wiper System
Use the intermittent wiper when weather conditions
make a single wiping cycle, with a variable pause be-
tween cycles, desirable. Turn the lever to the delay
position, then select the delay interval. The delay can be
regulated from a maximum of approximately 18 seconds
between cycles, to a cycle every 1/2 second.
NOTE:The wiper delay times depend on vehicle speed.
If the vehicle is moving less than 16 km/h (10 mph),
delay times will be doubled.
TILT STEERING COLUMN
To tilt the column, push down on the lever below the turn
signal control and move the wheel up or down, as
desired. Push the lever back up to lock the column firmly
in place.
Tilt Steering Column Control
UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE 69
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WARNING!
Tilting the steering column while the vehicle is
moving is dangerous. Without a stable steering col-
umn, you could lose control of the vehicle and have
an accident. Adjust the column only while the ve-
hicle is stopped. Be sure it is locked before driving.
TRACTION CONTROL—IF EQUIPPED
To turn the Traction Control System Off, press
the switch located on the top of the steering
column, to the right of the hazard switch, until
the Traction Control indicator in the instrument
cluster lights up.To turn the Traction Control System On, press the switch
until the Traction Control indicator in the instrument
cluster turns off.
NOTE:The Traction Control System is enabled each
time the ignition switch is turned On. This will occur
even if you used the switch to turn the system off before
powering down or turning the ignition to Lock.
Traction Control Switch
70 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE