▫To Unlatch The Trunk...................22
▫Using The Panic Alarm..................22
▫Programming Additional Transmitters........23
▫Transmitter Battery Service...............23
▫General Information....................24
Remote Starting System — If Equipped........25
▫How To Use Remote Start................25
Door Locks............................27
▫Manual Door Locks.....................27
▫Power Door Locks.....................28
▫Child Protection Door Lock...............30
Windows.............................33
▫Power Windows.......................33▫Wind Buffeting........................36
Trunk Lock And Release...................37
Trunk Safety Warning.....................38
▫Trunk Emergency Release................38
Occupant Restraints......................39
▫Lap/Shoulder Belts.....................40
▫Lap/Shoulder Belt Untwisting Procedure.....45
▫Seat Belt Pretensioners...................46
▫Enhanced Seat Belt Reminder System
(BeltAlert) ..........................46
▫Automatic Locking Mode — If Equipped.....47
▫Seat Belts And Pregnant Women............48
▫Seat Belt Extender......................48
10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
▫Driver And Front Passenger Supplemental
Restraint System (SRS) - Airbag............49
▫Event Data Recorder (EDR)...............62
▫Child Restraint........................64
Break-In Recommendations.................73
Safety Tips............................74
▫Transporting Passengers.................74▫Lock Your Vehicle......................75
▫Exhaust Gas..........................75
▫Safety Checks You Should Make Inside
TheVehicle ..........................76
▫Periodic Safety Checks You Should Make
Outside The Vehicle....................77
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, the
front airbags for both the driver and front passenger, the
optional supplemental side curtain airbags for the driver
and passengers seated next to a window, and the optional
supplemental front seat mounted side airbags. 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.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 39
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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 around
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 Occupant Re-
straint Controller (ORC). (Refer to information on Air-
bags in this section). Like the front airbags, the preten-
sioners are single use items. After a collision that is severe
enough to deploy the airbags and pretensioners, both
must be replaced.
Enhanced 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 the seat
belt. The driver should also instruct all other occupants to
buckle their seat belts. Once the warning is triggered, the
BeltAlertwill continue to chime and flash the Seat Belt
Reminder Light for 96 seconds or until the driver’s seat
belt is buckled. The BeltAlertwill 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).
BeltAlertProgramming
The BeltAlertcan be enabled or disabled by your
authorized dealer or by performing the following steps:
NOTE:DaimlerChrysler does not recommend deacti-
vating the BeltAlert.
46 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
Here are some simple steps you can take to minimize
the risk of harm from a deploying airbag.
1. Children 12 years old and younger should ride buck-
led up in the rear seat.
WARNING!
Infants in rear-facing child restraints should NEVER
ride 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.
2. Children who are not big enough to wear the vehicle
seat belt properly should be secured in the rear seat in
child restraints or belt-positioning booster seats. (Refer to
information on Child Restraint in this section.)3. Older children who do not use child restraints or
belt-positioning booster seats should ride properly buck-
led up in the rear seat. Never allow children to slide the
shoulder belt behind them or under their arm.
4. If a child from 1 to 12 years old must ride in the front
passenger seat because the vehicle is crowded, move the
seat as far back as possible and use the proper child
restraint. (Refer to information on Child Restraint in this
section.)
5. You should read the instructions provided with your
child restraint to make sure that you are using it properly.
6. All occupants should use their seat belts properly.
7. The driver and front passenger seats should be moved
back as far as practical to allow the airbags time to inflate.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 53
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seam in the seat’s trim cover and opens into the space
between the occupant and the door. The airbag inflates
at a very high speed and with enough force to injure
you if you are not belted and seated properly, or if
items are positioned in the area where the front seat
mounted side airbag inflates. This especially applies to
children.
The following requirements must be strictly adhered
to:
•Do not make any modifications to the front seat
components, assembly, or to the seat cover in any
way.
•Do not use prior or future model year seat covers
not designated for the specific model being re-
paired. Always use the correct seat cover specified
for the vehicle.
•Do not replace the seat cover with an aftermarket
seat cover.
•Do not add a secondary seat cover other than those
approved by DaimlerChrysler/Mopar.
•At no time should any supplemental restraint sys-
tem (SRS) component or SRS related component or
fastener be modified or replaced with any part
except those which are approved by
DaimlerChrysler/Mopar.
58 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
•Traction/stability control status
•Tire Pressure Monitoring System status (if equipped)
Child Restraint
Everyone in your vehicle needs to be buckled up all the
time, including babies and children. Every state in the
United States and all Canadian provinces require that
small children ride in proper restraint systems. This is the
law, and you can be prosecuted for ignoring it.
Children 12 years and 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.
WARNING!
In a collision, an unrestrained child, even a tiny baby,
can become a missile 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.
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 ensure you have the correct seat
for your child. Use the restraint that is correct for your
child.
64 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
Infants and Child Restraints
•
Safety experts recommend that children ride
rearward-facing in the vehicle until they are at least
one year oldandweigh at least 20 lbs (9 kg). Two types
of child restraints can be used rearward-facing, infant
carriers and convertible child seats.
•The infant carrier is only used rearward-facing in the
vehicle. It is recommended for children who weigh up
to about 20 lbs (9 kg). Convertible child seats can be
used either rearward-facing or forward-facing in the
vehicle. Convertible child seats often have a higher
weight limit in the rearward-facing direction than
infant carriers do, so they can be used rearward-facing
by children who weigh more than 20 lbs (9 kg) but are
less than one year old. Both types of child restraints are
held in the vehicle by the lap/shoulder belt or the
LATCH child restraint anchorage system. Refer to“LATCH — Child Seat Anchorage System (Lower
Anchors and Tether for CHildren)” in this section.
•Rearward-facing child seats mustNEVERbe used in
the front seat of a vehicle with the front passenger
airbag unless the airbag is turned off. An airbag
deployment could cause severe injury or death to
infants in this position.
Older Children and Child Restraints
Children who weigh more than 20 lbs (9 kg) and who are
older than one year can ride forward-facing in the
vehicle. Forward-facing child seats and convertible child
seats used in the forward-facing direction are for children
who weigh 20 to 40 lbs (9 to 18 kg) and who are older
than one year. These child seats are also held in the
vehicle by the lap/shoulder belt or the LATCH child
restraint anchorage system. Refer to “LATCH — Child
Seat Anchorage System (Lower Anchors and Tether for
CHildren)” in this section.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 65
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