2008 DODGE RAM 3500 DIESEL child restraint

mRemote Keyless Entry Ð If Equipped.........21
NTo Unlock The Doors...................22
NTo Lock The Doors.....................23
NUsing The Panic Alarm..................24
NGeneral Information....................25
NTransmitter Battery Service...............25
mDoor Locks............................26
NManual Door Locks Ð If Equipped.........26
NPower Door Locks Ð If Equipped..........27
NChild Protection Door Lock...............30
mWindows.............................32
NPower Windows ± If Equipped.............32
NPower Sliding Rear Window ± If Equipped....34NSliding Rear Window ± If Equipped.........34
NWind Buffeting........................34
mOccupant Restraints......................35
NLap/Shoulder Belts.....................36
NAdjustable Upper Shoulder Belt Anchorage....43
NAutomatic Locking Retractors (ALR) Mode ± If
Equipped............................44
NCenter Lap Belts.......................45
NSeat Belt Pretensioners Ð If Equipped.......45
NEnhanced Seat Belt Reminder System
(BeltAlertt) ..........................46
NSeat Belts And Pregnant Women............47
NSeat Belt Extender......................47
10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

NDriver And Right Front Passenger Supplemental
Restraint System (SRS)ÐAirbags...........48
NEvent Data Recorder (EDR)...............59
NChild Restraint........................61
mNew Engine Break-In.....................74
mSafety Tips............................75
NTransporting Passengers.................75NLock Your Vehicle......................76
NExhaust Gas..........................76
NSafety Checks You Should Make Inside The
Vehicle..............................77
NSafety Checks You Should Make Outside The
Vehicle..............................78
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 11
2

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
equipped, window bags 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.
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
2

Center Lap Belts
The center seating position for the Quad Cabtfront seat
has a lap belt only. To fasten the lap belt, slide the latch
plate into the buckle until you hear a9click.9To 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!
²A lap belt worn too loose or too high is dangerous.
²A belt worn too loose can allow you to slip down
and under the belt in a collision.
²A 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 Ð If Equipped
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.
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. Like the airbags, the pretensioners are single-use
items. After a collision that is severe enough to deploy
the airbags and pretensioners, both must be replaced.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 45
2

Here are some simple steps you can follow to minimize
the risk of harm from a deploying airbag.
1. Children 12 years and under should always ride
buckled up in a rear seat in an appropriate child restraint.
Infants in rear-facing child restraints shouldNEVERride
in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger front airbag,
unless the airbag is turned off(2500/3500 Regular Cab
Vehicles Only). An airbag deployment can cause severe
injury or death to infants in that position. See the
Passenger Airbag ON/OFF Switch section.
You should read the instructions provided with your
child restraint to make sure that you are using it properly.
2. If your vehicle does not have a rear seat, see the
Passenger Airbag ON/OFF Switch section.
3.
Children that are not big enough to properly wear the
vehicle seat belt (see section on Child Restraints) should be
secured in the rear seat in child restraints or belt-positioningbooster seats. 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. All occupants should use their lap and shoulder belts
properly.
5. The driver and front passenger seats should be moved
back as far as practical to allow the airbag room to inflate.
6. If your vehicle has window bags, do not lean against
the door or window, airbags will inflate forcefully into
the space between you and the door.
7. If the airbag system in this vehicle needs to be
modified to accommodate a disabled person, contact the
Customer Center. Phone numbers are provided in the9If
You Need Customer Assistance9section later in this
owner's manual.
50 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

²TheKnee Impact Bolstershelp protect the knees of
the driver and the front passenger, and positions them
for the best interaction with the front airbag.
Passenger Airbag On/Off Switch ± (2500/3500
Regular Cab Vehicles Only)
The passenger front airbag is to be turned off only if the
passenger:
²is 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;
²is a child, age 1 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;
²has a medical condition which makes passenger airbag
inflation (deployment) a greater risk for the passenger
than the risk of hitting the dashboard (instrument
panel) or windshield in a crash.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 55
2

²Airbag deployment level (if applicable)
²Impact acceleration and angle
²Seat Belt status
²Brake status (service and parking brakes)
²Accelerator status (including vehicle speed)
²Engine control status (including engine speed)
²Transmission gear selection
²Cruise control status
²Traction/stability control status
²Tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) status (if
equipped)
Child Restraint
Everyone in your vehicle needs to be buckled up all the
time Ð babies and children, too. 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.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 61
2

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 can
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.
Infants and Small Children
There are different sizes and types of restraints for
children from newborn size to the child almost large
enough for an adult safety belt. Use the restraint that is
correct for your child:
²Safety experts recommend that children ride
rearward-facing in the vehicle until they are at leastone year old and weigh at least 20 lbs (9 kg). Two types
of child restraints can be used rearward-facing: infant
carriers and9convertible9child seats. Both types of
child restraints are held in the vehicle by the lap/
shoulder belt.
²The infant carrier is only used rearward-facing in the
vehicle. It is recommended for children who weigh up
to about 20 lbs (9 kg).9Convertible9child 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.
²Rearward-facing child seats mustNEVERbe used in
the front seat of a vehicle with a front passenger airbag
62 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE