2009 CHRYSLER PT CRUISER Owners Manual

WARNING!
•A belt that is worn under your arm is very danger-
ous. Your body could strike the inside surfaces 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 stron-
gest 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.
Inserting Latch Plate Into Buckle
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 39

4. Position the lap belt across your thighs, below your
abdomen. To remove slack in the lap belt portion, pull up
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.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 authorized 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.
Removing Slack From Belt
40 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.
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 Lockout
This feature is designed to lock the retractor whenever
the rear seatback is not fully latched. This prevents
someone from wearing the rear center lap/shoulder belt
when the rear seatback is not fully latched.
NOTE:
•If the rear center lap/shoulder belt cannot be pulled
out, check that the rear seatback is fully latched.
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 41

•If the rear seatback is properly latched and the rear
center lap/shoulder belt still cannot 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
lockout feature to ensure that the rear seatback is in
the fully upright and locked position when occupied.
If the rear seatback is not fully upright and locked
and the rear center lap/shoulder belt can be pulled
out of the retractor, the vehicle should immediately
be taken to your authorized dealer for service. Failure
to follow this warning could result in serious or fatal
injury.
Lap/Shoulder Seat Belt Untwisting Procedure
Use the following procedure to untwist a twisted lap/
shoulder belt.
1. Position the latch plate as close as possible to the
anchor point.
2. At about 6 to 12 in (15 to 30 cm) above the latch plate,
grasp and twist the belt webbing 180 degrees to create a
fold that begins immediately above the latch plate.
3. Slide the latch plate upward over the folded webbing.
The folded webbing must enter the slot at the top of the
latch plate.
4. Continue to slide the latch plate up until it clears the
folded webbing.
42 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Adjustable Upper Shoulder Seat Belt Anchorage
In the front seat, the shoulder belt can be adjusted
upward or downward to position the belt away from
your neck. Push up or down on the anchorage button to
release the anchorage, and move it up or down to the
position that fits 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 will 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.
Seat Belt Pretensioners
The seat belts for both front seating positions are
equipped with pretensioning devices that are designed to
remove slack from the seat belt 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.
Adjusting Upper Shoulder Belt
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 43

The pretensioners are triggered by the Occupant Re-
straint Controller (ORC) (see the following Airbag sec-
tion). 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 Seat Belt Use Reminder System
(BeltAlert)
If the driver’s or front passenger’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 Seat Belt Use Reminder System (BeltAlert)
will alert the driver or front passenger to buckle their seat
belt. The driver should also instruct all other occupants to
buckle their seat belts. If the driver unbuckles the seat
belt while the vehicle is in motion an immediate chimewill be heard and BeltAlert
will continue to chime and
flash the Seat Belt Reminder Light for 96 seconds or until
the driver’s seat belt is buckled. BeltAlert will be
reactivated if the driver’s or front passenger’s seat belt is
unbuckled for more than 10 seconds and the vehicle
speed is greater than 5 mph (8 km/h).
NOTE:
•BeltAlert can be enabled or disabled by your autho-
rized dealer.
•Chrysler LLC does not recommend deactivating
BeltAlert.
If BeltAlert is deactivated, the Seat Belt Reminder Light
will continue to illuminate while the driver’s seat belt
remains unfastened.
44 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Seat Belts and Pregnant Women
We recommend that pregnant women use the seat belts
throughout their pregnancy. Keeping the mother safe is
the best way to keep the baby safe.
Pregnant women should wear the lap part of the belt
across the thighs and as snug across the hips as possible.
Keep the belt low so that it does not come across the
abdomen. That way the strong bones of the hips will take
the force if there is a collision.
Driver and Front Passenger Supplemental
Restraint System (SRS) - Airbag
This vehicle has airbags for both the driver and front
passenger as a supplement to the seat belt restraint
systems. The driver’s front airbag is mounted in the
center of the steering wheel. The passenger’s front airbag
is mounted in the instrument panel, above the glove
compartment. The words SRS AIRBAG are embossed on
the airbag covers.NOTE:
The front airbags are certified to the Federal
regulations that allow less forceful deployment.
The front airbags have a multistage inflator design. This
may allow the airbag to have different rates of inflation
that are based on collision severity and occupant size.
Also, the front passenger airbag is certified to the FederalFront Airbag Components
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 45

regulations that define Occupant Classification (Refer to
Occupant Classification Systemin this section).
If the vehicle is equipped with side airbags, they are
located inside the driver and front passenger seats, and
their covers are also labeled SRS AIRBAG.WARNING!
•Do not put anything on or around the airbag covers
or attempt to manually open them. You may dam-
age the airbags and you could be injured because
the airbags are not there to protect you. These
protective covers for the airbag cushions are de-
signed to open only when the airbags are inflating.
•If your vehicle is equipped with side airbags, do
not use accessory seat covers or place objects
between you and the side airbags; the performance
could be adversely affected and/or objects could
be pushed into you, causing serious injury.
•If your vehicle is equipped with side airbags, do
not attach cup holders or any other objects on or
around the door. The inflating side airbag could
drive the object into occupants, causing serious
injury.
46 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE