2009 DODGE AVENGER belt

▫Using The Express Down Windows Feature
— If Equipped........................ 26
▫Using The Panic Alarm................. 26
▫Programming Additional RKE Transmitters . . . 26
▫Battery Replacement................... 26
▫General Information.................... 27
Remote Start System — If Equipped......... 28
▫How To Use Remote Start............... 29
Door Locks........................... 31
▫Manual Door Locks.................... 31
▫Power Door Locks..................... 32
▫Child Protection Door Lock System (Rear
Doors)............................. 34Power Windows........................ 35
▫Power Window Switches................ 35
▫Auto Window Down — If Equipped........ 36
▫Auto Window Up — If Equipped.......... 37
▫Reset Auto Up....................... 37
▫Window Lockout Switch................ 38
▫Wind Buffeting....................... 38
Trunk Release......................... 39
Trunk Safety Warning.................... 39
▫Trunk Internal Emergency Release.......... 40
Occupant Restraints..................... 41
▫Lap/Shoulder Belts.................... 43
▫Adjustable Upper Shoulder Belt Anchorage . . . 48
10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

▫Rear Seat Belts....................... 49
▫Seat Belt Pretensioners.................. 49
▫Enhanced Seat Belt Reminder System
(BeltAlert).......................... 49
▫BeltAlertProgramming................. 50
▫Automatic Locking Mode................ 51
▫Seat Belts And Pregnant Women........... 51
▫Seat Belt Extender..................... 51
▫Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) -
Airbag............................. 52
▫Airbag System Components.............. 53▫Front Seat Airbag Features............... 54
▫Airbag Deployment Sensors And Controls.... 60
▫Event Data Recorder (EDR).............. 66
▫Child Restraints....................... 68
Engine Break-In Recommendations.......... 79
Safety Tips............................ 80
▫Exhaust Gas......................... 80
▫Safety Checks You Should Make Inside The
Vehicle............................. 80
▫Periodic Safety Checks You Should Make
Outside The Vehicle.................... 81
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. The following safety
features are standard on all vehicles:
•Three point lap and shoulder belts for all seating
positions
•Pretensioning and load-limiting retractors for the front
seat belts
•Advanced multistage driver and new active-vent front
passenger airbags
•New active-vent front passenger airbags.
•Knee bolsters/blockers for front seat occupants
•An energy absorbing steering column and steering
wheel
•Supplemental Side Airbag Inflatable Curtains (SABIC)
that span the front and second rows for sedans (if
equipped)
•Supplemental seat side (Thorax) airbags
•Front seat belt retractors incorporate pretensioners to
enhance occupant protection by managing occupant
energy during an impact event.
•All seat belt systems (except the driver’s) include
Automatic Locking Retractors (ALRs), which lock the
seat belt webbing into position by extending the belt
all the way out and then adjusting the belt to the
desired length to restrain a child seat or secure a large
item in a seat.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 41
2

If you will be carrying children too small for adult-size
seat belts, your seat belts or the LATCH feature also can
be used to hold infant and child restraint systems. Refer
to “Lower Anchors and Tether for CHildren (LATCH)” in
this section.
NOTE:The front airbags have a multistage inflator
design. This allows the airbag to have different rates of
inflation that are based on collision severity.
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 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
42 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

ejection and the risk of injury caused by striking the
inside of the vehicle.Everyone in 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 will lock only during very
sudden stops or collisions. This feature allows the shoul-
der 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.
WARNING!
•Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and
using a seat belt properly.
(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
•It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision, people
riding in these areas are more likely to be seri-
ously injured or killed.
•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 instructions to
wear your seat belt safely and to keep your pas-
sengers safe, too.
(Continued)
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 43
2

WARNING! (Continued)
•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 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 seat.
2. The seat belt latch plate is above the back of the front
seat, next to your arm. Grasp the latch plate and pull out
the belt. Slide the latch plate up the webbing as far as
necessary to allow the belt to 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.”
Pulling Out the Latch Plate
44 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.
Inserting Latch Plate into Buckle
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 45
2

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 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
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.
Positioning the Lap Belt
46 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE