2009 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN child seat

mSliding Side Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
▫ Power Sliding Side Door — If Equipped . . . . . 41
▫ Sliding Side Door Child Protection Lock . . . . . 45
m Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
▫ Power Liftgate — If Equipped . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
m Storage Bin Safety Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
▫ Safety Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
m Occupant Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
▫ Lap/Shoulder Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
▫ Automatic Locking Retractors (ALR)
Mode — If Equipped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
▫ Seat Belt Pretensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 ▫
Enhanced Seat Belt Use Reminder System
(BeltAlertt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
▫ Seat Belts And Pregnant Women . . . . . . . . . . 62
▫ Seat Belt Extender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
▫ Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) -
Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
▫ Airbag System Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
▫ Front Seat Airbag Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
▫ Airbag Deployment Sensors And Controls . . . 68
▫ Event Data Recorder (EDR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
▫ Integrated Child Booster Seat — If Equipped . . 76
▫ Integrated Child Seat — If Equipped . . . . . . . 78
▫ Child Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

mRear Seat Delete Feature
(Commercial Vehicles Only) — If Equipped . . . . . 88
▫ Restraining Infants And Small Children With
Seat Delete Feature
(Commercial Vehicles Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
m Engine Break-In Recommendations . . . . . . . . . 91 m
Safety Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
▫ Transporting Passengers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
▫ Exhaust Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
▫ Safety Checks You Should Make Inside The
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
▫ Periodic Safety Checks You Should Make
Outside The Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 11 2

Power Sliding Side Door Master Lock SwitchTo provide a safer environment for small children riding
in the rear seats, the second row sliding door switches
and handles may be overridden by pressing the ON side
of the Master Lock Out Switch located in the front
overhead console.
When the power sliding door master lock switch is in the
ON position, the power sliding side door may not be
opened or closed by pressing the switch located on the
trim panel just in front of the sliding door or activating
the inside power sliding door handle.
Overhead Console Power Sliding Door Master Switch
1 — Left Door
3 — Right Door
2 —
Liftgate 4 — Master Lock
44 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Sliding Side Door Child Protection LockTo provide a safer environment for small children riding
in the rear seats, the sliding doors are equipped with a
Child Protection Door Lock system.
NOTE:
When the Child Protection Door Lock system is
engaged, the door can be opened only by using the
outside door handle even though the inside door lock is
in the unlocked position.
To Engage the Child Protection Door Lock
1. Open the sliding side door.
2. Slide the Child Protection Door Lock control inward
(toward the vehicle) to engage the Child Protection Door
Lock. 3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 on the opposite sliding door.
NOTE:
After engaging the Child Protection Door Lock, al-
ways test the door from the inside to make certain it is
in the desired position. Child Protection Door Lock
THINGS T

O KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 45 2

When the Child Protection Door Lock system is en-
gaged, (even if the inside door lock is in the unlocked
position) the door can be opened only by using the
outside door handle, the RKE transmitter, the switches
on the overhead console or the switches located on the
trim panel just in front of the power sliding door.
The power sliding side door will operate from the
switches located on the trim panel just in front of the
power sliding door, regardless of the Child Protection
Door Lock lever position.
To avoid unintentional
operation of the power sliding door from the rear
seats, press the ”ON” Master Lock Out Switch lo-
cated in the front overhead console, next to the
driver. WARNING!
Avoid trapping anyone in the vehicle in a collision.
Remember that the sliding doors can only be opened
from the outside door handle or the switches located
on the trim panel just in front of the power sliding
door when the Child Protection Door Locks are
engaged.
To Disengage the Child Protection Door Lock
1. Open the sliding side door.
2. Slide the Child Protection Door Lock control outward
(away from the vehicle) to disengage the Child Protection
Door Lock.
3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 on the opposite sliding door (if
equipped).
46 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

STORAGE BIN SAFETY WARNING
Safety W
arning
Carefully follow these warnings to help prevent personal
injury or damage to your vehicle: WARNING!

Always close the storage bin covers when your
vehicle is unattended.
Do not allow children to have access to the second
row seat storage bins. Once in the storage bin,
young children may not be able to escape. If
trapped in the storage bin, children can die from
suffocation or heat stroke.
In an accident, serious injury could result if the
seat storage bin covers are not properly latched.
(Continued) WARNING! (Continued)

Do not drive the vehicle with the storage bin
covers open.
Keep the storage bin covers closed and latched
while the vehicle is in motion.
Do not operate the storage bin covers while the
vehicle is in motion.
Do not use a storage bin latch as a tie down. CAUTION!
The storage bin cover must be flat and locked to
avoid damage from contact with the front seat tracks,
which have minimal clearance to the cover.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 51 2

Knee bolsters/blockers for front seat occupants
Front seat belt retractors incorporate pretensioners to
enhance occupant protection by managing occupant
energy during an impact event.
If you will be carrying children too small for adult-sized
seat belts, the seat belts or the Lower Anchors and Tether
for CHildren (LATCH) feature also can be used to hold
infant and child restraint systems.
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
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 53 2

Automatic Locking Retractors (ALR) Mode — If
EquippedIn this mode, the shoulder belt is automatically pre-
locked. The belt will still retract to remove any slack in
the shoulder belt. The Automatic Locking Mode is avail-
able on all passenger-seating positions with a combina-
tion lap/shoulder belt.
When to Use the Automatic Locking Mode
Use the Automatic Locking Mode anytime a child safety
seat is installed in a passenger seating position. Children
12 years old and younger should be properly restrained
in the rear seat whenever possible.
How to Use the Automatic Locking Mode
1. Buckle the combination lap/shoulder belt.
2. Grasp the shoulder portion and pull downward until
the entire belt is extracted.
3. Allow the belt to retract. As the belt retracts, you will
hear a clicking sound. This indicates the safety belt is
now in the Automatic Locking Mode.
How to Disengage the Automatic Locking Mode
Disconnect the combination lap/shoulder belt and allow
it to retract completely to disengage the Automatic
Locking Mode and activate the Vehicle Sensitive (Emer-
gency) Locking mode.
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.
60 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE