2009 Ram 1500 child restraint

▫Remote Down Window Feature —
If Equipped ......................... 23
▫ Using The Panic Alarm ................. 24
▫ Programming Additional Transmitters ...... 24
▫ Transmitter Battery Replacement .......... 24
▫ General Information ................... 25
 Remote Starting System — If Equipped ....... 25
▫ How To Use Remote Start ............... 26
 Door Locks ........................... 29
▫ Manual Door Locks ................... 29
▫ Power Door Locks — If Equipped ......... 30
▫ Child Protection Door Lock .............. 33
 Windows ............................ 34 ▫
Power Windows – If Equipped ............ 34
▫ Wind Buffeting ....................... 37
 Rambox Safety Warning .................. 38
▫ Safety Warning ....................... 38
 Occupant Restraints ..................... 39
▫ Lap/Shoulder Belts .................... 41
▫ Adjustable Upper Shoulder Belt Anchorage . . . 49
▫ Center Lap Belts ...................... 49
▫ Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) Mode –
If Equipped ......................... 50
▫ Seat Belt Pretensioners ................. 51
▫ Enhanced Seat Belt Use Reminder System
(BeltAlert) ......................... 51
10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

▫Seat Belts And Pregnant Women .......... 52
▫ Seat Belt Extender ..................... 52
▫ Driver And Right Front Passenger
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) –
Airbag ............................. 53
▫ Airbag System Components .............. 54
▫ Advanced Front Airbag Features .......... 55
▫ Airbag Deployment Sensors And Controls . . . 60
▫ Event Data Recorder (EDR) .............. 67▫
Child Restraint ....................... 69
 Engine Break-In Recommendations .......... 81
 Safety Tips ........................... 82
▫ Transporting Passengers ................ 82
▫ Exhaust Gas ......................... 83
▫ Safety Checks You Should Make Inside The
Vehicle ............................. 84
▫ Periodic Safety Checks You Should Make
Outside The Vehicle ................... 84
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 11

•An energy-absorbing steering column and steering
wheel
•Knee bolsters/blockers for front seat occupants
•All seat belt systems (except driver’s and second row
center position) include Automatic Locking Retractors
(ALR)
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 Advanced Front Airbags have a multistage
inflator design. This allows the airbag to have different
rates of inflation based on severity and type of collision. 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.
40 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Seat Belt Pretensioners
The seat belts for both front outboard seating positions
are equipped with pretensioning devices that are de-
signed 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.
The pretensioners are triggered by the Occupant Re-
straint Controller (ORC). Like the airbags, the pretension-
ers are single use items. After a collision deploys the
airbags and/or pretensioners, a deployed airbag and/or
pretensioner must be replaced immediately.
Enhanced Seat Belt Use 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 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 BeltAlert will con-
tinue to chime and flash the Seat Belt Reminder Light for
96 seconds or until the driver’s seat belt is buckled. The
BeltAlert will 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).
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 51

Along with seat belts and pretensioners, Advanced Front
Airbags work with the knee bolsters to provide improved
protection for the driver and front passenger. Side airbags
also work with seat belts to improve occupant protection.
Knee Impact Bolsters
The Knee Impact Bolsters help protect the knees of the
driver and the front passenger, and position everyone for
the best interaction with the Advanced Front airbag.
Here are some simple steps you can take to minimize the
risk of harm from a deploying airbag:
Children 12 years old and younger should always ride
buckled up in a 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 can cause severe
injury or death to infants in that position.
Children that are not big enough to wear the vehicle seat
belt properly (see Section on Child Restraints) should be
secured in the rear seat in child restraints or belt-
positioning booster seats. Older children who do not use
child restraints or belt-positioning booster seats should
ride properly buckled up in the rear seat. Never allow
children to slide the shoulder belt behind them or under
their arm.
If a child from 1 to 12 years old (not in a rear facing child
seat) must ride in the front passenger seat, move the seat
as far back as possible and use the proper child restraint.
(Refer to information on Child Restraints in this section.)
58 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

You should read the instructions provided with your
child restraint to make sure that you are using it properly.
All occupants should ALWAYS wear their lap and shoul-
der belts properly.
The driver and front passenger seats should be moved
back as far as practical to allow the Advanced Front
Airbags room to inflate.
Do not lean against the door. If your vehicle has side
airbags, and deployment occurs, the side airbags will
inflate forcefully into the space between you and the
door.
If the airbag system in this vehicle needs to be modified
to accommodate a disabled person, contact the Customer
Center. Phone numbers are provided underIf You Need
Assistance in Section 9 of this manual.WARNING!
•Relying on the airbags alone could lead to more
severe injuries in a collision. The airbags work
with your seat belt to restrain you properly. In
some collisions, the airbags won’t deploy at all.
Always wear your seat belts even though you have
airbags.
•Being too close to the steering wheel or instrument
panel during front airbag deployment could cause
serious injury, including death. Airbags need
room to inflate. Sit back, comfortably extending
your arms to reach the steering wheel or instru-
ment panel.
•Side airbags also need room to inflate. Do not lean
against the door. Sit upright in the center of the
seat.
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 59

•Transmission gear selection
•Cruise control status
•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 projectile 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.
•Safety experts recommend that children ride
rearward-facing in the vehicle until they are at least
one year old and weigh at least 20 lbs (9 kg). Two types
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 69

of child restraints can be used rearward-facing: infant
carriers andconvertible child seats. Both types of
child restraints are held in the vehicle by the lap/
shoulder belt.
•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). Convertiblechild 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.
•Rearward-facing child seats must NEVERbe used in
the front seat of a vehicle with a front passenger
airbag. An airbag deployment could cause severe
injury or death to infants in this position.
•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.
•The belt-positioning booster seat is for children weigh-
ing more than 40 lbs (18 kg), but who are still too small
to fit the vehicle’s seat belts properly. If the child
cannot sit with knees bent over the vehicle’s seat
cushion while the child’s back is against the seat back,
they should use a belt-positioning booster seat. The
child and booster seat are held in the vehicle by the
lap/shoulder belt. For further information, refer to
www.seatcheck.org.
70 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE