2011 DODGE NITRO child restraint

•Whether or not the driver and passenger safety belts
were buckled/fastened;
•How far (if at all) the driver was depressing the
accelerator and/or brake pedal; and,
•How fast the vehicle was traveling.
These data can help provide a better understanding of
the circumstances in which crashes and injuries occur.
NOTE: EDR data are recorded by your vehicle only if a
non-trivial crash situation occurs; no data are recorded by
the EDR under normal driving conditions and no per-
sonal data (e.g., name, gender, age, and crash location)
are recorded. However, other parties, such as law en-
forcement, could combine the EDR data with the type of
personally identifying data routinely acquired during a
crash investigation. To read data recorded by an EDR, special equipment is
required, and access to the vehicle or the EDR is needed.
In addition to the vehicle manufacturer, other parties,
such as law enforcement, that have the special equip-
ment, can read the information if they have access to the
vehicle or the EDR.
Child Restraints
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 or 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.
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There are different sizes and types of restraints for
children from newborn size to the child almost large
enough for an adult safety belt. Always check the child
seat Owner’s Manual to ensure you have the right seat
for your child. Use the restraint that is correct for your
child.
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 Child Restraints
•
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
of child restraints can be used: rearward-facing infant
carriers and “convertible” child seats.
•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). “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. Both types
of child restraints are held in the vehicle by the
lap/shoulder belt or the LATCH child restraint an-
chorage system (Refer to Lower Anchors and Tether
for CHildren (LATCH).
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 77

WARNING!
•Rearward-facing child seats must never be used in
the front seat of a vehicle with the front passenger
air bag unless the air bag is turned off. An air bag
deployment could cause severe injury or death to
infants in this position.
•Improper installation can lead to failure of an
infant or child restraint. It could come loose in a
collision. The child could be badly injured or
killed. Follow the manufacturer’s directions ex-
actly when installing an infant or child restraint.
•A rearward-facing infant restraint should only be
used in a rear seat. A rearward-facing infant re-
straint in the front seat may be struck by a deploy-
ing passenger air bag which may cause severe or
fatal injury to the infant.Here are some tips for getting the most out of your child
restraint:
•Before buying any restraint system, make sure that it
has a label certifying that it meets all applicable safety
standards. Chrysler Group LLC also recommends that
you try a child restraint in the vehicle seats where you
will use it before you buy it.
•The restraint must be appropriate for your child’s
weight and height. Check the label on the restraint for
weight and height limits.
•Carefully follow the instructions that come with the
restraint. If you install the restraint improperly, it may
not work when you need it.
•Except for the second row center seating position, all
passenger seat belts are equipped with “automatic
locking retractors.” The second row center position
has a cinching latch plate. Both types of seat belts are
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designed to keep the lap portion tight around the child
restraint so that it is not necessary to use a locking clip.
If the seat belt has a cinching latch plate, pulling up on
the shoulder portion of the lap/shoulder belt will
tighten the belt (the cinching latch plate will keep the
belt tight). However, any seat belt system may loosen
with time, so check the belt occasionally and pull it
tight if necessary. For the second row seat belts with
the automatic locking retractors, pull the belt from the
retractor until there is enough to allow it to pass
through the child restraint and slide the latch plate
into the buckle. Then, pull the belt until it is fully
extracted from the retractor. Allow the belt to return to
the retractor, pulling on the excess webbing to tighten
the lap portion around the child restraint. For addi-
tional information, refer toAutomatic Locking
Mode.•In the rear seat, you may have trouble tightening the
lap/shoulder belt on the child restraint because the
buckle or latch plate is too close to the belt path
opening on the restraint. Disconnect the latch plate
from the buckle and twist the short buckle-end belt
several times to shorten it. Insert the latch plate into
the buckle with the release button facing out.
•If the belt still cannot be tightened, or if pulling and
pushing on the restraint loosens the belt, disconnect
the latch plate from the buckle, turn the buckle
around, and insert the latch plate into the buckle
again. If you still cannot make the child restraint
secure, try a different seating position.
•Buckle the child into the restraint exactly as the
manufacturer’s instructions tell you.
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 79

WARNING!
When your child restraint is not in use, secure it in
the vehicle with the seat belt or remove it from the
vehicle. Do not leave it loose in the vehicle. In a
sudden stop or accident, it could strike the occupants
or seatbacks and cause serious personal injury.
NOTE: For additional information, refer to
www.seatcheck.org or call 1–866–SEATCHECK. Cana-
dian residents should refer to Transport Canada’s web-
site for additional information: http://www.tc.gc.ca/
roadsafety/safedrivers/childsafety/index.htm
Older Children And Child Restraints
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 or the LATCH child
restraint anchorage system (refer to Lower Anchors and
Tether for CHildren (LATCH).
The belt-positioning booster seat is for children weighing
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 seatback, they should use a
belt-positioning booster seat. The child and belt-
positioning booster seat are held in the vehicle by the
lap/shoulder belt.
Children Too Large For Booster Seats
Children who are large enough to wear the shoulder belt
comfortably and whose legs are long enough to bend
over the front of the seat when their back is against the
seatback, should use the lap/shoulder belt in a rear seat.
•Make sure that the child is upright in the seat.
80 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

•The lap portion should be low on the hips and as snug
as possible.
•Check belt fit periodically. A child’s squirming or
slouching can move the belt out of position.
•If the shoulder belt contacts the face or neck, move the
child closer to the center of the vehicle. Never allow a
child to put the shoulder belt under an arm or behind
their back.
Lower Anchors and Tether for CHildren (LATCH)
Your vehicle’s rear seat is equipped with the child re-
straint anchorage system called LATCH. The LATCH
system provides for the installation of the child restraint
without using the vehicle’s seat belts, instead securing the
child restraint using lower anchorages and upper tether
straps from the child restraint to the vehicle structure.
LATCH-compatible child restraint systems are now avail-
able. However, because the lower anchorages are to beintroduced over a period of years, child restraint systems
having attachments for those anchorages will continue to
also have features for installation using the vehicle’s seat
belts. Child restraints having tether straps and hooks for
connection to the top tether anchorages have been avail-
able for some time. For some older child restraints, many
child restraint manufacturers offer add-on tether strap
kits or retro-fit kits. You are urged to take advantage of all
the available attachments provided with your child re-
straint in any vehicle.
All three rear seating positions have lower anchorages
that are capable of accommodating LATCH-compatible
child seats having flexible webbing mounted attach-
ments. Child seats with fixed lower attachments must be
installed in the outboard seating positions only. The
center seating position will accommodate LATCH-
compatible lower anchorages with flexible webbing
mounted attachments only. Regardless of the specific
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 81

type of lower attachment, never install LATCH-
compatible child seats so that two seats share a common
lower anchorage.
If you are installing LATCH-compatible child restraints
in adjacent rear seating positions, you can use the
LATCH anchors or the vehicle’s seat belt for the outboard
position, but you must use the vehicle’s seat belt at the
center position. If your child restraints are not LATCH-
compatible, you can only install the child restraints using
the vehicle’s seat belts. Please refer to “Installing The
LATCH-Compatible Child Restraint System” for typical
installation instructions.
Installing The LATCH-Compatible Child Restraint
System
We urge you to carefully follow the directions of the
manufacturer when installing your child restraint. Not all
child restraint systems will be installed as described here.
Again, carefully follow the installation instructions that
were provided with the child restraint system.The rear seat lower anchorages are round bars located at
the rear of the seat cushion where it meets the seatback,
and are just visible when you lean into the rear seat to
install the child restraint. You will easily feel them if you
run your finger along the intersection of the seatback and
seat cushion surfaces.
Latch Anchorages
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In addition, there are tether strap anchorages behind each
rear seating position located on the back of the seat.
Many, but not all, restraint systems will be equipped with
separate straps on each side, with each having a hook or
connector for attachment to the lower anchorage and ameans of adjusting the tension in the strap. Forward-
facing toddler restraints and some rear-facing infant
restraints will also be equipped with a tether strap, a
hook for attachment to the tether strap anchorage and a
means of adjusting the tension of the strap.
You will first loosen the child seat adjusters on the lower
straps and on the tether strap so that you can more easily
attach the hooks or connectors to the vehicle anchorages.
Next, attach the lower hooks or connectors over the top
of the anchorage bars, pushing aside the seat cover
material. Then, locate the tether anchorage directly be-
hind the seat where you are placing the child restraint
and attach the tether strap to the anchorage, being careful
to route the tether strap to provide the most direct path
between the anchor and the child restraint. For the
outboard seating positions, route the tether underneath
the head restraint and attach the hook to the tether
anchor located on the back of the seat. Finally, tighten all
three straps as you push the child restraint rearward and
Tether Strap Mounting
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