2013 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE SRT Owners Manual

Installing Child Restraints Using The Vehicle Seat
Belt
The seat belts in the passenger seating positions are
equipped with either a Switchable Automatic Locking
Retractor (ALR) or a cinching latch plate or both. Both
types of seat belts are designed to keep the lap portion of
the seat belt tight around the child restraint so that it is
not necessary to use a locking clip. The ALR retractor can
be “switched” into a locked mode by pulling all of the
webbing out of the retractor and then letting the webbingretract back into the retractor. If it is locked, the ALR will
make a clicking noise while the webbing is pulled back
into the retractor. For additional information on ALR,
refer to the “Automatic Locking Mode” description un-
der “Occupant Restraints.” The cinching latch plate is
designed to hold the lap portion of the seatbelt tight
when webbing is pulled tight and straight through a
child restraint’s belt path. Please see the table below and
the following sections for more information about both
types of seat belts.
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Lap/Shoulder Belt Systems for Installing Child
Restraints in this Vehicle
What is the weight limit (child’s weight +
weight of the child restraint) for using the
Tether Anchor with the seat belt to attach a
forward facing child restraint?Weight limit
of the Child
Restraint
Always use the tether anchor when using the
seat belt to install a forward facing child re-
straint, up to the recommended weight limit of
the child restraint.
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Can the rear-facing child restraint touch the back
of the front passenger seat?Yes Contact between the front passenger seat and the
child restraint is allowed, if the child restraint
manufacturer also allows contact.
Can the head restraints be removed? Yes, center position only.
Can the buckle stalk be twisted to tighten the seat
belt against the belt path of the child restraint? Yes In positions with cinching latch plates (CINCH),
the buckle stalk may be twisted up to 3 full turns.
Do not twist the buckle stalk in a seating position
with an ALR retractor.
Installing A Child Restraint with a Switchable
Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)
1. Place the child seat in the center of the seatingposition. For some second row seats, you may need to
recline the seat and/or raise the head restraint to get a
better fit. 2. Pull enough of the seat belt webbing from the retractor
to pass it through the belt path of the child restraint.
Do not twist the belt webbing in the belt path.
3. Slide the latch plate into the buckle until you hear a “click.”
4. Pull on the webbing to make the lap portion tight against the child seat.
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5. To lock the seat belt, pull down on the shoulder part ofthe belt until you have pulled all the seat belt webbing
out of the retractor. Then, allow the webbing to retract
back into the retractor. As the webbing retracts, you
will hear a clicking sound. This means the seat belt is
now in the Automatic Locking mode.
6. Try to pull the webbing out of the retractor. If it is locked, you should not be able to pull out any web-
bing. If the retractor is not locked, repeat step 5.
7. Finally, pull up on any excess webbing to tighten the lap portion around the child restraint while you push
the child restraint rearward and downward into the
vehicle seat. 8. If the child restraint has a top tether strap and the
seating position has a top tether anchorage, connect
the tether strap to the anchorage and tighten the tether
strap. Refer to “Lower Anchors and Tethers for Chil-
dren (LATCH) Restraint System” for directions to
attach a tether anchor.
9. Test that the child restraint is installed tightly by pulling back and forth on the child seat at the belt
path. It should not move more than 1 inch (25.4 mm)
in any direction.
Any seat belt system will loosen with time, so check the
belt occasionally, and pull it tight if necessary.
106 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Installing A Child Restraint With A Cinching
Latch Plate (CINCH) — If Equipped
1. Place the child seat in the center of the seatingposition. For some second row seats, you may need to
recline the seat and/or raise the head restraint to get a
better fit.
2. Next, pull enough of the seat belt webbing from the retractor to pass it through the belt path of the child
restraint. Do not twist the belt webbing in the belt
path.
3. Slide the latch plate into the buckle until you hear a “click.”
4. Finally, pull up on any excess webbing to tighten the lap portion around the child restraint while you push
the child restraint rearward and downward into the
vehicle seat. 5. If the child restraint has a top tether strap and the
seating position has a top tether anchorage, connect
the tether strap to the anchorage and tighten the tether
strap. Refer to “Lower Anchors and Tethers for Chil-
dren (LATCH) Restraint System” for directions to
attach a tether anchor.
6. Test that the child restraint is installed tightly by pulling back and forth on the child seat at the belt
path. It should not move more than 1 inch (25.4 mm)
in any direction.
Any seat belt system will loosen with time, so check the
belt occasionally, and pull it tight if necessary.
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If the buckle or the cinching latch plate is too close to the
belt path opening of the child restraint, you may have
trouble tightening the seat belt. If this happens, discon-
nect the latch plate from the buckle and twist the short
buckle-end belt up to three full turns to shorten it. Insert
the latch plate into the buckle with the release button
facing out, away from the child restraint. Repeat steps 4
to 6, above, to complete the installation of the child
restraint.
If the belt still cannot be tightened after you shorten the
buckle, disconnect the latch plate from the buckle, turn
the buckle around one half turn, and insert the latch plate
into the buckle again. If you still cannot make the child
restraint installation tight, try a different seating position.Installing Child Restraints Using The Top Tether
Anchorage
1. Look behind the seating position where youplan to install the child restraint to find the
tether anchorage. You may need to move the
seat forward to provide better access to the
tether anchorage. If there is no top tether anchorage for
that seating position (see the charts above), move the
child restraint to another position in the vehicle if one is
available.
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2. To access the top tether strap anchorages behind therear seat, pull the carpeted floor panel away from the
seat back, this will expose the top tether strap anchor-
ages.
Pulling Down The Carpet Floor Panel To Access Top
Tether Strap
Top Tether Strap Anchorage (Located on Seatback)
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3. Route the tether strap to provide the most direct pathfor the strap between the anchor and the child seat. If
your vehicle is equipped with adjustable rear head
restraints, raise the head restraint, and where possible,
route the tether strap under the head restraint and
between the two posts. If not possible, lower the head
restraint and pass the tether strap around the outboard
side of the head restraint.
4. For the center seating position, route the tether strap over the seatback and headrest then attach the hook to
the tether anchor located on the back of the seat.
5. Attach the tether strap hook of the child restraint to the top tether anchorage as shown in the diagram. 6. Remove slack in the tether strap according to the child
restraint manufacturer ’s instructions.
Top Tether Strap Mounting
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