2014 DODGE AVENGER Owners Manual

Window Lockout Switch
The window lockout switch on the driver’s door allows
you to disable the window control on the other doors. To
disable the window controls on the other doors, press the
window LOCK button. To enable the window controls,
press the window control button again.
Wind Buffeting
Wind buffeting can be described as the perception of
pressure on the ears or a helicopter-type sound in the
ears. Your vehicle may exhibit wind buffeting with the
windows down, or the sunroof (if equipped) in certain
open or partially open positions. This is a normal occur-
rence and can be minimized. If the buffeting occurs with
the rear windows open, then open the front and rear
windows together to minimize the buffeting. If the
buffeting occurs with the sunroof open, adjust the sun-
roof opening to minimize the buffeting.
AUTO Power Window Switch
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 39

TRUNK RELEASE
Use the Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
transmitter to open the trunk from
outside the vehicle. From inside the
vehicle the trunk lid can be released by
pressing the TRUNK RELEASE button
located on the instrument panel to the
left of the steering wheel.
NOTE: The shift lever must be in PARK for this switch to
operate.
With the ignition switch in the ON/RUN position, the
word “dECK” will display in place of the odometer
display indicating that the trunk is open. The odometer
display will reappear once the trunk is closed or if the
trip button is depressed. With the ignition switch in the LOCK position or with the
key out, the word “dECK” will display until the trunk is
closed.
On Electronic Vehicle Information Center (EVIC)
equipped vehicles, the words “Trunk Ajar” will display.
TRUNK SAFETY WARNING
WARNING!
Do not allow children to have access to the trunk,
either by climbing into the trunk from outside, or
through the inside of the vehicle. Always close the
trunk lid when your vehicle is unattended. Once in
the trunk, young children may not be able to escape,
even if they entered through the rear seat. If trapped
in the trunk, children can die from suffocation or
heat stroke.
Trunk Release
Button
40 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Trunk Internal Emergency Release
As a security measure, a Trunk Internal Emergency
Release lever is built into the trunk latching mechanism.
In the event of an individual being locked inside the
trunk, the trunk can be simply opened by pulling on the
glow-in-the-dark handle attached to the trunk latching
mechanism.
OCCUPANT RESTRAINTS
Some of the most important safety features in your
vehicle are the restraint systems:
•Three-point lap and shoulder belts for all seating
positions
Trunk Internal Emergency Release
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 41

•Advanced Front Air Bags for driver and front passenger
•Supplemental Active Head Restraints (AHR) located
on top of the front seats (integrated into the head
restraint) — if equipped
• Supplemental Side Air Bag Inflatable Curtains (SABIC)
for the driver and passengers seated next to a window
• Supplemental Seat-Mounted Side Air Bags (SAB)
• An energy-absorbing steering column and steering
wheel
• Knee bolsters/blockers for front seat occupants
• Front seat belts incorporate pretensioners that may
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.
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.
If you will be carrying children too small for adult-sized
seat belts, the seat belts or the Lower Anchors and Tethers
for CHildren (LATCH) feature also can be used to hold
infant and child restraint systems. For more information
on LATCH, refer to Lower Anchors and Tethers for
CHildren (LATCH).
NOTE: The Advanced Front Air Bags have a multistage
inflator design. This allows the air bag to have different
rates of inflation based on several factors, including the
severity and type of collision.
42 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Here are some simple steps you can take to minimize the
risk of harm from a deploying air bag:
1. Children 12 years old and under should always ridebuckled up in a rear seat.
WARNING!
•Never place a rear facing infant seat in front of an
air bag. A deploying Passenger Advanced Front Air
Bag can cause death or serious injury to a child 12
years or younger, including a child in a rearward
facing infant seat.
• Only use a rearward-facing child restraint in a
vehicle with a rear seat.
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 posi-
tioning 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 2 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 “Child Restraints”.
You should read the instructions provided with your
child restraint to make sure that you are using it properly.
2. All occupants should always wear their lap and
shoulder belts properly.
3. The driver and front passenger seats should be moved back as far as practical to allow the Advanced Front
Air Bags room to inflate.
4. Do not lean against the door or window. If your vehicle has side air bags, and deployment occurs, the
side air bags will inflate forcefully into the space
between you and the door.
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 43

5. If the air bag system in this vehicle needs to bemodified to accommodate a disabled person, contact
the Customer Center. Phone numbers are provided
under “If You Need Assistance”.
WARNING!
•Relying on the air bags alone could lead to more
severe injuries in a collision. The air bags work
with your seat belt to restrain you properly. In
some collisions, the air bags won’t deploy at all.
Always wear your seat belts even though you have
air bags.
(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
•Being too close to the steering wheel or instrument
panel during Advanced Front Air Bag deployment
could cause serious injury, including death. Air
bags need room to inflate. Sit back, comfortably
extending your arms to reach the steering wheel or
instrument panel.
• Supplemental Side Air Bag Inflatable Curtain
(SABIC) and Seat-Mounted Side Air Bags (SAB)
also need room to inflate. Do not lean against the
door or window. Sit upright in the center of the
seat.
(Continued)
44 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

WARNING!(Continued)
•In a collision, you and your passengers can suffer
much greater injuries if you are not properly buck-
led 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.
• Being too close to the Supplemental Side Air Bag
Inflatable Curtain (SABIC) and/or Seat-Mounted
Side Air Bag (SAB) during deployment could cause
you to be severely injured or killed.
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
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. However, in a collision the belt will lock and
reduce your risk of striking the inside of the vehicle or
being thrown out.
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 45

WARNING!
•Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and
using a seat belt properly.
• It is 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 seriously 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 passengers
safe, too.
(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
•Two people should never be belted into a single
seat belt. People belted together can crash into one
another in a collision, hurting one another badly.
Never use a lap/shoulder belt or a 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.
46 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE