2014 Ram ProMaster Owner's Manual

Infants And Child Restraints
Safety experts recommend that children ride rearward-
facing in the vehicle until they are two years old or until
they reach either the height or weight limit of their rear
facing child safety seat. 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 from birth until
they reach the weight or height limit of the infant carrier.
Convertible child 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 have outgrown
their infant carrier but are still less than at least two years
old. Children should remain rearward-facing until they
reach the highest weight or height allowed by their
convertible child 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.
Older Children And Child Restraints
Children who are two years old or who have outgrown
their rear-facing convertible child seat can ride forward-
facing in the vehicle. Forward-facing child seats and
convertible child seats used in the forward-facing direc-
tion are for children who are over two years old or who
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 55

have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit of
their rear-facing convertible child seat. Children should
remain in a forward-facing child seat with a harness for
as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height
allowed by the child seat.
All children whose weight or height is above the
forward-facing limit for the child seat should use a
belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle’s seat belts
fit 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 seat belt.WARNING!
•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 child restraint manufacturer ’s
directions exactly when installing an infant or
child restraint.
• After a child restraint is installed in the vehicle, do
not move the vehicle seat forward or rearward
because it can loosen the child restraint attach-
ments. Remove the child restraint before adjusting
the vehicle seat position. When the vehicle seat has
been adjusted, reinstall the child restraint.
(Continued)
56 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

WARNING!(Continued)
•When your child restraint is not in use, secure it in
the vehicle with the seat belt or LATCH anchor-
ages, 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.
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 seat belt in a rear seat. Use this
simple 5-step test to decide whether the child can use the
vehicle’s seat belt alone:
1. Can the child sit all the way back against the back of the vehicle seat? 2. Do the child’s knees bend comfortably over the front
of the vehicle seat – while they are still sitting all the
way back?
3. Does the shoulder belt cross the child’s shoulder between their neck and arm?
4. Is the lap part of the belt as low as possible, touching the child’s thighs and not their stomach?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?If the answer to any of these questions was “no,” then the
child still needs to use a booster seat in this vehicle. If the
child is using the lap/shoulder belt, check belt fit periodi-
cally and make sure the seat belt buckle is latched. 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, or use a booster seat
to position the seat belt on the child correctly.
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 57

WARNING!
Never allow a child to put the shoulder belt under an
arm or behind their back. In a crash, the shoulder belt
will not protect a child properly, which may result in
serious injury or death. A child must always wear
both the lap and shoulder portions of the seat belt
correctly.
Installing Child Restraints In Commercial Vehicles
This commercial vehicle is not designed for use as a
family vehicle and is not intended for carrying children
in the front passenger seat(s). Never install rearward-
facing child restraints in this vehicle. Although the seat
belt can be locked to secure a child restraint, there are no
tether anchorages to complete the proper installation of aforward-facing child restraint. If you must carry a child
in a forward-facing child restraint, the passenger seat
should be moved to the full rearward position and the
child must be in a proper restraint system based on its
age, size and weight. Follow the instructions below to
secure the child restraint using the seat belt.
WARNING!
Rearward-facing infant restraints must never be se-
cured in the passenger seat of a vehicle with a
passenger Air Bag. In a collision, a passenger Air Bag
may deploy causing severe injury or death to infants
riding in rearward-facing infant restraints.
58 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Installing Child Restraints Using The Vehicle Seat
Belt
The seat belts in the passenger seating positions are
equipped with a Switchable Automatic Locking Retractor
(ALR). This seat belt is 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 webbing
retract 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.”
Front Bucket Seat Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)Location
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 59

Installing A Child Restraint With A Switchable
Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)
1. Place the child seat in the center of the seatingposition. If the rear seat can be moved forward and
rearward in the vehicle, you may wish to move it to its
rear-most position to make room for the child seat.
You may also move the front seat forward to allow
more room for the car seat.
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.
Front Bench Seat Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)
Locations
60 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

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. 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.
Fuel Cut Off Switch
The vehicle is fitted with a safety switch that, in the event
of an accident, comes into operation by cutting off the
fuel supply and turning off the engine as a consequence.
When the inertia switch cuts in, this cuts off the fuel
supply and also activates the hazard warning lights, side
lights and courtesy lights while releasing all the doors
and displaying a message; they are deactivated by press-
ing button A.
NOTE:
After an accident, remember to cycle the ignition
to the STOP (OFF/LOCK) position and remove the key
from the ignition switch to avoid draining the battery.2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 61

If no fuel leaks or damage to vehicle electrical devices
(e.g. headlights) are detected after the impact and the
vehicle, reactivate the automatic fuel cut off following the
procedure described below.
WARNING!
If, after a crash, you smell fuel or see leaks from the
fuel system, do not reset the switches to avoid the
risk of fire.
Reactivating the fuel cut-off switch fig. 85:
1. Press the button A to reactivate the fuel cut off switch.
WARNING!
Before reactivating the fuel cut off switch, carefully
check for fuel leaks or damage to vehicle electrical
devices (e.g. headlights).
Fig. 85
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