2022 RAM CHASSIS CAB warning

SAFETY293
(Continued)
(Continued)
Infant And Child Restraints
Safety experts recommend that children ride
rear-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 restraint. Two types of
child restraints can be used rear-facing: infant
carriers and convertible child seats.
The infant carrier is only used rear-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 rear-facing or forward-facing in the vehicle.
Convertible child seats often have a higher weight
limit in the rear-facing direction than infant carriers
do, so they can be used rear-facing by children who
have outgrown their infant carrier but are still less
than at least two years old. Children should remain
rear-facing until they reach the highest weight or
height allowed by their convertible child 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 direction are for
children who are over two years old or who 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!
Never place a rear-facing child restraint in
front of an air bag. A deploying passenger
front air bag can cause death or serious injury
to a child 12 years or younger, including a
child in a rear-facing child restraint.
Never install a rear-facing child restraint in the
front seat of a vehicle. Only use a rear-facing
child restraint in the rear seat. If the vehicle
does not have a rear seat, do not transport a
rear-facing child restraint in that vehicle.
WARNING!
Do not install a rear-facing car seat using a rear
support leg in this vehicle. The floor of this
vehicle is not designed to manage the crash
forces of this type of car seat. In a crash, the
support leg may not function as it was designed
by the car seat manufacturer, and your child may
be more severely injured as a result.
WARNING!
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 manufac
-
turer’s directions exactly when installing an
infant or child restraint.
6

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294SAFETY
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 the child is
still sitting all the way back?
3. Does the shoulder belt cross the child’s shoulder between the neck and arm?
4. Is the lap part of the belt as low as possible, touching the child’s thighs and not the
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 seat belt fit periodically 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.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 attachments. Remove the child
restraint before adjusting the vehicle seat
position. When the vehicle seat has been
adjusted, reinstall the child restraint.
When your child restraint is not in use, secure
it in the vehicle with the seat belt or LATCH
anchorages, 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.
WARNING!
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.

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SAFETY299
Center Seat LATCH
Regular Cab or Crew Cab Full Bench Rear Seat: No
Lower Center LATCH Anchorages Available
Crew Cab Split Bench Rear Seat: Center LATCH
Anchorages Available
If a child restraint installed in the center position
blocks the seat belt webbing or buckle for the
outboard position, do not use that outboard
position. If a child seat in the center position blocks
the outboard LATCH anchors or seat belt, do not
install a child seat in that outboard position. Always follow the directions of the child restraint
manufacturer when installing your child restraint.
Not all child restraint systems will be installed as
described here.
To Install A LATCH-Compatible Child
Restraint
If the selected seating position has a Switchable
Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) seat belt, stow
the seat belt, following the instructions below. See
Ú
page 300 to check what type of seat belt each
seating position has.

1. Loosen the adjusters on the lower straps and on the tether strap of the child seat so that
you can more easily attach the hooks or
connectors to the vehicle anchorages.

2. Place the child seat between the lower anchorages for that seating position. If the
second row seat can be reclined, you may
recline the seat and/or raise the head restraint
(if adjustable) to get a better fit. 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 child seat.
3. Attach the lower hooks or connectors of the child restraint to the lower anchorages in the
selected seating position. 4. If the child restraint has a tether strap, connect
it to the top tether anchorage. See
Úpage 303 for directions to attach a tether
anchor.
5. Tighten all of the straps as you push the child restraint rearward and downward into the
seat. Remove slack in the straps according to
the child restraint manufacturer’s instructions.
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.
How To Stow An Unused Switchable-ALR
(ALR) Seat Belt:
When using the LATCH attaching system to install
a child restraint, stow all ALR seat belts that are not
being used by other occupants or being used to
secure child restraints. An unused belt could injure
a child if they play with it and accidentally lock the
seat belt retractor. Before installing a child
restraint using the LATCH system, buckle the seat
belt behind the child restraint and out of the child’s
reach. If the buckled seat belt interferes with the
child restraint installation, instead of buckling it
behind the child restraint, route the seat belt
through the child restraint belt path and then
buckle it. Do not lock the seat belt. Remind all
children in the vehicle that the seat belts are not
toys and that they should not play with them.
WARNING!
Do not install a child restraint in the center
position using the LATCH system. This position
is not approved for installing child seats using
the LATCH attachments. You must use the
seat belt and tether anchor to install a child
seat in the center seating position.

Never use the same lower anchorage to attach
more than one child restraint. For typical instal -
lation instructions, see
Ú
page 299.

WARNING!
Never use the same lower anchorage to attach
more than one child restraint. For typical
installation instructions, see Ú page 299.
6

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300SAFETY
(Continued)
Installing Child Restraints Using The
Vehicle Seat Belt
Child restraint systems are designed to be secured
in vehicle seats by lap belts or the lap belt portion
of a lap/shoulder belt. Regular Cab
The seat belts in the passenger seating positions
are equipped with a Switchable Automatic Locking
Retractor (ALR) that 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.
Crew Cab
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 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. The cinching latch
plate is designed to hold the lap portion of the seat
belt tight when webbing is pulled tight and straight
through a child restraint’s belt path.
See the “Automatic Locking Mode” description
Ú
page 283 for additional information on ALR.
Please see the table below and the following
sections for more information.
Lap/Shoulder Belt Systems For Installing
Child Restraints In This Vehicle

Regular Cab Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) Locations

WARNING!
Improper installation of a child restraint to the
LATCH anchorages can lead to failure of the
restraint. The child could be badly injured or
killed. Follow the child restraint manufac -
turer’s directions exactly when installing an
infant or child restraint.
Child restraint anchorages are designed to
withstand only those loads imposed by
correctly-fitted child restraints. Under no
circumstances are they to be used for adult
seat belts, harnesses, or for attaching other
items or equipment to the vehicle.
WARNING!
Improper installation or failure to properly
secure a child restraint can lead to failure of
the restraint. The child could be badly injured
or killed.
Follow the child restraint manufacturer’s
directions exactly when installing an infant or
child restraint.
WARNING!
ALR — Switchable Automatic Locking Retractor
Top Tether Anchorage Symbol

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302SAFETY
Installing A Child Restraint With A
Switchable Automatic Locking Retractor
(ALR):
Child restraint systems are designed to be secured
in vehicle seats by lap belts or the lap belt portion
of a lap/shoulder belt.

1. For Crew Cab Models

Place the child seat in the center of the seating
position. If the second row seat can be re -
clined, you may recline the seat and/or raise
the head restraint (if adjustable) to get a better
fit. 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 child seat. For Regular Cab Models
Place the child seat in the center of the seating
position. Move the vehicle seat as far rearward
as possible to keep the child as far from the
passenger air bag as possible.
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.
5. To lock the seat belt, pull down on the shoulder part of the 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
webbing. 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. See
Úpage 303 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.
Installing A Child Restraint With A Cinching
Latch Plate (CINCH) — If Equipped:
Child restraint systems are designed to be secured
in vehicle seats by lap belts or the lap belt portion
of a lap/shoulder belt.
WARNING!
Improper installation or failure to properly
secure a child restraint can lead to failure of
the restraint. The child could be badly injured
or killed.
Follow the child restraint manufacturer’s
directions exactly when installing an infant or
child restraint.
WARNING!
Improper installation or failure to properly
secure a child restraint can lead to failure of
the restraint. The child could be badly injured
or killed.
Follow the child restraint manufacturer’s
directions exactly when installing an infant or
child restraint.

22_DPF_OM_EN_USC_t.book Page 302

SAFETY303

1. Place the child seat in the center of the seating position. If the second row seat can
be reclined, you may recline the seat and/or
raise the head restraint (if adjustable) to get a
better fit. 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 child seat.

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. See
Úpage 303 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.
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, disconnect 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
WARNING!
Do not attach a tether strap for a rear-facing car
seat to any location in front of the car seat,
including the seat frame or a tether anchorage.
Only attach the tether strap of a rear-facing car
seat to the tether anchorage that is approved for
that seating position, located behind the top of
the vehicle seat. For the location of approved
tether anchorages in your vehicle, see
Ú page 295.
6

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304SAFETY
Regular Cab Trucks: In the regular cab truck, the top tether
anchorages are located behind the
center and right passenger seats. There
is a plastic cover over each anchorage.
To attach the tether strap of the child restraint:

1. Place the child restraint on the seat and adjust the tether strap so that it will reach
over the seat back, under the head restraint
and to the tether anchor directly behind the
seat.

Regular Cab Tether Anchorages
2. Route the tether strap to provide the most
direct path between the anchorage and the
child seat. The tether strap should go between
the head restraint posts underneath the head
restraint. You may need to adjust the head
restraint to the upward position to pass the
tether strap underneath the head restraint
and between its posts.
3. Lift the cover (if so equipped), and attach the hook to the square opening in the sheet metal.
Tighten the tether strap according to the child
seat manufacturer’s instructions.
Crew Cab Trucks The top tether anchorages in this vehicle
are tether strap loops located between
the rear glass and the back of the rear
seat. There is a tether strap loop located
behind each seating position. Follow the steps
below to attach the tether strap of the child
restraint. Right Or Left Outboard Seats:

1. Raise the head restraint and reach between
the rear seat and rear glass to access the
tether strap loop.

Head Restraint In Raised Position
Tether Strap Loop With Center Head Restraint In Raised Position

1 — Tether Anchor
2 — Tether Strap Hook
3 — Tether Strap To Child Restraint
WARNING!
Never place a rear-facing child restraint in front
of an air bag. A deploying Passenger Front Air
Bag can cause death or serious injury to a child
12 years or younger, including a child in a
rear-facing child restraint.

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306SAFETY
3. Pass the tether strap hook under the head restraint behind the child seat, though the
tether strap loop behind the seat and over to
the right or left outboard tether strap loop.

Tether Strap Through Center Tether Strap Loop

4. Attach the hook to the outboard tether strap loop (see diagram). Tighten the tether strap
according to the child seat manufacturer’s
instructions.
Tether Strap Through Center Tether Strap Loop And
Attached To Outboard Tether Strap Loop

Installing Three Child Restraints:

1. Place a child restraint on each outboard rear seat. Route the tether straps following the
directions for right and left seating positions,
above.

2. Attach both hooks to the center tether strap loop, but do not tighten the straps yet.
3. Place a child restraint on the center rear seat. Route the tether strap following the directions
for the center seating position, above.
4. Attach the hook to the outboard tether strap loop. 5. Tighten the tether straps according to the child
seat manufacturer’s instructions, tightening
the right and left tether straps before the
center tether strap.

Outboard And Center Seating Positions Shown

WARNING!
An incorrectly anchored tether strap could
lead to increased head motion and possible
injury to the child. Use only the anchorage
position directly behind the child seat to
secure a child restraint top tether strap.
If your vehicle is equipped with a split rear
seat, make sure the tether strap does not slip
into the opening between the seatbacks as
you remove slack in the strap.

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