276SAFETY
IMPORTANT SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
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.
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 ride buckled up in the rear seat of a
vehicle with a rear seat.
2. A child who is not big enough to wear the vehicle seat belt properly must be secured in
the appropriate child restraint or
belt-positioning booster seat in a rear seating
position Ú page 291.
3. If a child from 2 to 12 years old (not in a rear-facing child restraint) must ride in the
front passenger seat, move the seat as far
back as possible and use the proper child
restraint Ú page 291.
4. Never allow children to slide the shoulder belt behind them or under their arm.
5. You should read the instructions provided with your child restraint to make sure that you are
using it properly.
6. All occupants should always wear their lap and shoulder belts properly. 7. The driver and front passenger seats should
be moved back as far as practical to allow the
front air bags room to inflate.
8. 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 occupants and the
door and occupants could be injured.
9. If the air bag system in this vehicle needs to be modified to accommodate a disabled person,
see Úpage 409 for customer service contact
information.
SEAT BELT SYSTEMS
Buckle up even though you are an excellent driver,
even on short trips. Someone on the road may be a poor driver and could 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.
Enhanced Seat Belt Use Reminder System
(BeltAlert)
Driver And Passenger BeltAlert — If Equipped
BeltAlert is a feature intended to remind
the driver and outboard front seat
passenger (if equipped with outboard
front passenger seat BeltAlert) to buckle
their seat belts. The BeltAlert feature is active
whenever the ignition switch is in the START or ON/
RUN position.
Initial Indication
If the driver is unbuckled when the ignition switch
is first in the START or ON/RUN position, a chime
will signal for a few seconds. If the driver or
outboard front seat passenger (if equipped with
outboard front passenger seat BeltAlert) is
unbuckled when the ignition switch is first in the
START or ON/RUN position the Seat Belt Reminder 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.
22_DPF_OM_EN_USC_t.book Page 276
SAFETY277
(Continued)
Light will turn on and remain on until both outboard
front seat belts are buckled. The outboard front
passenger seat BeltAlert is not active when an
outboard front passenger seat is unoccupied.
BeltAlert Warning Sequence
The BeltAlert warning sequence is activated when
the vehicle is moving above a specified vehicle
speed range and the driver or outboard front seat
passenger is unbuckled (if equipped with outboard
front passenger seat BeltAlert) (the outboard front
passenger seat BeltAlert is not active when the
outboard front passenger seat is unoccupied). The
BeltAlert warning sequence starts by blinking the
Seat Belt Reminder Light and sounding an
intermittent chime. Once the BeltAlert warning
sequence has completed, the Seat Belt Reminder
Light will remain on until the seat belts are
buckled. The BeltAlert warning sequence may
repeat based on vehicle speed until the driver and
occupied outboard front seat passenger seat belts
are buckled. The driver should instruct all
occupants to buckle their seat belts.
Change Of Status
If the driver or outboard front seat passenger (if
equipped with outboard front passenger seat
BeltAlert) unbuckles their seat belt while the
vehicle is traveling, the BeltAlert warning sequence
will begin until the seat belts are buckled again.
The outboard front passenger seat BeltAlert is not
active when the outboard front passenger seat is unoccupied. BeltAlert may be triggered when an
animal or other items are placed on the outboard
front passenger seat or when the seat is folded flat
(if equipped). It is recommended that pets be
restrained in the rear seat (if equipped) in pet
harnesses or pet carriers that are secured by seat
belts, and cargo is properly stowed.
BeltAlert can be activated or deactivated by an
authorized dealer. FCA US LLC does not
recommend deactivating BeltAlert.
NOTE:If BeltAlert has been deactivated and the driver or
outboard front seat passenger (if equipped with
outboard front passenger seat BeltAlert) is
unbuckled the Seat Belt Reminder Light will turn
on and remain on until the driver and outboard
front seat passenger seat belts are buckled.
Lap/Shoulder Belts
All seating positions except the Crew Cab front
center seating position have combination lap/
shoulder belts.
The seat belt webbing retractor will lock only during
very sudden stops or collisions. This feature allows
the shoulder part of the seat belt to move freely
with you under normal conditions. However, in a
collision the seat belt will lock and reduce your risk
of striking the inside of the vehicle or being thrown
out of the vehicle.
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 belt even
though you have air bags.
In a collision, you and your passengers can
suffer much greater injuries if you are not
properly buckled up. You can strike the inte
-
rior 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.
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 seri -
ously injured or killed.
Do not allow people to ride in any area of your
vehicle that is not equipped with seats and
seat belts.
6
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SAFETY283
Switchable Automatic Locking Retractors
(ALR) — If Equipped
The seat belts in the passenger seating positions
may be equipped with a Switchable Automatic
Locking Retractor (ALR) which is used to secure a
child restraint system Ú page 300.
The figures below illustrate the locking feature for
each seating position.
Regular Cab Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) Locations Crew Cab Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) Locations
If the passenger seating position is equipped with
an ALR and is being used for normal usage, only
pull the seat belt webbing out far enough to
comfortably wrap around the occupant’s
mid-section so as to not activate the ALR. If the ALR
is activated, you will hear a clicking sound as the
seat belt retracts. Allow the webbing to retract
completely in this case and then carefully pull out
only the amount of webbing necessary to
comfortably wrap around the occupant’s
mid-section. Slide the latch plate into the buckle
until you hear a "click."
In Automatic Locking Mode, the shoulder belt is
automatically pre-locked. The seat belt will still
retract to remove any slack in the shoulder belt.
Use the Automatic Locking Mode anytime a child restraint is installed in a seating position that has
a seat belt with this feature. Children 12 years old
and under should always be properly restrained in
the rear seat of a vehicle with a rear seat.
How To Engage The Automatic Locking Mode
1. Buckle the combination lap and shoulder
belt.
2. Grab the shoulder portion and pull downward until the entire seat belt is extracted.
3. Allow the seat belt to retract. As the seat belt retracts, you will hear a clicking sound. This
indicates the seat belt is now in the Automatic
Locking Mode.
ALR — Switchable Automatic Locking Retractor
ALR — Switchable Automatic Locking Retractor
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.
6
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SAFETY291
Maintaining Your Air Bag System Event Data Recorder (EDR)
This vehicle is equipped with an event data recorder
(EDR). The main purpose of an EDR is to record, in
certain crash or near crash-like situations, such as
an air bag deployment or hitting a road obstacle,
data that will assist in understanding how a
vehicle’s systems performed. The EDR is designed
to record data related to vehicle dynamics and
safety systems for a short period of time, typically
30 seconds or less. The EDR in this vehicle is
designed to record such data as:
How various systems in your vehicle were oper -
ating;
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 condi -
tions and no personal data (e.g., name, gender, age,
and crash location) are recorded. However, other
parties, such as law enforcement, 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 equipment,
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 at
all times, including babies and children. Every
state in the United States, and every Canadian
province, requires 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.
WARNING!
Modifications to any part of the air bag system
could cause it to fail when you need it. You
could be injured if the air bag system is not
there to protect you. Do not modify the compo
-
nents or wiring, including adding any kind of
badges or stickers to the steering wheel hub
trim cover or the upper passenger side of the
instrument panel. Do not modify the front
fascia/bumper, vehicle body structure, or add
aftermarket side steps or running boards.
It is dangerous to try to repair any part of the air
bag system yourself. Be sure to tell anyone who
works on your vehicle that it has an air bag
system.
Do not attempt to modify any part of your air
bag system. The air bag may inflate accidentally
or may not function properly if modifications are
made. Take your vehicle to an authorized dealer
for any air bag system service. If your seat,
including your trim cover and cushion, needs to
be serviced in any way (including removal or
loosening/tightening of seat attachment bolts),
take the vehicle to an authorized dealer. Only
manufacturer approved seat accessories may
be used. If it is necessary to modify the air bag
system for persons with disabilities, contact an
authorized dealer.
WARNING!
In a collision, an unrestrained child can become
a projectile inside the vehicle. The force required
to hold even an infant on your lap could become
so great that you could not hold the child, no
matter how strong you are. The child and others
could be badly injured or killed. Any child riding
in your vehicle should be in a proper restraint for
the child’s size.
6
22_DPF_OM_EN_USC_t.book Page 291
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.
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