2009 Dodge Grand Caravan Owner's Manual - Page 88

86 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE of reach of children. It is recommended that before installing the child restraint, buckle the seat belt so the seat belt is tucked behind the child restraint and out of reach. If the buckled seat belt interferes with the child restraint installation, instead of tucking the seat belt behind the child restraint, route the seat belt through the child restraint belt path and then buckle it. This should stow the seat belt out of the reach of an inquisitive child. Remind all children in the vehicle that the seat belts are not toys and should not be played with, and never leave your child unattended in the vehicle. • If your child restraint seat is not LATCH-compatible, install the restraint using the vehicle seat belts. Installing the Child Restraint Using the Vehicle Seat Belts The seat belts in the passenger seating positions are equipped with either an 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 will make a ratcheting noise if you extract the entire belt from the retractor and then allow the belt to retract into the retractor. For additional information on ALR, refer to "Automatic Locking Mode" in this section. To install a child restraint, first, pull enough of the seat belt webbing from the retractor to route it through the belt path of the child restraint and slide the latch plate into the buckle. Next, extract all the seat belt webbing out of the retractor and then allow the belt to retract into the retractor. Finally, pull on any excess webbing to tighten the lap portion around the child restraint. Any seat belt system will loosen with time, so check the belt occasionally, and pull it tight if necessary.