2011 Dodge Caliber Owner Manual - Page 80

78 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE Lower Anchors and Tether for CHildren (LATCH) Your vehicle is equipped with the child restraint anchorage system called LATCH, which stands for Lower Anchors and Tether for CHildren. The LATCH system provides for the installation of the child restraint without using the vehicle seat belt, instead securing the child restraint using lower anchorages and upper tether straps from the child restraint to the vehicle structure. LATCH-compatible child restraint systems are now available. However, because the lower anchorages are to be introduced over a period of years, child restraint systems having attachments for those anchorages will continue to have features for installation using the vehicle's seat belts. Child restraints having tether straps and hooks for connection to the top tether anchorages have been available for some time. For some older child restraints, many child restraint manufacturers offer add-on tether strap kits or retrofit kits. You are urged to take advantage of all the available attachments provided with your child restraint in any vehicle. Child seats with fixed lower attachments must be installed in the outboard positions only. If you are installing LATCH-compatible child restraints in adjacent rear seating positions, you can use the LATCH anchors or the vehicle's seat belt for the outboard position, but you must use the vehicle's seat belt at the center position. If your child restraints are not LATCH-compatible, you can only install the child restraints using the vehicle's seat belts. Please refer to "Installing The Child Restraint System" for typical installation instructions. WARNING! You should never install LATCH-compatible child seats so that two seats share a common anchorage. If installing seats in adjacent seating positions, or if your child restraints are not LATCH-compatible, install the restraints using the vehicle's seat belts.