2012 Chrysler 300 User Guide - Page 16

GETTING STARTED CHILD RESTRAINTS • Children 12 years and under 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. • Every state in the United States and all Canadian provinces require that small children ride in proper restraint systems. This is the law, and you can be prosecuted for ignoring it. Installing The LATCH-Compatible Child Restraint System • Your vehicle's second row passenger seats are equipped with the child restraint anchorage system called LATCH, which stands for Lower Anchors and Tether for CHildren. LATCH child restraint anchorage systems are installed at all three rear seating positions. • Both rear outboard seating positions and the rear center seating position have lower anchors and top tether anchors. • Child seats with flexible or fixed rigid attachments can be installed in all rear seating positions. Child seats can be installed using the LATCH system in either or both outboard seating positions or the center position, but not all three at the same time. If a child seat is installed in an outboard seating position using the lower anchors, then the vehicle seatbelt must be used for the center position. • Never install LATCH-compatible child seats such that two seats share a common lower anchorage. • The rear seat lower anchorages are round bars, located at the rear of the seat cushion where it meets the seatback. The rear seat lower anchors can be readily identified by the located on the seatback directly above the anchorages and are just visible symbol when you lean into the rear seat to install the child restraint. • In addition, there are tether strap anchorages behind each rear seating position located in the panel between the rear seatback and the rear window. These tether strap anchorages are under a plastic cover. • Loosen the child seat adjusters on the lower straps and tether straps so that you can attach the hook or connector to the lower and tether anchorages more easily. • Attach the lower hooks or connectors over the top of the seat cover material. • Then rotate the tether anchorage cover directly behind the seat where you are placing the child restrain and attach the tether strap to the anchorage, being careful to route the tether strap to provide the most direct path between the anchor and the child restrain. 14