2009 Dodge Nitro

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2007-11 models

Tested vehicle: 2008 Jeep Liberty Limited 4-door 4wd

The Jeep Liberty was redesigned for the 2008 model year. The Dodge Nitro was introduced in the 2007 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained well.

Smeared greasepaint indicates where the dummy's head brushed the dislodged headliner above the side curtain airbag during rebound. The head also contacted the airbag and head restraint.

Forces on the knee and lower left leg were high enough to indicate the possibility of injuries.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEF0724
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 4
Left (cm) 6
Center (cm) 12
Right (cm) 5
Brake pedal (cm) 6
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 1
Right (cm) 2
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 9
Rearward (cm) -1
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 0

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEF0724
Head
HIC-15 269
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm) 11
Maximum Nij 0.26
Chest maximum compression (mm) 42
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 4.6
Femur force - right (kN) 4.3
Knee displacement - left (mm) 15
Knee displacement - right (mm) 9
Maximum tibia index - left 0.92
Maximum tibia index - right 0.61
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.0
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 3.4
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 102
Right 66

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2007-11 models

Tested vehicle: 2008 Jeep Liberty Limited 4-door 4wd with standard front and rear head curtain airbags

The Jeep Liberty was redesigned for the 2008 model year. The Dodge Nitro was introduced in the 2007 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbag and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES0743
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -6.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID CES0743
Head HIC-15 148
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.6
Compression (kN) 0.1
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 34
Lateral force (kN) 1.8
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 65
Average deflection (mm) 48
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 8.11
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 2.30
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.8
Acetabulum force (kN) 3.1
Combined force (kN) 4.9
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.5
L-M moment (Nm) 52
A-P moment (Nm) 46

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CES0743
Head HIC-15 98
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.2
Compression (kN) 0.5
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 30
Lateral force (kN) 1.7
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 35
Average deflection (mm) 27
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.16
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.63
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 2.2
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.8
Combined force (kN) 4.7
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.1
L-M moment (Nm) 54
A-P moment (Nm) -30

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2007-11 models

Tested vehicle: 2010 Jeep Liberty Limited 4-door 4wd

Overall evaluation
Curb weight 4,245 lbs
Peak force 21,073 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio 4.96

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: All seats (except R/T models)

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type All seats (except R/T models)
Geometry
Backset (mm) 40
Distance below top of head (mm) 50
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Fail
Max T1 acceleration (g) 11.3
Head contact time (ms) 85
Force rating 3
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 234
Max neck tension (N) 737

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.