2006 KIA PICANTO airbag

Knowing your vehicle
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Why didn’t my airbag go off in a collision?
(Inflation and non-inflation condi-
tions of the airbag)
There are many types of accidents in
which the airbag would not be
expected to provide additional pro-tection.
These include rear impacts, second
or third collisions in multiple impact
accidents, as well as low speed
impacts. In other words, just because
your vehicle is damaged and even if
it is totally unusable, don’t be sur-
prised that the airbags did not inflate.
Airbag collision sensors
➀ SRS control module
➁ Side impact sensor (if equipped)
1SAE2058/1SAA2052/1SAA2053
➀➁

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Knowing your vehicle
Airbag inflation condition
Front airbag
Front airbags (driver’s and front pas-
senger’s airbags) are designed to
inflate when the impact is deliveredto front collision sensors depending
on the intensity, speed or angles of
impact of the front collision - general-ly from an area a little to the left to a
little to the right of straight ahead.
WARNING
 Do not hit or allow any objects to impact the locations where
airbag or sensors are installed.
This may cause unexpected
airbag deployment, whichcould result in serious per-
sonal injury or death.
 If the installation location or angle of the sensors is altered
in any way, the airbags may
deploy when they should not
or they may not deploy when
they should, causing severe
injury or death.
Therefore, do not try to per-
form maintenance on or
around the airbag sensors.
Have the vehicle checked and
repaired by the authorized Kia
dealer.
(Continued)(Continued)
 Problems may arise if the sen-sor installation angles are
changed due to the deforma-
tion of front bumper, body or Bpillar where side collision sen-
sors are installed. Have the
vehicle checked and repaired
by the authorized Kia dealer.
 Your vehicle has been designed to absorb impact
and deploy the airbag(s) in
certain collisions. Installing
aftermarket bumper guards or
replacing a bumper with non-
genuine parts may adversely
affect your vehicles collision
and airbag deployment per-
formance.
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Side airbags (if equipped) Side airbags are designed to inflate
when the impact is delivered to sidecollision sensors depending on thestrength, speed or angles of impactof side impact collision. Although the front airbags (driver’s
and front passenger’s airbags) aredesigned to inflate only in frontal col-
lision, it may inflate in any collision if
front impact sensors are delivered
with certain impact. Side airbags are designed to inflate
only in side impact collision, it may
inflate in any collision if side impact
sensors are delivered with certainimpact.
In other words, they may inflate inaccidents such as slant collision orimpact, collision or impact where the
front portion of the vehicle goes
under a vehicle with a higher ground
clearance (bus or truck), collision
with a utility pole or rollover.
Therefore, drive safely at all times.
If the vehicle chassis is impacted by
bumps or objects on unimproved
roads or sidewalks, airbags may
deploy. Drive carefully on unim-
proved roads or on surfaces not
designed for vehicle traffic.
To protect occupants, front airbags
or pre-tensioner seat belts may
deploy in certain side impact colli-
sions.
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Airbag non-inflation conditions
 In collisions, the vehicle safetybelts are sufficient to protect the
vehicle occupants and the airbags
may not deploy. In some cases,
deploying airbags in low-speed
collisions can cause a secondary
impact to the occupants (light abra-
sions, cuts, burns, etc.), or loss of
vehicle control.  Airbags may not inflate in rear col-
lisions, because occupants are
moved backward by the force of
the impact. In this case, the
airbags do not provide proper pro-tection.  Front airbags may not inflate in
side impact collision, because
occupants move to the direction ofthe collision, and thus front airbag
deployment does not provide prop-er protection.
However, side airbags (if
equipped) may inflate depending
on the intensity, vehicle speed andangles of impact.
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 In a slant impact or collision, The
force delivered will be relatively
weaker than that of frontal colli-
sion. So, the airbags may not
inflate.  At the moment of an accident, driv-
ers brake heavily with reflex. In
such heavy braking, the front por-
tion of the vehicle is lowered by the
force of the braking and the vehicle
can go under a vehicle with a high-
er ground clearance. Airbags maynot inflate in this situation because
impacts may not be delivered or
may be delivered with less intensi-
ty.  Airbags may not inflate in rollover
accidents because airbag deploy-
ment would not provide proper pro-
tection to the occupants.
However, side airbags may inflate when the vehicle is rolled over by a
side impact collision, if the vehicle
is equipped with side airbags.
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 Airbags may not inflate if the vehi-cle collides with objects such as
utility poles or trees, where the
point of impact is concentrated to
one area and the full force of the
impact is not delivered to the sen-
sors. How does the airbag system operate
 Airbag only operates when the
ignition switch is turned to ON or
START position.
 Airbags inflate instantly in the event of serious frontal or side col-lision (if equipped with side airbag)in order to help protect the occu-
pants from serious physical injury.
 There is no single speed at which the airbags will inflate.
Generally, airbags are designed to
inflate by the severity of a collision
and its direction. These two factors
determine whether the sensors
send out an electronic deploy-ment/inflation signal.  Airbag deployment depends on a
number of factors including vehiclespeed, angles of impact and the
density and stiffness of the vehi-
cles or objects which your vehicle
hits in the collision. Though, factorsare not limited to those mentioned
above.
 The front airbags will completely inflate and deflate in an instant.
It is virtually impossible for you to
see the airbags inflate during an
accident. It is much more likely that
you will simply see the deflatedairbags hanging out of their stor-
age compartments after the colli-sion.
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 In order to help provide protection
in a severe collision, the airbags
must inflate rapidly. The speed of
airbag inflation reduces the likeli-
hood of serious or life-threatening
injuries and is thus a mandatory
part of the airbag design.
However, airbag inflation can also
cause injuries which normally can
include facial abrasions, bruises
and broken bones, because thatspeed also causes the airbags to
expand with a great deal force.
 There are even circumstances under which contact with the
steering wheel airbag can cause
fatal injuries, especially if the
occupant is positioned exces-
sively close to the steeringwheel. Noise and smoke
When the airbags inflate, they make
a loud noise and they leave smoke
and powder in the air inside of the
vehicle. This is normal and is a result
of the ignition of the airbag inflator.
After the airbag inflates, you may feel
substantial discomfort in breathing
due to the contact of your chest to
both the safety belt and the airbag,
as well as from breathing the smoke
and powder.
We strongly urge you
to open your doors and/or win-
dows as soon as possible after
impact in order to reduce discom-
fort and prevent prolonged expo-
sure to the smoke and powder.
Though smoke and powder are non-
toxic, it may cause irritation to the
skin (eyes, nose and throat etc). If
this is the case, wash and rinse with
the cold water immediately and con-sult the doctor if the symptom per-
sists.WARNING
 Driver should sit as far back (at least 250 mm (10 inches)
away) from the steering wheel
airbag as possible to reduce
the risk of injury or death in a
collision. The front passenger
should always move their seat
as far back as possible and sit
back in their seat.
 Airbag inflates instantly in an event of collision, passengers
may be injured by the airbag
expansion force if they are not
in proper position.
 Airbag inflation may cause injuries which normally
include facial or bodily abra-
sions, injuries by the broken
glasses or burns by the explo-sives.

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Installing a child restraint on a
front passenger seat is forbid-den.
Never place a rear-facing child
restraint in the front passenger seat.
If the airbag deploys, it would impact
the rear-facing child restraint, caus-
ing serious or fatal injury.
In addition, do not place front-facing
child restraint in the front passenger
seat either. If the front passenger
airbag inflates, it would cause seri-
ous or fatal injuries to the improperly
positioned or improperly restrainedchild.
WARNING
Never put child restraint in the
front passenger seat. If the front
passenger airbag inflates, it
would cause serious or fatalinjuries.WARNING
When the airbags deploy, the
airbag related parts in steeringwheel and/or instrument paneland/or in the outer sides of the
front seats are very hot. To pre-
vent injury, do not touch the
airbag storage areas internal
components immediately after
an airbag has inflated.
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