2006 KIA Sorento warning

Front passenger’s airbag
Front passenger’s airbag is stored in
the instrument panel on the glove
box.
Since you cannot anticipate which
airbags will deploy or from what
direction, never put any objects or
ornaments on the instrument panel.Occupant classification system
The occupant classification system
detects the presence of a passenger
in the front passenger's seat and will
turn off the front passenger's airbag
under certain conditions.
The occupant classification system is
designed to detect the presence of a
properly-seated occupant and deter-
mine if the front passenger's airbag
should be enabled (may inflate) or
not.
Only the front passenger front airbag
is controlled by the Occupant
Classification System.
KNOWING YOUR VEHICLE
3-49
WARNING
 You must always sit as far
back from the steering wheel
airbag as possible (chest at
least 10 inches (250 mm) away
from the steering wheel),
while still maintaining a com-
fortable seating position for
good vehicle control, in order
to reduce the risk of injury or
death in a collision.
 Never place objects over the
airbag storage compartments
or between the airbags and
yourself. Due to the speed and
force of the airbag inflation,
such objects could hit your
body at high speed and cause
severe bodily injury and even
death.
 Do not put stickers or orna-
ments on the steering wheel
cover. These may interfere
with the deployment of the
airbag.
SRSAIRBAG
5BLA002HLZ208
5BLA370
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Main components of Occupant
Classification System
A detection device located within
the front passenger seat cushion.
Electronic system to determine
whether passenger airbag system
should be activated or deactivated.
A warning light located on the
instrument panel which illuminates
the words "PASSENGER AIRBAG
OFF" passenger airbag system is
deactivated.
The instrument panel airbag warn-
ing light is interconnected with the
occupant classification system.If there is no passenger in the front
passenger seat or if the passenger in
the front passenger seat is very light,
(such as a child), the front PASSEN-
GER AIRBAG OFFindicator may illu-
minate.
When this indicator is ON, the front
passenger airbag will not deploy.Always be sure that you and all vehi-
cle occupants are seated and
restrained properly (sitting upright
with the seat in an upright position,
centered on the seat cushion, with
the person's legs comfortably extend-
ed, feet on the floor, and wearing the
safety belt properly) for the most
effective protection by the airbag and
the safety belt.
The OCS may not function proper-
ly if the passenger takes actions
which can defeat the detection sys-
tem. These include:
(1) Failing to sit in an upright position.
(2) Leaning against the door or cen-
ter console.
(3) Sitting towards the sides or the
front of the seat.
(4) Putting legs on the dashboard or
resting them on other locations
which reduce the passenger
weight on the front seat.
(5) Improperly wearing the safety
belt.
(6) Reclining the seat back.KNOWING YOUR VEHICLE3-50
AUTO
AUTO AMB
OFF TEMPMODE
AMB
A/C
A/C
H
M
L
R
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF
5BLA450
The location of OCS
warning indicator
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The "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF"
indicator illuminates after the igni-
tion key is turned to the "ON" posi-
tion or after the engine is started. If
the front passenger seat is unoccu-
pied or is occupied by very small
person, or is occupied by someone
who is improperly seated, the
"PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" indi-
cator will remain illuminated. If the
front passenger seat is occupied by
someone of adult size and body
shape, the "PASSENGER AIRBAG
OFF" indicator will turn off after 6
seconds.
If the "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF"
indicator illuminates, the front pas-
senger airbag will not deploy in
either a side or frontal collision.
If the "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF"
indicator is not illuminated, the front
passenger airbag may deploy in
frontal collision.
KNOWING YOUR VEHICLE
3-51
CAUTION
If the "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" indicator illuminates or blinks con-
tinuously when a person of adult size sits in the front passenger's
seat , it could be because that person isn't sitting properly in the
seat.If this happens, turn the vehicle off, make sure the seat back is
not reclined, have the passenger center on the seat cushion, with legs
comfortably extended, and the safety belt properly positioned. Restart
the vehicle and have the person remain in this position long enough
to allow the system to detect the person and activate the passenger
airbag.Condition and operation in the front passenger occupant
classification systemCondition detected by
the occupant classifi-
cation system
1. Adult *
1
2. Child*
2or child
restraint system
3. Unoccupied Off
On
OnOff
Off
OffActivated
Deactivated
Deactivated
"PASSENGER AIRBAG
OFF" indicator light
SRS warning lightFront passenger front
airbag and front
passenger side airbag Indicator/Warning light Devices
*1The system detects a person who is generally adult size as an adult, thus allowing the pas-
senger airbag to deploy. When a smaller adult sits in the front passenger seat, the system may
detect their body shape as that of a child, thus preventing airbag deployment.
*2When a larger child who has outgrown a child restraint system sits in the front passenger seat,
the system may recognize him/her as an adult depending on his/her body shape or seating
position, thus permitting airbag deployment.
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KNOWING YOUR VEHICLE3-52
WARNING
If the front passenger seat
should be modified for persons
with disabilities that may affect
the operation of the occupant
classification system, contact
an authorized Kia dealer.
WARNING
 Even though your vehicle is
equipped with the occupant
classification system, do not
install a child restraint system
in the front passenger seat.
The child could be severely
injured or killed if the airbag
deploys. Children are afford-
ed the most protection in the
event of an accident when
they are restrained by the
proper restraint system in the
rear seat.
(Continued)
(Continued)
 If the "PASSENGER AIRBAG
OFF" indicator is illuminated
when the front passenger's
seat is occupied by a person of
adult size who is seated prop-
erly, or if the "PASSENGER
AIRBAG OFF" indicator is not
illuminated when the front pas-
senger's seat is unoccupied or
occupied by a very small per-
son, the occupant classifica-
tion system is not working
properly. Have your vehicle
immediately inspected by your
Kia dealer if the occupant clas-
sification system is not work-
ing properly.
(Continued)
CAUTION
If the occupant classification
system is not working properly,
the airbag warning light ( ) on
the instrument panel will illumi-
nate. If there is a malfunction of
the occupant classification sys-
tem, the "PASSENGER AIRBAG
OFF" indicator will illuminate
and the front passenger's
airbag will not deploy in frontal
crashes even if there is an adult
sized occupant in the front pas-
senger seat. If the SRS airbag
warning light does not illumi-
nate when the ignition key is
turned to "ON" position, if it
remains illuminated after blink-
ing for approximately six sec-
onds, or if it illuminates while
the vehicle is being driven, have
an authorized Kia dealer
inspect the occupant classifica-
tion system with the SRS airbag
system as soon as possible.
BL-ENG (CAN)-3.qxd 7/28/05 5:52 PM Page 52

Curtain airbag
Curtain airbags are located along
both sides of the roof rails above the
front and rear doors.
They are designed to help protect the
heads of the front seat occupants and
the rear outboard seat occupants in
certain side impact collisions.
KNOWING YOUR VEHICLE
3-55
S
R
SAIRBAG
5BLD320/5BLA371
S2BLA351
SRSAIRBAG
(Continued)
 Never allow front passenger to
put their hands, feet or face on
or close to the instrument
panel. In the event of airbag
deployment, such a misposi-
tioned occupant would be like-
ly to suffer severe injury or
death.
 Never allow children, pregnant
women or weak persons to sit
in the front passenger seat. Do
not put child restraint system
on the front passenger's seat
either. They may be seriously
injured by the airbag inflation
when airbag deploys.
 Do not put objects or stickers
on the instrument panel. Do
not apply any accessory to the
front windshield. Do not install
aftermarket mirrors or acces-
sories on the factory-installed
rearview mirror. Any of these
could interfere with the
deployment of the airbag or
could hit your body at high
speed and cause severe bodi-
ly injury and even death.
WARNING
 The front seat passenger
airbag is much larger than the
steering wheel airbag and
inflates with considerably more
force. It can seriously hurt or
kill a passenger who is not in
the proper position and wear-
ing the safety belt properly. The
front passengers should
always move their seat as far
back as practical and sit back
in their seat.
 It is essential that the front pas-
senger always wears their safe-
ty belts, even when the vehicle
is moving in a parking lot or up
a driveway into garage.
 If the driver brakes the vehicle
heavily prior to an impact,
unbelted occupants will be
thrown forward. If the front pas-
senger is not wearing the safe-
ty belts, they will be directly in
front of the storage compart-
ment when deployment occurs.
In that situation, serious injury
or death is possible.
(Continued)
BL-ENG (CAN)-3.qxd 7/28/05 5:52 PM Page 55

If the curtain airbag deploys, it
remains inflated for approximately
3 seconds. The curtain airbag
deployment occurs only on the side
of the vehicle affected by the
impact.
The curtain airbags are not
designed to deploy during colli-
sions from the front or rear of the
vehicle or in most rollover situa-
tions.
The curtain airbags are designed to
deploy only during certain side-
impact collisions, depending on the
crash severity, angle, speed and
impact. The curtain airbags are not
designed to deploy in all side
impact situations.KNOWING YOUR VEHICLE3-56
WARNING
 In order for the curtain airbags
to provide its best protection,
both front seat occupants and
both outboard rear occupants
should sit in an upright posi-
tion with the safety belts prop-
erly fastened. Especially, chil-
dren should sit in a proper
child restraint system.
 When children are seated in
the rear outboard seats, they
must be seated in the proper
child restraint system. Make
sure to put the child restraint
system as far away from the
door side as possible, and
secure the child restraint sys-
tem to be locked in position.
(Continued)
(Continued)
 Do not allow the passengers
to lean their heads or bodies
onto doors, put their arms on
the doors, stretch their arms
out of the window, or place
objects between the doors and
passengers when they are
seated on the seats where cur-
tain airbags are equipped.
 Never try to open or repair any
components of the curtain
airbag system. This should be
done only by an authorized
Kia dealer.
Failure to follow the above men-
tioned instructions can result in
injury or death to the vehicle
occupants in an accident.
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Airbag inflation condition
Front airbag
Front airbags (driver’s and front pas-
senger’s airbags) are designed to
inflate when the impact is delivered to
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.
KNOWING YOUR VEHICLE3-58
WARNING
 Do not hit or allow any objects
to impact the locations where
airbag or sensors are installed.
This may cause unexpected
airbag deployment, which
could 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
B pillar where side collision
sensors 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.
5BLA2061
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How does the airbag system
operate
Airbag only operates when the igni-
tion switch is turned to ON or
START position.
Airbags inflate instantly in the event
of serious frontal or side collision in
order to help protect the occupants
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 vehicle
speed, angles of impact and the
density and stiffness of the vehicles
or objects which your vehicle hits in
the collision. Though, factors are
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 deflated
airbags hanging out of their storage
compartments after the collision.
In order to help provide protection in
a severe collision, the airbags must
inflate rapidly. The speed of airbag
inflation has been determined by the
Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards (CMVSS) to reduce the
likelihood of serious or life-threaten-
ing 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 that
speed 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 steering
wheel.KNOWING YOUR VEHICLE3-62
WARNING
 Driver should sit as far back
(at least 10 inches (250 mm)
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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