2007 KIA Optima Owner's Manual

Knowing your vehicle64
3 Just before impact, drivers often brake
heavily. Such heavy braking lowers the
front portion of the vehicle causing it to
“ride” under a vehicle with a higher
ground clearance. Air bags may not
inflate in this "under-ride" situation
because deceleration forces that are
detected by sensors may be signifi-
cantly altered by such “under-ride”col-
lisions. 
Air bags may not inflate in rollover acci-
dents because air bag deployment
would not provide proper protection to
the occupants.
However, side air bags may inflate
when the vehicle is rolled over by a
side impact collision, if the vehicle is
equipped with side air bags and cur-
tain air bags. 
Air bags may not inflate if the vehicle
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 trans-
mitted to the sensors.
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Knowing your vehicle
Air bag system operation Air bags only operate when the ignition
switch is turned to the ON or START
positions.
 Air bags inflate instantly in the event of
serious frontal or side collision (if
equipped with side air bag or curtain
air bag) in order to help protect the
occupants from serious physical injury.
 There is no single vehicle speed at
which the air bags will inflate.
 Air bag deployment depends on a
number of factors including vehicle
speed, angles of impact and the densi-
ty and stiffness of the vehicles or
objects which your vehicle hits in the
collision. However, factors are not limit-
ed to those mentioned above.
 The front air bags will completely
inflate and deflate in an instant.
It is impossible for you to see the air
bags inflate during an accident. It is
much more likely that you will simply
see the deflated air bags hanging out
of their storage compartments after the
collision. 
In order to help provide protection in a
severe collision, the air bags must
inflate rapidly. The speed of air bag
inflation is a consequence of the
extremely short time in which a collision
occurs and the need to get the air bag
between the occupant and the vehicle
structures before the occupant impacts
those structures. This speed of inflation
reduces the risk of serious or life-
threatening injuries in a severe collision
and is thus a necessary part of air bag
design.
However, air bag inflation can also
cause injuries which normally can
include facial abrasions, bruises and
broken bones, and sometimes more
serious injuries because the inflation
speed also causes the air bags to
expand with a great deal of force.
 There are even circumstances under which contact with the steer-
ing wheel air bag can cause fatal
injuries, especially if the occupant
is positioned excessively close to
the steering wheel.
WARNING -
Seated
positioning
 To avoid severe personal injury ordeath caused by deploying air
bags in a collision, the driver
should sit as far back from the
steering wheel air bag as possible
(at least 250 mm (10 inches) away).
The front passenger should
always move their seat as far back
as possible and sit back in their
seat.
 Air bag inflates instantly in an event of collision, passengers
may be injured by the air bag
expansion force if they are not in
proper position.
 Air bag inflation may cause injuries which normally include
facial or bodily abrasions, injuries
by the broken glasses or burns by
the explosives.

Knowing your vehicle66
3Noise and smokeWhen the air bags inflate, they make a
loud noise and they leave smoke and
powder in the air inside of the vehicle.
This is normal. After the air bag inflates,
you may feel substantial discomfort in
breathing due to the contact of your
chest to both the safety belt and the air
bag, as well as from breathing the smoke
and powder. We strongly urge you to
open your doors and/or windows as
soon as possible after impact in order
to reduce discomfort and prevent pro-
longed exposure to the smoke and
powder.
Though the smoke and powder are non-
toxic, it may cause irritation to the skin
(eyes, nose and throat etc.). Wash and
rinse with cold water immediately and
consult a doctor if symptoms persist.
Installing a child restraint on a
front passenger seat is extremely
dangerous and should never be
done.Never place a rear-facing child restraint
in the front passenger’ s seat. If the air
bag deploys, it would impact the rear-fac-
ing child restraint, causing severe or fatal
injuries.
In addition, do not place front-facing child
restraint in the front passenger’ s seat
either. If the front passenger air bag
inflates, it may cause severe or fatal
injuries to the child.
WARNING
- Hot air bag
parts
When the air bags deploy, the air
bag related parts in steering wheel
and/or instrument panel and/or in
both sides of the roof rails above
the front and rear doors are very
hot. To prevent injury, do not touch
the air bag storage area’s internal
components immediately after an
air bag has inflated.
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Knowing your vehicle
Air bag warning lightThe purpose of air bag warning light in
your instrument panel is to alert you of a
potential problem with your air bag -
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS).
When the ignition switch is turned ON,
the indicator light should blink or illumi-
nate for approximately 6 seconds, then
go off.
Have the system checked if:
The light does not turn on briefly when
you turn the ignition ON.
 The light stays on after the engine
starts.
 The light comes on while the vehicle is
in motion.
Air bag (Supplemental Restraint
System) service Your Supplemental Restraint System is
virtually maintenance-free. There are no
parts which you can service.
You must have the system serviced
under the following circumstances:
If an air bag ever inflates, the air bag
must be replaced. Do not try to remove
or discard the air bag by yourself. This
must be done by an authorized Kia
dealer.
 If the air bag warning indicator light
alerts you to a problem, have the air
bag system checked as soon as possi-
ble. Otherwise, your air bag system
may be ineffective.
WARNING
- Children
 Never put a child in the front pas-
senger seat, even if they are in a
child restraint. If the front passen-
ger air bag inflates, it may cause
severe or fatal injuries.
 When children are seated in the rear outboard seats in which cur-
tain air bags are equipped, be
sure to put the child restraint sys-
tem as far away from the door
side as possible, and secure the
child restraint system to be
locked in position.
AIR
BAG
CAUTION
- No modification
Do not modify any part of the air
bag system. Modification couldmake the air bag system ineffective or could cause unnecessarydeployment.

Knowing your vehicle68
3Repairing or scrapping the vehicle Repairing/replacing the steering
wheel, instrument panel, center con-
sole headliner/pillar trim, or modifying
vehicle sheet metal components could
disable the air bag system. Have such
repairs and maintenance performed by
an authorized Kia dealer.
 Special care must be taken in scrap-
ping or junking an air bag-equipped
vehicle. Always refer such activities to
a qualified professional.
WARNING
- No mainte-
nance or repair
 Do not work on the air bag sys-
tem’s components or wiring. This
could cause the air bags to inflate
inadvertently, possibly seriously
injuring someone. Working on the
system could also disable the
system so that the air bags would
not deploy in a collision.
 Any work on the air bag system, such as removing, installing, or
repairing the steering wheel must
be performed by a qualified Kia
technician. Improper handling of
the air bag system including the
steering wheel may result in seri-
ous personal injury or death.
Air bag warning labelAir bag warning labels are attached to alert driver and passengers of potential risk of
air bag system.
2
(if equipped)
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3
(if equipped)

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Knowing your vehicle
Outside the vehicleTo open the trunk, insert the key into
the lock and turn it to the right (clock-
wise).
 To close the trunk, use both hands to
push the trunk lid down. Check to see
if the trunk is completely shut.
Trunk room lampTrunk room lamp turns on when the trunk
is opened. It remains on until the trunk is
securely closed.✽ ✽
NOTICEMake sure to close the trunk securely. If
it remains open while engine is not run-
ning, it may cause battery discharge
because trunk room lamp remains on.
TRUNK (IF EQUIPPED)
WARNING
Engine exhaust and a wide variety
of automobile components and
parts, including components found
in the interior furnishings in a vehi-
cle, contain or emit chemicals
known to the State of California to
cause cancer and birth defects and
reproductive harm. In addition, cer-
tain fluids contained in vehicles
and certain products of component
wear contain or emit chemicals
known to the State of California to
cause cancer and birth defects or
other reproductive harm.
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Knowing your vehicle70
3Inside the vehicleTo open the trunk from inside the vehicle,
pull the trunk lid release lever.
Emergency trunk safety release
(if equipped)Your vehicle is equipped with an emer-
gency trunk release cable located inside
the trunk. The lever glows in the dark
when the trunk lid is closed. If someone
is inadvertently locked in the trunk,
pulling this handle will release the trunk
latch mechanism and open the trunk.
WARNING
- Exhaust
fumes
If you drive with the trunk lid open,
you will draw dangerous exhaust
fumes into your vehicle causing
serious injury or death to vehicle
occupants. Open trunk lids can also
dangerously obscure rear view
vision.
If you must drive with the trunk lid
open, keep the air vents open so
that additional outside air comes
into the vehicle.
WARNING
No one should be allowed to occu-
py the trunk of the vehicle at any
time. If the trunk is partially or total-
ly latched and the person is unable
to get out, severe injury or death
could occur due to lack of ventila-
tion, exhaust fumes and rapid heat
build-up, or because of exposure to
cold weather conditions. The trunk
is also a highly dangerous location
in the event of a crash because it is
not a protected occupant space but
merely a part of the vehicle’s crush
zone.
CAUTION
 If a person is locked in the trunk,
they can pull the emergencyrelease to open the trunk lid.
 We recommend that cars be kept locked and keys be kept out ofthe reach of children, and that parents teach their children aboutthe dangers of playing in trunks.
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Knowing your vehicle
Trunk lid lock knob (if equipped)If the trunk lid lock knob (located near the
latch) is in the “LOCK ( )”position
when the trunk lid is closed, it will not be
possible to open the trunk lid by using the
remote release. In this instance, use the
master key to unlock and open the trunk
lid. To allow the trunk lid to be opened
with the remote release, push the trunk
lid lock knob down, then to the opposite
direction of the “LOCK ( )”position.
Opening the hood:1. Pull the release lever on the lower left
side of the instrument panel to unlatch
the hood. The hood should pop open
slightly. 2. Go to the front of the vehicle, raise the
hood slightly, pull the secondary latch
(1) inside of the hood center and lift (2)
the hood.
3. Raise the hood. It will raise completely by itself after it has been raised about
halfway.
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