2008 KIA Optima belt

357
Knowing your vehicle
✽ ✽
NOTICE• If luggage or other objects are placed
on the front passenger's seat or if the
temperature of the seat changes while
the seat is unoccupied, the "PASSEN-
GER AIR BAG OFF" indicator may
blink. These conditions do not indi-
cate a problem.
• Do not put heavy objects on the front
passenger's seat. This may cause front
passenger air bag deployment in the
event of an accident, thus increasing
your repair costs.
(Continued)
Kia does not endorse nor will it
support any changes to any part
or structure of the vehicle that
could affect the advanced air bag
system, including the occupant
classification system.
Specifically, the front passenger
seat, dashboard or door should
not be replaced except by an
authorized Kia dealer using origi-
nal Kia parts designed for this
vehicle and model. Any other
such replacement or modification
could adversely affect the opera-
tion of the occupant classification
system and your advanced air
bags.
For the same reason, do not
attach anything to the seat, dash-
board or door, even temporarily. If
the system is adversely affected,
it could cause severe personal
injuries or death in a collision.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Do not place sharp objects on the
front passenger seat. These can
damage the occupant classifica-
tion system, if they puncture the
seat cushion.
Do not install accessory seat cov-
ers on the front seats, since these
will interfere with proper sensor
operation.
WARNING
The front seat passenger’s air bag
is much larger than the steering
wheel air bag and inflates with
considerably more force. It can
seriously hurt or kill a passenger
who is not in the proper position
and wearing the safety belt prop-
erly. 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-
sengers always wear their safety
belts when vehicle is in motion,
even when the vehicle is moving
in a parking lot or up a driveway
into garage.
If the driver brakes the vehicle
heavily in urgent situations, occu-
pants will be thrown forward. If
front passengers are not wearing
the safety belts, they will be
directly in front of the air bags
when inflation occurs. In that sit-
uation, severe injury or death is
possible.
(Continued)

359
Knowing your vehicle
Curtain air bag (if equipped)Curtain air bags 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.
The curtain air bag deployment occurs
only on the side of the vehicle affected
by the impact. The side air bags (side and/or curtain
air bags) are not designed to deploy in
collisions from the front or rear of the
vehicle or in most rollover situations.
The curtain air bags are designed to
deploy only in certain side-impact colli-
sions, depending on the crash severity,
angle, speed and impact.
WARNING
In order for side air bags (side
and curtain air bags) to provide
its best protection, both front seat
occupants and both outboard
rear occupants should sit in an
upright position with the seat
belts properly fastened.
Importantly, children should sit in
a proper child restraint system in
the rear seat.
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 possi-
ble, and secure the child restraint
system in a locked 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 passen-
gers when they are seated on
seats equipped with side air
bags.
Never try to open or repair any
components of the side curtain
air bag system. This should only
be done by an authorized Kia
dealer.
If a small child is seated on the
rear outboard seat cushion, it is
probable that they will below the
deployment level of the side cur-
tain air bag and thus not protect-
ed by that air bag.
Failure to follow the above men-
tioned instructions can result in
injury or death to the vehicle occu-
pants in an accident.
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Knowing your vehicle62 3Side air bags (if equipped)
Side air bags (side and/or curtain air
bags) are designed to inflate when an
impact is detected by side collision sen-
sors depending on the strength, speed or
angles of impact of side impact of side
impact collision or rollover.Although the front air bags (driver’s and
front passenger’s air bags) are designed
to inflate only in frontal collision, it may
inflate in any collision if front impact sen-
sors detect a sufficient impact. Side air
bags (side and/or curtain air bags) are
designed to inflate only in side impact
collision, it may inflate in any collision if
side impact sensors detect a sufficient
impact.
If the vehicle chassis is impacted by
bumps or objects on unimproved roads
or sidewalks, air bags may deploy. Drive
carefully on unimproved roads or on sur-
faces not designed for vehicle traffic to
prevent unintended air bag deployment.
To protect occupants, front air bags and
pre-tensioner seat belts may deploy in
certain side impact collisions.
Air bag non-inflation conditions In certain low-speed collisions the air
bags may not deploy. The air bags are
designed not to deploy in such cases
because the risk of injuries which can
be caused by the air bags exceeds the
benefits they provide in protecting
occupants.
1JBA35141JBA3900
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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.Neverplace 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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Driving your vehicle16 4Power steering (if equipped)Power steering uses energy from the
engine to assist you in steering the vehi-
cle. If the engine is off or if the power
steering system becomes inoperative,
the vehicle may still be steered, but it will
require increased steering effort.
Should you notice any change in the
effort required to steer during normal
vehicle operation, have the power steer-
ing checked by an authorized Kia dealer.✽ ✽
NOTICE• Never hold the steering wheel against
a stop (extreme right or left turn) for
more than 5 seconds with the engine
running. Holding the steering wheel
for more than 5 seconds in either posi-
tion may cause damage to the power
steering pump.
• If the power steering drive belt breaks
or if the power steering pump mal-
functions, the steering effort will
greatly increase.
✽ ✽
NOTICEIf the vehicle is parked for extended
periods outside in cold weather (below -
10 °C/14 °F), the power steering may
require increased effort when the engine
is first started. This is caused by
increased fluid viscosity due to the cold
weather and does not indicate a mal-
function.
When this happens, increase the engine
RPM by depressing the accelerator until
the RPM reaches 1,500 rpm then release
or let the engine idle for two or three
minutes to warm up the fluid.
Tilt and telescopic steering
(if equipped)A tilt and telescopic steering wheel
allows you to adjust the steering wheel
before you drive. You can also raise it to
the highest level to give your legs more
room when you exit and enter the vehi-
cle.
The steering wheel should be positioned
so that it is comfortable for you to drive,
while permitting you to see the instru-
ment panel warning lights and gauges.
STEERING WHEEL
WARNING -
Steering wheel
Never adjust the angle of steering
wheel while driving. You may lose
your steering control and cause
severe personal injury or acci-
dents.
After adjusting, push the steering
wheel both up and down to be
certain it is locked in position.

431
Driving your vehicle
Charging system
warning This warning light indicates a malfunction
of either the generator or electrical
charging system.
If the warning light comes on while the
vehicle is in motion:
1. Drive to the nearest safe location.
2. With the engine off, check the genera-
tor drive belt for looseness or break-
age.
3. If the belt is adjusted properly, a prob-
lem exists somewhere in the electrical
charging system. Have an authorized
Kia dealer correct the problem as soon
as possible.
Safety belt warning As a reminder to the driver and passen-
ger, safety belt warning light will blink for
approximately 6 seconds each time you
turn the ignition switch ON.
If the driver's lap/shoulder belt is not fas-
tened when the key is turned ON or if it is
disconnected after the key is turned ON,
the safety belt warning light will blink for
approximately 6 seconds.
If the driver’s lap/shoulder belt is not fas-
tened when you drive over 10 km/h, the
safety belt warning light will blink for 6
seconds. This cycle will repeat 11 times
with an interval of 24 seconds between
cycles.
If the system does not operate as
described, see an authorized Kia dealer
for assistance.
Shift pattern indicators
(if equipped)The individual indicators illuminate to
show the automatic transaxle shift lever
selection.Hot temperature
warning (if equipped)This warning light illuminates if the tem-
perature of the engine coolant is hot.
Do not continue driving with an overheat-
ed engine. If your vehicle overheats, refer
to “Overheating” in the Index.✽ ✽
NOTICEIf the hot temperature indicator illumi-
nates, it indicates overheating that may
damage the engine.

435
Driving your vehicle
Safety belt warning chime
(if equipped)If the driver's seat belt is not fastened
when the ignition key is turned “ON” or if
it is disconnected after the key is turn
ON, the safety belt warning chime will
sound for approximately 6 seconds.
If the driver’s lap/shoulder belt is not fas-
tened when you drive over 10 km/h, the
safety belt warning chime will sound for 6
seconds. This cycle will repeat 11 times
with an interval of 24 seconds between
cycles.Key reminder warning chime
(if equipped)If the driver’s door is opened and the igni-
tion key is left in the ignition switch, the
key reminder warning chime will sound.
This is to help prevent you from locking
your keys in the vehicle.

7
Maintenance services / 7-2
Maintenance schedule / 7-3
Owner maintenance / 7-7
Engine compartment / 7-9
Engine oil / 7-11
Engine cooling system / 7-12
Brake fluid / 7-14
Drive belts / 7-15
Power steering / 7-15
Automatic transaxle / 7-16
Lubricants and fluids / 7-17
Air cleaner / 7-18
Climate control air filter / 7-19
Wiper blades / 7-20
Battery / 7-21
Tires and wheels / 7-24
Lubricant specifications / 7-35
Exterior care / 7-36
Interior care / 7-38
Maintenance