2008 KIA Optima Owner's Manual

Knowing your vehicle48 3AIR BAG - ADVANCED SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM 1JBN3511A/OMGA035047/OMGA035048/OMG037049/OMGA035051/OMGA035052/OMGA035053/OMGA035055/OMGA035054/1LDN2166/1LDN2167/1LDN21681
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(1) Driver’s air bag
(2) Front passenger’s air bag
(3) Side air bag*
(4) Curtain air bag*
(5) SRS Control Module
(6) Side impact sensor*
(7) Front impact sensor*
(8) Front seat position sensor
(9) Occupant classification system
* : if equipped
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Knowing your vehicle
What your air bag system doesDriver’s air bag and front passenger’s air
bag are designed to supplement the pro-
tection offered by the safety belt in cer-
tain frontal collisions. Likewise, side air
bags and curtain air bags are designed
to supplement the protection offered by
the safety belt in side collisions. Safety
belts are designed to reduce the injury of
the driver or passengers in case of light
impact or collision. However, to help
reduce impact on driver or passengers in
a serious collision, seat belts must also
be worn correctly.What your air bag system does
not doThe air bag system is designed to sup-
plement the protection offered by the
safety belt system. IT IS NOT A SUBSTI-
TUTE FOR THE SAFETY BELT.
The importance of using
safety beltsThere are four very important reasons to
use safety belts even with an air bag sup-
plemental restraint system. They:
help keep you in the proper position
(away from the air bag) when it inflates.
reduce the risk of harm in rollover, side
impact (vehicles not equipped with
side and curtain air bags) or rear
impact collisions, because an air bag is
not designed to inflate in such situa-
tions and even a side curtain air bag is
designed to inflate only in certain side
impact collisions.
reduce the risk of harm in frontal or
side collisions which are not severe
enough to actuate the air bag supple-
mental restraint system.
reduce the risk of being ejected from
your vehicle.Your vehicle’s Supplemental Restraint
System Control Module is equipped
with a recording device that may
record the use or status of the safety
belt restraint system by the driver and
front passenger in certain collisions.
WARNING
- Air bags &
safety belts
Even in vehicles with air bags,
you and your passengers must
always wear the safety belts pro-
vided in order to minimize the risk
and severity of injury in the event
of a collision or rollover.
Always wear your safety belt. It
can help keep you away from the
air bags during heavy braking
just before a collision. It may also
reduce the risk of occupant ejec-
tion.
If occupants are not wearing safe-
ty belts or correctly seated, they
cannot be fully protected, and
thus face a greater risk of serious
injury or death.
(Continued)

Knowing your vehicle50 3
Air bag system components The main components of your SRS are:
To indicate that your vehicle is
equipped with air bags, the correspon-
ding air bag covers are marked with
“SRS AIR BAG”.
- Driver’s air bag
- Front passenger’s air bag
- Side air bag (if equipped)
- Curtain air bag (if equipped)
A diagnostic system that continually
monitors the system operation.
Air bag warning light to warn you of a
possible problem with the system.
Emergency power backup in case your
car’s electrical system is disconnected
in a crash.The SRS uses a collection of sensors to
gather information about the driver’s and
front passenger’s seat position, the dri-
ver’s and front passenger’s safety belt
usage and impact severity.
The driver's and front passenger's seat
position sensors, which are installed on
the seat track let the air bag control mod-
ule know where the seats are positioned.
Similarly, the safety belt usage sensors
measure if the driver and front passen-
ger’s safety belts are fastened. These
sensors provide the ability to control the
SRS deployment based on how close the
driver’s seat is to the steering wheel, how
close the passenger’s seat is to the
instrument panel, whether or not the
safety belts are fastened, and the severi-
ty of the impact.
The advanced SRS offers the ability to
control the air bag inflation with two lev-
els. A first stage level is provided for mod-
erate-severity impacts. A second stage
level is provided for more severe impacts.
According to the impact severity, seating
position and safety belt usage, the SRS
Control Module controls the air bag infla-
tion.
Failure to properly wear safety belts
can increase the risk or severity of
injury in an accident.
(Continued)
Driver’s and front passenger’s air
bag are designed to inflate only in
certain frontal collisions, and side
and curtain air bags are designed
to inflate in certain side impacts.
Frontal air bags are not designed
to provide protection in side
impacts, rear impacts, rollovers,
or less severe frontal collisions.
They will not provide protection
from later impacts in a multi-
impact collision.
If your vehicle has been subject-
ed to flood conditions (e.g.
soaked carpeting/standing water
on the floor of the vehicle, etc.) or
if your vehicle has become flood
damaged in any way, do not
attempt to start the vehicle or put
the key in the ignition. Have the
vehicle towed to an authorized
Kia dealer for inspection and nec-
essary repairs.
Disregarding this precaution may
cause an unexpected air bag
deployment, which could result in
serious personal injury or death.

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Knowing your vehicle
Additionally, your SRS is equipped with
an occupant classification system in the
front passenger’s seat. The occupant
classification system detects the pres-
ence of a passenger in the front passen-
ger’s seat and will turn off the front pas-
senger’s air bag under certain conditions
in order to protect smaller front passen-
ger seat occupants. For more detail, see
“Occupant Classification System” later in
this section.
Driver’s air bag The driver’s air bag is stored in the cen-
ter of the steering wheel.
WARNING
- Seating sen-
sors malfunction
If the seat position sensor is not
working properly, the air bag warn-
ing light ( ) on the instrument
panel will illuminate because the air
bag warning light is connected with
the seat position sensor. If the air
bag warning light does not illumi-
nate when the ignition key is turned
to the "ON" position, if it remains
illuminated after illuminating for
approximately 6 seconds, or if it
illuminates while the vehicle is
being driven, have an authorized
Kia dealer inspect your vehicle as
soon as possible.
AIR
BAG
WARNING
- Seat usage
Modification to the seat structure
can damage the seat position
sensor and cause the air bag to
deploy at a different level than
should be provided.
Do not place any objects under-
neath the front seats since they
could damage the seat position
sensor or interfere with the occu-
pant classification system.
Do not place any objects that may
cause magnetic fields near the
front seat. These may cause a
malfunction of the seat position
sensor.
Have your car checked by a Kia
dealer as soon as possible if the
SRS warning light comes on.
Ignoring the indicator light can
result in serious or fatal injury.
Sitting improperly or out of posi-
tion can provide incorrect data to
the occupant classification sys-
tem and result in serious or fatal
injury in a crash. All occupants
should sit upright in their seats
with their feet on the floor.
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Knowing your vehicle52 3
Front passenger’s air bag Front passenger’s air bag is stored in the
instrument panel on the glove box.
Never put any objects or ornaments on
the instrument panel.
Occupant classification systemThe occupant classification system
detects the presence of a passenger in
the front passenger’s seat and will turn
off the front passenger’s air bag under
certain conditions.
The occupant classification system is
designed to detect the presence of a
properly-seated occupant and determine
if the front passenger’s air bag should be
enabled (may inflate) or not.
WARNING
- Steering
wheel
You must always sit as far back
from the steering wheel air bag as
possible (chest at least 250 mm
(10 inches) away from the steer-
ing wheel), while still maintaining
a comfortable seating position for
good vehicle control, in order to
reduce the risk of injury or death
in a collision.
Never place objects over the air
bag storage compartments or
between the air bags and your-
self. Due to the speed and force of
the air bag inflation, such objects
could hit your body at high speed
and cause severe bodily injury
and even death.
Do not put stickers or ornaments
on the steering wheel cover.
These may interfere with the
deployment of the air bag.
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Knowing your vehicle
If there is no passenger in the front pas-
senger seat or if the passenger in the
front passenger's seat is very small (such
as a child), the front PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF indicator may go ON.
When this indicator is ON, the front pas-
senger's air bag will not deploy.
The side air bag will not deploy if the front
seat is unoccupied.
The side air bag may deploy if the front
seat is occupied by a small occupant.
Main components of occupant
classification system A detection device located within the
front passenger seat cushion.
Electronic system to determine
whether passenger air bag systems
(both front and side) should be activat-
ed or deactivated.
A warning light located on the instru-
ment panel which illuminates the
words “PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF”
indicating the front passenger air bag
system is deactivated.
The instrument panel air bag warning
light is interconnected with the occu-
pant classification system.Always be sure that you and all vehicle
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 comfort-
ably extended, feet on the floor, and
wearing the safety belt properly) for the
most effective protection by the air bag
and the safety belt.
The OCS may not function properly if
the passenger takes actions which can
defeat the detection system. These
include:
(1) Failing to sit in an upright position.
(2) Leaning against the door or center
console.
(3) Sitting towards the sides or the front
of the seat.
(4) Putting legs on the dashboard or rest-
ing them on other locations which
reduce the passenger weight on the
front seat.
(5) Improperly wearing the safety belt.
(6) Reclining the seat back.
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Knowing your vehicle54 3 The “PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF”
indicator illuminates after the ignition
key is turned to the “ON” position or
after the engine is started. If the front
passenger's seat is occupied by a very
small person, the “PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF” indicator will remain illumi-
nated and the front passenger air bag
will not deploy in frontal crashes. If the
front passenger’s seat is occupied by
an adult size person seated properly,
the “PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF” indi-
cator will turn off after approximately 4
seconds and the front passenger's air
bag will deploy in frontal crashes.
If the front passenger's seat is unoccu-
pied, the “PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF” indicator will turn on, and the
front passenger's air bag will not
deploy in frontal crashes.
If the “PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF”
indicator illuminates, the front passen-
ger’s air bag will not deploy in frontal
crashes.
If the front passenger’s seat is occu-
pied by an adult size person seated
properly, the “PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF” indicator is not illuminated and
the front passenger’s air bag will
deploy in frontal crashes.
Condition detected by
the occupant classifi-
cation system
1. Adult *
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2. Child *
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3. Unoccupied Off
On
OnOff
Off
OffActivated
Deactivated
Deactivated
"PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF" indicator light
Air bag warning lightFront passenger air
bag Indicator/Warning light Devices
*1The system detects a person who is generally of adult size as an adult, thus allowing the pas-
senger air bag to deploy. When a smaller adult sits in the front passenger seat, the system
may detect as a child depending on his/her physique and sitting posture thus preventing air
bag 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 physique sitting position,
or objects in the lap of the occupant, thus permitting air bag deployment.Condition and operation in the front passenger occupant
classification system
CAUTION
If the "PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF" indicator illuminates or blinks continu-
ously 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 acti-
vate the passenger air bag.

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Knowing your vehicle
CAUTION
If the occupant classification sys-
tem is not working properly, the air
bag warning light ( ) on the
instrument panel will illuminate
because the passenger’s air bag is
connected with the occupant clas-
sification system. If there is a mal-
function of the occupant classifica-
tion system, the "Passenger Air bag
Off" indicator will not illuminate and
the front passenger's air bag will
deploy in frontal crashes even if
there is child or no occupant in the
front passenger's seat.
Have an authorized Kia dealer
inspect the occupant classification
system with the SRS air bag system
as soon as possible if any of follow-
ing occur;
The SRS air bag warning light
does not illuminate when the igni-
tion key is turned to "ON" posi-
tion.
The SRS air bag warning light
remains illuminated after illumi-
nating or blinking for approxi-
mately 6 seconds.
The SRS air bag warning light illu-
minates while the vehicle is being
driven.
AIR
BAG
WARNING
The occupant classification sys-
tem can function only when the
ignition key is in the "ON" posi-
tion.
If a very low weight adult is seat-
ed in the front passenger seat, the
occupant classification system
may or may not turn off the right
front passenger air bag, depend-
ing upon the person's seating
position and body type. Everyone
in your vehicle should wear a
safety belt properly -- whether or
not there is an air bag for that per-
son.
If the front seat passenger
changes their seating position
(for example, by not sitting
upright, by sitting on the edge of
the seat, or by otherwise being
out of position), the "Passenger
Air bag Off" indicator may be
turned on, and the passenger's air
bag may not deploy in a collision.
Always be sure to sit properly in
the front passenger’s seat and
wear the safety belt properly and
do not do any of the following.
(Continued)
WARNING
- Children in rear
seat
Even though your vehicle is
equipped with the occupant classi-
fication system, children aged 12
and under should be seated in the
rear seats. Do not install a child
restraint system in the front pas-
senger’s seat since a child restraint
may result in an improper reading
by the occupant classification sen-
sor. The infant/child could be
severely injured or killed by an air
bag deployment in case of an acci-
dent.
Children are afforded the most pro-
tection in the event of an accident
when they are restrained by the
proper restraint system in the rear
seat.