2008 KIA Sorento Owner's Manual

Knowing your vehicle
24 3
To unfold the rear seat
1. Lift and push the seatback backward
firmly until it clicks into place.
2. Replace the headrest on the seatback.
3. Push the seat cushion down firmly.
Armrest
The armrest is located in the center of
the rear seat. Pull the armrest down from
the seatback.
CAUTION - Rear floor
Do not remove the floor carpet in
your vehicle. Emission control sys-
tem components in the area of the
rear seats cause high exhaust tem-
peratures under the floor.
WARNING- Cargo
Cargo should always be secured to
prevent it from being thrown about
the vehicle in a collision and caus-
ing injury to the vehicle occupants.
Special care should be taken of
objects placed in the rear seats,
since those may hit the front seat
occupants in a frontal collision.
CAUTION - Cargo loading
Make sure the engine is off, the
transmission is in P and the parking
brake is applied whenever loading
or unloading cargo. Failure to take
these steps may allow the vehicle to
move if shift lever is inadvertently
moved to another position.
E2BLB301F

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Knowing your vehicle
Pre-tensioner safety belt
Your vehicle is equipped with driver's and
front passenger's pre-tensioner safety
belts. The purpose of the pre-tensioner
is to make sure that excess slack is taken
up in certain frontal collisions. The pre-
tensioners may activate along with the
front air bags in frontal collisions based
on angle of impact, seat belt usage and
impact severity.
✽
NOTICE
The pre-tensioner seat belt is installed at
the front seats, and the sensor is
equipped inside the buckle, where pres-
ence of passenger is sensed by the fas-
tening of the seat belts. Therefore, pre-
tensioner will not activate if the passen-
ger is not fastened with the seat belts.
Likewise, it will activate if buckled even
without a passenger in the seat. Pre-ten-
sioner seat belt is designed to activate
when the seatbelt is in use. To ensure the
pretensioner seatbelts activate in event
of a possible seatbelt buckle switch mal-
function, the system is designed to acti-
vate regardless of whether a seat belt is
in use or if no seat belt use is detected
within 6 seconds of turning the ignition
switch ON.
The seat belt pre-tensioner system con-
sists mainly of the following components.
Their locations are shown in the illustra-
tion.
➀ SRS air bag warning light
➁ Seatbelt pre-tensioner assembly
➂ SRS air bag control module
SAFETY BELTS
2GHB3002E4BLA30023
1Passenger’s
side air bagDriver’s side air bag

Knowing your vehicle
26 3
Load limiter (if equipped)
When the pre-tentioner activates, if the
system senses excessive seat belt ten-
sion on the driver or passenger’s seat
belt, the load limiter inside the pre-ten-
sioner will release some of the pressure
on the affected seat belt.
WARNING - Hot parts
The pre-tensioner assembly mecha-
nism become hot during activation.
Do not touch the pre-tensioner seat
belt assembly for several minutes
after they have been activated.
WARNING- Air bag/pre-
tensioner warning light
If the SRS air bag warning light
does not illuminate when the igni-
tion key is turned to “ON”, or if it
remains illuminated after approxi-
mately 6 seconds, or if it illuminates
while the vehicle is being driven,
please have an authorized Kia deal-
er inspect the pre-tensioner and air
bag system as soon as possible.
WARNING - Air bag/Pre-
tensioner dust
When the air bags and pre-tension-
ers are activated, a loud noise may
be heard and fine dust, which may
appear to be smoke, may be visible
in the passenger compartment. This
dust is not toxic. The dust may
cause skin irritation and should not
be breathed for prolonged periods.
Ventilate the vehicle after impact
and wash your hands and face thor-
oughly after an accident.
WARNING- Safety belt
adjustment
To obtain maximum benefit from a
pre-tensioner seat belt:
• The safety belt must be worn cor-
rectly.
• The safety belt must be adjusted
to the correct position.

327
Knowing your vehicle
Safety belt restraint system We strongly recommend that the driver
and all passengers be properly restrained
at all times by using the safety belts pro-
vided with the vehicle. Proper use of the
safety belts decreases the risk of severe
injury or death in accidents or sudden
stops. In most states, and in Canada, the
law requires their use.
All seats have lap/shoulder belts. Inertial
locks in the safety belt retractors allow all
of the lap/shoulder safety belts to remain
unlocked during normal vehicle opera-
tion. This allows the occupants some
freedom of movement and increased
comfort while using the safety belts. If a
force is applied to the vehicle, such as a
strong stop, a sharp turn, or a collision,
the safety belt retractors will automatical-
ly lock the safety belts.
Since the inertial locks do not require a
collision in order to lock up, you may
become aware of the safety belts locking
while braking or going around sharp cor-
ners.
Always use the rear seat position(s) to
install your child restraint(s).
WARNING- Replacing
used pre-tensioners
• Pre-tensioners are designed to
operate once. After activation,
pre-tensioner seat belts must be
replaced. All seat belts, of any
type,should always be replaced
after they have been worn during
a collision.
• Do not attempt to replace the pre-
tensioners yourself. This must be
done by an authorized Kia dealer.
WARNING-Damaging the
pre-tensioners
• Do not hit or strike the pre-ten-
sioner assemblies,especially
with a tool or heavy object.
• Do not attempt to service or
repair the pre-tensioners.
WARNING- Safety belts
To minimize the risk of serious or
fatal injury in an accident, the driv-
er and all passengers should use
the appropriate safety restraints for
their age and size. The presence of
air bags does not change the need
to be properly restrained by a safe-
ty belt or size-appropriate child
restraint. In fact, air bags are
designed to work the best when
passengers are correctly restrained
in the vehicle.
• Be sure you are familiar with the
information in this section,
including the information on
infant and child restraints.
• Read the safety warnings on the
sunvisors of your vehicle also.

Knowing your vehicle
28 3
The rear safety belts use a special auto-
lock feature designed to allow a child
restraint to be used in these positions
without an added locking clip. They nor-
mally lock only under extreme or emer-
gency conditions (emergency lock
mode). However they can be adjusted so
that they remain fixed and locked when a
child restraint system is placed in these
positions. (Use this auto-lock mode only
to secure a child restraint, never for pas-
sengers restrained by the safety belts.)
Page 3-41 gives instructions on placing
the safety belt in the auto lock mode.
The drivers safety belt can only operate
in the emergency lock mode.Safety belts provide the best restraint
when:
• The seatback is upright.
• The occupant is sitting upright (not
slouched).
• The lap belt is snug across the hips.
• The shoulder belt is snug across the
chest.
• The knees are straight forward.
To help you remember to fasten your
safety belt, a warning light will blink. See
“Safety belt warning light and chime” on
page 3-30.
WARNING- Child restraint
in front seat
Never install a child restraint sys-
tem in the front passenger position,
as an inflating air bag could cause
serious or fatal injury to a child in
that position.
WARNING- After a colli-
sion
• Lap/shoulder belt assemblies
may be stretched or damaged
when subjected to the stress and
forces of a collision.
• The entire restraint system
should be inspected following
any collision. All belts, retractors,
anchors and hardware damaged
by a collision should be replaced
before the vehicle is operated
again.
WARNING - Cargo area
Passengers should never be
allowed to ride in the cargo area of
a vehicle. No safety belts are pro-
vided for the cargo area. Persons
riding in the vehicle without a fas-
tened safety belt are much more
likely to suffer serious bodily injury
or death during an accident.

329
Knowing your vehicle
WARNING- Twisted belts
A twisted or jammed safety belt
cannot restrain you properly. If you
cannot untwist or unjam the safety
belt, have an authorized Kia dealer
service it immediately. Never drive
or ride with a twisted or jammed
safety belt.
WARNING- Belt use
Safety belts must be used correctly
to work properly in an accident.
Each seating position in your vehi-
cle has a specific safety belt assem-
bly that includes a buckle and
tongue designed to be used togeth-
er.
Failure to heed these warnings and
follow these instructions will
increase the risk and severity of
injuries and the likelihood of death
in an accident.
(Continued)
(Continued)
•Use the shoulder portion of the
safety belt on the outside shoul-
der only. Never wear the shoulder
portion under the arm.
• Never swing the safety belt
around your neck to fit over the
inside shoulder.
• Never wear the shoulder portion
of the safety belt across the neck
or face.
• Wear the lap portion as low as
possible. Be sure that the lap belt
fits snugly around the hips.
Never wear a lap portion of a
lap/shoulder belt over your waist;
it should always go over the
stronger area of your hips.
• Never use a single safety belt for
more than one person.
• The front seatbacks should
always remain in a comfortable,
upright position when the vehicle
is moving.WARNING- Safety belt
care
• A damaged belt may not give you
the protection you need in an
accident.
•Inspect your safety belts periodi-
cally for excessive wear or dam-
age. Pull out each belt fully and
look for fraying, cuts, burns or
other damage. Pull the safety belt
out and let it retract a number of
times. Make sure that the
lap/shoulder belts return smooth-
ly and easily into the retractor.
• Check the latches to make sure
they latch and release without
interference or delay.
• Never close the doors on any part
of the lap or shoulder belt.
• Any belt not in good condition or
in good working order should be
promptly replaced.

Knowing your vehicle
30 3
Safety belt warning light and
chime
If the driver's safety belt is not fastened
when the key is turned ON or if it is
unfastened after the key is turned ON,
the safety belt warning light blinks until
the belt fastened.
If the driver's safety belt is not fastened
when the key is turned ON or if it is
unfastened after the key is ON, the safe-
ty belt warning chime will sound for
approximately 6 seconds. At this time, if
the safety belt is fastened, the chime will
stop at once.
Lap/shoulder belt
To f asten the front lap/shoulder belt:
1. Grasp the buckle and tongue plate.
2. Slowly pull the lap/shoulder belt out
from the retractor.
W-29S2BLA371
WARNING
Never close the doors on any part
of the lap or shoulder belt. It can
damage the safety belt or buckle
which could increase the risk of
injury in case of an accident.

331
Knowing your vehicle
3. Insert the tongue plate (➀) into the
open end of the buckle (
➁) until an
audible “click” is heard, indicating the
belt is locked in the buckle.4. Position the lap portion (
➀) of the belt
across your lap as LOW ON THE HIPS
as possible to reduce the risk of sliding
under it during an accident. Adjust the
belt to a SNUG FIT by pulling up on
the shoulder portion (
➁) of the safety
belt. The belt retractor is designed to
take up excess webbing automatically
and to maintain tension on the belt. For
your safety, do not put any excess
slack into the safety belt at any loca-
tion.5. Adjust the shoulder anchor position to
your size. To raise the anchor position,
push the anchor up. To lower the
anchor position, press the button and
slide the anchor down. After adjust-
ment, make sure the anchor is locked
in position.
If the height of the adjusting seat belt is
too near your neck, you will not be getting
the most effective protection. The shoul-
der portion should be adjusted so that it
lies across your chest and midway over
your shoulder nearest the door and not
your neck.
S2BLA372S2BLA373OBL036905N
➀
➁
➀
➁