2008 KIA Sorento Owner's Manual

Knowing your vehicle
48 3
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 vehicle occupants are not wear-
ing their seatbelts properly, or are
not seated correctly,serious
injury or death could occur.
• Driver’s and front passenger’s air
bags are designed to inflate only
in certain frontal collisions, and
curtain air bags are designed to
inflate in certain side impacts.
(Continued)
What your air bag system does
Driver’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, 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 pas-
sengers in case of light impact or colli-
sion. However, to help reduce impact on
driver or passengers in a serious colli-
sion, seat belts must also be worn cor-
rectly.
What your air bag system does
not do
The 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
belts
There are four very important reasons to
use safety belts even with an air bag
supplemental 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 or rear impact collisions,
because an air bag is not designed to
inflate in such situations and even a
side curtain air bag is designed to
inflate only in certain side impact colli-
sions.
• 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 thrown from
your vehicle.

349
Knowing your vehicle
Air bag system components
The main components of your SRS are:
• To indicate that your vehicle is
equipped with air bags, the corre-
sponding air bag covers are marked
with “SRS AIR BAG”.
- Driver’s air bag
- Driver’s knee air bag
- Front passenger’s air bag
- Curtain air bag
• A diagnostic system that continually
monitors the system operation.
• An indicator light to warn you of a pos-
sible problem with the system.
• Emergency power backup in case your
car’s electrical system is disconnected
in a crash.
Your vehicles SRS uses a variety of sen-
sors to monitor the driver’s and front pas-
senger’s safety belt usage and impact
severity.
The safety belt usage sensors determine
if the driver and front passenger’s safety
belts are fastened. These sensors pro-
vide the ability to control the SRS deploy-
ment based on whether or not the safety
belts are fastened, and how severe the
impact is.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 and
safety belt usage, the SRSCM (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.
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.
For more detail, see “Occupant
Classification System” later in this sec-
tion.
(Continued)
They will generally not provide
protection in side impacts (except
curtain air bags) or rear impacts,
rollovers,less severe frontal colli-
sions. They will not provide pro-
tection 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 before dis-
connecting the battery. This may
cause air bag deployment, which
could result in serious personal
injury or death. If your vehicle has
been subjected to flooded condi-
tions, before attempting to start
the vehicle, have the vehicle
towed to an authorized Kia dealer
for inspection and necessary
repairs.

Knowing your vehicle
50 3
Driver’s air bag
The driver’s air bag is stored in the cen-
ter of the steering wheel.
WARNING
• Ignoring the SRS indictor light
(air bag indicator and passenger
air bag off indicator) can result in
serious or fatal injury if the air
bags occupant classification sys-
tem or pretensioners do not work
properly. Have your car checked
by a dealer as soon as possible if
the SRS warning light alerts you
to a potential problem.
• Sitting improperly or out of posi-
tion can result in serious or fatal
injury in a crash. All occupants
should sit upright in their seats
with their feet on the floor until
the vehicle is parked and the igni-
tion key is removed.
E2BLA422B
HLZ2120
WARNING
• 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.

351
Knowing your vehicle
Driver's knee air bag
The driver's knee air bag is stored below
the steering wheel of the instrument
panel.
This works in conjunction with the frontal
airbags in a certain frontal impact colli-
sion to protect the knee of the driver.
Front passenger’s air bag
The front passenger’s air bag is stored in
the instrument panel, above the glove
box area.
Since you cannot anticipate which air
bags 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 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.
Only the front passenger front air bag is
controlled by the Occupant Classification
System.
6BLA002A
HLZ2121
5BLA370OBL036702
OBL036700N

Knowing your vehicle
52 3
Main components of occupant classi-
fication system
• A detection device located within the
front passenger seat cushion.
• Electronic system to determine
whether passenger air bag system
should be activated 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.If there is no passenger in the front pas-
senger seat or if the passenger in the
front passenger seat is very light, (such
as a child), the front PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFFindicator may illuminate.
When this indicator is ON, the front pas-
senger air bag will not deploy.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.
OBL036450
The location of OCS
warning indicator

353
Knowing your vehicle
• 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 seat is unoccupied or is
occupied by very small person, or is
occupied by someone who is improp-
erly seated, 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 seat is occupied by
someone of adult size and body
shape, the "PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF" indicator will turn off after 6 sec-
onds and the front passenger's air bag
will deploy in frontal crashes.
• If the "PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF"
indicator illuminates, the front passen-
ger air bag will not deploy in either a
side or frontal collision.
• If the "PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF"
indicator is not illuminated, the front
passenger air bag may deploy in
frontal collision.Condition and operation in the front passenger occupant
classification system
*1The system judges a person of adult size as an adult. When a small-
er adult sits in the front passenger seat, the system may recognize
him/her as a child depending on his/her physique and sitting posture.
*
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 posture, or objects in the
lap of the occupant.
Condition
detected by the
occupant classi-
fication system
1. Adult *
1
2. Child*2or
child restraint
system
3. Unoccupied Off
On
OnOff
Off
OffActivated
Deactivated
Deactivated
"PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF"
indicator lightSRS warning
lightFront passen-
ger air bag Indicator/Warning light Devices

Knowing your vehicle
54 3
WARNING
If the front passenger seat should
be modified for persons with dis-
abilities that may affect the opera-
tion of the occupant classification
system, contact an authorized Kia
dealer.
WARNING
If the "PASSENGER AIR BAG 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 per-
son 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 com-
fortably 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
air bag.
WARNING
If the occupant classification sys-
tem is not working properly, the air
bag warning light ( ) on the
instrument panel will illuminate. If
there is a malfunction of the occu-
pant classification system, the
"PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF" indi-
cator will illuminate and the front
passenger's air bag will not deploy
in frontal crashes even if there is an
adult sized occupant in the front
passenger seat. If the SRS air bag
warning light does not illuminate
when the ignition key is turned to
"ON" position, if it remains illumi-
nated after blinking for approxi-
mately six seconds, or if it illumi-
nates while the vehicle is being
driven, have an authorized Kia deal-
er inspect the occupant classifica-
tion system with the SRS air bag
system as soon as possible.
AIR
BAG
WARNING
• Even though your vehicle is
equipped with the occupant clas-
sification system, children aged
12 and under should be seated in
the rear seats. Do not install a
child restraint system in the front
passenger seat. The child could
be severely injured or killed if the
air bag deploys. Children are
afforded the most protection in
the event of an accident when
they are restrained by the proper
restraint system in the rear seat.
(Continued)

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Knowing your vehicle
(Continued)
• 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 "PASSEN-
GER AIR BAG OFF" indicator may
be turned on, and the passenger
air bag may not deploy in a colli-
sion. Always be sure to sit prop-
erly in the front passenger seat
and wear the safety belt properly.
(Continued)(Continued)
(Continued)(Continued)
(Continued)
1KMN3661
1KMN3662
- Never put a heavy load in the
front passenger seat.
- Never excessively recline the
front passenger seatback.
1KMN3663
1KMN3664
- Never sit with hips shifted
towards the front of the seat.
- Never lean on the center con-
sole.
- Never sit on one side of the front
passenger seat.