2008 KIA Sportage Owner's Manual

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Front headrest adjustment
Adjusting the height up and down
The headrest not only provides com-
fort for the driver and passengers,
but also helps to protect the head
and neck in the event of a collision.
To raise the headrest, pull it up to the
desired position (
➀). To lower the
headrest, push and hold the release
button (
➁) on the headrest support
and lower the headrest to the desired
position (
➂). For best protection,
adjust the headrest so its center is as
high as your ears. Also adjust the
headrest so its distance from the
head is as wide as your fist.Removal
To remove the headrest, raise it as far
as it can go then press the release
lever (
➀) while pulling upward (➁).
Full flat seat (if equipped)
When the vehicle is parked, you can
place the front seat in a reclined
position, nearly flat.
1. Remove the headrest.
2. Move the front seat to the farthest
forward position.
3. Recline the seatback as far as it
can go to allow the rear seat pas-
senger to support their legs in the
reclined position.
1KMA2041
WARNING-Headrest
positioning
To reduce the risk of head and
neck injuries, each occupant
headrest must be properly
adjusted.Do not drive the vehi-
cle with the headrest removed
or improperly positioned.
Do not adjust the driver's head-
rest while driving, or else loss of
control and an accident is pos-
sible.
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Seatback table (if equipped)
While parked, you can use the front
passenger seatback as a table by
folding the passenger seatback all
the way forward.To operate seatback table
1. Lower the headrest.
2. With the recliner control lever
pulled up, fold the seatback for-
ward to the flat position.
3. When returning the seatback to
the upright position, ensure the
seatback is completely locked into
place.
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WARNING-Full flat seat
Do not allow a passenger to use
the full flat seat feature while the
vehicle is in motion.Severe
injury or death could occur in
an accident.
WARNING-Seatback
table
• Do not sit on the seatback
table.
• Do not use the seatback table
when the vehicle is in motion.
• Do not leave items on the
seatback table when the vehi-
cle is in motion.
• When returning the seatback
to the upright position, ensure
the seatback is completely
locked into place.
CAUTION - Uprighting
seat
When you return the seatback
to its upright position, hold the
seatback and return it slowly.If
the seatback is returned without
holding it, the back of the seat
could spring forward resulting
in accidental injury from being
struck by the seatback.

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Seatback pocket
A seatback pocket is provided on the
back of the front passenger and dri-
vers seatbacks.
Rear seat adjustment
Adjusting the seatback recliner
To recline the seatback:
1. Pull the lock release lever located
on the top of the seatback.
2. Recline the seatback to the
desired position.
3. Release the lever and make sure
the seatback is locked in place.
Split folding rear seat
The rear seatbacks fold forward to
provide additional cargo space and
to provide access to the cargo area.
• To fold the rear seatback(s) down,
pull the lock release lever, then fold
the seatback forward and down.
• To raise the seatback, lift and push
it firmly until it clicks into place.
• When you return the seatback to
its upright position, reposition the
rear safety belts so that they can
be used by rear seat passengers.
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WARNING-Seatback
pockets
Do not put heavy or sharp
objects in the seatback pockets.
In an accident they could come
loose from the pocket and injure
vehicle occupants.
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CAUTION - Rear seatback
locks
When reclining the seatback,
you should adjust the lock
release lever while standing and
holding the seatback.

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To fold the rear seat;
1. Lower the headrest to the lowest
position.
2. Pull the lock release lever located
on the top of the seatback.
3. Fold the seatback forward and
down firmly until it clicks into
place.
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WARNING- Damaging
rear safety buckles
When you fold the rear seatback
or put luggage on the rear seat
cushion,insert the buckle in the
pocket between the rear seat-
back and cushion.Doing so can
prevent the buckle from being
damaged by the rear seatback
or luggage.WARNING- Rear safety
belts
When returning the rear seat-
backs to the upright position,
remember to return the rear
shoulder belts to their proper
position.Routing the safety belt
webbing through the rear safety
belt guides will help keep the
belts from being trapped behind
or under the seats.

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To unfold the rear seat;
1. Pull the lock release lever located
on the top of the seatback.
2. Lift and push the seatback back-
ward firmly until it clicks into place.
Make sure the seatback is locked
in place.
3. Return the rear safety belt to the
proper position.
WARNING- Cargo
Cargo should always be
secured to prevent it from being
thrown about the vehicle in a
collision and causing 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
transaxle is in P and the parking
brake is applied whenever load-
ing or unloading cargo.Failure
to take these steps may allow
the vehicle to move if shift lever
is inadvertently moved to anoth-
er position.
CAUTION - Rear floor
Do not remove the floor carpet
in your vehicle.Emission con-
trol system components in the
area of the rear seats cause
high exhaust temperatures
under the floor.

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Armrest
The armrest is located in the center
of the rear seat. Pull the armrest
down from the seatback.
Rear headrest adjustment
Adjusting the height up and down
The headrest not only provides com-
fort for the rear passengers, but also
helps to protect the head and neck in
the event of a collision.
To raise the headrest, pull it up to the
desired position (
➀). To lower the
headrest, push and hold the release
button (
➁) on the headrest support
and lower the headrest to the desired
position (
➂). For best protection,
adjust the headrest so its center is as
high as your ears. Also adjust the
headrest so its distance from the
head is as wide as your fist.Removal
To remove the headrest, raise it as
far as it can go then press the
release lever (
➀) while pulling
upward (
➁).
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WARNING-Rear head-
rests
To reduce the risk of head and
neck injuries to rear passen-
gers, do not operate the vehicle
with the rear headrests removed
or improperly positioned.
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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 airbags
in frontal collisions based on angle of
impact, seat belt usage and impact
severity.The seat belt pre-tensioner system
consists mainly of the following com-
ponents. Their locations are shown in
the illustration.
➀ SRS airbag warning light
➁ Seatbelt pre-tensioner assembly
➂ SRS airbag control module
➃ Buckle pre-tensioner assembly
(if equipped)
SAFETY BELTS
2GHB30021KMB3311
➀
➁
➂➃
CAUTION
The pre-tensioner seat belt is
installed at the front seats, and
the sensor is equipped inside
the buckle, where presence of
passenger is sensed by the fas-
tening of the seat belts.
Therefore, pre-tensioner will not
activate if the passenger is not
fastened with the seat belts.
Likewise,it will activate if buck-
led even without a passenger in
the seat.Pre-tensioner seat belt
is desi
gned to activate when the
seatbelt is in use.To e nsure the
pretensioner seatbelts activate
in event of a possible seatbelt
buckle switch malfunction, the
system is designed to activate
regardless of whether a seat
belt is in use or if no seat belt
use is detected within 6 sec-
onds of turning the ignition
switch ON.

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Load limiter
When the pre-tentioner activates, if
the system senses excessive seat
belt tension on the driver or passen-
ger’s seat belt, the load limiter inside
the pre-tensioner will release some
of the pressure on the affected seat
belt.
CAUTION - Airbag/Pre-
tensioner dust
When the airbags and pre-ten-
sioners 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 thoroughly after
an accident.
WARNING- Airbag/pre-
tensioner warning light
If the SRS airbag warning light
does not illuminate when the
ignition key is turned to “ON”,or
if it remains illuminated after
approximately 6 seconds, or if it
illuminates while the vehicle is
being driven, please have an
authorized Kia dealer inspect
the pre-tensioner and airbag
system as soon as po
ssible.
WARNING- Safety belt
adjustment
To obtain maximum benefit from
a pre-tensioner seat belt:
• The safety belt must be worn
correctly.
• The safety belt must be
adjusted to the correct posi-
tion.