2008 KIA Sportage Owner's Manual

Knowing your vehicle
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The importance of using
safety belts
There are four very important rea-
sons to use safety belts even with an
airbag supplemental restraint sys-
tem. They:
• help keep you in the proper posi-
tion (away from the airbag) when it
inflates.
• reduce the risk of harm in rollover,
side impact (vehicles not equipped
with side and curtain airbags) or
rear impact collisions, because an
airbag is not designed to inflate in
such situations and even a side
curtain airbag 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
airbag supplemental restraint sys-
tem.
• 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- Airbags &
safety belts
• Even in vehicles with air bags,
you and your passengers
must always wear the safety
belts provided in order to min-
imize the risk and severity of
injury in the event of a colli-
sion or rollover.
•Always wear your safety belt.
It can help keep you away
from the air bags during heavy
braking just before a collision.
(Continued)
(Continued)
• If occupants are not wearing
safety belts or correctly seat-
ed, they cannot be fully pro-
tected, and thus face a greater
risk of serious injury or death.
•Driver’s and front passenger’s
airbag are designed to inflate
only in certain frontal colli-
sion, and side and curtain
airbags are designed to inflate
in certain side impacts.
Frontal airbags are not
designed to provide protec-
tion in side impacts, rear
impacts
, rollovers, or less
severe frontal collisions.They
will not provide protection
from later impacts in a multi-
impact collision.
(Continued)

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Knowing your vehicle
Airbag system components
The main components of your SRS
are:
• To indicate that your vehicle is
equipped with airbags, the corre-
sponding airbag covers are
marked with “SRS AIRBAG”.
- Driver’s airbag (see page 3- 59)
- Passenger’s airbag(see page 3- 60)
- Side airbag
(if equipped, see page 3- 67)
- Curtain airbag
(if equipped, see page 3- 67)
• A diagnostic system that continual-
ly monitors the system operation.
• Airbag warning light to warn you of
a possible problem with the sys-
tem.
• Emergency power backup in case
your car’s electrical system is dis-
connected in a crash.The SRS uses a collection of sen-
sors to gather information about the
driver’s and front passenger’s seat
position, the driver’s and front pas-
senger’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
airbag control module know where
the seats are positioned. Similarly,
the safety belt usage sensors mea-
sure 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 steer-
ing wheel, how close the passen-
ger’s seat is to the instrument panel,
whether or not the safety belts are
fastened, and the severity of the
impact.
(Continued)
• If your vehicle has been sub-
jected to flood conditions (e.g.
soaked carpeting/standing
water on the floor of the vehi-
cle, 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
airbag deployment, which
could result i
n serious per-
sonal injury or death.

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The advanced SRS offers the ability
to control the airbag inflation with two
levels. A first stage level is provided
for moderate-severity impacts. A sec-
ond stage level is provided for more
severe impacts.
According to the impact severity,
seating position and safety belt
usage, the SRS Control Module con-
trols the airbag inflation.
Additionally, your SRS is equipped
with an occupant classification sys-
tem in the front passenger’s seat.
The occupant classification system
detects the presence of a passenger
in the front passenger’s seat and will
turn off the front passenger’s airbag
under certain conditions in order to
protect smaller front passenger seat
occupants. For more detail, see
“Occupant Classification System”
later in this section.
WARNING-Seating sen-
sors malfunction
If the seat position sensor is not
working properly, the airbag
warning light ( ) on the instru-
ment panel will illuminate
because the airbag warning
light is connected with the seat
position sensor.If the airbag
warning light does not illumi-
nate when the ignition key is
turned to the "ON" position,if i
t
remains illuminated after illumi-
nating for approximately 6 sec-
onds, or if it illuminates while
the vehicle is being driven, have
an authorized Kia dealer inspect
your vehicle as soon as possi-
ble.
AIR
BAG
WARNING-Seat usage
• Modification to the seat struc-
ture can damage the seat
position sensor and cause the
airbag to deploy at a different
level than should be provided.
• Do not place any objects
underneath the front seats
since they could damage the
seat position sensor or inter-
fere with the occupant classi-
fication 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.
(Continued)

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Knowing your vehicle
Driver’s airbag
The driver’s airbag is stored in the
center of the steering wheel.
(Continued)
• Have your car checked by a
Kia dealer as soon as possible
if the SRS warning light
comes on.Ignoring the indica-
tor light can result in serious
or fatal injury.
•Sitting improperly or out of
position can provide incorrect
data to the occupant classifi-
cation system and result in
serious or fatal injury in a
crash.All occupants
should
sit upright in their seats with
their feet on the floor.
WARNING-Steering
wheel
• You must always sit as far
back from the steering wheel
airbag as possible (chest at
least 250 mm (10 inches) away
from the steering 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
airbag storage compartments
or between the airbags and
yourself.Due to the speed and
force of the a
irbag inflation,
such objects could hit your
body at high speed and cause
severe bodily injury and even
death.
• Do not put stickers or orna-
ments on the steering wheel
cover.These may interfere
with the deployment of the
airbag.
HLZ206
1KMA2056

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Front passenger’s airbag
Front passenger’s airbag is stored in
the instrument panel on the glove
box.
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 airbag
under certain conditions.
The occupant classification system is
designed to detect the presence of a
properly-seated occupant and deter-
mine if the front passenger’s airbag
should be enabled (may inflate) or
not.If there is no passenger in the front
passenger seat or if the passenger in
the front passenger's seat is very
small (such as a child), the front PAS-
SENGER AIR BAG OFF indicator
may go ON.
When this indicator is ON, the front
passenger'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.
1KMB21311KMN3162
1KMA2058
HLZ2121

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Knowing your vehicle
Main components of occupant
classification system
• A detection device located within
the front passenger seat cushion.
• Electronic system to determine
whether passenger air bag sys-
tems (both front and side) should
be activated or deactivated.
• A warning light located on the
instrument panel which illuminates
the words “PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF” indicating the front passen-
ger air bag system is deactivated.
• The instrument panel air bag warn-
ing light is interconnected with the
occupant classification system.Always be sure that you and all vehi-
cle 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 comfortably
extended, feet on the floor, and wear-
ing the safety belt properly) for the
most effective protection by the air
bag and the safety belt.
• The OCS may not function proper-
ly if the passenger takes actions
which can defeat the detection sys-
tem. These include:
(1) Failing to sit in an upright posi-
tion.
(2) Leaning against the door or cen-
ter console.
(3) Sitting towards the sides or the
front of the seat.
(4) Putting legs on the dashboard or
resting them on other locations
which reduce the passenger
weight on the front seat.
(5) Improperly wearing the safety
belt.
(6) Reclining the seat back.• The “PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF”
indicator illuminates after the igni-
tion key is turned to the “ON” posi-
tion or after the engine is started. If
the front passenger’s seat is occu-
pied by very small person, the
“PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF” indi-
cator will remain illuminated. If the
front passenger’s seat is occupied
by a person of adult size, the “PAS-
SENGER AIR BAG OFF” indicator
will turn off after 4 seconds.
• If the front passenger's seat is
unoccupied, the “PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF” indicator will turn
on, and the front passenger's
airbag will not deploy in frontal
crashes.
• If the “PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF” indicator illuminates, the front
passenger’s airbag will not deploy
in frontal crashes.
• If the front passenger’s seat is
occupied by a person of adult size,
the “PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF”
indicator is not illuminated and the
front passenger’s airbag will deploy
in frontal crashes.

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CAUTION
If the “PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF”indicator illuminates or
blinks continuously when a per-
son 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, place the seat back in the
full upright position,sit upright
in the seat, centered on the seat
cushion, with legs comfortably
extended.Res
tart the vehicle
and have the person remain in
this position for about 1 minute.
This will allow the system to
detect the person and enable
the passenger’s airbag.
Condition and operation in the front passenger occupant
classification system
Condition detected by
the occupant classifi-
cation system
1. Adult *
1
2. Child *2
3. Unoccupied
4. There is a malfunc-
tion in the system Off
On
On
OnOff
Off
Off
OnActivated
Deactivated
Deactivated
Deactivated
"PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF" indicator lightAirbag warning lightFront passenger
airbag Indicator/Warning light Devices
*1The system judges a person of adult size as an adult. When a smaller adult
sits in the front passenger seat, the system may recognize him/her as a
child depending on his/her physique and 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 or posture.

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Knowing your vehicle
CAUTION
If the occupant classification
system is not working properly,
the airbag warning light ( ) on
the instrument panel will illumi-
nate because the passenger’s
airbag is connected with the
occupant classification system.
If there is a malfunction of the
occupant classification system,
the "PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF" indicator will illuminate
and the front passenger's
airbag will not deploy in frontal
crashes
even if there is adult
occupant in the front passen-
ger's seat.
(Continued)
AIR
BAG
(Continued)
Have an authorized Kia dealer
inspect the occupant classifica-
tion system with the SRS airbag
system as soon as possible if
any of following occur;
• The SRS airbag warning light
does not illuminate when the
ignition key is turned to "ON"
position.
• The SRS airbag warning light
remains illuminated after illu-
minating for approximately 6
seconds.
• The SRS a
irbag warning light
illuminates while the vehicle is
being driven.
WARNING
• The occupant classification
system can function only
when the ignition key is in the
"ON" position.
• For very small person, the
occupant classification sys-
tem may or may not turn off
the right front passenger's
frontal airbag, depending
upon the person's seating
posture and body build.
Everyone in your vehicle
should wear a safety belt
properly -- whether or not
there is an air bag for that per-
son.
(Continued)
WARNING
If the front passenger seat
should be modified for persons
with disabilities that may affect
the operation of the occupant
classification system, contact
an authorized Kia dealer.