2009 KIA Optima Owner's Manual

335
Safety features of your vehicle
C040900AEN-EUHow does the air bag system
operate Air bags are activated (able to inflate ifnecessary) only when the ignition
switch is turned to the ON or START
position.
Air bags inflate instantly in the event of a serious frontal or side collision in
order to help protect the occupants
from serious physical injury.
There is no single speed at which the air bags will inflate.
Generally, air bags are designed to
inflate based upon the severity of a col-
lision and its direction. These two fac-
tors determine whether the sensors
produce an electronic deployment/
inflation signal.
Air bag deployment depends on a number of factors including vehicle
speed, angles of impact and the densi-
ty and stiffness of the vehicles or
objects which your vehicle hits in the
collision. The determining factors are
not limited to those mentioned above.
The front air bags will completely inflate and deflate in an instant.
It is virtually impossible for you to see
the air bags inflate during an accident. It is much more likely that you will sim-
ply see the deflated air bags hanging
out of their storage compartments after
the collision.
In order to help provide protection in a severe collision, the air bags must
inflate rapidly. The speed of air bag
inflation is a consequence of the
extremely short time in which a collision
occurs and the need to inflate the air
bag between the occupant and the
vehicle structures before the occupant
impacts those structures. This speed of
inflation reduces the risk of serious or
life-threatening injuries in a severe col-
lision and is thus a necessary part of air
bag design.
However, air bag inflation can also
cause injuries which can include facial
abrasions, bruises and broken bones
because the inflation speed also caus-
es the air bags to expand with a great
deal of force.
There are even circumstances under which contact with the steer-
ing wheel air bag can cause fatal
injuries, especially if the occupant
is positioned excessively close to
the steering wheel.
WARNING
To avoid severe personal injuryor death caused by deploying air
bags in a collision, the driver
should sit as far back from the
steering wheel air bag as possi-
ble (at least 250 mm (10 inches)
away). The front passengers
should always move their seats
as far back as possible and sit
back in their seat.
Air bags inflate instantly in the event of collision, and passen-
gers may be injured by the air bag
expansion force if they are not in
proper position.
Air bag inflation may cause injuries including facial or bodily
abrasions, injuries from broken
glasses or burns.

Safety features of your vehicle36
3C040902AENNoise and smokeWhen the air bags inflate, they make a
loud noise and they leave smoke and
powder in the air inside of the vehicle.
This is normal and is a result of the igni-
tion of the air bag inflator. After the air
bag inflates, you may feel substantial dis-
comfort in breathing due to the contact of
your chest with both the seat belt and the
air bag, as well as from breathing the
smoke and powder. Open your doors
and/or windows as soon as possible
after impact in order to reduce dis-
comfort and prevent prolonged expo-
sure to the smoke and powder.
Though the smoke and powder are non-
toxic, they may cause irritation to the skin
(eyes, nose and throat, etc). If this is the
case, wash and rinse with cold water
immediately and consult a doctor if the
symptom persists.
C040903AENDo not install a child restraint on the
front passenger’s seat.Never place a rear-facing child restraint
in the front passenger’s seat. If the air
bag deploys, it would impact the rear-fac-
ing child restraint, causing serious or
fatal injury.
In addition, do not place front-facing child
restraints in the front passenger’s seat
either. If the front passenger air bag
inflates, it could cause serious or fatal
injuries to the child.
1JBH3051
WARNING
When the air bags deploy, the air
bag related parts in the steering
wheel and/or instrument panel
and/or in both sides of the roof rails
above the front and rear doors are
very hot. To prevent injury, do not
touch the air bag storage area’s
internal components immediately
after an air bag has inflated.
WARNING
Extreme Hazard! Do not use a rearward facing child restraint on
a seat protected by an air bag in
front of it!
Never put a child restraint in the front passenger’s seat. If the front
passenger air bag inflates, it can
cause serious or fatal injuries.
When children are seated in the rear outboard seats of a vehicle
equipped with side and/or curtain
air bags, be sure to install the
child restraint system as far away
from the door side as possible,
and securely lock the child
restraint system in position.
Inflation of side and/or curtain air
bags could cause serious injury
or death to an infant or child.

337
Safety features of your vehicle
C040100AMG-ECSRS components and functionsThe SRS consists of the following com-
ponents:
1. Driver's front air bag module
2. Passenger's front air bag module
3. Side impact air bag modules
4. Curtain air bag modules
5. Retractor pre-tensioner assemblies
6. Air bag warning light
7. SRS control module (SRSCM)
8. Front impact sensors*
9. Side impact sensors*The SRSCM continually monitors all
SRS components while the ignition
switch is ON to determine if a crash
impact is severe enough to require air
bag deployment or pre-tensioner seat
belt deployment.
The SRS air bag warning light " " on
the instrument panel will illuminate for
about 6 seconds after the ignition switch
is turned to the ON position, after which
the SRS air bag warning light " "
should go out.
If any of the following conditions occurs,
this indicates a malfunction of the SRS.
Have an authorized KIA dealer inspect
the air bag system as soon as possible.
The light does not turn on briefly whenyou turn the ignition ON.
The light stays on after illuminating for approximately 6 seconds.
The light comes on while the vehicle is in motion.
W7-147
OMG039079C

Safety features of your vehicle38
3The front air bag modules are located
both in the center of the steering wheel
and in the front passenger's panel above
the glove box. When the SRSCM detects
a sufficiently severe impact to the front of
the vehicle, it will automatically deploy
the front air bags. Upon deployment, tear seams molded
directly into the pad covers will separate
under pressure from the expansion of the
air bags. Further opening of the covers
then allows full inflation of the air bags.
A fully inflated air bag, in combination
with a properly worn seat belt, slows the
driver's or the passenger's forward
motion, reducing the risk of head and
chest injury.
After complete inflation, the air bag
immediately starts deflating, enabling the
driver to maintain forward visibility and
the ability to steer or operate other con-
trols.
B240B01L
Driver’s front air bag (1)
B240B02L
B240B03L
Driver’s front air bag (2)
Driver’s front air bag (3)

339
Safety features of your vehicle
WARNING
Do not install or place any acces-sories (drink holder, cassette
holder, sticker, etc.) on the front
passenger's panel above the
glove box in a vehicle with a pas-
senger's air bag. Such objects
may become dangerous projec-
tiles and cause injury if the pas-
senger's air bag inflates.
When installing a container of liq- uid air freshener inside the vehi-
cle, do not place it near the
instrument cluster nor on the
instrument panel surface.
It may become a dangerous pro-
jectile and cause injury if the pas-
senger's air bag inflates.
B240B05L
Passenger’s front air bag
WARNING
If an air bag deploys, there maybe a loud noise followed by a fine
dust released in the vehicle.
These conditions are normal and
are not hazardous - the air bags
are packed in this fine powder.
The dust generated during air
bag deployment may cause skin
or eye irritation as well as aggra-
vate asthma for some persons.
Always wash all exposed skin
areas thoroughly with lukewarm
water and a mild soap after an
accident in which the air bags
were deployed.
The SRS can function only when the ignition switch is in the ON
position. If the SRS air bag warn-
ing light " " does not illumi-
nate, or continuously remains on
after illuminating for about 6 sec-
onds when the ignition switch is
turned to the ON position, or after
the engine is started, comes on
while driving, the SRS is not
working properly. If this occurs,
have your vehicle immediately
inspected by an authorized KIA
dealer.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Before you replace a fuse or dis-connect a battery terminal, turn
the ignition switch to the LOCK
position and remove the ignition
key. Never remove or replace the
air bag related fuse(s) when the
ignition switch is in the ON posi-
tion. Failure to heed this warning
will cause the SRS “AIR BAG”
warning light to illuminate.

Safety features of your vehicle40
3C040400AMG-ECDriver's and passenger's front air
bagYour vehicle is equipped with a
Supplemental Restraint (Air Bag) System
and lap/shoulder belts at both the driver
and passenger seating positions. The
indications of the system's presence are
the letters "SRS AIR BAG" embossed on
the air bag pad cover in the steering
wheel and the passenger's side front
panel pad above the glove box.
The SRS consists of air bags installed
under the pad covers in the center of the
steering wheel and the passenger's side
front panel above the glove box. The purpose of the SRS is to provide the
vehicle's driver and/or the front passen-
ger with additional protection than that
offered by the seat belt system alone in
case of a frontal impact of sufficient
severity.
OMG035048
Passenger’s front air bag
OMG039028
Driver’s front air bag
WARNING
Always use seat belts and child
restraints – every trip, every time,
everyone! Air bags inflate with con-
siderable force and in the blink of
an eye. Seat belts help keep occu-
pants in proper position to obtain
maximum benefit from the air bag.
Even with air bags, improperly belt-
ed and unbelted occupants can be
severely injured when the air bag
inflates. Always follow the precau-
tions about seat belts, air bags and
occupant safety contained in this
manual.
To reduce the chance of serious or
fatal injuries and receive the maxi-
mum safety benefit from your
restraint system:
Never place a child in any child or
booster seat in the front seat.
ABC – Always Buckle Children in the back seat. It is the safest
place for children of any age to
ride.
Front and side air bags can injure occupants improperly positioned
in the front seats.
(Continued)

341
Safety features of your vehicle
(Continued)
Move your seat as far back aspractical from the front air bags,
while still maintaining control of
the vehicle.
You and your passengers should never sit or lean unnecessarily
close to the air bags. Improperly
positioned driver and passengers
can be severely injured by inflat-
ing air bags.
Never lean against the door or center console – always sit in an
upright position.
No objects should be placed over or near the air bag modules on
the steering wheel, instrument
panel, and the front passenger's
panel above the glove box,
because any such object could
cause harm if the vehicle is in a
crash severe enough to cause
the air bags to deploy.
Do not tamper with or disconnect SRS wiring or other components
of the SRS system. Doing so
could result in injury, due to acci-
dental deployment of the air bags
or by rendering the SRS inopera-
tive.
(Continued)
(Continued)
If the SRS air bag warning lightremains illuminated while the
vehicle is being driven, have an
authorized KIA dealer inspect the
air bag system as soon as possi-
ble.
Air bags can only be used once – have an authorized KIA dealer
replace the air bag immediately
after deployment.
The SRS is designed to deploy the front air bags only when an
impact is sufficiently severe and
when the impact angle is less
than 30° from the forward longitu-
dinal axis of the vehicle.
Additionally, the air bags will only
deploy once. Seat belts must be
worn at all times.
Front air bags are not intended to deploy in side-impact, rear-
impact or rollover crashes. In
addition, front air bags will not
deploy in frontal crashes below
the deployment threshold.
(Continued)
1JBB35201JBA35141JBA3522
Rear impactSide impactRollover

Safety features of your vehicle42
3
C040600AMG-ECSide impact air bag (if equipped)Your vehicle is equipped with a side
impact air bag in each front and outboard
rear seat. The purpose of the air bag is to
provide the vehicle's driver and/or the
front and outboard rear passenger with
additional protection than that offered by
the seat belt alone.
(Continued)
Sitting improperly or out of posi-
tion can result in serious or fatal
injury in a crash. All occupants
should sit upright with the seat-
back in an upright position, cen-
tered on the seat cushion with
their seat belt on, legs comfort-
ably extended and their feet on
the floor until the vehicle is
parked and the ignition key is
removed.
The SRS air bag system must deploy very rapidly to provide
protection in a crash. If an occu-
pant is out of position because of
not wearing a seat belt, the air
bag may forcefully contact the
occupant causing serious or fatal
injuries.
(Continued)
A child restraint system mustnever be placed in the front seat.
The infant or child could be
severely injured or killed by an air
bag deployment in case of an
accident.
Children age 12 and under must always be properly restrained in
the rear seat. Never allow chil-
dren to ride in the front passen-
ger seat. If a child over 12 must
be seated in the front seat, he or
she must be properly belted and
the seat should be moved as far
back as possible.
For maximum safety protection in all types of crashes, all occu-
pants including the driver should
always wear their seat belts
whether or not an air bag is also
provided at their seating position
to minimize the risk of severe
injury or death in the event of a
crash. Do not sit or lean unneces-
sarily close to the air bag while
the vehicle is in motion.
(Continued)
OMG037049/OMG037050
1JBA3901