2009 KIA SOUL Owners Manual

Safety features of your vehicle
52
3
C040800AUN-C1
Why didn’t my air bag go off in a collision? (Inflation and non-infla-
tion conditions of the air bag)
There are many types of accidents in
which the air bag would not be expect-
ed to provide additional protection.
These include rear impacts, second or
third collisions in multiple impact
accidents, as well as low speed
impacts. In other words, just because
your vehicle is damaged and even if it
is totally unusable, don’t be surprised
that the air bags did not inflate.
Air bag collision sensors
(1) SRS control module
(2) Front impact sensor
(3) Side impact sensor (if equipped)
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Safety features of your vehicle
C040801AUN
Air bag inflation conditions
Front air bags
Front air bags are designed to inflate in a frontal collision depending on the intensi-
ty, speed or angles of impact of the frontcollision.
1VQA2084
WARNING
Do not hit or allow any objects to impact the locations where air
bags or sensors are installed.
This may cause unexpected air
bag deployment, which could
result in serious personal injuryor death.
If the installation location or angle of the sensors is altered in
any way, the air bags may deploy
when they should not or they may
not deploy when they should,
causing severe injury or death.
Therefore, do not try to perform
maintenance on or around the air
bag sensors. Have the vehicle
checked and repaired by an
authorized KIA dealer.
(Continued)(Continued)
Problems may arise if the sensorinstallation angles are changed
due to the deformation of the
front bumper, body or B pillar
where side collision sensors are
installed. Have the vehicle
checked and repaired by an
authorized KIA dealer.
Your vehicle has been designed to absorb impact and deploy the
air bag(s) in certain collisions.
Installing aftermarket bumper
guards or replacing a bumper
with non-genuine parts may
adversely affect your vehicles
collision and air bag deployment
performance.

Safety features of your vehicle
54
3
Side air bags (if equipped)
Side air bags (side impact and/or curtain air bags) are designed to inflate when an
impact is detected by side collision sen-sors depending on the strength, speed orangles of impact resulting from a sideimpact collision. Although the front air bags (driver’s and
front passenger’s air bags) are designed
to inflate only in frontal collisions, they
also may inflate in other types of colli-sions if the front impact sensors detect a
sufficient impact. Side air bags (side
impact and/or curtain air bags) aredesigned to inflate only in side impact
collisions, but they may inflate in othercollisions if the side impact sensorsdetect a sufficient impact.
If the vehicle chassis is impacted by
bumps or objects on unimproved roads
or sidewalks, air bags may deploy. Drive
carefully on unimproved roads or on sur-
faces not designed for vehicle traffic to
prevent unintended air bag deployment.
C040802AUN
Air bag non-inflation conditions
In certain low-speed collisions the air
bags may not deploy. The air bags are
designed not to deploy in such cases
because they may not provide benefits
beyond the protection of the seat belts
in such collisions.
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OVQ036018N
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Safety features of your vehicle
Frontal air bags are not designed toinflate in rear collisions, because occu-
pants are moved backward by the
force of the impact. In this case, inflat-
ed air bags would not be able to pro-
vide any additional benefit. Front air bags may not inflate in side
impact collisions, because occupants
move to the direction of the collision,
and thus in side impacts, frontal air bag
deployment would not provide addi-tional occupant protection.
However, side impact or curtain air
bags may inflate depending on the
intensity, vehicle speed and angles ofimpact. In a slant or angled collision, the force
of impact may direct the occupants in a
direction where the air bags would not
be able to provide any additional bene-
fit, and thus the sensors may not
deploy any air bags.
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Safety features of your vehicle
56
3
Just before impact, drivers often brake
heavily. Such heavy braking lowers the
front portion of the vehicle causing it to
“ride” under a vehicle with a higher
ground clearance. Air bags may not
inflate in this "under-ride" situation
because deceleration forces that are
detected by sensors may be signifi-
cantly reduced by such “under-ride”
collisions. Air bags may not inflate in rollover acci-
dents because air bag deployment
would not provide protection to the
occupants.
However, side and/or curtain air bags may inflate when the vehicle is rolled
over by a side impact collision, if the
vehicle is equipped with side impact air
bags and curtain air bags. Air bags may not inflate if the vehicle
collides with objects such as utility
poles or trees, where the point of
impact is concentrated to one area and
the full force of the impact is not deliv-
ered to the sensors.
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Safety features of your vehicle
C041100AUN-C1 SRS Care
The SRS is virtually maintenance-free
and so there are no parts you can safely
service by yourself. If the SRS air bag
warning light does not illuminate, or con-
tinuously remains on, have your vehicle
immediately inspected by an authorized
KIA dealer.
Any work on the SRS system, such as
removing, installing, repairing, or any
work on the steering wheel must be per-
formed by an authorized KIA dealer.Improper handling of the SRS system
may result in serious personal injury.
WARNING
Modification to SRS components or wiring, including the addition
of any kind of badges to the pad
covers or modifications to the
body structure, can adversely
affect SRS performance and lead
to possible injury.
For cleaning the air bag pad cov- ers, use only a soft, dry cloth or
one which has been moistened
with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners could adversely affect
the air bag covers and proper
deployment of the system.

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 inflate.
(Continued)
(Continued)
If the air bags inflate, they must be replaced by an authorized KIA
dealer.
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 inflation of the air bags or
by rendering the SRS inopera-
tive.
If components of the air bag sys- tem must be discarded, or if the
vehicle must be scrapped, certain
safety precautions must be
observed. An authorized KIA
dealer knows these precautions
and can give you the necessary
information. Failure to follow
these precautions and proce-dures could increase the risk of
personal injury.
If your car was flooded and has soaked carpeting or water on
flooring, you shouldn't try to start
the engine; have the car towed to
an authorized KIA dealer.

Safety features of your vehicle
58
3
C041300AUN-U1
Additional safety precautions Never let passengers ride in the
cargo area or on top of a folded-
down back seat. All occupants should
sit upright, fully back in their seats with
their seat belts on and their feet on the
floor.
Passengers should not move out of
or change seats while the vehicle is
moving. A passenger who is not wear-
ing a seat belt during a crash or emer-
gency stop can be thrown against the
inside of the vehicle, against other
occupants, or out of the vehicle.
Each seat belt is designed torestrain one occupant. If more than
one person uses the same seat belt,
they could be seriously injured or killedin a collision.
Do not use any accessories on seatbelts. Devices claiming to improve
occupant comfort or reposition the seat
belt can reduce the protection provided
by the seat belt and increase the
chance of serious injury in a crash.
Passengers should not place hardor sharp objects between them-
selves and the air bags. Carrying
hard or sharp objects on your lap or in
your mouth can result in injuries if an
air bag inflates.
Keep occupants away from the air
bag covers. All occupants should sit
upright, fully back in their seats with
their seat belts on and their feet on the
floor. If occupants are too close to the
air bag covers, they could be injured if
the air bags inflate.
Do not attach or place objects on or
near the air bag covers. Any object
attached to or placed on the front or
side impact air bag covers could inter-
fere with the proper operation of the air
bags.
Do not modify the front seats.Modification of the front seats could
interfere with the operation of the sup-
plemental restraint system sensing
components or side impact air bags.
Do not place items under the frontseats. Placing items under the front
seats could interfere with the operation
of the supplemental restraint system
sensing components and wiring har-
nesses.
Never hold an infant or child on yourlap. The infant or child could be seri-
ously injured or killed in the event of a
crash. All infants and children should
be properly restrained in appropriate
child safety seats or seat belts in therear seat. C041400AUN
Adding equipment to or modifying
your air bag-equipped vehicle
If you modify your vehicle by changing
your vehicle's frame, bumper system,
front end or side sheet metal or ride
height, this may affect the operation of
your vehicle's air bag system.
WARNING
Sitting improperly or out of posi- tion can cause occupants to be
shifted too close to a deploying
air bag, strike the interior struc-
ture or be thrown from the vehicle
resulting in serious injury ordeath.
Always sit upright with the seat- back in an upright position, cen-tered on the seat cushion with
your seat belt on, legs comfort-
ably extended and your feet on
the floor.

359
Safety features of your vehicle
C041200AAM
Air bag warning label (if equipped)
Air bag warning label is attached to alert
the passengers of potential risk of the airbag system.
Note that these government warnings
focus on the risk to children, we also
want you to be aware of the risks which
adults are exposed to that have been
described in previous pages.
OAM039041