2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Owner's Manual

349
Safety features of your vehicle
The driver's seat track position sensor,
which is installed on the seat track, deter-
mines if the seat is fore or aft of a refer-
ence position. The seat belt buckle sen-
sors determine if the driver and front pas-
senger's seat belts are fastened. These
sensors provide the ability to control the
SRS deployment based on how close the
driver's seat is to the steering wheel,
whether or not the seat belts are fas-
tened, and how severe the impact is.
The advanced SRS offers the ability to
control the air bag inflation within 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, seating
position and seat belt usage, the SRSCM
(SRS Control Module) controls the air
bag inflation. Failure to properly wear
seat belts can increase the risk or sever-
ity of injury in an accident.Additionally, your vehicle 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 condi-
tions. For more detail, see "Occupant
classification system" in this section.
WARNING
If the occupant classification sys-
tem is not working properly, the
SRS air bag warning light on the
instrument panel will illuminate
because the SRS air bag warning
light is connected with the occu-
pant classification system. If the
SRS air bag warning light does not
illuminate when the engine
start/stop button is turned to the
ON position, remains illuminated
after approximately 6 seconds
when the engine start/stop button
is turned to the ON position, or if it
illuminates while the vehicle is
being driven, have an authorized
HYUNDAI dealer inspect the
advanced SRS air bag system as
soon as possible.
WARNING
Modification to the seat structure
can adversely affect the seat
track position sensor and cause
the air bag to deploy at a different
level than should be provided.
Do not place any objects under-
neath the front seats as they
could damage the seat track
position sensor or interfere with
the occupant classification sys-
tem.
Do not place any objects that may
cause magnetic fields near the
front seat. These may cause a
malfunction of the seat track
position sensor.

Safety features of your vehicle
50 3
✽
✽
NOTICE
• Be sure to read information about the
SRS on the labels provided on the sun
visor.
• Advanced air bags are combined with
pre-tensioner seat belts to help pro-
vide enhanced occupant protection in
frontal crashes. Front air bags are not
intended to deploy in collisions in
which protection can be provided by
the pre-tensioner seat belt.
(Continued)
Move your seat as far back as
practical 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.
Do not allow an adult passenger
to ride in the front seat when the
PASS AIR BAG "OFF" indicator is
illuminated, because the air bag
will not deploy in the event of a
moderate or severe frontal crash.
(Continued)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 advanced air bags,
improperly and unbelted occupants
can be severely injured when the
air bag inflates. Always follow the
precautions about seat belts, air
bags and occupant safety con-
tained 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)
WARNING
If you are considering modification
of your vehicle due to a disability,
please contact the Hyundai
Customer Assistance Center at 1-
800-633-5151.

351
Safety features of your vehicle
(Continued)
Even though your vehicle is
equipped with the occupant clas-
sification system, do not install a
child restraint system in the front
passenger seat position. A child
restraint system must never 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)(Continued)
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.
Never place covers, blankets or
seat warmers on the passenger
seat as these may interfere with
the occupant classification sys-
tem.
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.
If the SRS air bag warning light
remains illuminated while the
vehicle is being driven, have an
authorized HYUNDAI dealer
inspect the air bag system as
soon as possible.
(Continued)(Continued)
Air bags can only be used once –
have an authorized HYUNDAI
dealer replace the air bag imme-
diately 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)

Safety features of your vehicle
52 3
Side impact air bag
Your vehicle is equipped with a side
impact air bag in each front seat. The
purpose of the air bag is to provide the
vehicle's driver and/or the front passen-
ger with additional protection than that
offered by the seat belt alone.The side impact air bags are designed to
deploy only during certain side-impact
collisions, depending on the crash sever-
ity, angle, speed and point of impact. The
side impact air bags are not designed to
deploy in all side impact situations.
(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 smart 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.
OYF039032N
OYF039057N
Front

353
Safety features of your vehicle
Curtain air bag
Curtain air bags are located along both
sides of the roof rails above the front and
rear doors.
They are designed to help protect the
heads of the front seat occupants and
the rear outboard seat occupants in cer-
tain side impact collisions.
WARNING
The side impact air bag is sup-
plemental to the driver's and the
passenger's seat belt systems
and is not a substitute for them.
Therefore your seat belts must be
worn at all times while the vehicle
is in motion. The air bags deploy
only in certain side impact condi-
tions severe enough to cause
significant injury to the vehicle
occupants.
For best protection from the side
impact air bag system and to
avoid being injured by the
deploying side impact air bag,
both front seat occupants should
sit in an upright position with the
seat belt properly fastened. The
driver's hands should be placed
on the steering wheel at the 9:00
and 3:00 positions. The passen-
ger's arms and hands should be
placed on their laps.
Do not use any accessory seat
covers.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Use of seat covers could reduce
or prevent the effectiveness of
the system.
Do not install any accessories on
the side or near the side air bag.
Do not place any objects over the
air bag or between the air bag
and yourself.
Do not place any objects (an
umbrella, bag, etc.) between the
front door and the front seat.
Such objects may become dan-
gerous projectiles and cause
injury if the supplemental side air
bag inflates.
To prevent unexpected deploy-
ment of the side impact air bag
that may result in personal injury,
avoid impact to the side impact
sensor when the engine
start/stop button is on.
If the seat or seat cover is dam-
aged, have the vehicle checked
and repaired by an authorized
HYUNDAI dealer because your
vehicle is equipped with side
impact air bags and an occupant
classification system.
OYF039026
OYF039058N

Safety features of your vehicle
54 3
The curtain air bags are designed to
deploy only during certain side impact
collisions, depending on the crash sever-
ity, angle, speed and impact. The curtain
air bags are not designed to deploy in all
side impact situations, collisions from the
front or rear of the vehicle or in most
rollover situations.
WARNING
In order for side and curtain air
bags to provide the best protec-
tion, front seat occupants and
outboard rear occupants should
sit in an upright position with the
seat belts properly fastened.
Importantly, children should sit in
a proper child restraint system in
the rear seat.
When children are seated in the
rear outboard seats, they must be
seated in the proper child
restraint system. Make sure to
put the child restraint system as
far away from the door side as
possible, and secure the child
restraint system in a locked posi-
tion.
Do not allow the passengers to
lean their heads or bodies onto
doors, put their arms on the
doors, stretch their arms out of
the window, or place objects
between the doors and passen-
gers when they are seated on
seats equipped with side and/or
curtain air bags.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Never try to open or repair any
components of the side curtain
air bag system. This should only
be done by an authorized
HYUNDAI dealer.
Failure to follow the above instruc-
tions can result in injury or death to
the vehicle occupants in an acci-
dent.

355
Safety features of your vehicle
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
(4) Side pressure sensor
OYFH031040N-1/OYF039041/OYFH031042N-1/OHD036030/OYF039062N
1234

Safety features of your vehicle
56 3
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 front
collision.
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 injury
or 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 HYUNDAI dealer.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Problems may arise if the sensor
installation angles are changed
due to the deformation of the
front bumper, body or B pillars or
front door where side collision
sensors are installed. Have the
vehicle checked and repaired by
an authorized HYUNDAI dealer.
Your vehicle has been designed
to absorb impact and deploy the
air bag(s) in certain collisions.
Installing bumper guards or
replacing a bumper with non-gen-
uine parts may adversely affect
your vehicle’s collision and air
bag deployment performance.
1JBA3513