2011 Hyundai Sonata Owner's Manual

Safety features of your vehicle48
3
(Continued)
• Do not place an electronic device
such as a laptop computer on the
front passenger seat. Its elec-
tronic field may cause the OCS to
switch to the "on" condition and
thus allow the passenger air bag
to deploy needlessly in a colli-
sion, increasing your repair
costs.
• A smaller-stature adult in the front passenger’ seat who is not
seated correctly (for example:
seat excessively reclined, leaning
on the door or center console, or
hips shifted forward in the seat)
can cause a condition where the
occupant classification system
senses less weight than if the
occupant were seated properly
(sitting upright with the seatback
in an upright position, centered
on the seat cushion with their
seat belt on, legs comfortably
extended and their feet on the
floor).
This condition can result in an
adult potentially being misclassi-
fied as a child and illumination of
the PASS AIR BAG "OFF" indica-
tor.
(Continued)
• Accident statistics show thatchildren are safer if they are
restrained in the rear, as opposed
to the front seat. It is recom-
mended that child restraints be
secured in a rear seat, including
an infant riding in a rear-facing
infant seat, a child riding in a for-
ward-facing child seat and an
older child riding in a booster
seat.
• Air bags can only be used once – have an authorized HYUNDAI
dealer replace the air bag imme-
diately after deployment.
• The occupant classification sys- tem may not work properly if
water, coffee or any other liquid
including rain gets on the seat.
Keep the front seat dry at all
times.
(Continued)
• If the PASS AIR BAG "OFF" indi-cator is illuminated when the
front passenger's seat is occu-
pied by an adult and he/she sits
properly (sitting upright with the
seatback in an upright position,
centered on the seat cushion
with their seat belt on, legs com-
fortably extended and their feet
on the floor), have that person sit
in the rear seat.
• Do not modify or replace the front passenger seat. Don't place any-
thing on or attach anything such
as a blanket or seat heater to the
front passenger seat. This can
adversely affect the occupant
classification system.
• Do not sit on sharp objects such as tools when occupying the
front passenger seat. This can
adversely affect the occupant
classification system.
• Do not use accessory seat cov- ers on the front seats.
(Continued)

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349
Safety features of your vehicle
Driver'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" or “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. The SRS uses sensors to gath-
er information about the driver's seat
position, the driver's and front passen-
ger's seat belt usage and impact severi-
ty.

OYF039030
Driver’s front air bag
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 passenger's front air
bag is connected with the occupant
classification system. If there is a
malfunction of the occupant classi-
fication system, the PASS AIR BAG
"OFF" indicator will not illuminate
and the passenger's front air bag
will inflate in frontal impact crashes
even if there is no occupant in the
front passenger's seat. If the SRS
air bag warning light does not illu-
minate when the ignition switch is
turned to the ON position, remains
illuminated after approximately 6
seconds when the ignition switch is
turned to the ON position, or if it
illuminates while the vehicle is
being driven, have an authorized
HYUNDAI dealer inspect the occu-
pant classification system and the
SRS air bag system as soon as
possible.

OYF039031
Passenger’s front air bag

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Safety features of your vehicle50
3
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 ignition switch
is turned to the ON position,
remains illuminated after approxi-
mately 6 seconds when the ignition
switch 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.

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351
Safety features of your vehicle
✽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 a passenger to ride in the front seat when the PASS
AIR BAG "OFF" indicator is illu-
minated, because the air bag will
not deploy in the event of a mod-
erate 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 orbooster 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.

YF hma 3.qxp 11/25/2009 5:01 PM Page 51

Safety features of your vehicle52
3
(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 overor 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)

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353
Safety features of your vehicle
Side impact air bagYour 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 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.

OYF039032N
OYF039057N
Front

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Safety features of your vehicle54
3
Curtain air bagCurtain 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 reduceor 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 ignition switch
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

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355
Safety features of your vehicle
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 airbags 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 anycomponents 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.

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