2011 KIA Sorento Owner's Manual

Safety features of your vehicle52
3The seat belt buckle sensors determine if
the driver and front passenger's seat
belts are fastened. These sensors provide the ability to con-
trol the SRS deployment based on
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 with two lev-
els. A first stage level is provided for mod-
erate-severity impacts. A second stage
level is provided for more severe impacts.
The passenger’s front air bag is designed
to help reduce the injury of children sitting
close to the instrument panel in low speed
collisions. However, children are safer if
they are restrained in the rear seat.
According to the impact severity 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 severity of injury in
an accident.
Additionally, your vehicle is equipped
with an occupant detection system in the
front passenger's seat. The occupant
detection system detects the presence of
a passenger in the front passenger's seat
and will turn off the front passenger's air
bag under certain conditions. For more
detail, see "Occupant detection system"
in this section.
WARNING
If the occupant detection system is
not working properly, the SRS air
bag warning light on the instru-
ment panel will illuminate because
the SRS air bag warning light is
connected with the occupant
detection system. If the SRS air bag
warning light does not illuminate
when the ignition switch is turned
to the ON position, remains illumi-
nated after approximately 6 sec-
onds when the ignition switch is
turned to the ON position, or if it
illuminates while the vehicle is
being driven, have an authorized
KIA dealer inspect the advanced
SRS air bag system as soon as
possible.
WARNING
 Modification to the seat structure
can 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 interfere with the
occupant detection system.
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353
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 provide
enhanced occupant protection in
frontal crashes. Front air bags are not
intended to deploy in collisions in
which sufficient protection can be pro-
vided by the pre-tensioner seat belt.
WARNING
Manufacturers are required by gov-
ernment regulations to provide a
contact point concerning modifica-
tions to the vehicle for persons with
disabilities, which modifications
may affect the vehicle’s advanced
air bag system. However, KIA does
not endorse nor will it support any
changes to any part or structure of
the vehicle that could affect the
advanced air bag system, including
the occupant detection system.
Specifically, the front passenger
seat, dashboard or door should not
be replaced except by an author-
ized KIA dealer using original KIA
parts designed for this vehicle and
model. Any other such replacement
or modification could adversely
affect the operation of the occupant
detection system and your
advanced air bags. For the same
reason, do not attach anything to
the seat, dashboard or door, even
temporarily. If the system is
adversely affected, it could cause
severe personal injuries or death in
a collision.
(Continued)
 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.
 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 drivers and passen-
gers can be severely injured by
inflating 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 PAS-
SENGER AIR BAG “OFF” indica-
tor 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: (Continued)
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Safety features of your vehicle54
3
OEP036096NOVQ036018N1VQA2091
Rear impactSide impactRollover
(Continued)
 No objects should be placed over
or near the air bag modules on
the steering wheel, instrument
panel or 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 aftermarket seat warmers on the
passenger seat as these may
interfere with the occupant detec-
tion system.
 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.
(Continued)
(Continued)
 Front air bags are not intended todeploy 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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Safety features of your vehicle
C040600AAM-EUSide 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.
(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 or the engine is shut off.
 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)
 Even though your vehicle isequipped with the occupant
detection 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)
OCM030306OXM039039
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Safety features of your vehicle56
3 The side impact air bags are designed
to deploy during certain side-impact
collisions, depending on the crash
severity, angle, speed and point of
impact.
 The side impact air bags do not only deploy on the side of the impact but
also on the opposite side.
 Also, both sides of the side impact air bags deploy in certain rollover situa-
tions.
 The side impact air bags are not designed to deploy in all side impact or
rollover situations.
(Continued)
 Do not install any accessories onthe side or near the side impact
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 seat or seat cover is damaged, have the vehicle checked and
repaired by an authorized KIA
dealer. Inform the dealer that your
vehicle is equipped with side
impact air bags and an occupant
detection system.
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 or
rollover conditions severe
enough to cause significant
injury to the vehicle occupants.
 For best protection from the side air bag system and to avoid being
injured by the deploying side air
bag, both front seat occupants
should sit in an upright position
with the seat belt properly fas-
tened. The driver's hands should
be placed on the steering wheel
at the 9:00 and 3:00 positions.
The passenger's arms and hands
should be placed on their laps.
 Do not use any accessory seat covers.
 Use of seat covers could reduce or prevent the effectiveness of
the system.
(Continued)
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357
Safety features of your vehicle
C040700AUNCurtain 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. The curtain air bags are designed to
deploy during certain side impact colli-
sions, depending on the crash severity,
angle, speed and point of impact.
 The curtain air bags do not only deploy on the side of the impact but also on
the opposite side.
 Also, both sides of the curtain air bags deploy in certain rollover situations.
 The curtain air bags are not designed to deploy in all side impact or 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.
(Continued)
(Continued)
 When children are seated in therear outboard seats, they must be
seated in the proper child
restraint system. Make sure to
position the child restraint sys-
tem as far away from the door
side as possible, and secure the
child restraint system in a locked
position.
 Do not allow the passengers to lean their heads or bodies
against the doors, put their arms
on the doors, stretch their arms
out of the window or place
objects between the doors and
passengers when they are seated
on seats equipped with side
impact and/or curtain air bags.
 Never try to open or repair any components of the side and cur-
tain air bag system. This should
only be done by an authorized
KIA dealer.
Failure to follow the above men-
tioned instructions can result in
injury or death to the vehicle occu-
pants in an accident.
OXM039055OCM030304
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Safety features of your vehicle58
3C040800AAMWhy 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/
Rollover sensor
(2) Front impact sensor (3) Side impact sensor
(4) Side impact sensor
OXM039040N/OXM039041/OXM039042N/OXM039043/OXM039044
1
2
3
4
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Safety features of your vehicle
C040801AAMAir bag inflation conditionsFront 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.
1VQA2084
WARNING
 Do not hit or allow any objects toimpact 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 KIA dealer.
(Continued)
(Continued)
 Problems may arise if the sensorinstallation angles are changed
due to the deformation of the
front bumper, front end module,
body or front doors and/or C pil-
lar 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 bumper guards (or side
step or running board) or replac-
ing a bumper (or front door mod-
ule) with non-genuine parts may
adversely affect your vehicle’s
collision and air bag deployment
performance.
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