2011 KIA Soul Owner's Manual

Safety features of your vehicle
43
Front seat adjustment - manual
C010101AHM
Forward and rearward
To move the seat forward or rearward:
1. Pull the seat slide adjustment lever upand hold it.
2. Slide the seat to the position you desire.
3. Release the lever and make sure the seat is locked in place.
Adjust the seat before driving, and make
sure the seat is locked securely by trying
to move forward and rearward without
using the lever. If the seat moves, it is not
locked properly.
(Continued)
To avoid the possibility of burns, from a hot rear floor surface do
not remove the carpet in the
cargo area. Emission control
devices beneath this floor gener-
ate high temperatures.WARNING- Rear seatbacks
The rear seatback must besecurely latched. If not, passen-
gers and objects could be thrown
forward resulting in serious
injury or death in the event of a
sudden stop or collision.
Luggage and other cargo should be laid flat in the cargo area. If
objects are large, heavy, or must
be piled, they must be secured.
Under no circumstances should
cargo be piled higher than the
seatbacks. Failure to follow these
warnings could result in serious
injury or death in the event of a
sudden stop, collision or rollover.
No passenger should ride in the cargo area or sit or lie on folded
seatbacks while the vehicle is
moving. All passengers must be
properly seated in seats and
restrained properly while riding.
When resetting the seatback to the upright position, make sure it
is securely latched by pushing it
forward and rearward.
(Continued)
WARNING
After adjusting the seat, always
check that it is securely locked into
place by attempting to move the
seat forward or rearward without
using the lock release lever.
Sudden or unexpected movement
of the driver's seat could cause you
to lose control of the vehicle result-
ing in an accident.OAM039002
WARNING
Use extreme caution so thathands or other objects are not
caught in the seat mechanisms
while the seat is moving.
Do not put a cigarette lighter on the floor or seat. When you oper-
ate the seat, gas may gush out of
the lighter and cause fire.

35
Safety features of your vehicle
C010102AHM
Seatback angle
To recline the seatback:
1. Lean forward slightly and lift up theseatback recline lever.
2. Carefully lean back on the seat and adjust the seatback of the seat to the
position you desire.
3. Release the lever and make sure the seatback is locked in place. (The lever
MUST return to its original position for
the seatback to lock.)
C010103APB
Seat height (for driver’s seat)
To change the height of the seat, push
the lever upwards or downwards.
To lower the seat cushion, push downthe lever several times.
To raise the seat cushion, pull up the lever several times.
C010104AHM
Headrest
The driver's and front passenger's seats
are equipped with a headrest for the
occupant's safety and comfort.
The headrest not only provides comfort
for the driver and front passenger, but
also helps protect the head and neck in
the event of a collision.
OAM039004OPA039052OAM039003

Safety features of your vehicle
63
Forward and rearward adjustment
The headrest may be adjusted forward to
3 different positions by pulling the head-
rest forward to the desired detent. To
adjust the headrest to it’s furthest rear-
ward position, pull it fully forward to the
farthest position and release it. Adjust the
headrest so that it properly supports the
head and neck.Adjusting the height up and down
To raise the headrest, pull it up to the
desired position (1). To lower the head-
rest, push and hold the release button (2)
on the headrest support and lower the
headrest to the desired position (3).
WARNING
For maximum effectiveness in
case of an accident, the headrest
should be adjusted so the middle
of the headrest is at the same
height of the center of gravity of
an occupant's head. Generally,
the center of gravity of most peo-
ple's head is similar with the
height of the top of their eyes.
Also, adjust the headrest as close
to your head as possible. For this
reason, the use of a cushion that
holds the body away from the
seatback is not recommended.
Do not operate the vehicle with the headrests removed. Severe
injury to the occupants may
occur in the event of an accident.
Headrests may provide protec-
tion against neck injuries when
properly adjusted.
Do not adjust the headrest posi- tion of the driver’s seat while the
vehicle is in motion.
OAM039006OAM039005

37
Safety features of your vehicle
Removal and installation
To remove the headrest, raise it as far as
it can go then press the release button
(1) while pulling the headrest up (2).
To reinstall the headrest, put the head-
rest poles (3) into the holes while press-
ing the release button (1). Then adjust it
to the appropriate height.Active headrest (if equipped)
The active headrest is designed to move
forward and upward during a rear impact.
This helps to prevent the driver's and
front passenger’s heads from moving
backward and thus helps minimize neck
injuries.C010109AVQ-C1
Armrest (for driver’s seat, if equipped)
To use the armrest, swing down the arm-
rest to the lowest position.
WARNING
Make sure the headrest locks in
position after adjusting it to proper-
ly protect the occupants.
HNF2041-1OAM039007OSA038123
WARNING
A gap between the seat and the
headrest release button may
appear when seating on the seat or
when you push or pull the seat. Be
careful not to get your finger, etc.
caught in the gap.

Safety features of your vehicle
83
C010107AAM
Seat warmer (if equipped)
The seat warmers are provided to warm
the front seats during cold weather. With
the ignition switch in the ON position,
push either of the switches to warm the
driver's seat or the front passenger's
seat.
During mild weather or under conditions
where the operation of the seat warmer
is not needed, keep the switches in the
OFF position.
✽ ✽NOTICE
With the seat warmer switch in the ON
position, the heating system in the seat
turns off or on automatically depending
on the seat temperature.WARNING- Seat warmer
burns
Passengers should use extreme
caution when using seat warmers
due to the possibility of excess
heating or burns. The occupants
must be able to feel if the seat is
becoming too warm and turn the
seat warmer off. In particular, the
driver must exercise extreme care
for the following types of passen-
gers:
1. Infants, children, elderly or dis-
abled persons, or hospital outpa-
tients
2. Persons with sensitive skin or those that burn easily
3. Fatigued individuals
4. Intoxicated individuals
5. Individuals taking medication that can cause drowsiness or
sleepiness (sleeping pills, cold
tablets, etc.)
CAUTION
When cleaning the seats, do not use an organic solvent such aspaint thinner, benzene, alcoholand gasoline. Doing so may dam-age the surface of the heater orseats.
To prevent overheating the seat warmer, do not place blankets,cushions or seat covers on theseats while the seat warmer is inoperation.
Do not place heavy or sharp objects on seats equipped withseat warmers. Damage to the seat warming components could occur.
OAM039010

39
Safety features of your vehicle
C010108AAM
Seatback pocket (if equipped)
Rear seat adjustment
C010307AHM-C1
Folding the rear seat
The rear seatbacks can be folded to facil-
itate carrying long items or to increase
the luggage capacity of the vehicle.To fold down the rear seatback:
1. Insert the rear seat belt buckle in the
pocket (if equipped) between the rear
seatback and cushion, and insert the
rear seat belt webbing in the guide to
prevent the seat belt from being dam-
aged.
2. Set the front seatback to the upright position and if necessary, slide the
front seat forward.
3. Lower the rear headrests to the lowest position.
WARNING- Seatback
pockets
Do not put heavy or sharp objects
in the seatback pockets. In an acci-
dent they could come loose from
the pocket and injure vehicle occu-
pants.
OUN028040/H
WARNING
The purpose of the fold-down rear
seatbacks is to allow you to carry
longer objects that could not be
accommodated in the cargo area.
Never allow passengers sit on top
of the folded down seatback while
the vehicle is moving. This is not a
proper seating position and no seat
belts are available for use.
This could result in serious injury
or death in case of an accident or
sudden stop. Objects carried on the
folded down seatback should not
extend higher than the top of the
front seatbacks. Doing this could
allow cargo to slide forward and
cause injury or damage during sud-
den stops.
WARNING
For proper operation of the occu-
pant detection system, do not place
any items cumulatively weighing
over 1kg (2.2 lbs) in the passen-
ger’s seatback pocket.

Safety features of your vehicle
10
3
4. Pull on the seatback folding lever, then
fold the seat toward the front of the
vehicle. When you return the seatback
to its upright position, always be sure it
has locked into position by pushing on
the top of the seatback. 5. To use the rear seat, lift and pull the
seatback backward by pulling on the
folding lever. Pull the seatback firmly
until it clicks into place. Make sure the
seatback is locked in place.
6. Return the rear seat belt to the proper position.
OAM039020
OAM039021
WARNING
When you return the rear seatback
to its upright position after being
folded down:
Be careful not to damage the seat
belt webbing or buckle. Do not
allow the seat belt webbing or
buckle to get caught or pinched in
the rear seat. Ensure that the seat-
back is completely locked into its
upright position by pushing on the
top of the seatback. Otherwise, in
an accident or sudden stop, the
seat could fold down and allow
cargo to enter the passenger com-
partment, which could result in
serious injury or death.
CAUTION- Rear seat belts
When returning the rear seatbacksto the upright position, remember to return the rear shoulder belts totheir proper position. Routing theseat belt webbing through the rearseat belt guides will help keep the belts from being trapped behind orunder the seats.
CAUTION - Damaging rear
seat belt buckles
When you fold the rear seatback,
insert the buckle in the pocket between the rear seatback andcushion. Doing so can prevent thebuckle from being damaged by therear seatback.

311
Safety features of your vehicle
C010303AHM
Headrest
The rear seat(s) is equipped with head-
rests in all the seating positions for the
occupant's safety and comfort.
The headrest not only provides comfort
for passengers, but also helps protect the
head and neck in the event of a collision.
WARNING - Cargo loading
Make sure the engine is off, the
automatic transaxle is in P (Park)
or the manual transaxle is in
Reverse or 1st, and the parking
brake is securely applied whenever
loading or unloading cargo. Failure
to take these steps may allow the
vehicle to move if the shift lever is
inadvertently moved to another
position.
WARNING- Cargo
Cargo should always be secured to
prevent it from being thrown about
the vehicle in a collision and caus-
ing injury to the vehicle occupants.
Do not place objects in the rear
seats, since they cannot be proper-
ly secured and may hit the front
seat occupants in a collision.
OPA039053
WARNING
For maximum effectiveness incase of an accident, the headrest
should be adjusted so the middle
of the headrest is at the same
height of the center of gravity of
an occupant's head. Generally,
the center of gravity of most peo-
ple's head is similar with the
height as the top of their eyes.
Also adjust the headrest as close
to your head as possible. For this
reason, the use of a cushion that
holds the body away from the
seatback is not recommended.
Do not operate the vehicle with the headrests removed. Severe
injury to an occupant may occur
in the event of an accident.
Headrests may provide protec-
tion against severe neck injuries
when properly adjusted.