2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid inflation

Safety features of your vehicle
36
3
How does the air bag system
operate
Air bags are activated (able to inflate if
necessary) only when the engine
start/stop button is turned to the ON or
START position.
Air bags inflate in the event of serious frontal or side collision in order to help
protect the occupants from serious
physical injury.
There is no single speed at which the air bags will inflate.
Generally, air bags are designed to
inflate by the severity of a collision and
its direction. These two factors deter-
mine whether the sensors sendout an
electronic deployment/ inflation signal.
Air bag deployment depends on a number of factors including vehicle
speed, angles of impact and the densi-
ty and stiffness of the vehicles or
objects which your vehicle hits in the
collision. Though, factors are not limit-
ed to those mentioned above.
The front air bags will completely inflate and deflate in an instant.
It is virtually impossible for you to see
the air bags inflate during an accident. It is much more likely that you will sim-
ply see the deflated air bags hanging
out of their storage compartments after
the collision.
In order to help provide protection in a severe collision, the air bags must
inflate rapidly. The speed of air bag
inflation is a consequence of the
extremely short time in which a collision
occurs and the need to get the air bag
between the occupant and the vehicle
structures before the occupant impacts
those structures. This speed of inflation
reduces the risk of serious or life-
threatening injuries in a severe collision
and is thus a necessary part of air bag
design.
However, air bag inflation can also
cause injuries which normally can
include facial abrasions, bruises and
broken bones because the inflation
speed also causes the air bags to
expand with a great deal of force.
There are even circumstances under which contact with the air bag
can cause fatal injuries, especially if
the occupant is positioned exces-
sively close to the air bag.
WARNING
To avoid severe personal injuryor death caused by deploying air
bags in a collision, the driver
should sit as far back from the
steering wheel air bag as possi-
ble (at least 10 inches (250 mm)
away). The front passengers
should always move their seats
as far back as possible and sit
back in their seat.
Air bags inflate instantly in the event of collision, and passen-
gers may be injured by the air bag
expansion force if they are not in
proper position.
Air bag inflation may cause injuries which normally include
facial or bodily abrasions,
injuries from broken glasses or
burns by the air bag inflation
gasses.

Safety features of your vehicle
38
3
Air bag warning light
The purpose of air bag warning light in
your instrument panel is to alert you of a
potential problem with your air bag -
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS). When the engine start/stop button is
turned ON, the indicator light should illu-
minate for approximately 6 seconds, then
go off.
Have the system checked if:
The light does not turn on briefly when
you turn the ignition ON.
The light stays on after illuminating for approximately 6 seconds.
The light comes on while the vehicle is in motion.
The light blinks when the engine start/stop button is in ON position.
WARNING
Extreme Hazard! Do not use arearward facing child restraint on
a seat protected by an air bag in
front of it!
Never put a child restraint in the front passenger’s seat. If the front
passenger air bag inflates, it
would cause serious or fatal
injuries.
When children are seated in the rear outboard seats of a vehicle
equipped with side air bags, be
sure to install the child restraint
system as far away from the door
side as possible, and securely
lock the child restraint system in
position.
Inflation of side and/or curtain air
bags could cause serious injury
or death to an infant or child.
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Safety features of your vehicle
40
3
The front air bag modules are located
both in the center of the steering wheel
and in the front passenger's panel above
the glove box. When the SRSCM detects
a sufficiently severe impact to the front of
the vehicle, it will automatically deploy
the front air bags. Upon deployment, tear seams molded
directly into the pad covers will separate
under pressure from the expansion of the
air bags. Further opening of the covers
then allows full inflation of the air bags.
WARNING
If any of the following conditions
occurs, this indicates a malfunction
of the SRS. Have an authorized
HYUNDAI dealer inspect the air bag
system as soon as possible.
The light does not turn on briefly
when you turn the ignition ON.
The light stays on after illuminat- ing for approximately 6 seconds.
The light comes on while the vehicle is in motion.
The light blinks when the engine start/stop button is in ON position.
B240B01L
Driver’s front air bag (1)
B240B02L
Driver’s front air bag (2)

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Safety features of your vehicle
A fully inflated air bag, in combination
with a properly worn seat belt, slows the
driver's or the passenger's forward
motion, reducing the risk of head and
chest injury.
After complete inflation, the air bag
immediately starts deflating, enabling the
driver to maintain forward visibility and
the ability to steer or operate other con-
trols.
B240B03L
Driver’s front air bag (3)
WARNING
Do not install or place any acces-sories (drink holder, CD or discs
holder, sticker, etc.) on the front
passenger's panel above the
glove box in a vehicle with a pas-
senger's air bag. Such objects
may become dangerous projec-
tiles and cause injury if the pas-
senger's air bag inflates.
When installing a container of liq- uid air freshener inside the vehi-
cle, do not place it near the
instrument cluster nor on the
instrument panel surface.
It may become a dangerous pro-
jectile and cause injury if the pas-
senger's air bag inflates.
B240B05L
Passenger’s front air bag
WARNING
If an air bag deploys, there maybe a loud noise followed by a fine
dust released in the vehicle.
These conditions are normal and
are not hazardous - the air bags
are packed in this fine powder.
The dust generated during air
bag deployment may cause skin
or eye irritation as well as aggra-
vate asthma for some persons.
Always wash all exposed skin
areas thoroughly with lukewarm
water and a mild soap after an
accident in which the air bags
were deployed.
The SRS can function only when the engine start/stop button is in
the ON position. If the SRS air
bag warning light " " does not
illuminate, or continuously
remains on after illuminating for
about 6 seconds when the engine
start/stop button is turned to the
ON position, or after the engine is
started, comes on while driving,
the SRS is not working properly.
If this occurs, have your vehicle
immediately inspected by an
authorized HYUNDAI dealer.
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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.

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
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Safety features of your vehicle
56
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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.
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(Continued)
Problems may arise if the sensorinstallation 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.
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Safety features of your vehicle
Side impact and curtain air bags
Side impact and curtain air bags are
designed to inflate when an impact is
detected by side collision sensors
depending on the strength, speed or
angles of impact resulting from a side
impact 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 impact and curtain
air bags are designed to inflate only in
side impact collisions, but they may
inflate in other collisions if the side
impact sensors detect a sufficient
impact.
If the vehicle chassis is impacted by
bumps or objects on unimproved roads,
the air bags may deploy. Drive carefully
on unimproved roads or on surfaces not
designed for vehicle traffic to prevent
unintended air bag deployment.
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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