2012 Hyundai Sonata Owner's Manual

Safety features of your vehicle14
3ArmrestThe armrest is located in the center of
the rear seat. Pull the armrest down and
you will find the cup holders.
Folding the rear seatThe 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 thepocket (if equipped) between the rear
seatback and cushion.
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.
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Safety features of your vehicle
2. Make sure the rear seat belt webbingis in the guide to prevent the seat belt
from being damaged.
3. Set the front seatback to the upright position and if necessary, slide the
front seat forward.
4. Lower the rear headrests to the lowest position.
5. Pull on the seatback folding lever locat-ed in the trunk, then fold the seat
toward the front of the vehicle. 6. To use the rear seat, lift and pull the
seatback rearward. Push the seatback
firmly until it clicks into place. Make
sure the seatback is locked in place.
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.
7. Return the rear seat belt to the proper position.
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Safety features of your vehicle16
3
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.
CAUTION
- Rear seat belts
When returning the rear seatbacks
to the upright position, rememberto return the rear shoulder belts totheir proper position. Routing the seat belt webbing through the rearseat belt guides will help keep thebelts from being trapped behind or under the seats.
CAUTION -
Damaging rear
seat belt buckles
When you fold the rear seatback,
insert the buckle in the pocketbetween the rear seatback and cushion. Doing so can prevent thebuckle from being damaged by the rear seatback.
WARNING -
Cargo loading
Make sure the engine is off, the
automatic transaxle is in P (Park)
or the manual transaxle is in R
(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
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.

317
Safety features of your vehicle
Seat belt restraint systemSEAT BELTS
WARNING
Seat belts are designed to bear
upon the bony structure of the
body, and should be worn low
across the front of the pelvis, chest
and shoulders, as applicable; wear-
ing the lap section of the belt
across the abdominal area must be
avoided.
Seat belts should be adjusted as
firmly as possible, consistent with
comfort, to provide the protection
for which they have been designed.
A slack belt will greatly reduce the
protection afforded to the occu-
pant.(Continued)
(Continued)
Care should be taken to avoid con-
tamination of the webbing with pol-
ishes, oils and chemicals and par-
ticularly battery acid. Cleaning may
safely be carried out using mild
soap and water. The belt should be
replaced if webbing becomes
frayed, contaminated or damaged.
It is essential to replace the entire
assembly after it has been worn in
a severe impact even if damage to
the assembly is not obvious. Belts
should not be worn with straps
twisted. Each seat belt assembly
must only be used by one occu-
pant; it is dangerous to put a belt
around a child being carried on the
occupant's lap.
(Continued)
 Avoid wearing twisted seat belts.A twisted belt can't do its job as
well. In a collision, it could even
cut into you. Be sure the belt
webbing is straight and not twist-
ed.
 Be careful not to damage the belt webbing or hardware. If the belt
webbing or hardware is dam-
aged, replace it.
WARNING
 For maximum restraint systemprotection, the seat belts must
always be used whenever the car
is moving.
 Seat belts are most effective when seatbacks are in the
upright position.
 Children age 12 and younger must always be properly
restrained in the rear seat. Never
allow children to ride in the front
passenger seat. If a child over 12
must be seated in the front seat,
he/she must be properly belted
and the seat should be moved as
far back as possible.
 Never wear the shoulder belt under your arm or behind your
back. An improperly positioned
shoulder belt can cause serious
injuries in a crash. The shoulder
belt should be positioned midway
over your shoulder across your
collarbone.
(Continued)

Safety features of your vehicle18
3
Seat belt warning (for driver’s seat)The driver's seat belt warning light and
chime will activate to the following table
when the ignition switch is in "ON" posi-
tion.
*
1Warning pattern repeats 11 times with
an interval of 24 seconds. If the driver's
seat belt is buckled, the light will stop
within 6 seconds and chime will stop
immediately.
*2The light will stop within 6 seconds and
chime will stop immediately.
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Conditions
Warning Pattern
Seat Belt
Vehicle
Speed
Light-Blink
Chime-Sound
Unbuckled
6 seconds
Buckled
6 seconds
None
Buckled →
Unbuckled
Below 3 mph (5 km/h)
6 seconds
None
3 mph~6 mph
6 seconds
Above 6 mph (10 km/h)
6 sec. on / 24 sec. off (11 times)
Unbuckled
Above 6 mph(10 km/h)
↓
Below 3 mph (5 km/h)
6 seconds *
1
↓
Stop *
2
WARNING
 No modifications or additions should be made by the user
which will either prevent the seat
belt adjusting devices from oper-
ating to remove slack, or prevent
the seat belt assembly from being
adjusted to remove slack.
 When you fasten the seat belt, be careful not to latch the seat belt in
buckles of other seat. It's very dan-
gerous and you may not be pro-
tected by the seat belt properly.
 Do not unfasten the seat belt and do not fasten and unfasten the
seat belt repeatedly while driving.
This could result in loss of con-
trol, and an accident causing
death, serious injury, or property
damage.
 When fastening the seat belt, make sure that the seat belt does
not pass over objects that are
hard or can break easily.
 Make sure there is nothing in the buckle. The seat belt may not be
fastened securely.

319
Safety features of your vehicle
Seat belt warning (for front passen-ger’s seat)The front passenger's seat belt warning
light will activate to the following table
when the ignition switch is in "ON" posi-
tion. *
1The seat belt warning light will go off if
the vehicle speed decreases below 3
mph (5 km/h). If the vehicle speed
increases above 3 mph (5 km/h), the
warning light will blink again.
✽ ✽
NOTICE• You can find the front passenger's seat
belt warning light on the center fascia
panel.
• Although the front passenger seat is not occupied, the seat belt warning
light will blink for 6 seconds.
• The seat belt warning light can blink when a briefcase or purse is placed on
the front passenger seat.
Conditions
Warning Pattern
Seat Belt
Vehicle
Speed
Light-Blink
Unbuckled
6 seconds
Unbuckled
Above 6mph (10 km/h)
Continuously
Buckled
6 seconds
Buckled →
Unbuckled
Above 6mph (10 km/h)
Continuously *
1
Below 6mph(10 km/h)
None
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Type AType B

Safety features of your vehicle20
3Seat belt - Driver's 3-point system
with emergency locking retractorTo fasten your seat belt:
To fasten your seat belt, pull it out of the
retractor and insert the metal tab (1) into
the buckle (2). There will be an audible
"click" when the tab locks into the buckle.
The seat belt automatically adjusts to the
proper length only after the lap belt por-
tion is adjusted manually so that it fits
snugly around your hips. If you lean for-
ward in a slow, easy motion, the belt will
extend and let you move around. If there
is a sudden stop or impact, however, the
belt will lock into position. It will also lock
if you try to lean forward too quickly. Height adjustment
You can adjust the height of the shoulder
belt anchor to one of 4 positions for max-
imum comfort and safety.
The height of the adjusting seat belt
should not be too near your neck. The
shoulder portion should be adjusted so
that it lies across your chest and midway
over your shoulder nearest the door and
not your neck.
To adjust the height of the seat belt
anchor, lower or raise the height adjuster
into an appropriate position.To raise the height adjuster, pull it up (1).
To lower it, push it down (3) while press-
ing the height adjuster button (2).
Release the button to lock the anchor
into position. Try sliding the height
adjuster to make sure that it has locked
into position.
WARNING
 Verify the shoulder belt anchor is
locked into position at the appro-
priate height. Never position the
shoulder belt across your neck or
face. Improperly positioned seat
belts can cause serious injuries
in an accident.
 Failure to replace seat belts after an accident could leave you with
damaged seat belts that will not
provide protection in the event of
another collision leading to per-
sonal injury or death. Replace
your seat belts after being in an
accident as soon as possible.
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Front seat
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321
Safety features of your vehicle
Seat belts - Front passenger and rearseat 3-point system with combination locking retractorTo fasten your seat belt:
Combination retractor type seat belts are
installed in the rear seat positions to help
accommodate the installation of child
restraint systems. Although a combina-
tion retractor is also installed in the front
passenger seat position, it is strongly
recommended that children always be
seated in the rear seat. NEVER place
any infant restraint system in the front
seat of the vehicle.
This type of seat belt combines the fea-
tures of both an emergency locking
retractor seat belt and an automatic lock-
ing retractor seat belt. To fasten your seat
belt, pull it out of the retractor and insert
the metal tab into the buckle. There will
be an audible "click" when the tab locks
into the buckle. When not securing a
child restraint, the seat belt operates in
the same way as the driver's seat belt
(Emergency Locking Retractor Type). It
automatically adjusts to the proper length
only after the lap belt portion of the seat
belt is adjusted manually so that it fits
snugly around your hips. When the seat belt is fully extended from
the retractor to allow the installation of a
child restraint system, the seat belt oper-
ation changes to allow the belt to retract,
but not to extend (Automatic Locking
Retractor Type). Refer to “Using a child
restraint system” in this section.
✽ ✽
NOTICEAlthough the combination retractor
provides the same level of protection for
seated passengers in either emergency
or automatic locking modes, it is recom-
mended that seated passengers use the
emergency locking feature for improved
convenience. The automatic locking
function is intended to facilitate child
restraint installation. To convert from
the automatic locking feature to the
emergency locking operation mode,
allow the unbuckled seat belt to fully
retract.
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WARNING
You should place the lap belt por-
tion as low as possible and snugly
across your hips, not on your waist.
If the lap belt is located too high on
your waist, it may increase the
chance of injury in the event of a
collision. Both arms should not be
under or over the belt. Rather, one
should be over and the other under,
as shown in the illustration.
Never wear the seat belt under the
arm nearest the door.