2012 KIA Forte Section 7

Introduction
21
A010000AAM
We want to help you get the greatest
possible driving pleasure from your vehi-
cle. Your Owner’s Manual can assist you
in many ways. We strongly recommend
that you read the entire manual. In order
to minimize the chance of death or injury,
you must read the WARNING and CAU-
TION sections in the manual.
Illustrations complement the words in this
manual to best explain how to enjoy your
vehicle. By reading your manual, you will
learn about features, important safety
information, and driving tips under vari-
ous road conditions.The general layout of the manual is pro-
vided in the Table of Contents. Use the
index when looking for a specific area or
subject; it has an alphabetical listing of all
information in your manual.
Sections: This manual has eight sections
plus an index. Each section begins with a
brief list of contents so you can tell at a
glance if that section has the information
you want.
You will find various WARNINGs,
CAUTIONs, and NOTICEs in this manu-
al. These WARNINGs were prepared to
enhance your personal safety. You should
carefully read and follow ALL procedures
and recommendations provided in these
WARNINGS, CAUTIONS and NOTICES.
✽ ✽


NOTICE
A NOTICE indicates interesting or help-
ful information is being provided.
HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL
WARNING
A WARNING indicates a situation in
which harm, serious bodily injury or
death could result if the warning is
ignored.
CAUTION
A CAUTION indicates a situation in
which damage to your vehicle couldresult if the caution is ignored.

15
Introduction
INDICATOR SYMBOLS ON THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER
A050000ATD-EC
Seat belt warning light
High beam indicator
Turn signal indicator
ABS warning light
Parking brake & Brake fluid
warning light
Engine oil pressure warning light
Charging system warning light
ESC indicator*
ESC OFF indicator*
Malfunction indicator*
Air bag warning light*
Cruise indicator*
Cruise SET indicator*
Low fuel level warning light
❈ For more detailed explanations, refer to “Instrument cluster” in section 4.
Door ajar warning light
Trunk lid (or tailgate) open
warning light
Front fog light indicator*
Engine coolant temperature
warning light*
Electric power steering (EPS)
system warning light*
Shift pattern indicator
* : if equipped ECOMINDER
TMindicator*ECO
Immobilizer indicator

315
Safety features of your vehicle
C020100AHM
Seat belt restraint system
SEAT BELTS
WARNING
For maximum restraint systemprotection, the seat belts must
always be used whenever the
vehicle is moving.
Seat belts are most effective when seatbacks are in the
upright position.
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/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)
(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
Seat belts are designed to bear
upon the bony structure of the
body, and should be worn low
across the front of the pelvis or the
pelvis, chest and shoulders, as
applicable; wearing 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 wearer.
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.
(Continued)

319
Safety features of your vehicle
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.
✽ ✽NOTICE
Although 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.
When using the rear center seat belt, the
buckle with the “CENTER” mark must be
used. (if equipped)
OBH038023N
CAUTION
Do NOT fold down the left portion of
the rear seat back when the rearcenter seat belt is buckled. ALWAYSUNBUCKLE the rear center seatbelt before folding down the left portion of the rear seat back. If therear center seat belt is buckledwhen the left portion of the rearseat back is folded down, distortionand damage to the top portion ofthe seat back and seat belt garnishmay result, causing the seat back tolock into the folded down position.

323
Safety features of your vehicle
C020300AUN-EU
Seat belt precautions
C020306AUN
Infant or small child
You should be aware of the specific
requirements in your country. Child
and/or infant seats must be properly
placed and installed in the rear seat. For
more information about the use of these
restraints, refer to “Child restraint sys-
tem” in this section.
(Continued)
Do not attempt to service orrepair the pre-tensioner seat belt
system in any manner.
Do not put anything near the buckle. Placing objects near the
buckle can adversely affect the
buckle pretensioner and may
increase the risk of personal
injury in the event of a collision.
Improper handling of the pre-ten- sioner seat belt assemblies, and
failure to heed the warnings not
to strike, modify, inspect, replace,
service or repair the pre-tension-
er seat belt assemblies may lead
to improper operation or inadver-
tent activation and serious injury.
Always wear the seat belts when driving or riding in a motor vehi-
cle.
If the vehicle or pre-tensioner seat belt must be discarded, con-
tact an authorized KIA dealer.
WARNING
All occupants of the vehicle must
wear their seat belts at all times.
Seat belts and child restraints
reduce the risk of serious or fatal
injuries for all occupants in the
event of a collision or sudden stop.
Without a seat belt, occupants
could be shifted too close to a
deploying air bag, strike the interior
structure or be thrown from the
vehicle. Properly worn seat belts
greatly reduce these hazards.
Even with advanced air bags,
unbelted occupants can be severe-
ly injured by a deploying air bag.
Always follow the precautions
about seat belts, air bags and occu-
pant seat contained in this manual.
WARNING
Every person in your vehicle needs
to be properly restrained at all
times, including infants and chil-
dren. Never hold a child in your
arms or lap when riding in a vehi-
cle. The violent forces created dur-
ing a crash will tear the child from
your arms and throw the child
against the interior. Always use a
child restraint appropriate for your
child's height and weight.

Safety features of your vehicle
24
3
✽
✽
NOTICE
Small children are best protected from
injury in an accident when properly
restrained in the rear seat by a child
restraint system that meets the require-
ments of the safety standards of your
country. Before buying any child
restraint system, make sure that it has a
label certifying that it meets the safety
standards of your country. The restraint
must be appropriate for your child's
height and weight. Check the label on
the child restraint for this information.
Refer to “Child restraint system” in this
section.
C020301AHM
Larger children
Children who are too large for child
restraint systems should always occupy
the rear seat and use the available
lap/shoulder belts. The lap portion should
be fastened and snugged on the hips
and as low as possible. Check if the belt
fits periodically. A child's squirming could
put the belt out of position. Children are
given the most safety in the event of an
accident when they are restrained by a
proper restraint system in the rear seat. If
a larger child (over age 12) must be seat-
ed in the front seat, the child should be
securely restrained by the available
lap/shoulder belt and the seat should be
placed in the rearmost position. Children
age 12 and under should be restrained
securely in the rear seat. NEVER place a
child age 12 and under in the front seat.
NEVER place a rear facing child seat in
the front seat of a vehicle. If the shoulder belt portion slightly touch-
es the child’s neck or face, try placing the
child closer to the center of the vehicle. If
the shoulder belt still touches their face
or neck they need to be returned to a
child restraint system.
WARNING- Shoulder belts
on small children
Never allow a shoulder belt come
in contact with a child’s neck or
face while the vehicle is in
motion.
If seat belts are not properly worn and adjusted on children, there is
a risk of death or serious injury.

329
Safety features of your vehicle
C030100AHM-EU
Using a child restraint system
For small children and babies, the use of
a child seat or infant seat is required. This
child seat or infant seat should be of
appropriate size for the child and should
be installed in accordance with the man-
ufacturer's instructions.
For safety reasons, we recommend that
the child restraint system be used in the
rear seats.Since all passenger seat belts move
freely under normal conditions and only
lock under extreme or emergency condi-
tions (emergency lock mode), you must
manually change these seat belts to the
auto lock mode to secure a child
restraint.
WARNING- Child seat
installation
A child can be seriously injured
or killed in a collision if the child
restraint is not properly anchored
to the car and the child is not
properly restrained in the child
restraint. Before installing the
child restraint system, read the
instructions supplied by the child
restraint system manufacturer.
If the seat belt does not operate as described in this section, have
the system checked immediately
by your authorized KIA dealer.
Failure to observe this manual's instructions regarding child
restraint system and the instruc-
tions provided with the child
restraint system could increase
the chance and/or severity of
injury in an accident.
WARNING
Never place a rear-facing child
restraint in the front passenger
seat, because of the danger that an
inflating passenger-side air bag
could impact the rear-facing child
restraint and kill the child.
CRS09
OTQ037038
Rearward-facing child restraint system
Forward-facing child restraint system

Safety features of your vehicle
48
3
The driver's seat track position sensor (if
equipped), which is installed on the seat
track, determine if the seat is fore or aft
of a reference position. The seat belt
buckle sensors determine if the driver
and front passenger's seat belts are fas-
tened. These sensors provide the ability to con-
trol the SRS deployment based on how
close the driver's seat is to the steering
wheel, whether or not the seat belts are
fastened, 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 sit-
ting close to the instrument panel in low
speed collisions. However, children are
safer if they are restraint in the rear seat.
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 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 a seat track position sensor (if
equipped) or an occupant detection
system 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 seat
track position sensor and the occu-
pant detection system. 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
KIA 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 (if
equipped) 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 detection system.
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.