2012 KIA Optima Owner's Manual

Safety features of your vehicle
52
3
Driver's and passenger's front air
bag
Your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Supplemental Restraint (Air
Bag) System and lap/shoulder belts at
both the driver and passenger seating
position. The indications of the system's presence
are the letters "AIR BAG" embossed on
the air bag pad cover in the steering
wheel and the passenger's side front
panel pad above the glove box.
The SRS consists of air bags installed
under the pad covers in the center of the
steering wheel and the passenger's side
front panel above the glove box.
The purpose of the SRS is to provide the
vehicle's driver and/or the front passen-
ger with additional protection than that
offered by the seat belt system alone in
case of a frontal impact of sufficient
severity. The SRS uses sensors to gath-
er information about the driver's seat
position, the driver's and front passen-
ger's seat belt usage and impact severi-
ty.
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 passenger's front air bag is
connected with the occupant
detection system. If there is a mal-
function of the occupant detection
system, the PASSENGER AIR BAG
“OFF” indicator will not illuminate
and the passenger's front air bag
will inflate in frontal impact crashes
even if there is no occupant in the
front passenger's seat. 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 occupant
detection system and the SRS air
bag system as soon as possible.
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Driver’s front air bag
Passenger’s front air bag

353
Safety features of your vehicle
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 restrainted 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.

Safety features of your vehicle
54
3
✽
✽
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 provided by
the pre-tensioner seat belt alone.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)

355
Safety features of your vehicle
(Continued)
No objects should be placed overor near the air bag modules on
the steering wheel, instrument
panel, and 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.
Front air bags are not intended to deploy in side-impact, rear-
impact or rollover crashes. In
addition, front air bags will not
deploy in frontal crashes below
the deployment threshold.
(Continued)
1JBB3520
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Side impact
Rear impact
Rollover

Safety features of your vehicle
56
3
Side impact air bag
Your 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.
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)
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357
Safety features of your vehicle
The side impact air bags are designed to
deploy only during certain side-impact
collisions, depending on the crash sever-
ity, angle, speed and point of impact. The
side air bags are not designed to deploy
in all side impact situations.(Continued)
For best protection from the sideimpact air bag system and to
avoid being injured by the
deploying side impact air bag,
both front seat occupants should
sit in an upright position with the
seat belt properly fastened. The
driver's hands should be placed
on the steering wheel at 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.
Do not install any accessories on the side or near the side impact
air bag.
Do not place any objects over the air bag or between the air bag
and yourself.
(Continued)(Continued)
Do not place any objects (anumbrella, 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 the seat or seat cover is dam- aged, have the vehicle checked
and repaired by an authorized Kia
dealer. Inform the dealer that your
vehicle is equipped with side
impact air bags.
WARNING
Do not allow the passengers tolean their heads or bodies onto
doors, put their arms on the
doors, stretch their arms out of
the window, or place objects
between the doors and passen-
gers when they are seated on
seats equipped with side and/or
curtain air bags.
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 condi-
tions severe enough to cause
significant injury to the vehicle
occupants.
(Continued)

Safety features of your vehicle
58
3
Curtain air bag
Curtain air bags are located along both
sides of the roof rails above the center
pillar.
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 only during certain side impact
collisions, depending on the crash sever-
ity, angle, speed and impact. The curtain
air bags are not designed to deploy in all
side impact situations, collisions from the
front or rear of the vehicle or in most
rollover situations.
WARNING
In order for side and curtain air
bags to provide its best protec-
tion, both front seat occupants
and both outboard rear occu-
pants should sit in an upright
position with the seat belts prop-
erly fastened. Importantly, chil-
dren should sit in a proper child
restraint system in the rear seat.
When children are seated in the rear outboard seats, they must be
seated in the proper child
restraint system. Make sure to
put the child restraint system as
far away from the door side as
possible, and secure the child
restraint system in a locked posi-
tion.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Do not allow the passengers tolean their heads or bodies onto
doors, put their arms on the
doors, stretch their arms out of
the window, or place objects
between the doors and passen-
gers 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 curtain
air bag system. This should only
be done by an authorized Kia
Failure to follow the above men-
tioned instructions can result in
injury or death to the vehicle
occupants in an accident.
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359
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
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