2012 KIA Optima eco

Safety features of your vehicle
18
3
Seat belt restraint system
SEAT BELTS
WARNING
For maximum restraint system
protection, 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)

Safety features of your vehicle
20
3
*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.
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 5
km/h (3 mph). If the vehicle speed
increases above 5 km/h (3 mph), the
warning light will blink again.
OTF030046N
ConditionsWarning Pattern
Seat BeltVehicle
SpeedLight-Blink
Unbuckled6 seconds
UnbuckledAbove 10 km/h (6mph)Continuously
Buckled6 seconds
Buckled →
Unbuckled
Above 10 km/h (6mph)Continuously *1
Below 10 km/h(6mph)None
ConditionsWarning Pattern
Seat BeltVehicleSpeedLight-BlinkChime-Sound
Unbuckled6 seconds
Buckled6 secondsNone
Buckled →
Unbuckled
Below 5 km/h (3 mph)6 secondsNone
5 km/h~10 km/h6 seconds
Above 10 km/h (6 mph)6 sec. on / 24 sec. off (11 times)
Unbuckled
Above 10 km/h(6 mph)
↓
Below 5 km/h (3 mph)6 seconds *1
↓
Stop *2

321
Safety features of your vehicle
✽
✽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.
Seat belt - Driver's 3-point system
with emergency locking retractor
To 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.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
If you are not able to pull out the seat
belt from the retractor, firmly pull the
belt out and release it. Then you will be
able to pull the belt out smoothly.
B180A01NF
1
2

323
Safety features of your vehicle
Seat belts - Front passenger and rearseat 3-point system with combinationlocking retractor
To 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.
✽ ✽
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.
CAUTION
Do NOT fold down the left portion of
the rear seat back when the rearcenter seat belt is buckled. ALWAYS UNBUCKLE the rear center seatbelt before folding down the leftportion of the rear seat back. If the rear center seat belt is buckledwhen the left portion of the rear seat back is folded down, distortionand damage to the top portion of the seat back and seat belt garnishmay result, causing the seat back tolock into the folded down position.

Safety features of your vehicle
26
3
✽
✽
NOTICE
• Both the driver's and front passen-
ger's pre-tensioner seat belts may be
activated in certain frontal collisions.
The pre-tensioners will not activate if
the seat belts are not worn at the time
of the collision.
• When the pre-tensioner seat belts are activated, a loud noise may be heard
and fine dust, which may appear to be
smoke, may be visible in the passenger
compartment. These are normal oper-
ating conditions and are not haz-
ardous.
• Although it is harmless, the fine dust may cause skin irritation and should
not be breathed for prolonged peri-
ods. Wash all exposed skin areas thor-
oughly after an accident in which the
pre-tensioner seat belts were activat-
ed.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
Because the sensor that activates the
SRS air bag is connected with the pre-
tensioner seat belt, the SRS air bag
warning light ( ) on the instrument
panel will illuminate for approximately
6 seconds after the ignition switch has
been turned to the ON position, and
then it should turn off.CAUTION
If the pre-tensioner seat belt does
not work properly, this warning lightwill illuminate even if the SRS air bag has not malfunctioned. If theSRS air bag warning light does notilluminate when the ignition switch is turned ON, or if it remains illumi-nated after illuminating for approxi- mately 6 seconds, or if it illuminateswhile the vehicle is being driven, please have an authorized Kia deal-er inspect the pre-tensioner seatbelt or SRS air bag system as soonas possible.

327
Safety features of your vehicle
Seat belt precautions(Continued)
Do not attempt to service orrepair the pre-tensioner seat belt
system in any manner.
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 seating contained in this man-
ual.
WARNING
Pre-tensioners are designed tooperate only one time. After acti-
vation, pre-tensioner seat belts
must be replaced. All seat belts,
of any type, should always be
replaced after they have been
worn during a collision.
The pre-tensioner seat belt assembly mechanisms become
hot during activation. Do not
touch the pre-tensioner seat belt
assemblies for several minutes
after they have been activated.
Do not attempt to inspect or replace the pre-tensioner seat
belts yourself. This must be done
by an authorized Kia dealer.
Do not strike the pre-tensioner seat belt assemblies.
(Continued)

329
Safety features of your 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.Pregnant women
The use of a seat belt is recommended
for pregnant women to lessen the chance
of injury in an accident. When a seat belt
is used, the lap belt portion should be
placed as low and snugly as possible on
the hips, not across the abdomen. For
specific recommendations, consult a
physician.
Injured person
A seat belt should be used when an
injured person is being transported.
When this is necessary, you should con-
sult a physician for recommendations.
One person per belt
Two people (including children) should
never attempt to use a single seat belt.
This could increase the severity of
injuries in case of an accident.
Do not lie down
To reduce the chance of injuries in the
event of an accident and to achieve maxi-
mum effectiveness of the restraint system,
all passengers should be sitting up and
the front seats should be in an upright
position when the vehicle is moving. A
seat belt cannot provide proper protection
if the person is lying down in the rear seat
or if the front seat is in a reclined position.
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.
WARNING - Pregnantwomen
Pregnant women must never place
the lap portion of the safety belt
over the area of the abdomen
where the fetus is located or above
the abdomen where the belt could
crush the fetus during an impact.

Safety features of your vehicle
30
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Care of seat belts
Seat belt systems should never be disas-
sembled or modified. In addition, care
should be taken to assure that seat belts
and belt hardware are not damaged by
seat hinges, doors or other abuse.
Periodic inspection
All seat belts should be inspected peri-
odically for wear or damage of any kind.
Any damaged parts should be replaced
as soon as possible.
Keep belts clean and dry
Seat belts should be kept clean and dry.
If belts become dirty, they can be
cleaned by using a mild soap solution
and warm water. Bleach, dye, strong
detergents or abrasives should not be
used because they may damage and
weaken the fabric.
When to replace seat belts
The entire in-use seat belt assembly or
assemblies should be replaced if the
vehicle has been involved in an accident.
This should be done even if no damage
is visible. Additional questions concern-
ing seat belt operation should be directed
to an authorized Kia dealer.
WARNING
When you return the rear seatback
to its upright position after the rear
seatback has been folded down, be
careful not to damage the seat belt
webbing or buckle. Be sure that the
webbing or buckle does not get
caught or pinched in the rear seat.
A seat belt with damaged webbing
or buckle could fail during a colli-
sion or sudden stop, resulting in
serious injury. If the webbing or
buckles are damaged, get them
replaced immediately.
WARNING
Riding with a reclined seatback
increases your chance of serious
or fatal injuries in the event of a col-
lision or sudden stop. The protec-
tion of your restraint system (seat
belts and air bags) is greatly
reduced by reclining your seat.
Seat belts must be snugged against
your hips and chest to work proper-
ly. The more the seatback is
reclined, the greater the chance
that an occupant's hips will slide
under the lap belt causing serious
internal injuries. Also, the shoulder
belt may strike the occupant's
neck. Drivers and passengers
should always sit well back in their
seats, properly belted, and with the
seatbacks upright.