2012 KIA Optima seats

Safety features of your vehicle
38
3
Child restraint symbols are located on
the left and right rear seat backs to indi-
cate the position of the lower anchors for
child restraints. LATCH anchors have been provided in
your vehicle. The LATCH anchors are
located in the left and right outboard rear
seating positions. Their locations are
shown in the illustration. There is no
LATCH anchor provided for the center
rear seating position.
The LATCH anchors are located between
the seatback and the seat cushion of the
rear seat left and right outboard seating
positions.
Follow the child seat manufacturer’s
instructions to properly install child
restraint seats with LATCH or LATCH-
compatible attachments.
Once you have installed the LATCH child
restraint, assure that the seat is properly
attached to the LATCH and tether
anchors.
OTF030031N
Lower Anchor
Position Indicator
Lower Anchor
WARNING
When using the vehicle's "LATCH" system to install a child
restraint system in the rear seat,
all unused vehicle rear seat belt
metal latch plates or tabs must be
latched securely in their seat belt
buckles and the seat belt web-
bing must be retracted behind
the child restraint to prevent the
child from reaching and taking
hold of unretracted seat belts.
Unlatched metal latch plates or
tabs may allow the child to reach
the unretracted seat belts which
may result in strangulation and a
serious injury or death to the
child in the child restraint.
Do not place anything around the lower anchors. Also make sure
that the seat belt is not caught in
the lower anchors.
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343
Safety features of your vehicle
Air bag warning light
The purpose of the 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 ignition switch is turned ON,
the indicator light should illuminate for
approximately 6 seconds, then go off.
Have the system checked if:
The light does not turn on briefly whenyou turn the ignition ON.
The light stays on after illuminating for approximately 6 seconds.
The light comes on while the vehicle is in motion.
SRS components and functions
The SRS consists of the following com-
ponents:
1. Driver's front air bag module
2. Passenger's front air bag module
3. Side impact air bag modules
4. Curtain air bag modules
5. Retractor pre-tensioner assemblies*
6. Air bag warning light
7. SRS control module (SRSCM)
8. Front impact sensors
9. Side impact sensors
10. PASSENGER AIR BAG “OFF” indi- cator (Front passenger’s seat only)
11. Occupant detection system (Front passenger’s seat only)
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 can
cause serious or fatal injuries.
When children are seated in the rear outboard seats of a vehicle
equipped with side and/or curtain
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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351
Safety features of your vehicle
(Continued)
Air bags can only be used once –have an authorized Kia dealer
replace the air bag immediately
after deployment.
A smaller-stature adult who is not seated correctly (for example:
seat excessively reclined, leaning
on the door or center console, or
hips shifted forward in the seat)
can cause a condition where the
advanced frontal air bag system
senses less weight than if the
occupant were seated properly
(sitting upright with the seatback
in an upright position, centered
on the seat cushion with their
seat belt on, legs comfortably
extended and their feet on the
floor).
This condition can result in an
adult potentially being misclassi-
fied and illumination of the PAS-
SENGER AIR BAG “OFF” indica-
tor.(Continued)
If you change the weight on thefront passenger seat, the PAS-
SENGER AIR BAG “OFF” indica-
tor may turn on or off for a few
seconds, disabling or enabling
the passenger air bag.
Do not modify or replace the front passenger seat. Don't place any-
thing on or attach anything such
as a blanket or after market seat
heater to the front passenger
seat. This can adversely affect the
occupant detection system.
Do not sit on sharp objects such as tools when occupying the front
passenger seat. This can adverse-
ly affect the occupant detection
system.
Do not use accessory seat covers on the front seats.
Accident statistics show that chil- dren are safer if they are
restrained in the rear, as opposed
to the front seat. It is recommend-
ed that child restraints be secured
in a rear seat, including an infant
riding in a rear-facing infant seat,
a child riding in a forward-facing
child seat and an older child rid-
ing in a booster seat.
(Continued)WARNING
Even though your vehicle isequipped with the occupant
detection system, never install a
child restraint system in the front
passenger's seat. A deploying air
bag can forcefully strike a child
resulting in serious injuries or
death. Any child age 12 and
under should ride in the rear seat.
Children too large for child
restraints should use the avail-
able lap/shoulder belts. No mat-
ter what type of crash, children of
all ages are safer when restrained
in the rear seat.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG “OFF” indicator is illuminated
when the front passenger's seat
is occupied by an adult and
he/she sits properly (sitting
upright with the seatback in an
upright position, centered on the
seat cushion with their seat belt
on, legs comfortably extended
and their feet on the floor), have
that person sit in the rear seat.
(Continued)

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)

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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365
Safety features of your vehicle
Additional safety precautions
Never let passengers ride in the
cargo area or on top of a folded-
down back seat. All occupants should
sit upright, fully back in their seats with
their seat belts on and their feet on the
floor.
Passengers should not move out of
or change seats while the vehicle is
moving. A passenger who is not wear-
ing a seat belt during a crash or emer-
gency stop can be thrown against the
inside of the vehicle, against other
occupants, or out of the vehicle.
Each seat belt is designed to
restrain one occupant. If more than
one person uses the same seat belt,
they could be seriously injured or killed
in a collision.
Do not use any accessories on seat
belts. Devices claiming to improve
occupant comfort or repositioning the
seat belt can reduce the protection
provided by the seat belt and increase
the chance of serious injury in a crash.
Passengers should not place hard
or sharp objects between them-
selves and the air bags. Carrying
hard or sharp objects on your lap or in
your mouth can result in injuries if an
air bag inflates.
Keep occupants away from the air
bag covers. All occupants should sit
upright, fully back in their seats with
their seat belts on and their feet on the
floor. If occupants are too close to the
air bag covers, they could be injured if
the air bags inflate.
Do not attach or place objects on or
near the air bag covers. Any object
attached to or placed on the front or
side air bag covers could interfere with
the proper operation of the air bags.
Do not modify the front seats.
Modification of the front seats could
interfere with the operation of the sup-
plemental restraint system sensing
components or side air bags.
Do not place items under the front
seats. Placing items under the front
seats could interfere with the operation
of the supplemental restraint system
sensing components and wiring har-
nesses.
Never hold an infant or child on your
lap. The infant or child could be seri-
ously injured or killed in the event of a
crash. All infants and children should
be properly restrained in appropriate
child safety seats or seat belts in the
rear seat.
Adding equipment to or modify-
ing your air bag-equipped vehicle
If you modify your vehicle by changing
your vehicle's frame, bumper system,
front end or side sheet metal or ride
height, this may affect the operation of
your vehicle's air bag system.
WARNING
Sitting improperly or out of posi- tion can cause occupants to be
shifted too close to a deploying
air bag, strike the interior struc-
ture or be thrown from the vehicle
resulting in serious injury or
death.
Always sit upright with the seat- back in an upright position, cen-
tered on the seat cushion with
your seat belt on, legs comfort-
ably extended and your feet on
the floor.