2013 KIA Optima steering

341
Safety features of your vehicle
How does the air bag system
operate
Air bags are activated (able to inflate ifnecessary) only when the ignition
switch is turned to the ON or START
position.
Air bags inflate instantly in the event of serious frontal or side collision (if
equipped with side impact air bag or
curtain air bag) in order to help protect
the occupants from serious physical
injury.
There is no single speed at which the air bags will inflate.
Generally, air bags are designed to
inflate based upon the severity of a col-
lision and its direction. These two fac-
tors determine whether the sensors
produce an electronic deployment/
inflation signal.
Air bag deployment depends on a number of complex factors including
vehicle speed, angles of impact and
the density and stiffness of the vehi-
cles or objects which your vehicle hits
in the collision. Though, factors are not
limited to those mentioned above.
The front air bags will completely inflate and deflate in an instant. It is virtually impossible for you to see
the air bags inflate during an accident.
It is much more likely that you will sim-
ply see the deflated air bags hanging
out of their storage compartments after
the collision.
In order to help provide protection in a severe collision, the air bags must
inflate rapidly. The speed of air bag
inflation is a consequence of extremely
short time in which a collision occurs
and the need to get the air bag
between the occupant and the vehicle
structures before the occupant impacts
those structures. This speed of inflation
reduces the risk of serious or life-
threatening injuries in a severe collision
and is thus a necessary part of air bag
design.
However, air bag inflation can also
cause injuries which can include facial
abrasions, bruises and broken bones
because the inflation speed also caus-
es the air bags to expand with a great
deal of force.
There are even circumstances under which contact with the steer-
ing wheel air bag can cause fatal
injuries, especially if the occupant
is positioned excessively close to
the steering wheel.
WARNING
To avoid severe personal injuryor death caused by deploying air
bags in a collision, the driver
should sit as far back from the
steering wheel air bag as possi-
ble (at least 250 mm (10 inches)
away). The front passenger
should always move their seat as
far back as possible and sit back
in their seat.
Air bags inflate instantly in an event of a collision, and passen-
gers may be injured by the air bag
expansion force if they are not in
a proper position.
Air bag inflation may cause injuries which normally include
facial or bodily abrasions,
injuries from broken glasses or
burns by the air bag inflation
gasses.

Safety features of your vehicle
42
3
Noise and smoke
When the air bags inflate, they make a
loud noise and they leave smoke and
powder in the air inside of the vehicle.
This is normal and is a result of the igni-
tion of the air bag inflator. After the air
bag inflates, you may feel substantial dis-
comfort in breathing due to the contact of
your chest to both the seat belt and the
air bag, as well as from breathing the
smoke and powder. Open your doors
and/or windows as soon as possible
after the impact in order to reduce dis-
comfort and prevent prolonged expo-
sure to smoke and powder.
Though smoke and powder are non-
toxic, it may cause irritation to the skin
(eyes, nose and throat etc). If this is the
case, wash and rinse with the cold water
immediately and consult the doctor if the
symptom persists.
Installing a child restraint on a front passenger’s seat is forbidden
Never place a rear-facing child restraint
in the front passenger’s seat. If the air
bag deploys, it would impact the rear-fac-
ing child restraint, causing serious or
fatal injury.
In addition, do not place front-facing child
restraint in the front passenger’s seat
either. If the front passenger air bag
inflates, it would cause serious or fatal
injuries to the child.
1JBH3051
WARNING
When the air bags deploy, the air
bag related parts in the steering
wheel and/or instrument panel
and/or in both sides of the roof rails
above the front and rear doors are
very hot. To prevent injury, do not
touch the air bag storage area’s
internal components immediately
after an air bag has inflated.

Safety features of your vehicle
44
3
12. Driver’s and front passenger’s seat
belt buckle sensors
13. Anchor pre-tensioner assembly
*: if equipped
The SRSCM continually monitors all
SRS components while the ignition
switch is ON to determine if a crash
impact is severe enough to require air
bag deployment or pre-tensioner seat
belt deployment.
The SRS air bag warning light on the
instrument panel will illuminate for about
6 seconds after the ignition switch is
turned to the ON position, after which the
air bag warning light should go out.
If any of the following conditions occurs,
this indicates a malfunction of the SRS.
Have an authorized Kia dealer inspect
the air bag system as soon as possible.
The light does not turn on briefly when you turn the ignition ON.
The light stays on after illuminating for approximately 6 seconds.
The light comes on while the vehicle is in motion. The air bag modules are located both in
the center of the steering wheel and in
the front passenger's panel above the
glove box. When the SRSCM detects a
sufficiently severe impact to the front of
the vehicle, it will automatically deploy
the front air bags.
Upon deployment, tear seams molded
directly into the pad covers will separate
under pressure from the expansion of the
air bags. Further opening of the covers
then allows full inflation of the air bags.
B240B01L
Driver’s front air bag (1)
B240B02L
Driver’s front air bag (2)

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.
OTF030033
OTF030034
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.

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
1JBA3514
1JBA3522
Side impact
Rear impact
Rollover

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
64
3
SRS Care
The SRS is virtually maintenance-free
and so there are no parts you can safely
service by yourself. If the SRS air bag
warning light does not illuminate, or con-
tinuously remains on, have your vehicle
immediately inspected by an authorized
Kia dealer.
Any work on the SRS system, such as
removing, installing, repairing, or any
work on the steering wheel must be per-
formed by an authorized Kia dealer.
Improper handling of the SRS system
may result in serious personal injury.WARNING
Modification to SRS components
or wiring, including the addition
of any kind of badges to the pad
covers or modifications to the
body structure, can adversely
affect SRS performance and lead
to possible injury.
For cleaning the air bag pad cov- ers, use only a soft, dry cloth or
one which has been moistened
with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners could adversely affect
the air bag covers and proper
deployment of the system.
No objects should be placed over or 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 inflate.
(Continued)
(Continued)
If the air bags inflate, they mustbe replaced by an authorized Kia
dealer.
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 inflation of the air bags or
by rendering the SRS inopera-
tive.
If components of the air bag sys- tem must be discarded, or if the
vehicle must be scrapped, certain
safety precautions must be
observed. An authorized Kia
dealer knows these precautions
and can give you the necessary
information. Failure to follow
these precautions and proce-
dures could increase the risk of
personal injury.
If your vehicle was flooded and has soaked carpeting or water on
the floor, you shouldn't try to
start the engine; have the vehicle
towed to an authorized Kia deal-
er.