2014 Hyundai Elantra ESP

You will find many safety precautions
and recommendations throughout
this section, and throughout this man-
ual. The safety precautions in this sec-
tion are among the most important.
Always wear your seat belt
A seat belt is your best protection in
all types of accidents. Air bags are
designed to supplement seat belts,
not replace them. So even though
your vehicle is equipped with air bags,
ALWAYS make sure you and your
passengers wear your seat belts, and
wear them properly.
Restrain all children
All children under age 13 should ride
in your vehicle properly restrained in
a rear seat, not the front seat. Infants
and small children should be
restrained in an appropriate child
restraint. Larger children should use
a booster seat with the lap/shoulder
belt until they can use the seat belt
properly without a booster seat.
Air bag hazards
While air bags can save lives, they
can also cause serious or fatal
injuries to occupants who sit too
close to them, or who are not prop-
erly restrained. Infants, young chil-
dren, and shorter adults are at the
greatest risk of being injured by an
inflating air bag. Follow all instruc-
tions and warnings in this manual.
Driver distraction
Driver distraction presents a serious
and potentially deadly danger, espe-
cially for inexperienced drivers. Safety
should be the first concern when
behind the wheel and drivers need to
be aware of the wide array of potential
distractions, such as drowsiness,
reaching for objects, eating, personal
grooming, other passengers, and
using cellular phones, to name a few.
Drivers can become distracted when
they take their eyes and attention off
the road or their hands off the wheel
to focus on activities other than driv-
ing. To reduce your risk of distraction
or getting into an accident:
• ALWAYS set up your mobile devices(i.e., MP3 players, phones, naviga-
tion units, etc.) when your vehicle is
parked or safely stopped.
ONLY use your mobile device when allowed by laws and when conditions
permit safe use. NEVER text or
email while driving. Most states have
laws prohibiting drivers from texting.
Some states and cities also prohibit
drivers from using handheld phones.
IMPORTANT SAFETY PRECAUTIONS Safety features of your vehicle
23

NEVER let the use of a mobiledevice distract you from driving. You
have a responsibility to your passen-
gers and others on the road to
always drive safely, with your hands
on the wheel as well as your eyes
and attention on the road.
Control your speed
Excessive speed is a major factor in
crash injuries and deaths. Generally,
the higher the speed, the greater the
risk, but serious injuries can also
occur at lower speeds. Never drive
faster than is safe for current condi-
tions, regardless of the maximum
speed posted.
Keep your vehicle in safe condi-
tion
Having a tire blowout or a mechanical
failure can be extremely hazardous. To
reduce the possibility of such prob-
lems, check your tire pressures and
condition frequently, and perform all
regularly scheduled maintenance.
Safety features of your vehicle
33

Safety features of your vehicle
63
Front seatsWARNING
Take the following precautions
when adjusting your seat belt:
NEVER use one seat belt for
more than one occupant.
Always position the seatback
upright with the lap portion of
the seat belt snug and low
across the hips.
NEVER allow children or small
infants to ride in a passenger’s
lap.
Do not route the seat belt
across your neck, across sharp
edges, or reroute the shoulder
strap away from your body.
Do not allow the seat belt to
become caught or jammed.
WARNING
Take the following precautions
when adjusting your seat:
NEVER attempt to adjust the
seat while the vehicle is mov-
ing. The seat could respond
with unexpected movement
and may cause loss of vehicle
control resulting in an acci-
dent.
Do not place anything under
the front seats. Loose objects
in the driver’s foot area could
interfere with the operation of
the foot pedals, causing an
accident.
Do not allow anything to inter-
fere with the normal position
and proper locking of the seat-
back.
Do not place a cigarette lighter
on the floor or seat. When you
operate the seat, gas may exit
out of the lighter causing a fire.
WARNING
To prevent injury:
Do not adjust your seat while
wearing your seat belt.
Moving the seat cushion for-
ward may cause strong pres-
sure on your abdomen.
Do not allow your hands or
fingers to get caught in the
seat mechanisms while the
seat is moving.

Safety features of your vehicle
315
Headrest
The vehicle’s front and rear seats
have adjustable headrests. The head-
rests provide comfort for passengers,
but more importantly they are
designed to help protect passengers
from whiplash and other neck and
spinal injuries during an accident,
especially in a rear impact collision.
Front seat headrest
The driver’s and front passenger’s
seats are equipped with adjustable
headrests for the passengers safety
and comfort.
WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious
injury or death in an accident,
take the following precautions
when adjusting your headrests:
Always properly adjust the
headrests for all passengers
BEFORE starting the vehicle.
NEVER let anyone ride in a seat
with the headrest removed.(Continued)
(Continued)
Adjust the headrests so the
middle of the headrests is at
the same height as the height
of the top of the eyes.
NEVER adjust the headrest
position of the driver’s seat
when the vehicle is in motion.
Adjust the headrest as close
to the passenger’s head as
possible. Do not use a seat
cushion that holds the body
away from the seatback.
Make sure the headrest locks
into position after adjusting it.
WARNING
To prevent damage, NEVER hit
or pull on the headrests.
OMG038400

Safety features of your vehicle
319
To reinstall the headrest:
1. Recline the seatback.
2. Put the headrest poles (3) into theholes while pressing the release
button (1).
3. Adjust the headrest to the appropri- ate height.Seat warmers
Seat warmers are provided to warm
the seats during cold weather.
WARNING
Always make sure the headrest
locks into position after rein-
stalling and adjusting it to prop-
erly protect the occupants.
WARNING
The seat warmers can cause a
SERIOUS BURN, even at low
temperatures and especially if
used for long periods of time.
Passengers must be able to feel
if the seat is becoming too warm
so they can turn it off, if needed.
People who cannot detect tem-
perature change or pain to the
skin should use extreme cau-
tion, especially the following
types of passengers:
Infants, children, elderly or
disabled persons, or hospital
outpatients.
People with sensitive skin or
who burn easily.
Fatigued individuals.
Intoxicated individuals.
People taking medication that
can cause drowsiness or
sleepiness.
WARNING
NEVER place anything on the
seat that insulates against heat
when the seat warmer is in oper-
ation, such as a blanket or seat
cushion. This may cause the
seat warmer to overheat, caus-
ing a burn or damage to the seat.
CAUTION
To prevent damage to the seatwarmers and seats:
Never use a solvent such aspaint thinner, benzene, alco-hol or gasoline to clean theseats.
Do not place heavy or sharpobjects on seats equippedwith seat warmers.

Safety features of your vehicle
36
3
Child restraint system types
There are three main types of child
restraint systems: rear-facing seats,
forward-facing seats, and booster
seats. They are classified according
to the child’s age, height and weight.
Rear-facing child seats A rear-facing child seat provides
restraint with the seating surface
against the back of the child. The har-
ness system holds the child in place,
and in an accident, acts to keep the
child positioned in the seat and
reduce the stress to the neck and
spinal cord.
All children under age one must
always ride in a rear-facing infant child
restraint.
Convertible and 3-in-1 child seats typ-
ically have higher height and weight
limits for the rear-facing position,
allowing you to keep your child rear-
facing for a longer period of time.Continue to use a rear-facing child
seat for as long as your child will fit
within the height and weight limits
allowed by the child seat manufactur-
er. It’s the best way to keep them
safe. Once your child has outgrown
the rear-facing child restraint, your
child is ready for a forward-facing
child restraint with a harness.
CRS09
WARNING
NEVER install a child or infant
restraint in the front passen-
ger’s seat.
Placing a rear-facing child
restraint in the front seat can
result in SERIOUS INJURY or
DEATH if the child restraint is
struck by an inflating air bag.
■
Rearward-facing child restraint system
WARNING
If the vehicle headrest prevents
proper installation of a child
seat, the headrest of the respec-
tive seating position shall be
readjusted or entirely removed.

Safety features of your vehicle
351
SRS warning light
The SRS (Supplement Restraint
System) air bag warning light on the
instrument panel displays the air bag
symbol depicted in the illustration. The
system checks the air bag electrical
system for malfunctions. The light indi-
cates that there is a potential problem
with your air bag system. During a moderate to severe frontal
collision, sensors will detect the vehi-
cle’s rapid deceleration. If the rate of
deceleration is high enough, the con-
trol unit will inflate the front air bags.
The front air bags help protect the
driver and front passenger by
responding to frontal impacts in
which seat belts alone cannot provide
adequate restraint.
Air bags are activated (able to
inflate if necessary) only when the
ignition switch is in the ON position.
Air bags inflate in the event of a severe frontal or side collision 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 colli-
sion and its direction. These two
factors determine whether the sen-
sors produce an electronic deploy-
ment/inflation signal.
WARNING
If your SRS malfunctions, the
air bag may not inflate properly
during an accident increasing
the risk of serious injury or
death.
If any of the following condi-
tions occur, your SRS is mal-
functioning:
The light does not turn on for
approximately six seconds
when the ignition switch is
placed in the ON position.
The light stays on after illumi-
nating for approximately six
seconds.
The light comes on while the
vehicle is in motion.
The light blinks when the
engine is running.
Have an authorized HYUNDAI
dealer inspect the SRS as soon
as possible if any of these con-
ditions occur.

Safety features of your vehicle
52
3 Air bag deployment depends on a
number of factors including vehicle
speed, angles of impact and the
density and stiffness of the vehicles
or objects which your vehicle
impacts during a collision. The
determining 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 acci-
dent. It is much more likely that you
will simply see the deflated air bags
hanging out of their storage com-
partments after the collision. To help provide protection, the air
bags must inflate rapidly. The
speed of air bag inflation is a con-
sequence of extremely short time
in which to inflate the air bag
between the occupant and the
vehicle structures before the occu-
pant impacts those structures. This
speed of inflation reduces the risk
of serious or life-threatening
injuries and is thus a necessary
part of air bag design.
However, the rapid air bag inflation
can also cause injuries which can
include facial abrasions, bruises
and broken bones because the
inflation speed also causes the air
bags to expand with a great deal of
force.
There are even circumstances under which contact with the air
bag can cause fatal injuries, espe-
cially if the occupant is positioned
excessively close to the air bag. You can take steps to reduce the risk
of being injured by an inflating air
bag. The greatest risk is sitting too
close to the air bag. An air bag needs
about 10 inches (25 cm) of space to
inflate. NHTSA recommends that
drivers allow at least 10 inches
(25 cm) between the center of the
steering wheel and the chest.