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Features of your vehicle
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3
Why didn’t my air bag go off in a
collision?
(Inflation and non-inflation 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.
Air bag collision sensors
(1) SRS control module
(2) Front impact sensor (3) Side impact sensor (if equipped)
(4) Side impact sensor (if equipped)
Air bag collision sensors
(1) SRS control module
(2) Front impact sensor(3) Side impact sensor (if equipped)
(4) Side impact sensor (if equipped)
OVQ031902N-1/1VQA2081/1VQA2080/OVQ031700/1VQA2323
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397
Features of your vehicle
Air bag inflation conditions
Front air bag
Front air bags are designed to inflate
when the impact is delivered to front col-
lision sensors depending on the intensity,
speed or angles of impact of the front
collision - generally from an area a little
to the left to a little to the right of straight
ahead.
1VQA2084
WARNING
Do not hit or allow any objects toimpact the locations where air bag
or sensors are installed.
This may cause unexpected air
bag deployment, which could
result in serious personal injury
or death.
If the installation location or angle of the sensors is altered in
any way, the air bags may deploy
when they should not or they may
not deploy when they should,
causing severe injury or death.
Therefore, do not try to perform
maintenance on or around the air
bag sensors. Have the vehicle
checked and repaired by an
authorized Kia dealer.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Problems may arise if the sensorinstallation angles are changed
due to the deformation of front
bumper, body or B/C pillar where
side collision sensors are
installed. Have the vehicle
checked and repaired by an
authorized Kia dealer.
Your vehicle has been designed to absorb impact and deploy the
air bag(s) in certain collisions.
Installing aftermarket bumper
guards or replacing a bumper
with non-genuine parts may
adversely affect your vehicles
collision and air bag deployment
performance.
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Side air bags (if equipped)
Side air bags (side and/or curtain air
bags) are designed to inflate when an
impact is detected by side collision sen-
sors depending on the strength, speed or
angles of impact of side impact of side
impact collision or rollover. Although the front air bags (driver’s and
front passenger’s air bags) are designed
to inflate only in frontal collision, it may
inflate in any collision if front impact sen-
sors detect a sufficient impact. Side air
bags (side and/or curtain air bags) are
designed to inflate only in side impact
collision, it may inflate in any collision if
side impact sensors detect a sufficient
impact.
If the vehicle chassis is impacted by
bumps or objects on unimproved roads
or sidewalks, air bags may deploy. Drive
carefully on unimproved roads or on sur-
faces not designed for vehicle traffic to
prevent unintended air bag deployment.
To protect occupants, front air bags or
pre-tensioner seat belts may deploy in
certain side impact collisions.
Air bag non-inflation conditions
In certain low-speed collisions the air
bags may not deploy. The air bags are
designed not to deploy in such cases
because the risk of injuries which can
be caused by the air bags exceeds the
benefits they provide in protecting
occupants.
OVQ036018N
OVQ032016N
1VQA2086
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Features of your vehicle
Frontal air bags are not designed toinflate in rear collisions, because occu-
pants are moved backward by the
force of the impact. In this case, the air
bags do not provide proper protection. Front air bags may not inflate in side
impact collision, because occupants
move to the direction of the collision,
and thus in side impacts, frontal air bag
deployment does not provide occupant
protection.
However, side or curtain air bags may
inflate depending on the intensity, vehi-
cle speed and angles of impact. In a slant or angled collision, the force
of impact may direct the occupants in a
direction between the front and side air
bags, and thus the sensors may not
deploy any air bags.
1VQA2089OVQ036018NOUN036087
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Features of your vehicle
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3
Just before impact, drivers often brake
heavily. Such heavy braking lowers the
front portion of the vehicle causing it to
“ride” under a vehicle with a higher
ground clearance. Air bags may not
inflate in this "under-ride" situation
because deceleration forces that are
detected by sensors may be signifi-
cantly altered by such “under-ride” col-
lisions. Air bags may not inflate in rollover acci-
dents because air bag deployment
would not provide proper protection to
the occupants.
However, side air bags may inflate
when the vehicle is rolled over by a
side impact collision, if the vehicle is
equipped with side air bags and cur-
tain air bags. Air bags may not inflate if the vehicle
collides with objects such as utility
poles or trees, where the point of
impact is concentrated to one area and
the full force of the impact is not deliv-
ered to the sensors.
1VQA20901VQA20911VQA2092
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3101
Features of your vehicle
Air bag system operation
Air bag only operates when the ignitionswitch is turned to the ON or START
positions.
Air bags inflate instantly in the event of serious frontal or side collision (if
equipped with side 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 by the severity of a collision and
its direction. These two factors deter-
mine whether the sensors send out an
electronic deployment/inflation signal. Air bag deployment depends on a
number of factors including vehicle
speed, angles of impact and the densi-
ty and stiffness of the vehicles or
objects which your vehicle hits in the
collision. However, factors are not limit-
ed 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 the
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 normally can
include facial abrasions, bruises and
broken bones, and sometimes more
serious injuries because that inflation
speed also causes the air bags to
expand with a great deal 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.
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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 safety belt and the
air bag, as well as from breathing the
smoke and powder. We strongly urge
you to open your doors and/or win-
dows as soon as possible after impact
in order to reduce discomfort and pre-
vent prolonged exposure to the
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.WARNING - Seated
positioning
Driver should sit as far back (at least 250 mm (10 inches) away)
from the steering wheel air bag as
possible to reduce the risk of
injury or death in a collision. The
front passenger should always
move their seat as far back as
possible and sit back in their
seat.
Air bag inflates instantly in an event of collision, passengers
may be injured by the air bag
expansion force if they are not in
proper position.
Air bag inflation may cause injuries which normally include
facial or bodily abrasions, injuries
by the broken glasses or burns by
the explosives.
WARNING
When the air bags deploy, the air
bag related parts in 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 areas internal
components immediately after an
air bag has inflated.
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3103
Features of your vehicle
Installing a child restraint on a
front passenger’s seat is forbid-
den.
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.
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 blink or illumi-
nate 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 the engine starts.
The light comes on while the vehicle is in motion.
1JBH3051
WARNING
Never put child restraint in thefront passenger’s seat. If the front
passenger air bag inflates, it
would cause serious or fatal
injuries.
When children are seated in the rear outboard seats in which side
air bags are equipped, be sure to
put the child restraint system as
far away from the door side as
possible, and secure the child
restraint system to be locked in
position.
Inflation of side or curtain air bag
could cause serious injury or
death due to the expansion
impact.
W7-147