
321
Safety features of your vehicle
Both the driver's and front passenger's
pre-tensioner seat belts may be activated
in certain frontal collisions.
The pre-tensioners will not be activated if
the seat belts are not being worn at the
time of the collision.
✽ ✽NOTICE
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 operat-
ing conditions and are not hazardous.
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.
If the pre-tensioner seat belt does not
work properly, this warning light will illu-
minate even if the SRS air bag has not
malfunctioned. If the SRS air bag warn-
ing light does not illuminate when the
ignition switch is turned ON, or if it
remains illuminated after illuminating for
approximately 6 seconds, or if it illumi-
nates while the vehicle is being driven,
please have an authorized Kia dealer
inspect the pre-tensioner seat belt or
SRS air bag system as soon as possible.
✽ ✽NOTICE
Do not attempt to service or repair the
pre-tensioner seat belt system in any
manner. Do not attempt to inspect or
replace the pre-tensioner seat belts
yourself. This must be done by an
authorized Kia dealer.
Pre-tensioners are designed to operate
only one time. After activation, pre-ten-
sioner seat belts must be replaced. If the
pre-tensioner must be replaced, contact
an authorized Kia dealer.
WARNING - Hot
pretensioner
Do not touch the pre-tensioner seat
belt assemblies for several minutes
after they have been activated.
When the pre-tensioner seat belt
mechanism fires during a collision
the pre-tensioner becomes hot and
can burn you.
WARNING- Skin irritation
Wash all exposed skin areas thor-
oughly after an accident in which
the pre-tensioner seat belts were
activated. The fine dust from the
pre-tensioner activation may cause
skin irritation and should not be
breathed for prolonged periods.

323
Safety features of your vehicle
Restraint of pregnant women
Pregnant women should wear lap/shoul-
der belt assemblies whenever possible
according to specific recommendations
by their doctors. The lap portion of the
belt should be worn AS SNUGLY AND
LOW AS POSSIBLE.
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.
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.
WARNING - Pregnant
women
Pregnant women must never place
the lap portion of the seat belt
above or on the abdomen where
the fetus is located. The force of the
seat belt during a collision will
crush the fetus.
WARNING - Pinched seatbelt
Make sure that the webbing and/or
buckle does not get caught or
pinched in the rear seat when
returning the rear seatback to its
upright position. A caught or
pinched webbing/buckle may
become damaged and could fail
during a collision or sudden stop.

Safety features of your vehicle
24
3
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.

325
Safety features of your vehicle
CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM
Children riding in the car should sit in the
rear seat and must always be properly
restrained to minimize the risk of injury in
an accident, sudden stop or sudden
maneuver. According to accident statis-
tics, children are safer when properly
restrained in the rear seats than in the
front seat. Larger children not in a child
restraint should use one of the seat belts
provided.
You should be aware of the specific
requirements in your country. Child
and/or infant safety seats must be prop-
erly placed and installed in the rear seat.
You must use a commercially available
child restraint system that meets the
requirements of the safety standards of
your country.
Child restraint systems are designed to
be secured in vehicle seats by seat belt,
or by a tether anchor and/or LATCH
anchors (if equipped).Children could be injured or killed in a
crash if their restraints are not properly
secured. For small children and babies, a
child seat or infant seat must be used.
Before buying a particular child restraint
system, make sure it fits your vehicle
seat and seat belts, and fits your child.
Follow all the instructions provided by the
manufacturer when installing the child
restraint system.
When the child restraint system is not in
use, store it in the luggage area or fasten
it with a seat belt so that it will not be
thrown forward in case of a sudden stop
or an accident.
WARNING- Restraint location
Never install a child or infant seat
on the front passenger's seat.
A child riding in the front passen-
ger seat can be forcefully struck by
an inflating airbag.
WARNING- Hot childrestraint
A child restraint system can
become very hot if it is left in a
closed vehicle on a sunny day. Be
sure to check the seat cover, buck-
les and latches before placing a
child in the restraint system.

327
Safety features of your vehicle
For safety reasons, we recommend that
the child restraint system be used in the
rear seats.
Since all passenger seat belts move
freely under normal conditions and only
lock under extreme or emergency condi-
tions (emergency lock mode), you must
manually change these seat belts to the
auto lock mode to secure a child
restraint.
If the seat belt does not operate as
described in this section, have the sys-
tem checked immediately by your author-
ized Kia dealer.
✽ ✽NOTICE
If the vehicle headrest prevents proper
installation of a child seat (as described
in the child seat system manual), the
headrest of the respective seating posi-
tion shall be readjusted or entirely
removed.
Lacing a passenger seat belt into the
auto lock mode
The auto lock mode will help prevent the
normal movement of the child in the vehi-
cle from causing the seat belt to loosen
and compromise the child restraint sys-
tem. To secure a child restraint system,
use the following procedure.
WARNING- Child seat
installation
Always follow the instructions provided by the child restraint
system manufacturer. Child
restraint system manufacturers
know their products best.
Failure to observe this manual's instructions regarding child
restraint system and the instruc-
tions provided with the child
restraint system could result in
the improper installation of the
child restraint system which may
reduce the protection to your
child in a crash or a sudden stop.
E2MS103005

Safety features of your vehicle
34
3
How does the air bag system
operate
Air bag are activated (able to inflate if
necessary) only when the ignition
switch is turned to the ON or START
the appropriate 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 - Airbag inflation
Sit as far back as possible from the
steering wheel while still maintain-
ing comfortable control of your
vehicle. A distance of at least 10"
from your chest to the steering
wheel is recommended. Failure to
do so can result in airbag inflation
injuries to the driver.

Safety features of your vehicle
36
3
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 by an author-
ized Kia dealer if:
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.
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” indica- tor (Front passenger’s seat only)
11. Occupant detection system (Front passenger’s seat only)
W7-147
WARNING - Air bagdeployment
When children are seated in the
rear outboard seats of a vehicle
equipped with side and/or curtain
air bags, install the child restraint
system as far away from the door
side as possible. Inflation of the
side and/or curtain air bags could
impact the child.
OUB031041N

337
Safety features of your vehicle
12. Driver’s and front passenger’s seatbelt buckle sensors
13. Anchor pre-tensioner assemblies
*: 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)