2017 KIA Soul EV Owner's Manual

Safety features of your vehicle
43
WARNING - Rearseatbacks
Always lock the rear seatback
before driving. Failure to do so
could result in passengers or
objects being thrown forward
injuring vehicle occupants.
WARNING- Luggage and Cargo
Do not stack pile or stack lug-
gage or cargo higher than the
seatback in the cargo area. In an
accident the cargo could strike
and injury a passenger. If
objects are large, heavy or must
be piled, they must be secured
in the cargo area.
WARNING- Unexpected
Seat Movement
After adjusting a manual seat,
always check that it is locked by
shifting your weight to the front
and back. Sudden or unexpect-
ed movement of the driver's
seat could cause you to lose
control of the vehicle.
WARNING- Seat adjustment
Do not adjust the seat while wearing seat belts. Moving the
seat forward will cause strong
pressure on the abdomen.
Do not place your hand near the seat bottom or seat track
while adjusting the seat. Your
hand could get caught in the
seat mechanism.WARNING- Cargo Area
Do not allow passengers to ride
in the cargo area under any cir-
cumstance. The cargo area is
solely for the purpose of trans-
porting luggage or cargo.
WARNING- Small Objects
Use extreme caution when pick-
ing small objects trapped under
the seats or between the seat
and the center console. Your
hands might be cut or injured
by the sharp edges of the seats
mechanism.

35
Safety features of your vehicle
Front seat adjustment
Forward and backward
To move the seat forward or back-
ward:
1. Pull the seat slide adjustmentlever up and hold it.
2. Slide the seat to the position you desire.
3. Release the lever and make sure the seat is locked in place.
Adjust the seat before driving, and
make sure the seat is locked securely
by trying to move forward and back-
ward without using the lever. If the
seat moves, it is not locked properly.
Seatback angle
To recline the seatback:
1. Lean forward slightly and lift up the seatback recline lever.
2. Carefully lean back on the seat and adjust the seatback of the
seat to the position you desire.
3. Release the lever and make sure the seatback is locked in place.
(The lever MUST return to its orig-
inal position for the seatback to
lock.)
Seat height (for driver’s seat)
To change the height of the seat,
push the lever upwards or down-
wards.
To lower the seat cushion, push thelever down several times.
To raise the seat cushion, pull the lever up several times.OPS033002
OPS033003OPS033004

Safety features of your vehicle
63
Headrest (for front seat)
The driver's and front passenger's
seats are equipped with a headrest
for the occupant's safety and comfort.
The headrest not only provides com-
fort for the driver and front passenger,
but also helps protect the head and
neck in the event of a rear collision.For maximum effectiveness in case of
an accident, the headrest should be
adjusted so the middle of the headrest
is at the same height of the center of
gravity of an occupant's head.
Generally, the center of gravity of most
people's head is similar with the height
of the top of their eyes. Also, adjust the
headrest as close to your head as pos-
sible. For this reason, the use of a
cushion that holds the body away from
the seatback is not recommended.
Forward and rearward adjustment
The headrest may be adjusted for-
ward to 4 different positions by
pulling the headrest forward to the
desired detent. To adjust the head-
rest to it’s furthest rearward position,
pull it fully forward to the farthest
position and release it. Adjust the
headrest so that it properly supports
the head and neck.
OPS034058N
WARNING- Headrest
removal/adjustment
Do not operate the vehicle with the headrests removed.
Headrests can provide critical
neck and head support in a
crash.
Do not adjust the headrest height while the vehicle is in
motion. Driver may lose con-
trol of the vehicle.
OPS033009

37
Safety features of your vehicle
Adjusting the height up and down
To raise the headrest, pull it up to the
desired position (1). To lower the
headrest, push and hold the release
button (2) on the headrest support
and lower the headrest to the desired
position (3).✽ ✽
NOTICE
If you recline the seatback towards
the front with the headrest and seat
cushion raised, the headrest may
come in contact with the sunvisor or
other parts of the vehicle.
Removal and installation
To remove the headrest:
1. Recline the seatback (2) with the
recline lever (1).
2. Raise headrest as far as it can go.
3. Press the headrest release button (3) while pulling the headrest up (4).
OPS033010OYFH034205OPS033047L
WARNING
NEVER allow anyone to ride in a
seat with the headrest removed.

Safety features of your vehicle
83
To reinstall the headrest :
1. Put the headrest poles (2) into theholes while pressing the release
button (1).
2. Recline the seatback (4) with the recline lever (3).
3. Adjust the headrest to the appro- priate height.
Seatback pocket
The seatback pocket is provided on
the back of the front passenger’s
seatbacks.
Rear seat adjustment
Folding the rear seat
The rear seatbacks can be folded to
facilitate carrying long items or to
increase the luggage capacity of the
vehicle.
WARNING- Headrest
Reinstallation
To reduce the risk of injury to
the head or neck, always make
sure the headrest is locked into
position and adjusted properly
after reinstalling.
OPS033048L
OPS033016
WARNING- Seatback pockets
Do not put heavy or sharp
objects in the seatback pocket.
An occupant could contact such
objects in a crash. Heavy objects
in the front passenger seatback
could also interfere with the
airbag sensing system.
WARNING - Folded down seatback
Never allow passengers sit on top
of the folded down seatback while
the vehicle is moving. This is not a
proper seating position and no
seat belts are available for use.
This could result in serious injury
or death in case of an accident or
sudden stop.
WARNING - Objects
Objects carried on the folded
down seatback should not extend
higher than the top of the front
seatbacks. This could allow cargo
to slide forward and cause injury
or damage during sudden stops.

39
Safety features of your vehicle
To fold down the rear seatback
1. Insert the rear seat belt webbing inthe guide to prevent the seat belt
from being damaged.
2. Set the front seatback to the upright position and if necessary,
slide the front seat forward.
3. Lower the rear headrests to the lowest position. 4.Pull on the seatback folding lever,
then fold the seat toward the front
of the vehicle. When you return the
seatback to its upright position,
always be sure it has locked into
position by pushing on the top of
the seatback.
5.To use the rear seat, lift and pull the seatback backward by pulling
on the folding lever.
Pull the seatback firmly until it
clicks into place.
Make sure the seatback is locked
in place.
6.Return the rear seat belt to the proper position. Make sure the vehicle is off, the
reduction gear is in P (Park) position,
and the parking brake is securely
applied whenever loading or unload-
ing cargo. Failure to take these steps
may allow the vehicle to move if the
shift lever is inadvertently moved to
another position.
OPSE034018OPS033015
WARNING- Cargo
Do not place heavy objects in
the rear seats, since they can-
not be properly secured and
may hit vehicle occupants in a
frontal collision.

Safety features of your vehicle
10
3
Headrest
The rear seat(s) is equipped with
headrests in all the seating positions
for the occupant's safety and comfort.
The headrest not only provides com-
fort for passengers, but also helps
protect the head and neck in the
event of a collision. For maximum effectiveness in case of
an accident, the headrest should be
adjusted so the middle of the head-
rest is at the same height as the cen-
ter of gravity of an occupant's head.
Generally,
the center of gravity of
most people's head is similar with
the height of the top of their eyes.
Also adjust the headrest as close to
your head as possible. For this rea-
son, the use of a cushion that holds
the body away from the seatback is
not recommended.
Adjusting the height up and down
To raise the headrest :
1. Pull it up to the desired position (1).
To lower the headrest :
1. Push and hold the release button (2) on the headrest support
2. Lower the headrest to the desired position (3).WARNING- Headrest
removal/adjustment
Do not operate the vehicle with the headrests removed.
Headrests can provide critical
neck and head support in a
crash.
Do not adjust the headrest height while the vehicle is in
motion. Driver may lose con-
trol of the vehicle.
OPA039053OPS033033

311
Safety features of your vehicle
Removal and installation
To remove the headrest :
1. Raise it as far as it can go thenpress the release button (1) while
pulling the headrest up (2).
To reinstall the headrest :
1. Put the headrest poles (3) into the holes while pressing the release
button (1).
2. Adjust it to the appropriate height.
Armrest (if equipped)
To use the armrest, pull it forward
from the seatback.
OPS033034
WARNING- Headrest installation
After installing the headrest,
make sure that it is installed in
the right direction.
A headrest installed reversely
could increase whiplash injury
during rear impact.
OPS033032