Safety features of your vehicle
Important safety precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
• Always wear your seat belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
. . 3-4
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Child restraint system (CRS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31
. . . . . . . . 3-35
Air bag - advanced supplemental restraint system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
. . . . . . . . . . . . 3-43
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49
. . . . . . . . . . . 3-56
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-59
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-61
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-\
67
air bag-equipped vehicle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-68
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-68
3
Safety features of your vehicle
23
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 drowsi-
ness, reaching for objects, eating,
personal grooming, other passen-
gers, and using cellular phones.
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:
IMPORTANT SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
Safety features of your vehicle
18
3
SEAT BELTS
Seat belt restraint system
Seat belts are designed to bear upon
the bony structure of the body, and
should be worn low across the front
of the pelvis, chest and shoulders, as
applicable; wearing the lap section of
the belt across the abdominal area
must be avoided.
Seat belts should be adjusted as
firmly as possible, consistent with
comfort, to provide the protection for
which they have been designed.
A slack belt will greatly reduce the
protection afforded to the wearer.
Care should be taken to avoid con-
tamination of the webbing with pol-
ishes, oils and chemicals, and partic-
ularly battery acid. Cleaning may
safely be carried out using mild soap
and water. The belt should be
replaced if webbing becomes frayed,
contaminated or damaged. For maximum restraint system pro-
tection, the seat belts must always
be used whenever the vehicle is
moving. A properly positioned
shoulder belt should be positioned
midway over your shoulder across
your collarbone.
Never allow children to ride in the front passenger seat. See child
restraint system section for further
discussion.WARNING- Shoulder Belt
Never wear the shoulder belt under your arm or behind
your back. An improperly
positioned shoulder belt can-
not protect the occupant in a
crash.
Always wear both the shoul- der portion and lap portion of
the lap/shoulder belt.
WARNING - Damagedseat belt
Replace the entire seat belt
assembly if any part of the web-
bing or hardware is damaged as
you can no longer be sure that a
damaged seat belt will provide
protection in a crash.
WARNING - Twisted seat
belt
Make sure your seat belt is not
twisted when worn. A twisted
seat belt may not properly pro-
tect you in an accident and
could even cut into your body.
Safety features of your vehicle
22
3
Seat belts - Front passenger and
rear seat 3-point system withcombination locking retractor
To fasten your seat belt:
Combination retractor type seat belts
are installed in the rear seat posi-
tions to help accommodate the
installation of child restraint systems.
Although a combination retractor is
also installed in the front passenger
seat position, it is strongly recom-
mended that children always be
seated in the rear seat. NEVER
place any infant restraint system in
the front seat of the vehicle.
This type of seat belt combines the
features of both an emergency lock-
ing retractor seat belt and an auto-
matic locking retractor seat belt. To
fasten your seat belt, pull it out of the
retractor and insert the metal tab into
the buckle. There will be an audible
"click" when the tab locks into the
buckle. When not securing a child
restraint, the seat belt operates in the
same way as the driver's seat belt
(Emergency Locking Retractor Type). It automatically adjusts to the proper
length only after the lap belt portion
of the seat belt is adjusted manually
so that it fits snugly around your hips.
When the seat belt is fully extended
from the retractor to allow the instal-
lation of a child restraint system, the
seat belt operation changes to allow
the belt to retract, but not to extend
(Automatic Locking Retractor Type).
Refer to “Using a child restraint sys-
tem” in this section.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
Although the combination retractor
provides the same level of protection
for seated passengers in either emer-
gency or automatic locking modes,
have the seated passengers use the
emergency locking feature for
improved convenience. The auto-
matic locking function is intended to
facilitate child restraint installation.
To convert from the automatic lock-
ing feature to the emergency locking
operation mode, allow the unbuck-
led seat belt to fully retract.
Do NOT fold down the left portion of
the rear seat back when the rear
center seat belt is buckled. ALWAYS
UNBUCKLE the rear center seat belt
before folding down the left portion of
the rear seat back. If the rear center
seat belt is buckled when the left por-
tion of the rear seat back is folded
down, distortion and damage to the
top portion of the seat back and seat
belt garnish may result, causing the
seat back to lock into the folded
down position.
Safety features of your vehicle
28
3
Seat belt precautions
Infant or small child
All 50 states have child restraint
laws. You should be aware of the
specific requirements in your state.
Child and/or infant seats must be
properly placed and installed in the
rear seat. For more information
about the use of these restraints,
refer to “Child restraint system” in this
section.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
Small children are best protected
from injury in an accident when
properly restrained in the rear seat
by a child restraint system that
meets the requirements of the
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards. Before buying any child
restraint system, make sure that it
has a label certifying that it meets
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 213. The restraint must be
appropriate for your child's height
and weight. Check the label on the
child restraint for this information.
Refer to “Child restraint system” in
this section.
Larger children
Children who are too large for child
restraint systems should always
occupy the rear seat and use the
available lap/shoulder belts. The lap
portion should be fastened and
snugged on the hips and as low as
possible. Check if the belt fits period-
ically. A child's squirming could put
the belt out of position. Children are
given the most safety in the event of
an accident when they are restrained
by a proper restraint system in the
rear seat. If a larger child (over age
12) must be seated in the front seat,
the child should be securely
restrained by the available lap/shoul-
der belt and the seat should be
placed in the rearmost position.
Children age 12 and under should be
restrained securely in the rear seat.
NEVER place a child age 12 and
under in the front seat. NEVER place
a rear facing child seat in the front
seat of a vehicle.
329
Safety features of your vehicle
If the shoulder belt portion slightly
touches the child’s neck or face, try
placing the child closer to the center of
the vehicle. If the shoulder belt still
touches their face or neck they need to
be returned to a child restraint system.Restraint of pregnant women
Pregnant women should wear
lap/shoulder belt assemblies when-
ever possible according to specific
recommendations by their doctors.
The lap portion of the belt should be
worn AS SECURELY 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
consult a physician for recommenda-
tions.
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 acci-
dent.WARNING- Small children
Do not allow small children to
ride in the vehicle without an
appropriate child restraint sys-
tem. If the shoulder belt comes
in contact with your child's neck
or face your child is too small to
ride in the vehicle. In a crash the
seat belt will inflict injury to your
child's neck, throat and face.
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.
331
Safety features of your vehicle
Children Always in the RearChildren under age 13 must always
ride in the rear seats and must always
be properly restrained to minimize the
risk of injury in an accident, sudden
stop or sudden maneuver. According
to accident statistics, children are
safer when properly restrained in the
rear seats than in the front seat. Even
with air bags, children can be serious-
ly injured or killed. Children too large
for a child restraint must use the seat
belts provided.
All 50 states have child restraint laws
which require children to travel in
approved child restraint devices. The
laws governing the age or
height/weight restrictions at which
seat belts can be used instead of
child restraints differs among states,
so you should be aware of the spe-
cific requirements in your state, and
where you are travelling.Child restraint systems must be
properly placed and installed in the
rear seat. You must use a commer-
cially available child restraint system
that meets the requirements of the
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards (FMVSS).
Child restraint systems are generally
designed to be secured in a vehicle
seat by lap belt portion of a
lap/shoulder belt, or by a LATCH sys-
tem in the rear seats of the vehicle.
CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM (CRS)
WARNING - Restraint
Location
Never install a child or infant
seat on the front passenger's
seat. A child riding in the front
passenger seat can be forceful-
ly struck by an inflating airbag
and seriously injured.
WARNING - Hot Child
Restraint
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,
buckles and latches before
placing a child in the restraint
system.
Safety features of your vehicle
32
3
Child restraint system (CRS)
Infants and younger children must be
restrained in an appropriate rear-fac-
ing or forward-facing CRS that has
first been properly secured to the
rear seat of the vehicle. Read and
comply with the instructions for
installation and use provided by the
manufacturer of the child restraint.
Selecting a Child Restraint
System (CRS)
When selecting a CRS for your child,
always:
Make sure the CRS has a label
certifying that it meets applicable
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards (FMVSS 213).
Select a child restraint based on your child’s height and weight. The
required label or the instructions
for use typically provide this infor-
mation.
Select a child restraint that fits the vehicle seating position where it
will be used.
Read and comply with the warn- ings and instructions for installation
and use provided with the child
restraint system.
WARNING
-
Child Restraint Installation
An improperly secured child
restraint can increase the risk
of serious injury or death in an
accident. Always take the fol-
lowing precautions when using
a child restraint system:
Always follow the child restraint system manufactur-
er’s instructions for installa-
tion and use.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Always properly restrain yourchild in the child restraint.
If the vehicle head restraint prevents proper installation of
a child seat (as described in
the child restraint system
manual), the head restraint of
the respective seating posi-
tion shall be readjusted or
entirely removed.
Do not use an infant carrier or a child safety seat that
"hooks" over a seatback, it
may not provide adequate
protection in an accident.
After an accident, have a Kia dealer check the child restraint
system, seat belts, tether
anchors and lower anchors.