2018 KIA SPORTAGE eco

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:
• ALWAYS set up your mobiledevices (i.e., MP3 players, phones,
navigation units, etc.) when your
vehicle is parked or safely stopped.
IMPORTANT SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

35
Safety features of your vehicle
WARNING- Uprightingseat
Do not press the release lever
on a manual seatback without
holding and controlling the
seatback. The seatback will
spring upright possibly impact-
ing you or other passengers.
WARNING- Loose objects
Do not place anything in the dri-
ver's foot well or under the front
seats. Loose objects in the dri-
ver's foot area could interfere
with the operation of the foot
pedals.WARNING- Driver respon-
sibility for passengers
The driver must advise the pas-
sengers to keep the seatback in
an upright position whenever
the vehicle is in motion. If a seat
is reclined during an accident,
the restraint system's ability to
restrain will be greatly reduced.
1KMN3662
WARNING- Seat cushion
Occupants should never sit on
aftermarket seat cushions or sit-
ting cushions. The passenger's
hips may slide under the lap por-
tion of the seat belt during an
accident or a sudden stop.
WARNING- Driver’s seat
Never attempt to adjust the seat while the vehicle is mov-
ing. This could result in loss
of control of your vehicle.
Do not allow anything to inter- fere with the normal position
of the seatback. Storing items
against the seatback could
result in serious or fatal injury
in a sudden stop or collision.
Sit as far back as possible from the steering wheel while still
maintaining comfortable con-
trol of the your vehicle. A dis-
tance of at least 10" from your
chest to the steering wheel is
recommended. Failure to do so
can result in air bag inflation
injuries to the driver.

311
Safety features of your vehicle
Lumbar support
The lumbar support can be adjusted
by pressing the lumbar support
switch on the side of the seat.
1. Press the front portion of theswitch to increase support, or the
rear portion of the switch, to
decrease support.
2. Release the switch once it reach- es the desired position.
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 possible. For this rea-
son, the use of a cushion that holds
the body away from the seatback is
not recommended.
OQLA035009
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.
OQLC035090

Safety features of your vehicle
14
3
Seatback pocket
The seatback pocket is provided on
the back of the front passenger’s and
driver’s seatbacks.
Rear seat adjustment
Headrest
The rear seat is equipped with head-
rests 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
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 heads is similar with
the height as 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.
OQL035016
WARNING- Seatback
pockets
Do not put heavy or sharp
objects in the seatback pockets.
In an accident they could come
loose from the pocket and
injure vehicle occupants.
WARNING- Headrest Removal
NEVER allow anyone to ride in a
seat with the headrest removed.
Headrests can provide critical
neck and head support in a
crash.OQLC035087

319
Safety features of your vehicle
SEAT BELTS
Seat belt restraint system
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. 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.
WARNING- Damaged
seat 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.
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.

321
Safety features of your vehicle
*1Warning pattern repeats 11 timeswith an interval of 24 seconds. If
the driver's seat belt is buckled, the
light will stop within 6 seconds and
chime will stop immediately.
*
2The light will stop within 6 seconds and chime will stop immediately.
Seat belt - Driver's 3-point system
with emergency locking retractor
To fasten your seat belt:
To fasten your seat belt, pull it out of
the retractor and insert the metal tab
(1) into the buckle (2). There will be
an audible "click" when the tab locks
into the buckle. The seat belt automatically adjusts to
the proper length only after the lap
belt portion is adjusted manually so
that it fits snugly around your hips. If
you lean forward in a slow, easy
motion, the belt will extend and let
you move around. If there is a sud-
den stop or impact, however, the belt
will lock into position. It will also lock
if you try to lean forward too quickly.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
If you are not able to pull out the
seat belt from the retractor, firmly
pull the belt out and release it. Then
you will be able to pull the belt out
smoothly.
ConditionsWarning Pattern
Seat BeltVehicle
SpeedLight-BlinkChime-Sound
Unbuckled6 seconds
Buckled6 secondsNone
Buckled →
Unbuckled
Below 3mph (5km/h)6 secondsNone
3mph (5km/h) ~6mph (10km/h)6 seconds
Above 6mph (10km/h)6 sec. on / 24 sec. off (11 times)
Unbuckled
Above
6mph(10km/h) →
Below
3mph(5km/h)6 seconds *1
↓
Stop *
2
B180A01NF-1
B200A02NF

327
Safety features of your vehicle
The seat belt pre-tensioner system
consists mainly of the following com-
ponents. Their locations are shown in
the illustration:
(1) SRS air bag warning light
(2) Front retractor pre-tensionerassembly
(3) SRS control module
(4) Emergency fastening device (EFD)
✽ ✽NOTICE
• Both the driver's and front pas-
senger's seat belt pre-tensioner sys-
tem may be activated not only in
certain frontal collision, but also in
certain side collisions or rollovers.
• 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 illumi-
nate for approximately 6 seconds
after the ignition switch has been
turned to the ON position, and
then it should turn off.WARNING - Skin Irritation
Wash all exposed skin areas
thoroughly after an accident in
which the pre-tensioner seat
belts were activated. The fine
dust from the pre-tensioner
activation may cause skin irrita-
tion and should not be breathed
for prolonged periods.
ODMESA2024

Safety features of your vehicle
28
3
If the pre-tensioner seat belt system
is not working properly, this warning
light will illuminate even if there is not
a malfunction with the SRS air bag. If
the SRS air bag warning 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 illu-
minates while the vehicle is being
driven, have an authorized Kia dealer
inspect the pre-tensioner seat belt
and 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.
✽ ✽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 operating condi-
tions and are not hazardous.
Pre-tensioners are designed to oper-
ate only one time. After activation,
pre-tensioner seat belts must be
replaced. If the pre-tensioner must
be replaced, contact an authorized
Kia dealer.
WARNING- Hot preten-
sioner
Do not touch the pre-tensioner
seat belt assemblies for several
minutes after they have been
activated. When the pre-ten-
sioner seat belt mechanism
fires during a collision the pre-
tensioner becomes hot and can
burn you.