
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 hold-
ing and controlling the seatback.
The seatback will spring upright,
possibly impacting 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.
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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 in (25 cm)
from your chest to the steering
wheel is recommended. Failure
to do so can result in air bag
inflation injuries to the driver.

Safety features of your vehicle
83
Reclining seatback
Sitting in a reclined position when
the vehicle is in motion can be dan-
gerous. Even when buckled up, the
protections of your restraint system
(seat belts and/or air bags) is greatly
reduced by reclining your seatback.
Seat belts must be snug against your
hips and chest to work properly.
When the seatback is reclined, the
shoulder belt cannot do its job
because it will not be snug against
your chest. Instead, it will be in front
of you. During an accident, you could
be thrown into the seat belt, causing
neck or other injuries.
The more the seatback is reclined,
the greater chance the passenger’s
hips will slide under the lap belt or
the passenger’s neck will strike the
shoulder belt.Seat height
To change the height of the seat, push
the lever upwards or downwards.
To lower the seat cushion, push thelever down several times.
To raise the seat cushion, pull the lever up several times.
Front seat adjustment - power
(for driver’s seat, if equipped)
The driver’s seat can be adjusted by
using the control switches located on
the outside of the seat cushion.
Before driving, adjust the seat to the
proper position so you can easily
control the steering wheel, pedals
and switches on the instrument
panel.
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329
Safety features of your vehicle
Pre-tensioner seat belt
Your vehicle is equipped with driver's
and front passenger's pre-tensioner
seat belts (retractor pretensioner and
EFD (Emergency Fastening Device)).
The pre-tensioner seat belts may be
activated, when a frontal collision is
severe enough, together with the air
bags.
When the vehicle stops suddenly, or
if the occupant tries to lean forward
too quickly, the seat belt retractor
may lock into position. In certain
frontal collisions, the pre-tensioner
will activate and pull the seat belt into
tighter contact against the occu-
pant's body.(1) Retractor Pretensioner
The purpose of the retractor pre-tensioner is to make sure that the
shoulder belts fit in tightly against
the occupant's upper body in cer-
tain frontal collisions.
(2) EFD (Emergency Fastening Device)
The purpose of the EFD is tomake sure that the pelvis belts fit
in tightly against the occupant's
lower body in certain frontal colli-
sions.
If the system senses excessive ten-
sion on the driver or passenger's
seat belt when the pre-tensioner sys-
tem activates, the load limiter inside
the retractor pre-tensioner will release
some of the pressure on the affected
seat belt.
✽ ✽ 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.
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Safety features of your vehicle
30
3
❈ The actual position of seat belt pre-
tensioner system components may dif-
fer from the illustration.
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) Retractor pre-tensioner assembly
(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 collisions but also in
certain side collisions or rollovers,
if the vehicle is equipped with a
side or curtain air bag.
• 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 engine start/stop button has
been changed to 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.
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331
Safety features of your vehicle
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 engine start/stop
button has been changed to ON, or if
it remains illuminated after illuminat-
ing for approximately 6 seconds, or if
it illuminates 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.
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.
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 sys-
tem, make sure that it has a label cer-
tifying 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.
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.

335
Safety features of your vehicle
CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM (CRS)
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.
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.

347
Safety features of your vehicle
(1) Driver’s front air bag
(2) Passenger’s front air bag
(3) Side air bag
(4) Curtain air bag
(5) Driver’s knee air bag
Even in vehicles with air bags, you
and your passengers must always
wear the safety belts provided in
order to minimize the risk and sever-
ity of injury in the event of a collision
or rollover.
AIR BAG - ADVANCED SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM
The actual air bags in the vehicle may differ from the illustration.
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