2021 HYUNDAI SONATA Owners Manual

03
3-29
Children Always in the Rear
WARNING
Always properly restrain children in the
rear seats of the vehicle.
Children of all ages are safer when
restrained in the rear seat. A child riding
in the front passenger seat can be
forcefully struck by an inflating air bag
resulting in SERIOUS INJURY or DEATH.
Children 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 seriously
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 specific 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 commercially available
child restraint system that meets the
requirements of the Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS 213).
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 system in the rear seats of
the vehicle.
Child restraint system (CRS)
Infants and younger children must be
restrained in an appropriate rear-facing
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.
WARNING
An improperly secured child restraint
can increase the risk of SERIOUS
INJURY or DEATH in an accident. Always
take the following precautions when
using a child restraint system:
• NEVER install a child or infant
restraint in the front passenger’s
seat.
• Always properly secure the child
restraint to a rear seat of the vehicle.
• Always follow the child restraint
system manufacturer’s instructions
for installation and use.
• Always properly restrain your child 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 position 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 HYUNDAI
dealer check the child restraint
system, seat belts, tether anchors
and lower anchors.
Child RestRaint sy stem (CRs )

3-30
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 information.
• Select a child restraint that fits the
vehicle seating position where it will
be used.
• Read and comply with the warnings
and instructions for installation and
use provided with the child restraint
system.
Child restraint system types
There are three main types of child
restraint systems: rear-facing seats,
forward-facing seats, and booster seats.
They are classified according to the
child’s age, height and weight.
Rear-facing child seats
WARNING
NEVER install a child or infant restraint
in the front passenger’s seat.
Placing a rear-facing child restraint in
the front seat can result in SERIOUS
INJURY or DEATH if the child restraint is
struck by an inflating air bag.
ODN8039027
A rear-facing child seat provides restraint
with the seating surface against the back
of the child. The harness system holds
the child in place, and in an accident,
acts to keep the child positioned in the
seat and reduce the stress to the neck
and spinal cord.
All children under age one must always
ride in a rear-facing infant child restraint.
Convertible and 3-in-1 child seats
typically have higher height and weight
limits for the rear-facing position,
allowing you to keep your child rear-
facing for a longer period of time.
Continue to use a rear-facing child seat
for as long as your child will fit within the
height and weight limits allowed by the
child seat manufacturer. It’s the best way
to keep them safe. Once your child has
outgrown the rear-facing child restraint,
your child is ready for a forward-facing
child restraint with a harness.
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03
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ODN8039028
Forward-facing child restraints
A forward-facing child seat provides
restraint for the child’s body with a
harness. Keep children in a forward-
facing child seat with a harness until
they reach the top height or weight
limit allowed by your child restraint’s
manufacturer.
Once your child outgrows the forward-
facing child restraint, your child is ready
for a booster seat.
Booster seats
A booster seat is a restraint designed to
improve the fit of the vehicle’s seat belt
system. A booster seat positions the seat
belt so that it fits properly over the lap of
your child.
Keep your child in a booster seat until
they are big enough to sit in the seat
without a booster and still have the
seat belt fit properly. For a seat belt
to fit properly, the lap belt must lie
snugly across the upper thighs, not the
stomach. The shoulder belt should lie
snug across the shoulder and chest and
not across the neck or face. Children
under age 13 must always ride in the
rear seats and must always be properly
restrained to minimize the risk of injury.
Installing a Child Restraint
System (CRS)
WARNING
Before installing your child restraint
system always:
• Read and follow the instructions
provided by the manufacturer of the
child restraint.
• Read and follow the instructions
regarding child restraint systems in
this manual.
Failure to follow all warnings and
instructions could increase the risk of
the SERIOUS INJURY or DEATH if an
accident occurs.
WARNING
If the vehicle head restraint prevents
proper installation of a child seat as
described in the child seat system
manual, the head restraint of the
respective seating position shall be
readjusted or entirely removed.

3-32
After selecting a proper child seat
for your child, check to make sure it
fits properly in your vehicle. Follow
the instructions provided by the
manufacturer when installing the child
seat. Note these general steps when
installing the seat to your vehicle:
• Properly secure the child restraint to
the vehicle. All child restraints must
be secured to the vehicle with the lap
part of a lap/shoulder belt or with the
LATCH system.
• Make sure the child restraint is
firmly secured. After installing a
child restraint to the vehicle, push
and pull the seat forward-and-back
and side-to-side to verify that it
is securely attached to the seat. A
child restraint secured with a seat
belt should be installed as firmly as
possible. However, some side-to-side
movement can be expected.
• Secure the child in the child
restraint. Make sure the child is
properly strapped in the child restraint
according to the manufacturer
instructions.
CAUTION
A child restraint in a closed vehicle can
become very hot. To prevent burns,
check the seating surface and buckles
before placing your child in the child
restraint.
Lower Anchors and Tether for
Children (LATCH System)
The LATCH system holds a child restraint
during driving and in an accident. This
system is designed to make installation
of the child restraint easier and reduce
the possibility of improperly installing
your child restraint. The LATCH system
uses anchors in the vehicle and
attachments on the child restraint. The
LATCH system eliminates the need to use
seat belts to secure the child restraint to
the rear seats.
Lower anchors are metal bars built into
the vehicle. There are two lower anchors
for each LATCH seating position that
will accommodate a child restraint with
lower attachments.
To use the LATCH system in your vehicle,
you must have a child restraint with
LATCH attachments.
The child seat manufacturer will provide
you with instructions on how to use the
child seat with its attachments for the
LATCH lower anchors.
ODN8039075L
LATCH anchors have been provided in
the left and right outboard rear seating
positions. Their locations are shown
in the illustration. There are no LATCH
anchors provided for the center rear
seating position.
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03
3-33
WARNING
Do not attempt to install a child
restraint system using LATCH anchors in
the rear center seating position. There
are no LATCH anchors provided for this
seat. Using the outboard seat anchors
can damage the anchors which may
break or fail in a collision resulting in
serious injury or death.
ODN8A039031[A]: ISOFIX Anchorage Position Indicator,
[B]: ISOFIX Anchorage
The lower anchor position indicator
symbols are located on the left and right
rear seat backs to identify the position
of the lower anchors in your vehicle (see
arrows in illustration).
The LATCH anchors are located between
the seatback and the seat cushion of the
rear seat left and right outboard seating
positions.
Securing a child restraint with the
LATCH anchors system
To install a LATCH-compatible child
restraint in either of the rear outboard
seating positions:
1.
M
ove the seat belt buckle away from
the lower anchors.
2.

M
ove any other objects away from
the anchors that could prevent a
secure connection between the child
restraint and the lower anchors.
3.

Place the child r
estraint on the vehicle
seat, then attach the seat to the lower
anchors according to the instructions
provided by the child restraint
manufacturer.
4.
F

ollow the child restraint instructions
for properly adjusting and tightening
the lower attachments on the child
restraint to the lower anchors.
WARNING
Take the following precautions when
using the LATCH system:
• Read and follow all installation
instructions provided with your child
restraint system.
• To prevent the child from reaching
and taking hold of unretracted
seat belts, buckle all unused rear
seat belts and retract the seat belt
webbing behind the child. Children
can be strangled if a shoulder belt
becomes wrapped around their neck
and the seat belt tightens.
• NEVER attach more than one
child restraint to a single anchor.
This could cause the anchor or
attachment to come loose or break.
• Always have the LATCH system
inspected by your authorized
HYUNDAI dealer after an accident.
An accident can damage the LATCH
system and may not properly secure
the child restraint.

3-34
NOTICE
The recommended weight for the
LATCH system is under 65 lb (30 kg).
How to determine an appropriate child
restraint weight:
Child weight + Child restraint weight <
65 lb (30kg)
Securing a child restraint seat with
“Tether Anchor” system
ODN8A039029
First secure the child restraint with
the LATCH lower anchors or the seat
belt. If the child restraint manufacturer
recommends that the top tether strap
be attached, attach and tighten the
top tether strap to the top tether strap
anchor.
Child restraint hook holders are located
on the rear of the seatbacks.
WARNING
Take the following precautions when
installing the tether strap:
• Read and follow all installation
instructions provided with your child
restraint system.
• NEVER attach more than one child
restraint to a single tether anchor.
This could cause the anchor or
attachment to come loose or break.
• Do not attach the tether strap to
anything other than the correct
tether anchor. It may not work
properly if attached to something
else.
• Do not use the tether anchors for
adult seat belts or harnesses, or for
attaching other items or equipment
to the vehicle.
ODN8039030
To install the tether anchor:
1.

R
oute the child restraint tether strap
over the child restraint seatback.
Route the tether strap under the
head restraint and between the head
restraint posts, or route the tether
strap over the top of the vehicle
seatback. Make sure the strap is not
twisted.
2.

Connect the t
ether strap hook to the
tether anchor, then tighten the tether
strap according to the child seat
manufacturer’s instructions to firmly
secure the child restraint to the seat.
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03
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3. Check that the child restraint is
securely attached to the seat by
pushing and pulling the seat forward-
and-back and side-to-side.
Securing a child restraint with lap/
shoulder belt
When not using the LATCH system, all
child restraints must be secured to a
vehicle rear seat with the lap part of a
lap/shoulder belt.
WARNING
ALWAYS place a rear-facing child
restraint in the rear seat of the vehicle.
Placing a rear-facing child restraint in
the front seat can result in serious injury
or death if the child restraint is struck
by an inflating air bag.
OHI038145
Automatic locking mode
Since all passenger seat belts move
freely under normal conditions and
only lock under extreme or emergency
conditions (emergency locking mode),
you must manually pull the seat belt all
the way out to shift the retractor to the
“Automatic Locking” mode to secure a
child restraint.
The “Automatic Locking” mode will
help prevent the normal movement of
the child in the vehicle from causing
the seat belt to loosen and compromise
the child restraint system. To secure a
child restraint system, use the following
procedure. To install a child restraint system on the
rear seats, do the following:
1.

Place the child r
estraint system on a
rear seat and route the lap/ shoulder
belt around or through the child
restraint, following the restraint
manufacturer’s instructions. Be sure
the seat belt webbing is not twisted.
Information
When using the rear center seat belt, you
should also refer to the “Rear Seat Belt –
Passenger’s 3-point system” section in this
chapter.
OHI038146
2. Fasten the lap/shoulder belt latch into the buckle. Listen for the distinct
“click” sound.

3-36
Information
Position the release button so that it is easy
to access in case of an emergency.
OLF034076
3. Pull the shoulder portion of the
seat belt all the way out. When the
shoulder portion of the seat belt
is fully extended, it will shift the
retractor to the “Automatic Locking”
(child restraint) mode.
OLF034075
4. Slowly allow the shoulder portion of the seat belt to retract and listen for
an audible “clicking” or “ratcheting”
sound. This indicates that the retractor
is in the “Automatic Locking” mode.
If no distinct sound is heard, repeat
steps 3 and 4. 5.

R
emove as much slack from the belt
as possible by pushing down on the
child restraint system while feeding
the shoulder belt back into the
retractor.
6.
Push and pull on the child r
estraint
system to confirm that the seat belt
is holding it firmly in place. If it is not,
release the seat belt and repeat steps
2 through 6.
7.
Double check tha
t the retractor is in
the “Automatic Locking” mode by
attempting to pull more of the seat
belt out of the retractor. If you cannot,
the retractor is in the “Automatic
Locking” mode.
If your CRS (child restraint system)
manufacturer instructs or recommends
you to use a tether anchor with the lap/
shoulder belt, refer to the previous pages
for more information.
Information
When the seat belt is allowed to retract to
its fully stowed position, the retractor will
automatically switch from the “Automatic
Locking” mode to the emergency lock
mode for normal adult usage.
WARNING
If the retractor is not in the “Automatic
Locking” mode, the child restraint
can move when your vehicle turns or
stops suddenly. A child can be seriously
injured or killed if the child restraint
is not properly anchored in the car,
including manually pulling the seat belt
all the way out to shift the rectractor to
the “Automatic Locking” mode.
To remove the child restraint, press the
release button on the buckle and then
pull the lap/shoulder belt out of the
restraint and allow the seat belt to retract
fully.
Seats & Safety System