KIA FORTE 2020 Owner's Guide

315
Safety features of your vehicle
Armrest (if equipped)
To use the armrest, pull it forward
from the seatback.
Folding the rear seat (if equipped)
The rear seatbacks may be folded to
facilitate carrying long items or to
increase the luggage capacity of the
vehicle.To fold down the rear seatback:
1. Set the front seatback to the
upright position and if necessary,
slide the front seat forward.
2. Lower the rear headrests to the lowest position.
WARNING- Folded
Seatback
Never allow passengers to sit
on top of the folded down seat-
back while the vehicle is mov-
ing. 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 sud-
den 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.
OBD038018

Safety features of your vehicle
16
3
3. Pull out the seatback locking
knob(1) in the trunk, then fold the
seat toward the front of the vehicle. 4. To use the rear seat, lift and pull
the seatback backward. Pull the
seatback firmly until it clicks into
place. Make sure the seatback is
locked in place.
5. Return the rear seat belt to the proper position.
OBD038068L
OBD038063L
CAUTION
Be careful when loading cargothrough the rear passengerseats to prevent damage to thevehicle interior.

317
Safety features of your vehicle
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.WARNING- Rear seatback
When returning the rear seat-
back from a folded to an upright
position, hold the seatback and
return it slowly. Ensure that the
seatback is completely locked
into its upright position by
pushing on the top of the seat-
back. In an accident or sudden
stop, the unlocked seatback
could allow cargo to move for-
ward with great force and enter
the passenger compartment.WARNING
Unless the driver's position is
properly set according to the
driver's physical figure, do not
fold the rear seat. It may
increase bodily injuries in a
sudden stop or collision.
WARNING- Rear seat belts
When returning the rear set-
backs to the upright position,
remember to return the rear
shoulder belts to their proper
position.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.

Safety features of your vehicle
18
3
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.
SEAT BELTS
WARNING- Shoulder belt
Never wear the shoulder belt
under your arm or behind your
back. An improperly positioned
shoulder belt cannot protect the
occupant in a crash.
Always wear both the shoulder
portion and the lap portion of
the seat belt.

319
Safety features of your vehicle
No modifications or additionsshould be made by the user which
would either prevent the seat belt
adjusting devices from operating to
remove slack, or prevent the seat
belt assembly from being adjusted
to remove slack.
When you fasten the seat belt, be careful not to latch the seat belt in
buckles of other seats. It's very
dangerous and you may not be
protected by the seat belt properly.
Do not unfasten the seat belt and do not fasten and unfasten the seat
belt repeatedly while driving. This
could result in loss of control, and
an accident causing death, serious
injury, or property damage.
When fastening the seat belt, make sure that the seat belt does
not pass over objects that are hard
or can break easily.
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- Seat belt buckle
Do not allow foreign material
(gum, crumbs, coins, etc.) to
obstruct the seat belt buckle.
This may prevent the seat belt
from fastening securely.

Safety features of your vehicle
20
3
Driver seat belt warning
If a driver turns the ignition switch
ON or the engine starts with the seat
belt unfastened, the seat belt warn-
ing light will stay on until the driver
fastens the seat belt and the warning
sound will continue for 6 seconds. If
a driver turns the ignition switch ON
or the engine starts with seatbelt fas-
tened, the warning light will stay for 6
seconds and the warning sound will
not be heard. At a driving speed below 20 km/h (12
mph) with the driver’s seatbelt unfas-
tened, the warning light will stay on.
At a driving speed of 20 km/h (12
mph) and above with the seatbelt
unfastened, the warning light will
blink and the warning sound will con-
tinue for 100 seconds.
If a driver unfastens the seatbelt
while driving at a speed below 20
km/h (12 mph), the warning light will
stay on; for a driving speed of 20
km/h (12 mph) and above, the warn-
ing light will blink and the warning
sound will continue for 100 seconds.
Front passenger seat belt warn-
ing
When the ignition switch is ON or the
engine starts with the front passen-
ger seat belt unfastened, the warning
light will stay on until the belt is fas-
tened. When the ignition switch is ON
or the engine starts with the front
passenger seat belt fastened, the
warning light will stay for about 6
seconds.
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OBD038020

321
Safety features of your vehicle
If the passenger seat belt is unfas-
tened during driving, the warning
light will illuminate if the speed is
under 20 km/h (12 mph). When the
speed is 20 km/h (12 mph) and
faster, the warning light will blink and
the warning chime will sound for
approximately 100 seconds.
✽ ✽NOTICE
• Even if the front passenger seat is
not occupied, the seat belt warning
light will illuminate for 6 seconds.
• The front passenger's seat belt warning may operate when lug-
gage is placed on the front passen-
ger seat.
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.
If you are unable 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.
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Safety features of your vehicle
22
3
Height adjustment
You can adjust the height of the shoul-
der belt anchor to one of the 3 posi-
tions for maximum comfort and safety.
The height of the adjusting seat belt
should not be too close to your neck.
The shoulder portion should be
adjusted so that it lies across your
chest and midway over your shoulder
nearest the door and not your neck.
To adjust the height of the seat belt
anchor, lower or raise the height
adjuster into an appropriate position. To raise the height adjuster, pull it up
(1). To lower it, push it down (3) while
pressing the height adjuster button (2).
Release the button to lock the anchor
into position. Try sliding the height
adjuster to make sure that it has
locked into position. Never position the
shoulder belt across your neck or face.
Improperly positioned seat belts can
cause serious injuries in an accident.
WARNING- Seat belt
replacement
Replace your seat belts after
being in an accident. Failure to
replace seat belts after an acci-
dent could leave you with dam-
aged seat belts that will not pro-
vide protection in the event of
another collision.
WARNING- Shoulder belt positioning
Never position the shoulder belt
across your neck or face.
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323
Safety features of your vehicle
Seat belts - Front passenger andrear 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 an 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.
To convert from the automatic lock-
ing feature to the emergency locking
operation mode, allow the unbuckled
seat belt to fully retract.
B200A01NF
WARNING
You should place the lap belt
portion as low as possible and
snugly across your hips. If the
lap belt is located too high on
your waist, it may increase the
chance of injury in the event of
a collision.
The arm closest to the seat belt
buckle should be over the belt
while the other arm should be
under the belt as shown in the
illustration. Never wear the seat
belt under the arm closest to
the door.

Safety features of your vehicle
24
3
The seat belt should be locked into
the buckle on each seat cushion to
be properly fastened.
❈➀ : Rear right seat belt fastening
buckle
➁ : Rear center seat belt fastening
buckle
➂ : Rear left seat belt fastening
buckle When using the rear center seat belt,
the buckle with the “CENTER” mark
must be used.
OBD038023OBD038022
CAUTION
Do not force to lock the left or
right seat belt into the centerseat belt buckle.
Make sure to lock the rear cen-ter seat belt into the center seatbelt buckle.
If not, the improperly fastenedseat belt will not be able to pro-vide protection.
WARNING
Be sure you are using the correct
latch for the center seat belt
buckle. Forcing the left or right
seat belt latch into the center
buckle can create the appear-
ance of a secure seat belt when
in fact the passenger is not prop-
erly fastened in the seat belt.