ECU KIA NIRO PHEV 2021 User Guide

Safety features of your vehicle
36 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.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
After an accident, have a Kia dealer
check the child restraint system, seat
belts, tether anchors and lower
anchors.
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 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 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.

339
Safety features of your vehicle
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)
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 manu-
facturer 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 from
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 manufac-
turer instructions.

Safety features of your vehicle
40 3
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 attach-
ments 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 attach-
ments.
To use the LATCH system in your
vehicle, you must have a child
restraint with LATCH attachments.
The child seat manufacturer will pro-
vide you with instructions on how to
use the child seat with its attach-
ments for the LATCH lower anchors.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.
ODE036077L
WARNING - LATCH Lower
Anchors
Never attempt to attach a LATCH
equipped seat in the center
seating position. LATCH lower
anchors are only to be used in
the left and right rear outboard
seating positions. You may dam-
age the anchors or the anchors
may fail and break in a collision.

341
Safety features of your vehicle
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.
To use the lower anchor, push the
upper portion of the lower anchor
cover.
❈(1) : Lower Anchor position indicator
(2) : Lower Anchor
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. Move the seat belt buckle away
from the lower anchors.
2. Move 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 restraint on the
vehicle seat, then attach the seat
to the lower anchors according to
the instructions provided by the
child restraint manufacturer.
4. Follow the child restraint instruc-
tions for properly adjusting and
tightening the lower attachments
on the child restraint to the lower
anchors.
ODE036035
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 sys-
tem inspected by your author-
ized Kia dealer after an acci-
dent. An accident can damage
the LATCH system and may
not properly secure the child
restraint.

Safety features of your vehicle
42 3
✽
✽
NOTICE
The recommended maximum
weight for the LATCH system is 65
lbs. (30 kg). When selecting a proper
child restraint, consider that the
maximum total weight of the child
plus the child restraint should be
less than 65 lbs (30 kg).
As a guide, the MAX child restraint
weight should be determined by the
following calculation:
Child Restraint Weight =
65 - (child's total weight in lbs.)
Securing a child restraint seat
with "Tether Anchor" system
First secure the child restraint with
the LATCH lower anchors or the seat
belt. If the child restraint manufactur-
er 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 shelf behind the rear
seats.
ODE036032R
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 teth-
er anchor. This could cause
the anchor or attachment to
come loose or break.
Do not attach the tether strap
to anything other than the cor-
rect tether anchor. It may not
work properly if attached to
something else.
Do not use the tether anchors
for adult seat belts or harness-
es, or for attaching other items
or equipment to the vehicle.
Always fasten the seat belts
behind the child restraint seat
when they are not used to
secure the child seat. Failure
to do so may result in child
strangulation.

343
Safety features of your vehicle
To install the tether anchor:
1. Route the child restraint tether
strap over the child restraint seat-
back. 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 tether 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.3. Check that the child restraint is
securely attached to the seat by
pushing and pulling the seat for-
ward and from side-to-side.
Securing a child restraint with a
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.
Automatic locking mode
Since all passenger seat belts move
freely under normal conditions and
only lock under extreme or emer-
gency 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 caus-
ing the seat belt to loosen and com-
promise the child restraint system. To
secure a child restraint system, use
the following procedure.
ODE036033 OLMB033044

Features of your vehicle
22 4
DOOR LOCKS
Operating door locks from
outside the vehicle
Turn the key clockwise (1) to lock
and counterclockwise (2) to unlock.
If you lock the driver’s door with a
key, if you lock/unlock the driver’s
door with a key, only the driver’s
door will lock/unlock.
Doors can also be locked and
unlocked with the transmitter (or
smart key).
Once the doors are unlocked, they
may be opened by pulling the door
handle. When closing the door, push the
door by hand. Make sure the doors
are closed securely.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
• In cold and wet climates, door lock
and door mechanisms may not
work properly due to freezing con-
ditions.
• If the door is locked/unlocked
multiple times in rapid succession
with either the vehicle key or door
lock switch, the system may stop
operating temporarily in order to
protect the circuit and prevent
damage to system components.
ODEP049002N
WARNING
Securely close your door
before you begin driving.
Failure to fully close your door
may cause it to open during
vehicle operation.
Keep your body out of the way
of the closing door to prevent
injuries.
CAUTION
Do not unnecessarily open and
close the door repeatedly or
with excessive force. Such
action can damage the vehicle
door.

Features of your vehicle
28 4
Opening the liftgate
The liftgate is locked or unlocked
when all doors are locked or
unlocked with the transmitter (or
smart key) or central door lock
switch.
If unlocked, the liftgate can be
opened by pressing the handle
switch and then pulling the handle
up.
Only the liftgate is unlocked if the
liftgate unlock button on the trans-
mitter or smart key is pressed for
approximately 1 second.
Once the liftgate is opened and
then closed, the liftgate locks auto-
matically.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
In cold and wet climates, door lock
and door mechanisms may not work
properly due to freezing conditions.
Closing the liftgate
To close the liftgate, lower and push
down the liftgate firmly. Make sure
that the liftgate is securely latched.
Make sure your hands, feet and other
parts of your body are safely out of
the way before closing the liftgate.
LIFTGATE
ODEP049007ODEP049008
CAUTION - Liftgate lift
Make certain that you close the
liftgate before driving your vehi-
cle. Possible damage may occur
to the liftgate gas lifters and
attached hardware if the liftgate
is not closed prior to driving.
WARNING
The liftgate swings upward.
Make sure no objects or people
are near the rear of the vehicle
when opening the liftgate.

437
Features of your vehicle
Hood open warning
The warning message will appear on
the LCD display when hood is open.
The warning chime will operate when
the vehicle is being driven at or
above 2 mph (3 km/h) with the hood
open.
Closing the hood
1. Before closing the hood, check the
following:

partment must be correctly
installed.

bustible material must be
removed from the engine com-
partment.
2. Lower the hood halfway and push
down to securely lock in place.

hood is secure.

slight force, open the hood again
and close it more firmly.WARNING - Fire risk
Do not leave gloves, rags or any
other combustible material in the
engine compartment. Doing so
may cause a heat-induced fire.
WARNING - Unsecured
engine hood
Always double check to be sure
that the hood is firmly latched
before driving away. If it is not
latched, the hood could fly open
while the vehicle is being driv-
en, causing a total loss of visi-
bility, which might result in an
accident.
CAUTION - Hood obstruc-
tion
Before closing the hood, ensure
that all obstructions are
removed from the hood open-
ing. Closing the hood with an
obstruction present in the hood
opening may result in property
damage.
ODEP049118

439
Features of your vehicle
Closing the fuel filler door
1. To install the cap, turn it clockwise
until it “clicks” once. This indicates
that the cap is securely tightened.
2. Close the fuel filler door and push
it in lightly making sure that it is
securely closed.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
• There may be an intermittent
noise near the refueling hole while
the engine is idling if the fuel cap is
not closed securely. This occurs
normally with the OBD system.
• When refueling on unlevel
ground, the fuel gauge may not
point to the F position.
It is not a malfunction. If you
move your vehicle to a level
ground, the fuel gauge will move
to the full position.
• Tighten the cap until it clicks once,
otherwise the fuel cap open warn-
ing indicator light will illumi-
nate.