inflation KIA Optima Hybrid 2011 3.G Owner's Manual
[x] Cancel search | Manufacturer: KIA, Model Year: 2011, Model line: Optima Hybrid, Model: KIA Optima Hybrid 2011 3.GPages: 394, PDF Size: 8.63 MB
Page 17 of 394

33
Safety features of your vehicle
WARNING - Driver’s seat
Never attempt to adjust the seatwhile the vehicle is moving of
your vehicle. This could result in
loss of control of your vehicle.
Do not allow anything to interfere with the normal position of the
seatback. Storing items against a
seatback or in any other way
interfering with proper locking of
a seatback.
Sit as far back as possible from the steering wheel while still
maintaining comfortable control
of your vehicle. A distance of at
least 10" from your chest to the
steering wheel is recommended.
Failure to do so can result in
airbag inflation injuries to the
driver.
WARNING - Uprighting
seat
Do not press the release lever on a
manual seatback without holding
and controlling the seatback. The
seatback will spring upright possi-
bly impacting you or other passen-
gers.
WARNING - Loose objects
Do not place anything in the dri-
ver's foot well or under the front
seats. Loose objects in the driver's
foot area could interfere with the
operation of the foot pedals.
WARNING -
Driver responsibility for
passengers
The driver must advise the passen-
ger to keep the seatback in an
upright position whenever the vehi-
cle is in motion. If a seat is reclined
during an accident, the restraint
system's ability to restrain will be
greatly reduced.
WARNING - Seat cushion
Occupants should never sit on seat
cushions. The passenger's hips
may slide under the lap portion of
the seat belt during an accident or
a sudden stop.
Page 49 of 394

335
Safety features of your vehicle
How does the air bag system
operate
Air bag are activated (able to inflate ifnecessary) only when the ignition
switch is turned to the ON or START
the appropriate position.
Air bags inflate instantly in the event of serious frontal or side collision (if
equipped with side impact air bag or
curtain air bag) in order to help protect
the occupants from serious physical
injury.
There is no single speed at which the air bags will inflate.
Generally, air bags are designed to
inflate based upon the severity of a col-
lision and its direction. These two fac-
tors determine whether the sensors
produce an electronic deployment/
inflation signal.
Air bag deployment depends on a number of complex factors including
vehicle speed, angles of impact and
the density and stiffness of the vehi-
cles or objects which your vehicle hits
in the collision. Though, factors are not
limited to those mentioned above. The front air bags will completely
inflate and deflate in an instant.
It is virtually impossible for you to see
the air bags inflate during an accident.
It is much more likely that you will sim-
ply see the deflated air bags hanging
out of their storage compartments after
the collision.
In order to help provide protection in a severe collision, the air bags must
inflate rapidly. The speed of air bag
inflation is a consequence of extreme-
ly short time in which a collision occurs
and the need to get the air bag
between the occupant and the vehicle
structures before the occupant impacts
those structures. This speed of inflation
reduces the risk of serious or life-
threatening injuries in a severe colli-
sion and is thus a necessary part of air
bag design.
However, air bag inflation can also
cause injuries which can include facial
abrasions, bruises and broken bones
because the inflation speed also caus-
es the air bags to expand with a great
deal of force. There are even circumstances
under which contact with the steer-
ing wheel air bag can cause fatal
injuries, especially if the occupant
is positioned excessively close to
the steering wheel.
Page 50 of 394

Safety features of your vehicle
36
3
Noise and smoke
When the air bags inflate, they make a
loud noise and they leave smoke and
powder in the air inside of the vehicle.
This is normal and is a result of the igni-
tion of the air bag inflator. After the air
bag inflates, you may feel substantial dis-
comfort in breathing due to the contact of
your chest to both the seat belt and the
air bag, as well as from breathing the
smoke and powder. Open your doors
and/or windows as soon as possible
after the impact in order to reduce dis-
comfort and prevent prolonged expo-
sure to smoke and powder.
Though smoke and powder are non-
toxic, it may cause irritation to the skin
(eyes, nose and throat etc). If this is the
case, wash and rinse with the cold water
immediately and consult the doctor if the
symptom persists.
Installing a child restraint on a front passenger’s seat is forbidden
Never place a rear-facing child restraint
in the front passenger’s seat. If the air
bag deploys, it would impact the rear-fac-
ing child restraint, causing serious or
fatal injury.
In addition, do not place front-facing child
restraint in the front passenger’s seat
either. If the front passenger air bag
inflates, it would cause serious or fatal
injuries to the child.
1JBH3051
WARNING - Hot
components
Do not touch the air bag storage
area's internal components imme-
diately after airbag inflation. The air
bag related parts in the steering
wheel, instrument panel and the
roof rails above the front and rear
doors are very hot. Hot compo-
nents can result in burn injuries.
Page 51 of 394

337
Safety features of your vehicle
Air bag warning light
The purpose of the air bag warning light
in your instrument panel is to alert you of
a potential problem with your air bag -
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS).
When the ignition switch is turned ON,
the indicator light should illuminate for
approximately 6 seconds, then go off.
Have the system checked by an author-
ized Kia dealer if: The light does not turn on briefly when
you turn the ignition ON.
The light stays on after illuminating for approximately 6 seconds.
The light comes on while the vehicle is in motion.
W7-147
WARNING - Air bag
deployment
When children are seated in the
rear outboard seats of a vehicle
equipped with side and/or curtain
air bags, install the child restraint
system as far away from the door
side as possible. Inflation of the
side and/or curtain air bags could
impact the child.
Page 53 of 394

339
Safety features of your vehicle
The air bag modules are located both in
the center of the steering wheel and in
the front passenger's panel above the
glove box. When the SRSCM detects a
sufficiently severe impact to the front of
the vehicle, it will automatically deploy
the front air bags.Upon deployment, tear seams molded
directly into the pad covers will separate
under pressure from the expansion of the
air bags. Further opening of the covers
then allows full inflation of the air bags.
A fully inflated air bag, in combination
with a properly worn seat belt, slows the
driver's or the passenger's forward
motion, reducing the risk of head and
chest injury.
After complete inflation, the air bag
immediately starts deflating, enabling the
driver to maintain forward visibility and
the ability to steer or operate other con-
trols.
B240B01L
Driver’s front air bag (1)
B240B02L
Driver’s front air bag (2)
B240B03L
Driver’s front air bag (3)
Page 60 of 394

Safety features of your vehicle
46
3
The indications of the system's presence
are the letters "AIR BAG" embossed on
the air bag pad cover in the steering
wheel and the passenger's side front
panel pad above the glove box.
The SRS consists of air bags installed
under the pad covers in the center of the
steering wheel and the passenger's side
front panel above the glove box.
The purpose of the SRS is to provide the
vehicle's driver and/or the front passen-
ger with additional protection than that
offered by the seat belt system alone in
case of a frontal impact of sufficient
severity. The SRS uses sensors to gath-
er information about the driver's seat
position, the driver's and front passen-
ger's seat belt usage and impact severi-
ty. The advanced SRS offers the ability to
control the air bag inflation with two lev-
els. A first stage level is provided for mod-
erate-severity impacts. A second stage
level is provided for more severe impacts.
The passenger’s front air bag is designed
to help reduce the injury of children sit-
ting close to the instrument panel in low
speed collisions. However, children are
safer if they are restraint in the rear seat.
According to the impact severity, seating
position and seat belt usage, the SRSCM
(SRS Control Module) controls the air
bag inflation. Failure to properly wear
seat belts can increase the risk or sever-
ity of injury in an accident.
Additionally, your vehicle is equipped
with an occupant detection system in the
front passenger's seat. The occupant
detection system detects the presence of
a passenger in the front passenger's seat
and will turn off the front passenger's air
bag under certain conditions. For more
detail, see "Occupant detection system"
in this section.
Do not place any objects that may cause
magnetic fields near the front seat. These
may cause a malfunction of the seat
track position sensor.
Page 65 of 394

351
Safety features of your vehicle
Why didn’t my air bag go off in a
collision? (Inflation and non-infla-
tion conditions of the air bag)
There are many types of accidents in
which the air bag would not be expect-
ed to provide additional protection.
These include rear impacts, second or
third collisions in multiple impact
accidents, as well as low speed
impacts. In other words, just because
your vehicle is damaged and even if it
is totally unusable, don’t be surprised
that the air bags did not inflate.
Air bag collision sensors
(1) SRS control module
(2) Front impact sensor(3) Side impact sensor
(4) Side pressure sensor
OTF030039N/OTF030040/OTF030041/OMG035053/OTF030048N
1234
Page 66 of 394

Safety features of your vehicle
52
3
Problems may arise if the sensor instal-
lation angles are changed due to the
deformation of the front bumper, body or
B pillar where side collision sensors are
installed. Have the vehicle checked and
repaired by an authorized Kia dealer.
Installing aftermarket bumper guards or
replacing a bumper with non-genuine
parts may adversely affect your vehicle’s
collision and air bag deployment per-
formance.
Air bag inflation conditions
Front air bags
Front air bags are designed to inflate in a
frontal collision depending on the intensi-
ty, speed or angles of impact of the front
collision.
WARNING - Air bag
sensors
Do not hit or allow any objects to
impact the locations where air
bag or sensors are installed.
This may cause unexpected air
bag deployment, which could
result in serious personal injury
or death.
If the installation location or angle of the sensors is altered in
any way, the air bags may deploy
when they should not or they may
not deploy when they should.
Therefore, do not try to perform
maintenance on or around the air
bag sensors. Have the vehicle
checked and repaired by an
authorized Kia dealer.
1JBA3513
Page 67 of 394

353
Safety features of your vehicle
❈The actual air bags in the vehicle may
differ from the illustration. Side air bags
Side air bags (side impact and/or curtain
air bags) are designed to inflate when an
impact is detected by side collision sen-
sors depending on the strength, speed or
angles of impact resulting from a side
impact collision.
Although the front air bags (driver’s and
front passenger’s air bags) are designed
to inflate in frontal collisions, they also
may inflate in other types of collisions if
the front impact sensors detect a suffi-
cient frontal force in another type of
impact. Side impact and curtain air bags
are designed to inflate in certain side
impact collisions. They may inflate in
other type of collisions where a side force
is detected by the sensors.
If the vehicle chassis is impacted by
bumps or objects on unimproved roads
or sidewalks, air bags may deploy. Drive
carefully on unimproved roads or on sur-
faces not designed for vehicle traffic to
prevent unintended air bag deployment.
Air bag non-inflation conditions
In certain low-speed collisions the air
bags may not deploy. The air bags are
designed not to deploy in such cases
because they may not provide benefits
beyond the protection of the seat belts
in such collisions.
1JBA3516
OUN026090
1JBA3515
Page 70 of 394

Safety features of your vehicle
56
3
SRS Care
The SRS is virtually maintenance-free
and there are no parts you can safely
service by yourself. If the SRS air bag
warning light does not illuminate, or con-
tinuously remains on, have your vehicle
immediately inspected by an authorized
Kia dealer.
Any work on the SRS system, such as
removing, installing, repairing, or any
work on the steering wheel must be per-
formed by an authorized Kia dealer.
Improper handling of the SRS system
may result in serious personal injury.
For cleaning the air bag pad covers, use
only a soft, dry cloth or one which has
been moistened with plain water.
Solvents or cleaners could adversely
affect the air bag covers and proper
deployment of the system. If components of the air bag system must
be discarded, or if the vehicle must be
scrapped, certain safety precautions
must be observed. An authorized Kia
dealer knows these precautions and can
give you the necessary information.
Failure to follow these precautions and
procedures could increase the risk of
personal injury.
Adding equipment to or modify-
ing your air bag-equipped vehicle
If you modify your vehicle by changing
your vehicle's frame, bumper system,
front end or side sheet metal or ride
height, this may affect the operation of
your vehicle's air bag system.
WARNING - Tampering
with SRS
Do not tamper with or disconnect
SRS wiring, or other components of
the SRS system. Doing so could
result in the accidental inflation of
the air bags or by rendering the
SRS inoperative.