warning KIA SORENTO 2010 Owner's Guide

341
Safety features of your vehicle
(1) Driver’s front air bag
(2) Passenger’s front air bag*(3) Side impact air bag*
(4) Curtain air bag*
* : if equipped
AIR BAG - SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM (IF EQUIPPED)
OEN036301
* The actual air bags in the vehicle may differ from the illustration.
WARNING
Even in vehicles with air bags, you
and your passengers must always
wear the safety belts provided in
order to minimize the risk and
severity of injury in the event of a
collision or rollover.

Safety features of your vehicle
42
3
How does the air bag system operate
Air bags are activated (able to inflate if
necessary) only when the ignition
switch is turned to the ON or STARTposition.
Air bags inflate instantly in the event of a serious frontal collision or side colli-sion (if equipped with a side air bag or
curtain air bag) in order to help protect
the occupants from serious physical
injury.
✽✽ NOTICE - For Europe
Also, the air bags inflate instantly in the
event of a rollover (if equipped with a
side airbag or curtain air bag) in order
to help protect the occupants from seri-
ous 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 num-
ber of factors including vehicle speed, angles of impact and the density and
stiffness of the vehicles or objects which
your vehicle hits in the collision. The
determining 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 simply see the deflated air bags hanging out of
their storage compartments after the col-lision.
In order to help provide protection in a severe collision, the air bags must inflate
rapidly. The speed of the air bag inflation
is a consequence of extremely short timein which a collision occurs and the need
to inflate the air bag between the occu-
pant 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 collision and is thus a necessary
part of the air bag design.
However, air bag inflation can also
cause injuries which can include facial
abrasions, bruises and broken bonesbecause the inflation speed also causes
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 tothe steering wheel.
WARNING
To avoid severe personal injury or death caused by deploying air
bags in a collision, the driver
should sit as far back from the
steering wheel air bag as possi-
ble (at least 250 mm (10 inches)
away). The front passengers
should always move their seats
as far back as possible and sit
back in their seat.
Air bags inflate instantly in the event of a collision, and passen-
gers may be injured by the air bag
expansion force if they are not in
a proper position.
Air bag inflation may cause injuries including facial or bodily
abrasions, injuries from broken
glasses or burns.

343
Safety features of your vehicle
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 with 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 the smoke and powder are non-
toxic, they may cause irritation to the skin
(eyes, nose and throat, etc). If this is the
case, wash and rinse with cold waterimmediately and consult a doctor if the
symptom persists.
Do not install a child restraint on the
front passenger’s seat.
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
restraints in the front passenger’s seat
either. If the front passenger air bag
inflates, it could cause serious or fatal
injuries to the child.
If your vehicle is equipped with the pas-
senger’s front air bag ON/OFF switch,
you can activate or deactivate the front
passenger’s air bag when necessary.
For more details, please refer to 3-49
page.
1JBH3051
WARNING
When the air bags deploy, the air
bag related parts in the steering
wheel, instrument panel, front seats
and/or in both sides of the roof rails
above the front and rear doors are
very hot. To prevent injury, do not
touch the air bag storage area’s
internal components immediately
after an air bag has inflated.
WARNING
Extreme Hazard! Do not use a rearward facing child restraint on
a seat protected by an air bag in
front of it!
Never put a child restraint in the front passenger’s seat. If the front
passenger air bag inflates, it cancause serious or fatal injuries.
When children are seated in the rear outboard seats of a vehicle
equipped with side and/or curtain
air bags, be sure to install the
child restraint system as far away
from the door side as possible,
and securely lock the childrestraint system in position.
Inflation of side and/or curtain air
bags could cause serious injury
or death to an infant or child.

Safety features of your vehicle
44
3
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 warning light should illuminate for
approximately 6 seconds, then go off.
Have the system checked 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.
The light blinks when the ignition switch is in ON position. SRS components and functions
The SRS consists of the following com- ponents:
1. Driver's front air bag module
2. Passenger's front air bag module*
3. Side impact air bag modules*
4. Curtain air bag modules*
5. Retractor pre-tensioner assemblies*
6. Air bag warning light
7. SRS control module (SRSCM)/
Rollover sensor*
8. Front impact sensors
9. Side impact sensors*
10. Passenger’s front air bag OFF indi- cator (front passenger's seat only)*
* if equipped 11. Passenger’s front air bag ON/OFF
switch*
12. Driver’s front anchor pre-tensioner** if equipped
The SRSCM continually monitors all SRS components while the ignition
switch is ON to determine if a crash
impact is severe enough to require air
bag deployment or pre-tensioner seat
belt deployment.
The SRS air bag warning light on the
instrument panel will illuminate for about
6 seconds after the ignition switch is
turned to the ON position, after which the
SRS air bag warning light should go out.
OXM039100LW7-147
WARNING
If any of the following conditions
occurs, this indicates a malfunction
of the SRS. Have an authorized KIA
dealer inspect the air bag system
as soon as possible.
The light does not turn on briefly when you turn the ignition ON.
The light stays on after illuminat- ing for approximately 6 seconds.
The light comes on while the vehicle is in motion.
The light blinks when the ignition switch is in ON position.

Safety features of your vehicle
46
3
WARNING
Do not install or place any acces- sories (drink holder, cassette
holder, sticker, etc.) on the front
passenger's panel above the
glove box in a vehicle with a pas-
senger's air bag. Such objects
may become dangerous projec-
tiles and cause injury if the pas-
senger's air bag inflates.
When installing a container of liq- uid air freshener inside the vehi-
cle, do not place it near the
instrument cluster nor on the
instrument panel surface.
It may become a dangerous pro-
jectile and cause injury if the pas-
senger's air bag inflates.
B240B05L
Passenger’s front air bag (if equipped)
WARNING
If an air bag deploys, there may be a loud noise followed by a fine
dust released in the vehicle.These conditions are normal and
are not hazardous - the air bags
are packed in this fine powder.
The dust generated during air
bag deployment may cause skin
or eye irritation as well as aggra-
vate asthma for some persons.
Always wash all exposed skin
areas thoroughly with lukewarmwater and mild soap after an acci-
dent in which the air bags were
deployed.
The SRS can function only when the ignition switch is in the ON
position. If the SRS air bag warn-
ing light does not illuminate,
continuously remains on after
illuminating for about 6 seconds
when the ignition switch is turned
to the ON position, or after the
engine is started, or comes on
while driving, the SRS is not
working properly. If this occurs,
have your vehicle immediately
inspected by an authorized KIA
dealer.
(Continued)(Continued)
Before you replace a fuse or dis-connect a battery terminal, turn
the ignition switch to the LOCK
position and remove the ignition
key. Never remove or replace the
air bag related fuse(s) when the
ignition switch is in the ON posi-
tion. Failure to heed this warning
will cause the SRS air bag warn-
ing light to illuminate.

347
Safety features of your vehicle
Driver's and passenger's front air
bag
Your vehicle is equipped with a
Supplemental Restraint (Air Bag) System
and lap/shoulder belts at both the driver
and passenger seating positions.The indications of the system's presence
are the letters "AIR BAG" embossed on
the air bag pad cover on the steeringwheel 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
in the 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 incase of a frontal impact of sufficient
severity.
WARNING
Always use seat belts and child
restraints – every trip, every time,
everyone! Air bags inflate with con-
siderable force and in the blink of
an eye. Seat belts help keep occu-
pants in proper position to obtain
maximum benefit from the air bag.
Even with air bags, improperly and
unbelted occupants can be severe-
ly injured when the air bag inflates.
Always follow the precautions
about seat belts, air bags and occu-
pant safety contained in this manu-al.
To reduce the chance of serious or fatal injuries and receive the maxi-
mum safety benefit from yourrestraint system:
Never place a child in any child or booster seat in the front seat.
ABC – Always Buckle Children in the back seat. It is the safest
place for children of any age to
ride.
Front and side air bags can injure occupants improperly positioned
in the front seats.
(Continued)
OXM039037
OXM039038
Driver’s front air bag
Passenger’s front air bag (if equipped)

Safety features of your vehicle
48
3
(Continued)
Move your seat as far back as
practical from the front air bags,
while still maintaining control of
the vehicle.
You and your passengers should never sit or lean unnecessarily
close to the air bags. Improperly
positioned drivers and passen-
gers can be severely injured by
inflating air bags.
Never lean against the door or center console – always sit in an upright position.
Do not allow a passenger to ride in the front seat when the pas-
senger’s front air bag OFF indica-
tor is illuminated, because the air
bag will not deploy in the event of
a moderate or severe frontalcrash.
(Continued)(Continued)
No objects should be placed overor near the air bag modules on
the steering wheel, instrument
panel, and the front passenger's
panel above the glove box,
because any such object could
cause harm if the vehicle is in a
crash severe enough to cause
the air bags to deploy.
Do not tamper with or disconnect SRS wiring or other components
of the SRS system. Doing so
could result in injury, due to acci-
dental deployment of the air bags
or by rendering the SRS inopera-
tive.
If the SRS air bag warning light remains illuminated while the
vehicle is being driven, have an
authorized KIA dealer inspect the
air bag system as soon as possi-
ble.
(Continued)(Continued)
Air bags can only be used once –have an authorized KIA dealer
replace the air bag immediately
after deployment.
The SRS is designed to deploy the front air bags only when an
impact is sufficiently severe andwhen the impact angle is less
than 30° from the forward longitu-
dinal axis of the vehicle.
Additionally, the air bags will only
deploy once. Seat belts must be
worn at all times.
Front air bags are not intended to deploy in side-impact, rear-
impact or rollover crashes. In
addition, front air bags will not
deploy in frontal crashes below
the deployment threshold.
(Continued)

Safety features of your vehicle
50
3
To deactivate or reactivate the passen-
ger’s front air bag:
To deactivate the passenger’s front air
bag, insert the master key into the pas-
senger’s front air bag ON/OFF switch
and turn it to the OFF position. The pas-
senger’s front air bag OFF indicator will
illuminate and stay on until the passen-
ger’s front air bag is reactivated.
To reactivate the passenger’s front air
bag, insert the master key into the pas-
senger’s front air bag ON/OFF switch
and turn it to the ON position. The pas-
senger’s front air bag OFF indicator willgo out.
✽✽ NOTICE
 When the passenger’s front air bag ON/OFF switch is set to the ON posi-
tion, the passenger’s front air bag is
activated and child or infant seat
should not be installed on the front
passenger seat.
 When the passenger’s front air bag ON/OFF switch is set to the OFF posi-
tion, the passenger’s front air bag is
deactivated.
OXM039052L
CAUTION
If the passenger’s front air bag
ON/OFF switch is not working
properly, the air bag warning light on the instrument panel will illu-minate.
And, the passenger's front air bagOFF indicator will not illuminate, the SRS Control Module reacti-vate the passenger’s front air bag and the passenger’s front air bag
will inflate in frontal impact crash- es even if the passenger’s front airbag ON/OFF switch is set to the OFF position.
If this occurs, have an authorizedKIA dealer inspect the passen-ger’s front air bag ON/OFF switch,the pre-tensioner seat belt systemand the SRS air bag system as
soon as possible.
If the SRS air bag warning light blinks or does not illuminate whenthe ignition switch is turned to the ON position, or if it illuminates
while the vehicle is being driven,have an authorized KIA dealer inspect the passenger’s front air
bag ON/OFF switch, pre-tensionerseat belt and the SRS air bag sys- tem as soon as possible.WARNING
The front air bag ON/OFF switch
could turn by using a similar small
rigid device. Always check the sta-
tus of the front air bag ON/OFF
switch and passenger's front air
bag OFF indicator.

351
Safety features of your vehicle
Side impact air bag (if equipped)
Your vehicle is equipped with a side
impact air bag in each front seat. The
purpose of the air bag is to provide the
vehicle's driver and/or the front passen-ger with additional protection than that
offered by the seat belt alone.
OXM039039
OXM039054
(Continued)
Even though your vehicle isequipped with the passenger's
front air bag ON/OFF switch, do
not install a child restraint sys-
tem in the front passenger's seat.
A child restraint system must
never be placed in the front seat.
Children who are too large for
child restraint systems should
always occupy the rear seat and
use the available lap/shoulder
belts. Children are afforded the
most safety in the event of an
accident when they are
restrained by a proper restraintsystem in the rear seat.
As soon as the child seat is no longer needed on the front pas-
senger's seat, reactivate the front
passenger's air bag.WARNING
The driver is responsible for the proper position of the passen-
ger’s front air bag ON/OFF switch.
Deactivate the passenger's front air bag only when the ignition
switch is switched off, or the mal-
function may occur in the SRS
Control Module.
And there may be a danger that
the driver's and/or front passen-
ger’s and/or side and curtain air
bag may fail to trigger, or not trig-
ger correctly during a collision.
Never install a rearward facing
child seat on the front passen-
ger's seat unless the passenger's
front air bag has been deactivat-
ed. The infant or child could be
severely injured or killed by an air
bag deployment in case of anaccident. (Continued)

Safety features of your vehicle
52
3
The side impact air bags are designed
to deploy during certain side-impact
collisions, depending on the crash
severity, angle, speed and point ofimpact.
The side impact air bags do not only deploy on the side of the impact but
also on the opposite side.
✽✽ NOTICE - For Europe
Also, both sides of the side impact air
bags deploy in certain rollover situa-
tions.
The side impact air bags are not designed to deploy in all side impact.
WARNING
The side impact air bag is sup- plemental to the driver's and the
passenger's seat belt systems
and is not a substitute for them.
Therefore your seat belts must be
worn at all times while the vehicle
is in motion. The air bags deploy
only in certain side impact or
rollover* 1
conditions severe
enough to cause significant
injury to the vehicle occupants.
For best protection from the side impact air bag system and to
avoid being injured by the
deploying side impact air bag,
both front seat occupants shouldsit in an upright position with the
seat belt properly fastened. Thedriver's hands should be placedon the steering wheel at the 9:00
and 3:00 positions. The passen-
ger's arms and hands should beplaced on their laps.
Do not use any accessory seat covers.
(Continued)(Continued)
Use of seat covers could reduceor prevent the effectiveness of the system.
Do not install any accessories on the side or near the side impact
air bag.
Do not place any objects over the air bag or between the air bag
and yourself.
Do not place any objects (an umbrella, bag, etc.) between the
front door and the front seat.
Such objects may become dan-
gerous projectiles and cause
injury if the supplemental side
impact air bag inflates.
To prevent unexpected deploy- ment of the side impact air bag
that may result in personal injury,
avoid impact to the side impact
sensor when the ignition switchis on.
If the seat or seat cover is dam- aged, have the vehicle checked
and repaired by an authorized
KIA dealer because your vehicleis equipped with side impact air
bags.
*1
: Only vehicle’s for Europe equipped with
side and curtain air bag.