KIA SOUL 2009 Owner's Manual

Safety features of your vehicle
8
3
C010109AVQ-C1
Armrest (for driver’s seat, if equipped)
To use the armrest, swing down the arm-
rest to the lowest position.
WARNING - Seat warmer
burns
Passengers should use extreme
caution when using seat warmers
due to the possibility of excess
heating or burns. In particular, the
driver must exercise extreme care
for the following types of passen-
gers:
1. Infants, children, elderly or dis- abled persons, or hospital outpa- tients
2. Persons with sensitive skin or those that burn easily
3. Fatigued individuals
4. Intoxicated individuals
5. Individuals taking medication that can cause drowsiness or
sleepiness (sleeping pills, cold
tablets, etc.)CAUTION
When cleaning the seats, do not
use an organic solvent such asthinner, benzene, alcohol and gasoline. Doing so may damage
the surface of the heater or seats.
To prevent overheating the seat warmer, do not place blankets,cushions or seat covers on the seats while the seat warmer is in
operation.
Do not place heavy or sharp objects on seats equipped withseat warmers. Damage to the seat
warming components could occur.
OSA038123

39
Safety features of your vehicle
C010108AAM
Seatback pocket (if equipped)
Rear seat adjustment
C010307BUN-C1
Folding the rear seat
The rear seatbacks may be folded to
facilitate carrying long items or toincrease the luggage capacity of the
vehicle.To fold down the rear seatback:
1. Insert the rear seat belt buckle in the
pocket between the rear seatback and
cushion (if equipped), and insert the
rear seat belt webbing in the guide to
prevent the seat belt from being dam-aged.
2. Set the front seatback to the upright position and if necessary, slide the
front seat forward.
3. Lower the rear headrests to the lowest position.
WARNING - Seatback
pockets
Do not put heavy or sharp objects
in the seatback pockets. In an acci-
dent they could come loose from
the pocket and injure vehicle occu-pants.
OUN028040/H
WARNING
The purpose of the fold-down rear
seatbacks is to allow you to carry
longer objects than could not oth-erwise be accommodated.
Never allow passengers to sit on
top of the folded down seatback
while the car is moving as this is
not a proper seating position and
no seat belts are available for use.
This could result in serious injuryor death in case of an accident or
sudden stop. Objects carried on the
folded down seatback should not
extend higher than the top of the
front seats. This could allow cargo
to slide forward and cause injury or
damage during sudden stops.

Safety features of your vehicle
10
3
4. Pull on the seatback folding lever, then
fold the seat toward the front of the
vehicle. When you return the seatback
to its upright position, always be sure it
has locked into position by pushing on
the top of the seatback. 5. To use the rear seat, lift and pull the
seatback backward by pulling on the
folding lever. Pull the seatback firmly
until it clicks into place. Make sure the
seatback is locked in place.
6. Return the rear seat belt to the proper position.
OAM039020
OAM039021
WARNING
When you return the rear seatback to its upright position after being
folded down:
Be careful not to damage the seat
belt webbing or buckle. Do not
allow the seat belt webbing or
buckle to get caught or pinched in
the rear seat. Ensure that the seat-
back is completely locked into its
upright position by pushing on the
top of the seatback. Otherwise, in
an accident or sudden stop, the
seat could fold down and allow
cargo to enter the passenger com-
partment, which could result in
serious injury or death.

311
Safety features of your vehicle
C010303BPA
Headrest
The rear seat(s) is equipped with head-
rests in all the seating positions for the
occupant's safety and comfort.
The headrest not only provides comfort
for passengers, but also helps to protect
the head and neck in the event of a colli-sion.
WARNING - Cargo loading
Make sure the engine is off, the
automatic transaxle is in P (Park)and the parking brake is applied
whenever loading or unloading
cargo. Failure to take these steps
may allow the vehicle to move if
shift lever is inadvertently moved toanother position.
WARNING - Cargo
Cargo should always be secured to
prevent it from being thrown about
the vehicle in a collision and caus-
ing injury to the vehicle occupants.Special care of objects should betaken when placing them in the rear
seats, since those may hit the front
seat occupants in a frontal colli-sion.
CAUTION - Rear seat belts
When returning the rear seatbacks
to the upright position, rememberto return the rear shoulder belts to
their proper position. Routing theseat belt webbing through the rear seat belt guides will help keep thebelts from being trapped behind or
under the seats.
CAUTION - Damaging rear
seat belt buckles
When you fold the rear seatback or put luggage on the rear seat cush-ion, insert the buckle in the pocket between the rear seatback and
cushion. Doing so can prevent thebuckle from being damaged by therear seatback or luggage.
OPA039053

Safety features of your vehicle
12
3
Adjusting the height up and down
To raise the headrest, pull it up to the
highest position (1). To lower the head-
rest, push and hold the release button (2)
on the headrest support and lower the
headrest to the lowest position (3). Removal
To remove the headrest, raise it as far as
it can go then press the release button
(1) while pulling upward (2).
To reinstall the headrest, put the head- rest poles (3) into the holes while press-
ing the release button (1). Then adjust it
to the appropriate height.
OUN026043
WARNING
For maximum effectiveness in case of an accident, the headrest
should be adjusted so the middleof the headrest is at the same
height of the center of gravity of
an occupant's head. Generally,
the center of gravity of most peo-ple's head is similar with the
height of the top of their eyes.
Also adjust the headrest as close
to your head as possible. The use
of a cushion that holds the body
away from the seatback is notrecommended.
Do not operate the vehicle with the headrests removed as severe
injury to an occupant may occur
in the event of an accident.
Headrests may provide protec-
tion against severe neck injuries
when properly adjusted.
OUN028044
WARNING
Make sure the headrest locks in
position after adjusting it to proper-
ly protects the occupants.

313
Safety features of your vehicle
C020100AUN Seat belt restraint systemSEAT BELTS
WARNING
For maximum restraint system protection, the seat belts must
always be used whenever the car
is moving.
Seat belts are most effective when seatbacks are in theupright position.
Children age 12 and under must always be properly restrained in
the rear seat. Never allow chil-
dren to ride in the front passen-
ger seat. If a child over 12 must
be seated in the front seat, he/she
must be properly belted and the
seat should be moved as far back
as possible.
Never wear the shoulder belt under your arm or behind your
back. An improperly positionedshoulder belt can cause serious
injuries in a crash. The shoulder
belt should be positioned midway
over your shoulder across your
collarbone.
(Continued)
WARNING
Seat belts are designed to bear
upon the bony structure of the
body, and should be worn low
across the front of the pelvis or 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 par-
ticularly battery acid. Cleaning may
safely be carried out using mild
soap and water. The belt should bereplaced if webbing becomes
frayed, contaminated or damaged.
(Continued)(Continued)
Avoid wearing twisted seat belts.A twisted belt can't do its job as
well. In a collision, it could even
cut into you. Be sure the beltwebbing is straight and not twist-ed.
Be careful not to damage the belt webbing or hardware. If the belt
webbing or hardware is dam-
aged, replace it.

Safety features of your vehicle
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3
C020101AAM
Seat belt warning
Type A
As a reminder to the driver, the seat belt
warning light will blink for approximately
6 seconds each time you turn the ignition
switch ON regardless of belt fastening.
If the driver’s seat belt is unfastened after
the ignition switch is ON, the seat belt
warning light blinks again for approxi-
mately 6 seconds.
If the driver's seat belt is not fastened
when the ignition switch is turned ON or
if it is unfastened after the ignition switch
is ON, the seat belt warning chime will
sound for approximately 6 seconds. At
this time, if the seat belt is fastened, the
chime will stop at once. (if equipped) Type B
Front
As a reminder to the driver and front pas-
senger, the driver’s and front passenger’s
seat belt warning lights will illuminate for
approximately 6 seconds each time you
turn the ignition switch ON regardless of
belt fastening.
If the driver’s or front passenger’s seat
belt is not fastened when the ignition
switch is turned ON or if it is disconnect-
ed after the ignition switch is turned ON,
the corresponding seat belt warning light
will illuminate until the belt is fastened.
If you continue not to fasten the seat belt
and you drive over 9km/h, the illuminated
warning light will start to blink until you
drive under 6km/h.
1GQA2083OAM039043L
Type A
Type B
WARNING
No modifications or additions
should be made by the user which
will either prevent the seat belt
adjusting devices from operating to
remove slack, or prevent the seat
belt assembly from being adjusted
to remove slack.
(Continued) It is essential to replace the entire
assembly after it has been worn in
a severe impact even if damage to
the assembly is not obvious. Belts
should not be worn with straps
twisted. Each belt assembly must
only be used by one occupant; it is
dangerous to put a belt around a
child being carried on the occu-pant's lap.

315
Safety features of your vehicle
If you continue not to fasten the seat belt
and you drive over 20km/h the seat belt
warning chime will sound for approxi-mately 100 seconds and the correspon-
ding warning light will blink.
✽✽NOTICE

Safety features of your vehicle
16
3
C020102BUN-C1
Lap/shoulder belt
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 por-
tion is adjusted manually so that it fits
snugly around your hips. If you lean for-
ward in a slow, easy motion, the belt will
extend and let you move around. If there
is a sudden stop or impact, however, the
belt will lock into position. It will also lock
if you try to lean forward too quickly.
✽✽
NOTICE
If you are not able to pull out the safety
belt from the retractor, firmly pull the
belt out and release it. Then you will be
able to pull the belt out smoothly.
You can adjust the height of the shoulder
belt anchor to one of 4 positions for max-
imum comfort and safety. If the height of the adjusting seat belt is
too near your neck, you will not be getting
the most effective protection. The shoul-
der 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.
B180A01NF-1OUN026100
Front seat

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Safety features of your vehicle
To raise the height adjuster, pull it up (1).
To lower it, push it down (3) while press-
ing 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 lockedinto position.When using the rear center seat belt, the
buckle with the “CENTER” mark must be
used. (if equipped)
WARNING
Verify the shoulder belt anchor is locked into position at the appro-
priate height. Never position the
shoulder belt across your neck or
face. Improperly positioned seatbelts can cause serious injuriesin an accident.
Failure to replace seat belts after an accident could leave you with
damaged seat belts that will not
provide protection in the event ofanother collision leading to per-
sonal injury or death. Replace
your seat belts after being in an
accident as soon as possible.
B200A02NFOAM039046
WARNING
You should place the lap belt por-
tion as low as possible and snugly
across your hips, not on your waist.If the lap belt is located too high on
your waist, it may increase the
chance of injury in the event of a
collision. Both arms should not be
under or over the belt. Rather, one
should be over and the other under,
as shown in the illustration.
Never wear the seat belt under the
arm nearest the door.