back seat KIA SOUL 2009 Owner's Manual

339
Safety features of your vehicle
C040900AUN-U1
How does the air bag system operate
Air bags are activated (able to inflate ifnecessary) only when the ignition
switch is turned to the ON or STARTposition.
Air bags inflate instantly in the event of serious frontal or side collision (ifequipped 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 factors including vehiclespeed, angles of impact and the densi-
ty 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 sim-ply see the deflated air bags hanging
out of their storage compartments afterthe 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 extremely
short time in which a collision occursand 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 collision
and is thus a necessary part of air bagdesign.
However, air bag inflation can also
cause injuries which can include facial
abrasions, bruises and broken bonesbecause 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 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 passenger
should always move their seat as
far back as possible and sit backin their seat.
Air bag inflates instantly in an event of a collision, passengers
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.

345
Safety features of your vehicle
The indications of the system's presence
are the letters "AIR BAG" embossed on
the air bag pad cover in 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
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.(Continued)
Move your seat as far back aspractical 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 anupright 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)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 impact air bags can injure occupants improperly
positioned in the front seats.
(Continued)

Safety features of your vehicle
46
3
(Continued)
No objects should be placed over
or 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 or blinks
while the vehicle is being driven,
have an authorized KIA dealer
inspect the air bag system as
soon as possible.
(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)(Continued)
A child restraint system mustnever be placed in the front seat.
The infant or child could be
severely injured or killed by an air
bag deployment in case of anaccident.
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 or
she must be properly belted and
the seat should be moved as far
back as possible.
For maximum safety protection in all types of crashes, all occu-
pants including the driver should
always wear their seat belts
whether or not an air bag is also
provided at their seating position
to minimize the risk of severe
injury or death in the event of a
crash. Do not sit or lean unneces-
sarily close to the air bag while
the vehicle is in motion.
(Continued)

347
Safety features of your vehicle
C040501BAM
Passenger’s front air bag ON/OFFswitch (if equipped)
The passenger’s front air bag can be
deactivated by the passenger’s front air
bag ON/OFF switch if a child restraint isinstalled on the front passenger's seat orif the front passenger's seat is unoccu-
pied by a person.
To ensure the safety of your child, the
passenger’s front air bag must be deacti-
vated when it should be necessary to
install a rearward facing child seat on the
front passenger seat in exceptional cir-
cumstances. 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.
(Continued)
Sitting improperly or out of posi- tion can result in serious or fatal
injury in a crash. All occupantsshould sit upright with the seat
back in an upright position, cen-tered on the seat cushion with
their seat belt on, legs comfort-
ably extended and their feet on
the floor until the vehicle is
parked and the ignition key is
removed.
The SRS air bag system must deploy very rapidly to provide
protection in a crash. If an occu-pant is out of position because of
not wearing a seat belt, the air
bag may forcefully contact theoccupant causing serious or fatalinjuries.
OAM039051LOAM039045L

Safety features of your vehicle
58
3
C041300AUN-U1
Additional safety precautions Never let passengers ride in the
cargo area or on top of a folded-
down back seat. All occupants should
sit upright, fully back in their seats with
their seat belts on and their feet on the
floor.
Passengers should not move out of
or change seats while the vehicle is
moving. A passenger who is not wear-
ing a seat belt during a crash or emer-
gency stop can be thrown against the
inside of the vehicle, against other
occupants, or out of the vehicle.
Each seat belt is designed torestrain one occupant. If more than
one person uses the same seat belt,
they could be seriously injured or killedin a collision.
Do not use any accessories on seatbelts. Devices claiming to improve
occupant comfort or reposition the seat
belt can reduce the protection provided
by the seat belt and increase the
chance of serious injury in a crash.
Passengers should not place hardor sharp objects between them-
selves and the air bags. Carrying
hard or sharp objects on your lap or in
your mouth can result in injuries if an
air bag inflates.
Keep occupants away from the air
bag covers. All occupants should sit
upright, fully back in their seats with
their seat belts on and their feet on the
floor. If occupants are too close to the
air bag covers, they could be injured if
the air bags inflate.
Do not attach or place objects on or
near the air bag covers. Any object
attached to or placed on the front or
side impact air bag covers could inter-
fere with the proper operation of the air
bags.
Do not modify the front seats.Modification of the front seats could
interfere with the operation of the sup-
plemental restraint system sensing
components or side impact air bags.
Do not place items under the frontseats. Placing items under the front
seats could interfere with the operation
of the supplemental restraint system
sensing components and wiring har-
nesses.
Never hold an infant or child on yourlap. The infant or child could be seri-
ously injured or killed in the event of a
crash. All infants and children should
be properly restrained in appropriate
child safety seats or seat belts in therear seat. C041400AUN
Adding equipment to or modifying
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
Sitting improperly or out of posi- tion can cause occupants to be
shifted too close to a deploying
air bag, strike the interior struc-
ture or be thrown from the vehicle
resulting in serious injury ordeath.
Always sit upright with the seat- back in an upright position, cen-tered on the seat cushion with
your seat belt on, legs comfort-
ably extended and your feet on
the floor.

53
Driving your vehicle
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Before entering vehicle
• Be sure that all windows, outside mir-ror(s), and outside lights are clean.
Check the condition of the tires.
Check under the vehicle for any sign of leaks.
Be sure there are no obstacles behind you if you intend to back up.
E020200AUN
Necessary inspections
Fluid levels, such as engine oil, engine
coolant, brake fluid, and washer fluid
should be checked on a regular basis,
with the exact interval depending on the
fluid. Further details are provided in sec-
tion 7, “Maintenance”.
E020300BUN
Before starting
Close and lock all doors.
Position the seat so that all controls are easily reached.
Adjust the inside and outside rearview mirrors. Be sure that all lights work.
Check all gauges.
Check the operation of warning lights
when the ignition switch is turned to the ON position.
Release the parking brake and make sure the brake warning light goes out.
For safe operation, be sure you are famil-
iar with your vehicle and its equipment.
BEFORE DRIVING
WARNING
All passengers must be properly
belted whenever the vehicle is mov-
ing. Refer to “Seat belts” in section
3 for more information on their
proper use.
WARNING
Always check the surrounding
areas near your vehicle for people,
especially children, before putting a
car into D (Drive) or R (Reverse).
WARNING - Driving under
the influence of alcohol or drugs
Drinking and driving is dangerous.
Drunk driving is the number one
contributor to the highway death
toll each year. Even a small amount
of alcohol will affect your reflexes,
perceptions and judgment. Drivingwhile under the influence of drugs
is as dangerous or more dangerousthan driving drunk.
You are much more likely to have a
serious accident if you drink or
take drugs and drive.
If you are drinking or taking drugs,
don’t drive. Do not ride with a driv-er who has been drinking or taking
drugs. Choose a designated driveror call a cab.
WARNING
When you intend to park or stop the
vehicle with the engine on, be care-ful not to depress the accelerator
pedal for a long period of time. It
may overheat the engine or exhaust
system and cause fire.

Driving your vehicle
8
5
During cold weather, shifting may be
difficult until the transaxle lubricant has
warmed up. This is normal and not
harmful to the transaxle.
If you've come to a complete stop and it's hard to shift into 1st or R(Reverse),
put the shift lever in N(Neutral) position
and release the clutch. Press the
clutch pedal back down, and then shift
into 1st or R(Reverse) gear position. E050101AUNUsing the clutch
The clutch should be pressed all the way
to the floor before shifting, then released
slowly. The clutch pedal should always be
fully released while driving. Do not rest
your foot on the clutch pedal while driv-
ing. This can cause unnecessary wear.
Do not partially engage the clutch to hold
the car on an incline. This causes unnec-
essary wear. Use the foot brake or park-
ing brake to hold the car on an incline. Do
not operate the clutch pedal rapidly and
repeatedly.
E050102AUN
Downshifting
When you must slow down in heavy traf-
fic or while driving up steep hills, down-
shift before the engine starts to labor.
Downshifting reduces the chance of
stalling and gives better acceleration
when you again need to increase your
speed. When the vehicle is traveling
down steep hills, downshifting helps
maintain safe speed and prolongs brake
life.
CAUTION
To avoid premature clutch wear
and damage, do not drive withyour foot resting on the clutch pedal. Also, don’t use the clutchto hold the vehicle stopped on an
uphill grade, while waiting for atraffic light, etc.
Do not use the shift lever as a handrest during driving, as this
can result in premature wear ofthe transaxle shift forks.
WARNING
Before leaving the driver’s seat, always set the parking brake fully
and shut the engine off. Thenmake sure the transaxle is shifted
into 1st gear when the vehicle is
parked on a level or uphill grade,
and shifted into R (Reverse) on a
downhill grade. Unexpected and
sudden vehicle movement canoccur if these precautions are not
followed in the order identified.
If your vehicle has a manual transaxle not equipped with a
ignition lock switch, it may moveand cause a serious accident
when starting the engine without
depressing the clutch pedal whilethe parking brake is released and
the shift lever not in the N (neu-tral) position.