warning KIA Soul 2011 1.G User Guide

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.
CAUTION- Rear seat belts
When returning the rear seatbacksto the upright position, remember to return the rear shoulder belts totheir proper position. Routing theseat belt webbing through the rearseat belt guides will help keep the belts from being trapped behind orunder the seats.
CAUTION - Damaging rear
seat belt buckles
When you fold the rear seatback,
insert the buckle in the pocket between the rear seatback andcushion. Doing so can prevent thebuckle from being damaged by therear seatback.

311
Safety features of your vehicle
C010303AHM
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 protect the
head and neck in the event of a collision.
WARNING - Cargo loading
Make sure the engine is off, the
automatic transaxle is in P (Park)
or the manual transaxle is in
Reverse or 1st, and the parking
brake is securely applied whenever
loading or unloading cargo. Failure
to take these steps may allow the
vehicle to move if the shift lever is
inadvertently moved to another
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.
Do not place objects in the rear
seats, since they cannot be proper-
ly secured and may hit the front
seat occupants in a collision.
OPA039053
WARNING
For maximum effectiveness incase of an accident, the headrest
should be adjusted so the middle
of 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 as the top of their eyes.
Also adjust the headrest as close
to your head as possible. For this
reason, the use of a cushion that
holds the body away from the
seatback is not recommended.
Do not operate the vehicle with the headrests removed. 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.

Safety features of your vehicle
12
3
SEAT BELTS
Adjusting the height up and down
To raise the headrest, pull it up to the
desired position (1). To lower the head-
rest, push and hold the release button (2)
on the headrest support and lower the
headrest to the desired position (3). Removal and installation
To remove the headrest, raise it as far as
it can go then press the release button
(1) while pulling the headrest up (2).
To reinstall the headrest, put the head-
rest poles (3) into the holes while pessing
the release button (1). Then adjust it to
the appropriate height.
C020100AHM
Seat belt restraint system
OUN026043OUN028044
WARNING
Make sure the headrest locks in
position after adjusting it to proper-
ly protect the occupants.
WARNING
For maximum restraint system
protection, the seat belts must
always be used whenever the
vehicle is moving.
Seat belts are most effective when seatbacks are in the
upright 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 positioned
shoulder belt can cause serious
injuries in a crash. The shoulder
belt should be positioned midway
over your shoulder across your
collarbone.
(Continued)

313
Safety features of your vehicle
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.(Continued)
(Continued)
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 be
replaced if webbing becomes
frayed, contaminated or damaged.
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.(Continued)
Avoid wearing twisted seat belts.A twisted belt can't do its job
well. In a collision, it could even
cut into you. Be sure the belt
webbing 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.WARNING
No modifications or additionsshould be made by the user
which will either prevent the seat
belt adjusting devices from oper-
ating to remove slack, or prevent
the seat belt assembly from being
adjusted to remove slack.
When you fasten the seat belt, be careful not to latch the seat belt in
buckles of other seat. It's very dan-
gerous and you may not be pro-
tected by the seat belt properly.
Do not unfasten the seat belt and do not fasten and unfasten the
seat belt repeatedly while driving.
This could result in loss of con-
trol, and an accident causing
death, serious injury, or property
damage.
When fastening the seat belt, make sure that the seat belt does
not pass over objects that are
hard or can break easily.
Make sure there is nothing in the buckle. The seat belt may not be
fastened securely.

Safety features of your vehicle
14
3
C020101AAM-EU
Seat belt warning
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 not fastened
when the ignition switch is turned on, the
seat belt warning light and the seat belt
warning chime will operate for approxi-
mately 6 seconds. But if it is fastened
within the 6 seconds, the warning light
will blink till the 6 seconds and the warn-
ing chime will turn off immediately.
If the driver's seat belt is disconnected
after the ignition switch is turned to the
ON position, the seat belt warning light
and chime will operate for approximately
6 seconds. But if it is fastened within the
6 seconds, the warning light and chime
will turn off immediately. If the driver's
seat belt is not fastened when the vehicle
speed exceeds 10 km/h (6 mph), the
seat belt warning light and chime will
operate for approximately 11 times with a
pattern of 6 seconds on and 24 seconds
off until the belt is fastened or the vehicle
speed decreases below 5 km/h (3 mph).
C020102AAM-EU
Seat belt - Driver's 3-point system
with emergency locking retractor
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.
1GQA2083B180A01NF-1

315
Safety features of your vehicle
✽
✽NOTICE
If you are not able to smoothly pull
enough of the seat belt from the retrac-
tor, firmly pull the belt out and release
it. Then you will be able to pull the belt
out smoothly.
Height adjustment
You can adjust the height of the shoulder
belt anchor to one of the 4 positions for
maximum comfort and safety.
The height of the seat belt should not be
too close to your neck. The shoulder por-
tion should be adjusted so that it lies
across your chest and midway over your
shoulder near 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.
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 locked
into position.
WARNING
Verify that the shoulder belt
anchor is locked into position at
the appropriate height. Never
position the shoulder belt across
your neck or face. Improperly
positioned seat belts can cause
serious injuries in 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 of
another collision leading to per-
sonal injury or death. Replace
your seat belts after being in an
accident as soon as possible.OUN026100
Front seat

Safety features of your vehicle
16
3
C020106AUN
Seat belts - Front passenger and rear
seat 3-point system with combinationlocking retractor
To fasten your seat belt:
Combination retractor type seat belts are
installed in the rear seat positions to help
accommodate the installation of child
restraint systems. Although a combina-
tion retractor is also installed in the front
passenger seat position, it is strongly
recommended that children always be
seated in the rear seat. NEVER place
any infant restraint system in the front
seat of the vehicle.
This type of seat belt combines the fea-
tures of both an emergency locking
retractor seat belt and an automatic lock-
ing retractor seat belt. To fasten your seat
belt, pull it out of the retractor and insert
the metal tab into the buckle. There will
be an audible "click" when the tab locks
into the buckle. When not securing a
child restraint, the seat belt operates in
the same way as the driver's seat belt
(Emergency Locking Retractor Type). It
automatically adjusts to the proper length
only after the lap belt portion of the seat
belt is adjusted manually so that it fits
snugly around your hips. When the seat belt is fully extended from
the retractor to allow the installation of a
child restraint system, the seat belt oper-
ation changes to allow the belt to retract,
but not to extend (Automatic Locking
Retractor Type). Refer to “Using a child
restraint system” in this section.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
Although the combination retractor
provides the same level of protection for
seated passengers in either emergency
or automatic locking modes, it is recom-
mended that seated passengers use the
emergency locking feature for improved
convenience. The automatic locking
function is intended to facilitate child
restraint installation. To convert from
the automatic locking feature to the
emergency locking operation mode,
allow the unbuckled seat belt to fully
retract.
B200A02NF
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 that is near the door.

319
Safety features of your vehicle
When the vehicle stops suddenly, or if
the occupant tries to lean forward too
quickly, the seat belt retractor will lock
into position. In certain frontal collisions,
the pre-tensioner will activate and pull
the seat belt into tighter contact against
the occupant's body.
If the system senses excessive seat belt
tension on the driver or passenger's seat
belt when the pre-tensioner activates, the
load limiter inside the pre-tensioner will
release some of the pressure on the
affected seat belt (if equipped).The seat belt pre-tensioner system con-
sists mainly of the following components.
Their locations are shown in the illustra-
tion:
1. SRS air bag warning light
2. Retractor pre-tensioner assembly
3. SRS control module
WARNING
To obtain maximum benefit from a
pre-tensioner seat belt:
1. The seat belt must be worn cor-rectly and adjusted to the proper
position. Please read and follow
all of the important information
and precautions about your vehi-
cle’s occupant safety features –
including seat belts and air bags
– that are provided in this manu-
al.
2. Be sure you and your passen- gers always wear seat belts prop-
erly.
8KMB3311
WARNING
For your safety, be sure that the
belt webbing is not loose or twisted
and always sit properly on your
seat.

Safety features of your vehicle
20
3
✽
✽
NOTICE
• Both the driver's and front passen-
ger's pre-tensioner seat belts may be
activated in certain frontal collisions.
The pre-tensioners will not be activat-
ed if the seat belts are not being worn
at the time of the collision.
• When the pre-tensioner seat belts are activated, a loud noise may be heard
and fine dust, which may appear to be
smoke, may be visible in the passenger
compartment. These are normal oper-
ating conditions and are not haz-
ardous.
• Although it is harmless, the fine dust may cause skin irritation and should
not be breathed for prolonged peri-
ods. Wash all exposed skin areas thor-
oughly after an accident in which the
pre-tensioner seat belts were activat-
ed.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
Because the sensor that activates the
SRS air bag is connected with the pre-
tensioner seat belt, the SRS air bag
warning light ( ) on the instrument
panel will illuminate for approximately
6 seconds after the ignition switch has
been turned to the ON position, and
then it should turn off.
CAUTION
If the pre-tensioner seat belt is not
working properly, this warning light will illuminate even if there is nomalfunction of the SRS air bag. Ifthe SRS air bag warning light doesnot illuminate when the ignition switch is turned ON, or if it remainsilluminated after illuminating forapproximately 6 seconds, or if itilluminates while the vehicle isbeing driven, please have anauthorized KIA dealer inspect thepre-tensioner seat belt and SRS airbag system as soon as possible.
WARNING
Pre-tensioners are designed to operate only one time. After acti-
vation, pre-tensioner seat belts
must be replaced. All seat belts,
of any type, should always be
replaced after they have been
worn during a collision.
The pre-tensioner seat belt assembly mechanisms become
hot during activation. Do not
touch the pre-tensioner seat belt
assemblies for several minutes
after they have been activated.
Do not attempt to inspect or replace the pre-tensioner seat
belts yourself. This must be done
by an authorized KIA dealer.
Do not strike the pre-tensioner seat belt assemblies.
Do not attempt to service or repair the pre-tensioner seat belt
system in any manner.
Do not put anything near the buckle. Placing objects near the
buckle can adversely affect the
buckle pretensioner and may
increase the risk of personal
injury in the event of a collision.
(Continued)

321
Safety features of your vehicle
C020300AUN-EU
Seat belt precautions
C020306AUN
Infant or small child
You should be aware of the specific
requirements in your country. Child
and/or infant seats must be properly
placed and installed in the rear seat. For
more information about the use of these
restraints, refer to “Child restraint sys-
tem” in this section.
(Continued)
Improper handling of the pre-ten-sioner seat belt assemblies, and
failure to heed the warnings not
to strike, modify, inspect, replace,
service or repair the pre-tension-
er seat belt assemblies may lead
to improper operation or inadver-
tent activation and serious injury.
Always wear the seat belts when driving or riding in a motor vehi-
cle.
If the vehicle or pre-tensioner seat belt must be discarded, con-
tact an authorized KIA dealer.
WARNING
All occupants of the vehicle must
wear their seat belts at all times.
Seat belts and child restraints
reduce the risk of serious or fatal
injuries for all occupants in the
event of a collision or sudden stop.
Without a seat belt, occupants
could be shifted too close to a
deploying air bag, strike the interior
structure or be thrown from the
vehicle. Properly worn seat belts
greatly reduce these hazards.
Even with advanced air bags,
unbelted occupants can be severe-
ly injured by a deploying air bag.
Always follow the precautions
about seat belts, air bags and occu-
pant seating contained in this man-
ual.
WARNING
Every person in your vehicle needs
to be properly restrained at all
times, including infants and chil-
dren. Never hold a child in your
arms or lap when riding in a vehi-
cle. The violent forces created dur-
ing a crash will tear the child from
your arms and throw the child
against the interior. Always use a
child restraint appropriate for your
child's height and weight.