Kia Sportage (2020 year). Owner's manual — part 3

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Safety features of your vehicle

Armrest

To use the armrest, pull it forward
from the seatback.

Folding the rear seat

The rear seatbacks may be folded to
facilitate carrying long items or to
increase the luggage capacity of the
vehicle.

To fold down the rear seatback:
1. Set the front seatback to the

upright position and if necessary,
slide the front seat forward.

2. Lower the rear head restraints to

the lowest position.

WARNING

Never allow passengers to sit
on top of the folded down seat-
back while the vehicle is mov-
ing. This is not a proper seating
position and no seat belts are
available for use. Ignoring this
warning could result in serious
injury or death in case of an
accident or sudden stop.

WARNING -

Objects

Objects carried on the folded
down seatback should not
extend higher than the top of
the front seatbacks. This could
allow cargo to slide forward and
cause injury or damage during
sudden stops.

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3

3. Insert the rear seat belt buckle in

the pocket between the rear seat-
back and cushion, and insert the
rear seat belt webbing in the guide
to prevent the seat belt from being
damaged.

4. Lift up the front portion of the seat-

back 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 push-
ing on the top of the seatback.

5. To use the rear seat, lift and push

the seatback rearward by lifting up
the front portion of the folding lever.
Push the seatback firmly until it
clicks into place. Make sure the
seatback is locked in place.

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OQLA035022

OQL035023

OQL035024

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Safety features of your vehicle

When returning the rear seatbacks to
the upright position, remember to
return the rear shoulder belts to their
proper position.

CAUTION -

Damaging

rear seat belt buckles

When you fold the rear seat-
back, insert the buckle between
the rear seatback and cushion.
Doing so can prevent the buckle
from being damaged by the rear
seatback.

WARNING -

Cargo loading

Make sure the engine is off, the
automatic transaxle is in P (Park)
and the parking brake is secure-
ly applied whenever loading or
unloading cargo. Failure to take
these steps may allow the vehi-
cle to move if the shift lever is
inadvertently moved to another
position.

WARNING

- Cargo

Do not place objects in the rear
seats, since they cannot be
properly secured and may hit
vehicle occupants in a collision.

WARNING

Unless the driver's position is
properly set according to the
driver's physical figure, do not
fold the rear seat. It may
increase bodily injuries in a
sudden stop or collision.

WARNING

- Objects

Objects carried on the folded
down seatback should not
extend higher than the top of
the front seatbacks. This could
allow cargo to slide forward and
cause injury or damage during
sudden stops.

WARNING -

Rear
Seatback

When returning the rear seat to
the upright position:
• Be careful not to damage the

seat belt webbing or buckle.

• Ensure the seatback is com-

pletely locked into its upright
position by pushing on the
top of the seatback.
Failure to adhere to any of
these instructions could
result in serious injury or
death in the event of a crash.

Safety features of your vehicle

20

3

SEAT BELTS

Seat belt restraint system

Seat belts are designed to bear upon
the bony structure of the body, and
should be worn low across the front
of 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 partic-
ularly 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.
• For maximum restraint system pro-

tection, the seat belts must always
be used whenever the vehicle is
moving. A properly positioned
shoulder belt should be positioned
midway over your shoulder across
your collarbone.

• Never allow children to ride in the

front passenger seat. See child
restraint system section for further
discussion.

WARNING

- Damaged

seat belt

Replace the entire seat belt
assembly if any part of the web-
bing or hardware is damaged as
you can no longer be sure that a
damaged seat belt will provide
protection in a crash.

WARNING

- Twisted seat

belt

Make sure your seat belt is not
twisted when worn. A twisted
seat belt may not properly pro-
tect you in an accident and
could even cut into your body.

WARNING

- Shoulder Belt

• Never wear the shoulder belt

under your arm or behind
your back. An improperly
positioned shoulder belt can-
not protect the occupant in a
crash.

• Always wear both the shoul-

der portion and lap portion of
the lap/shoulder belt.

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Safety features of your vehicle

• No modifications or additions

should be made by the user which
would either prevent the seat belt
adjusting devices from operating 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 control, 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.

Seat belt warning

The driver's seat and passenger’s
seat belt warning light and warning
chime will activate pursuant to the
following table when the ignition
switch is in “ON” position.

WARNING

- Seat belt

buckle

Do not allow foreign material
(gum, crumbs, coins, etc.) to
obstruct the seat belt buckle.
This may prevent the seat belt
from fastening securely.

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22

3

*

1

Warning pattern repeats 11 times

with an interval of 24 seconds. If
the driver's seat belt is buckled, the
light will stop within 6 seconds and
chime will stop immediately.

*

2

The light will stop within 6 seconds

and chime will stop immediately.

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.

Conditions

Warning Pattern

Seat Belt

Vehicle

Speed

Light-

Blink

Chime-

Sound

Unbuckled

6 seconds

Buckled

6 seconds

None

Buckled

→

Unbuckled

Below 5 km/h (3

mph)

6 seconds

None

5 km/h (3 mph) ~

10 km/h (6 mph)

6 seconds

Above 10 km/h (6

mph)

6 sec. on / 24 sec. off

(11 times)

Unbuckled

Above 10 km/h

(6 mph)

→

Below

5 km/h (3 mph)

6 seconds *

1

↓

Stop *

2

B180A01NF-1

WARNING

You should place the lap belt
portion as low as possible and
snugly across your hips, not on
your waist. If the lap belt is locat-
ed 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 near the door.

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Safety features of your vehicle

The seat belt automatically adjusts to
the proper length only after the lap
belt portion is adjusted manually so
that it fits snugly around your hips. If
you lean forward in a slow, easy
motion, the belt will extend and let
you move around. If there is a sud-
den 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
seat belt from the retractor, 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 shoul-
der belt anchor to one of the 4 posi-
tions for maximum comfort and safety.
The height of the adjusting seat belt
should not be too close to your neck.
The shoulder portion 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
pressing the height adjuster button (2).

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Front seat

Safety features of your vehicle

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3

Release the button to lock the
anchor into position. Try sliding the
height adjuster to make sure that it
has locked into position.
Improperly positioned seat belts can
cause serious injuries in an accident.

Rear center seatbelt

To fasten your seatbelt:

1. Pull out the tongue plate (A) from

the hole on the belt assembly
cover.

2. Insert the tongue plate (A) into the

buckle (A’) until an audible “click"
is heard, indicating the latch is
locked. Make sure the belt is not
twisted.

WARNING

- Shoulder belt

positioning

Never position the shoulder belt
across your neck or face.

WARNING

- Seat belt

replacement

Replace your seat belts after
being in an accident. Failure to
replace seat belts after an acci-
dent could leave you with dam-
aged seat belts that will not pro-
vide protection in the event of
another collision.

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Safety features of your vehicle

3. Pull out the tongue plate (B) from

the pocket (C).

4. Pull the tongue plate (B) and

insert it into the buckle (B’) until an
audible “click” is heard, indicating
the latch is locked. Make sure the
belt is not twisted.

When using the rear center seat belt,
the buckle with the “CENTER” mark
must be used.

✽

✽

NOTICE

If you are not able to pull out the
safety belt from the retractor, firmly
pull the belt out and release it. After
release, you will be able to pull the
belt out smoothly.

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3

To release your seatbelt:

1. Press the release button on the

buckle (B’) and remove the tongue
plate (B).

2. Insert the tongue plate (B) into the

pocket (C)

3. To retract the rear center seatbelt,

insert the tongue plate into the
web release hole (A'). Pull up on
the seat belt web and allow the
webbing to retract automatically.

4. Insert the tongue plate (A) into the

hole on the belt assembly cover.

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Safety features of your vehicle

Stowing the rear seat belt

• The rear seat belt buckles can be

stowed in the pocket between the
rear seatback and cushion when
not in use.

• The center seat belt can be stowed

with the plate and webbing rolled in
the pocket between the rear seat-
back and cushion.

• Routing the seat belt webbing

through the rear seat belt guides
will help keep the belts from being
trapped behind or under the seats.
After inserting the seat belt, tighten
the belt webbing by pulling it up.

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CAUTION

Take the seatbelt out of the seat-
belt guide prior to using it. If you
pull the seat belt when it is
stored in the guides, it may
damage the guides and/or the
belt webbing.

WARNING

Prior to fastening the rear seat
belts, ensure the latch matches
the seat belt buckle. Forcefully
fastening the left or right seat
belt to the center buckle can
result in an improper fastening
scenario that will not protect
you in an accident.

Safety features of your vehicle

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Pre-tensioner seat belt

Your vehicle is equipped with driver's
and front passenger's pre-tensioner
seat belts (retractor pretensioner and
EFD (Emergency Fastening Device)).
The pre-tensioner seat belts may be
activated, when a frontal collision is
severe enough, together with the air
bags.
When the vehicle stops suddenly, or if
the occupant tries to lean forward too
quickly, the seat belt retractor may
lock into position. In certain frontal col-
lisions, the pre-tensioner will activate
and pull the seat belt into tighter con-
tact against the occupant's body.

(1) Retractor Pretensioner

The purpose of the retractor pre-

tensioner is to make sure that the
shoulder belts fit in tightly against
the occupant's upper body in cer-
tain frontal collisions.

(2) EFD

(Emergency Fastening Device)

The purpose of the EFD is to

make sure that the pelvis belts fit
in tightly against the occupant's
lower body in certain frontal colli-
sions.

If the system senses excessive ten-
sion on the driver or passenger's
seat belt when the pre-tensioner sys-
tem activates, the load limiter inside
the retractor pre-tensioner will release
some of the pressure on the affected
seat belt.

✽

✽

NOTICE

The pre-tensioner will activate not
only in a frontal collision but also in a
side collision, if the vehicle is equipped
with a side or curtain air bag.

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Safety features of your vehicle

The seat belt pre-tensioner system
consists mainly of the following com-
ponents. Their locations are shown in
the illustration:

(1) SRS air bag warning light
(2) Front retractor pre-tensioner

assembly

(3) SRS control module
(4) Emergency fastening device

(EFD)

✽

✽

NOTICE

• Both the driver's and front pas-

senger's seat belt pre-tensioner sys-
tem may be activated not only in
certain frontal collision, but also in
certain side collisions or rollovers.

• 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 illumi-
nate for approximately 6 seconds
after the ignition switch has been
turned to the ON position, and
then it should turn off.

WARNING -

Skin Irritation

Wash all exposed skin areas
thoroughly after an accident in
which the pre-tensioner seat
belts were activated. The fine
dust from the pre-tensioner
activation may cause skin irrita-
tion and should not be breathed
for prolonged periods.

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If the pre-tensioner seat belt system
is not working properly, this warning
light will illuminate even if there is not
a malfunction with the SRS air bag. If
the SRS air bag warning light does
not illuminate when the ignition
switch is turned ON, or if it remains
illuminated after illuminating for
approximately 6 seconds, or if it illu-
minates while the vehicle is being
driven, have an authorized Kia dealer
inspect the pre-tensioner seat belt
and SRS air bag system as soon as
possible.

✽

✽

NOTICE

Do not attempt to service or repair
the pre-tensioner seat belt system in
any manner. Do not attempt to
inspect or replace the pre-tensioner
seat belts yourself. This must be
done by an authorized Kia dealer.

✽

✽

NOTICE

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 operating condi-
tions and are not hazardous.

Pre-tensioners are designed to oper-
ate only one time. After activation,
pre-tensioner seat belts must be
replaced. If the pre-tensioner must
be replaced, contact an authorized
Kia dealer.

WARNING

- Hot preten-

sioner

Do not touch the pre-tensioner
seat belt assemblies for several
minutes after they have been
activated. When the pre-ten-
sioner seat belt mechanism
fires during a collision the pre-
tensioner becomes hot and can
burn you.

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Safety features of your vehicle

Seat belt precautions

Infant or small child

Most countries have child restraint
laws. You should be aware of the spe-
cific 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 system” in this sec-
tion.

✽

✽

NOTICE

Small children are best protected
from injury in an accident when
properly restrained in the rear seat
by a child restraint system that meets
the requirements of the Safety
Standards of your country. Before
buying any child restraint system,
make sure that it has a label certify-
ing that it meets Safety Standard of
your country. The restraint must be
appropriate for your child's height
and weight. Check the label on the
child restraint for this information.
Refer to “Child restraint system” in
this section.

Larger children

Children who are too large for child
restraint systems should always
occupy the rear seat and use the
available lap/shoulder belts. The lap
portion should be fastened and
snugged on the hips as low as possi-
ble. Check periodically to insure that
the belt fits. A child's squirming could
put the belt out of position. Children
are given the most safety in the event
of an accident when they are
restrained by a proper restraint sys-
tem in the rear seat. If a larger child
(over age 13) must be seated in the
front seat, the child should be
securely restrained by the available
lap/shoulder belt and the seat should
be placed in the rearmost position.
Children age 13 and under should be
restrained securely in the rear seat.
NEVER place a child age 13 and
under in the front seat. NEVER place
a rear facing child seat in the front
seat of a vehicle.

If the shoulder belt portion slightly
touches the child’s neck or face, try
placing the child closer to the center of
the vehicle. If the shoulder belt still
touches their face or neck they need to
be returned to a child restraint system.

WARNING

- Small children

Do not allow small children to
ride in the vehicle without an
appropriate child restraint sys-
tem. If the shoulder belt comes
in contact with your child's neck
or face your child is too small to
ride in the vehicle. In a crash the
seat belt will inflict injury to your
child's neck, throat and face.

Safety features of your vehicle

32

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Restraint of pregnant women

Pregnant women should wear
lap/shoulder belt assemblies when-
ever possible according to specific
recommendations by their doctors.
The lap portion of the belt should be
worn AS SECURELY AND LOW AS
POSSIBLE.

Injured person

A seat belt should be used when an
injured person is being transported.
When this is necessary, you should
consult a physician for recommenda-
tions.

One person per belt

Two people (including children)
should never attempt to use a single
seat belt. This could increase the
severity of injuries in case of an acci-
dent.

Do not lie down

To reduce the chance of injuries in
the event of an accident and to
achieve maximum effectiveness of
the restraint system, all passengers
should be sitting up and the front and
rear seats should be in an upright
position when the vehicle is moving.
A seat belt cannot provide proper
protection if the person is lying down
in the rear seat or if the front and rear
seats are in a reclined position.

WARNING

- Pregnant

women

Pregnant women must never
place the lap portion of the seat
belt above or on the abdomen
where the fetus is located. The
force of the seat belt during a
collision will crush the fetus.