Hyundai Sonata Owners Manual
Seat belt restraint systemSafety features of your vehicle / Seat belts / Seat belt restraint system
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 the upright position.
- Children age 12 and younger must always be properly restrained in the rear seat. Never allow children to ride in the front passenger 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.
- 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 belt webbing is straight and not twisted.
- Be careful not to damage the belt webbing or hardware. If the belt webbing or hardware is damaged, replace it.
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, 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 occupant.
Care should be taken to avoid contamination of the webbing with polishes, oils and chemicals and particularly 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 seat belt assembly must only be used by one occupant; it is dangerous to put a belt around a child being carried on the occupant's lap.
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.
- When you fasten the seat belt, be careful not to latch the seat belt in buckles of other seat. It's very dangerous and you may not be protected 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.
- Make sure there is nothing in the buckle. The seat belt may not be fastened securely.
Seat belt warning (for driver’s seat)
The driver's seat belt warning light and chime will activate to the following table when the ignition switch is in "ON" position.
*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 warning (for front passenger’s seat)
Type A
Type B
The front passenger's seat belt warning light will activate to the following table when the ignition switch is in "ON" position.
*1 The seat belt warning light will go off if the vehicle speed decreases below 3 mph (5 km/h). If the vehicle speed increases above 3 mph (5 km/h), the warning light will blink again.
✽ NOTICE
- You can find the front passenger's seat belt warning light on the center fascia panel.
- Although the front passenger seat is not occupied, the seat belt warning light will blink for 6 seconds.
- The seat belt warning light can blink when a briefcase or purse is placed on the front passenger seat.
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 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 sudden stop or impact, however, the belt will lock into position. It will also lock if you try to lean forward too quickly.
Front seat
Height adjustment
You can adjust the height of the shoulder belt anchor to one of 4 positions for maximum comfort and safety.
The height of the adjusting seat belt should not be too near your neck. The shoulder 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.
To raise the height adjuster, pull it up (1). To lower it, push it down (3) while pressing 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 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 personal injury or death. Replace your seat belts after being in an accident as soon as possible.
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 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.
Seat belts - Front passenger and rear seat 3-point system with combination locking 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 combination 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 features of both an emergency locking retractor seat belt and an automatic locking 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 operation 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 recommended 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.
When using the rear center seat belt, the buckle with the “CENTER” mark must be used.
To release the seat belt:
The seat belt is released by pressing the release button (1) in the locking buckle. When it is released, the belt should automatically draw back into the retractor. If this does not happen, check the belt to be sure it is not twisted, then try again.
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.
