Kia Sorento: Folding the rear seat

The rear seatbacks in your Kia Sorento feature a versatile fold-down mechanism engineered to accommodate long cargo or significantly expand the overall luggage capacity of the vehicle for travel and daily hauling.

WARNING

Folded Seatback Safety Hazards

Do not sit on folded down seatbacks. The primary function of the fold-down rear seatbacks in your Kia Sorento is strictly to allow the transportation of longer objects that cannot otherwise fit in the standard boot space.

• Never permit any passenger to sit on top of a folded-down seatback while the car is moving. This is not a designated or safe seating position, as the seat loses its critical crash protection features, and seat belts cannot be worn in this folded configuration.

• To reduce the risk of severe personal injury caused by sliding cargo within the passenger cabin of your Kia Sorento, items carried over the folded seatbacks should never extend higher than the top of the front seatback headrests.

1. To prepare the seats for folding, insert the rear seat belt buckle into the designated storage pocket located between the rear seatback and seat cushion, and secure the rear seat belt webbing inside the routing clip to prevent the belt from being pinched or damaged during operation.

   2nd row seat

   3rd row seat

2. Adjust the front seatback to a fully upright position and, if extra clearance is required, slide the front seat assembly forward along its track.
3. Push down on the rear headrests to adjust them to their lowest possible height setting.

   WARNING

   Cargo Height Restrictions

   Cargo loaded on top of folded seatbacks in your Kia Sorento must never extend higher than the top of the front seatbacks. Excessively high cargo can easily slide forward into the front passenger area, causing severe bodily injury or vehicle interior damage during emergency braking or impact.

4. Pull the seatback folding lever (for 2nd row seats) or the dedicated pull strap (for 3rd row seats), then fold the seatback smoothly forward toward the front of the vehicle until flat.

   Figure 1. 2nd row seat

   Figure 2. 3rd row seat

5. To return the rear seat to its upright passenger seating position, lift and pull the seatback backward by pulling on the release lever (for 2nd row) or pull strap (for 3rd row).

   Pull the seatback up firmly until you hear an audible click, indicating the internal latch mechanism has fully engaged.

   Always double-check and push on the seatback to verify that it is locked in place securely.

   Figure 3. 2nd row seat

   Figure 4. 3rd row seat

6. Unhook and return the rear shoulder seat belts to their proper operational positions across the seat frame.