2005 KIA Sportage tires

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Driving tips
SPECIAL DRIVING CONDITIONS Hazardous driving conditions When hazardous driving conditions
are encountered such as water,
snow, ice, mud, sand, or similar haz-
ards, follow these suggestions:
 Drive cautiously and allow extra
distance for braking.
 Avoid sudden movements in brak-
ing or steering.
 When braking, pump the brake
pedal with a light up-and-down
motion until the vehicle is stopped.✽ ✽
NOTICEDo not pump the brake pedal on a
vehicle equipped with ABS.
 If stalled in snow, mud, or sand,
use second gear. Accelerate slow-
ly to avoid spinning the drive
wheels.
 Use sand, rock salt, tire chains, or
other non-slip material under the
drive wheels to provide traction
when stalled in ice, snow, or mud.
Rocking the vehicle If it is necessary to rock the vehicle
to free it from snow, sand, or mud,
first turn the steering wheel right and
left to clear the area around your
front wheels. Then, shift back and
forth between 1 (First) and R
(Reverse) in vehicles equipped with
a manual transaxle or R (Reverse)
and any forward gear in vehicles
equipped with an automatic
transaxle. Do not race the engine,
and spin the wheels as little as pos-
sible. If you are still stuck after a few
tries, have the vehicle pulled out by a
tow vehicle to avoid engine overheat-
ing and possible damage to the
transaxle.✽ ✽
NOTICEProlonged rocking may cause engine
over-heating, transaxle damage or
failure, and tire damage.
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WARNING
- Downshifting
Downshifting with an automatic
transaxle, while driving on slip-
pery surfaces can cause an
accident. The sudden change in
tire speed could cause the tires
to skid. Be careful when down-
shifting on slippery surfaces.
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Driving tips8 5
Driving at night Because night driving presents more
hazards than driving in the daylight,
here are some important tips to
remember:
 Slow down and keep more dis-
tance between you and other vehi-
cles, as it may be more difficult to
see at night, especially in areas
where there may not be any street
lights.
 Adjust your mirrors to reduce the
glare from other driver's head-
lights.
 Keep your headlights clean and
properly aimed on vehicles not
equipped with the automatic head-
light aiming feature. Dirty or
improperly aimed headlights will
make it much more difficult to see
at night.
 Avoid staring directly at the head-
lights of oncoming vehicles. You
could be temporarily blinded, and it
will take several seconds for your
eyes to readjust to the darkness.
Driving in the rain Rain and wet roads can make driving
dangerous, especially if you’re not
prepared for the slick pavement.
Here are a few things to consider
when driving in the rain:
 A heavy rainfall will make it harder
to see and will increase the dis-
tance needed to stop your vehicle,
so slow down.
 Keep your windshield wiping
equipment in good shape. Replace
your windshield wiper blades when
they show signs of streaking or
missing areas on the windshield.
 If your tires are not in good condi-
tion, making a quick stop on wet
pavement can cause a skid and
possibly lead to an accident. Be
sure your tires are in good shape.
 Turn on your headlights to make it
easier for others to see you.
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WARNING
- Spinning tires
Do not spin the wheels, espe-
cially at speeds more than 56
km/h (35 mph). Spinning the
wheels at high speeds when the
vehicle is stationary could
cause a tire to overheat, explode
and injure bystanders.
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Driving tips10 5Snow tires If you mount snow tires on your Kia,
make sure they are radial tires of the
same size and load range as the
original tires. Mount snow tires on all
four wheels to balance your vehicle’s
handling in all weather conditions.
Keep in mind that the traction provid-
ed by snow tires on dry roads may
not be as high as your vehicle's orig-
inal equipment tires. You should drive
cautiously even when the roads are
clear. Check with the tire dealer for
maximum speed recommendations.Do not install studded tires without
first checking local, state and munic-
ipal regulations for possible restric-
tions against their use.
Driving in flooded areas Avoid driving through flooded areas
unless you are sure the water is no
higher than the bottom of the wheel
hub. Drive through any water slowly.
Allow adequate stopping distance
because brake performance may be
affected.
After driving through water, dry the
brakes by gently applying them sev-
eral times while the vehicle is moving
slowly.
Reducing the risk of a rolloverThis multi-purpose passenger vehi-
cle is defined as a Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV). SUV’s have higher
ground clearance and a narrower
track to make them capable of per-
forming in a wide variety of off-road
applications. Specific design charac-
teristics give them a higher center of
gravity than ordinary cars. An advan-
tage of the higher ground clearance
is a better view of the road, which
allows you to anticipate problems.
They are not designed for cornering
at the same speeds as conventional
passenger drive vehicles, any more
than low-slung sports cars are
designed to perform satisfactorily in
off-road conditions. Due to this risk,
driver and passengers are strongly
recommended to buckle their seat-
belts. In a rollover crash, an unbelt-
ed person is more likely to die than a
person wearing a seatbelt. There
are steps that a driver can make to
reduce the risk of a rollover. If at all
possible, avoid sharp turns or abrupt
maneuvers, do not load your roof
rack with heavy cargo, and never
modify your vehicle in any way.
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WARNING
- Snow tire
size
Snow tires should be equivalent
in size and type to the vehicle's
standard tires. Otherwise, the
safety and handling of your
vehicle may be adversely affect-
ed.
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Driving tips12 5
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USING FOUR-WHEEL DRIVEDriving on snow- or Ice-cov-
ered roads (“4WD LOCK” for
full-time 4WD operation)  Use snow tires. See “Tires” in this
section for more information.
 Keep an adequate distance
between yourself and other vehi-
cles.
 Avoid sudden braking, acceleration
or steering. These actions can
cause your vehicle to lose traction.
Driving in sand or mud (“4WD
LOCK” for full-time 4WD opera-
tion)  Avoid sudden braking, acceleration
or steering. These actions can
cause your vehicle to get stuck in
the sand or mud.
 Drive at low speeds whenever pos-
sible.
 You may need to get out of your
vehicle at times to check road con-
ditions.
 If you get stuck in the sand or mud,
try placing stones, wood or other
similar materials under the tires to
get traction, or move forward and
backward repeatedly to get
unstuck.
✽ ✽
NOTICEProlonged rocking may cause engine
damage, overheating, transaxle dif-
ferential or transfer case damage or
failure and tire damage.
WARNING
- Traction
Make sure that no one stands in
front of or behind the tires when
materials are placed under the
tires to get more traction. The
tires may cause loose materials
to fly out from under the vehicle,
potentially causing serious bod-
ily injury or death.
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Driving tips
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Stalling downhillStalling is much more likely to hap-
pen going uphill. But if it happens
going downhill, here’s what to do.
 Stop your vehicle by applying the
brakes. Then apply the parking
brake.
 Move the shift lever to P (Park) in
automatic transaxle or shift to N
(Neutral) in manual transaxle and,
while still braking, restart the
engine.
 Shift back to a low gear, release
the parking brake, and drive
straight down.
 If the engine won’t start, get out
and seek help. Exit on the uphill
side of the vehicle and stay clear of
the path the vehicle would take if it
rolled downhill.
Driving across an inclineSooner or later, an off-road trail will
probably go across the incline of a
hill. If this happens, you have to
decide whether or not to try to drive
across the incline. Here are some
things to consider:
 A hill that can be driven straight up
or down may be too steep to drive
across. When you go straight up or
down a hill, the length of the wheel
base (the distance from the front
wheels to the rear wheels) reduces
the likelihood the vehicle will tum-
ble end over end. But when you
drive across an incline, the much
narrower track width (the distance
between the left and right wheels)
may not prevent the vehicle from
tilting and rolling over. Also, driving
across an incline puts more weight
on the downhill wheels. This could
cause a downhill slide or a rollover. Surface conditions can be a prob-
lem when you drive across a hill.
Loose gravel, muddy spots, or
even wet grass can cause your
tires to slip sideways. If the vehicle
slips sideways, it can hit something
that will tip it (a rock, a rut, etc.) and
cause it to roll over.
 Hidden obstacles can make the
steepness of the incline even
worse. If you drive across a rock
with the uphill wheels, or if the
downhill wheels drop into a rut or
depression, your vehicle can tilt
even more.
For reasons like these, you need to
decide carefully whether or not to try
to drive across an incline. Just
because the trail goes across the
incline doesn’t mean you have to
drive it.
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Driving tips
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Driving in mud, sand, snow, or
iceWhen you drive in mud, sand, snow,
or ice, your wheels won’t get good
traction. You can’t accelerate as
quickly, turning is more difficult, and
you’ll need longer braking distances.
It’s best to use a low gear when
you’re in mud, the deeper the mud,
the lower the gear. In extremely deep
mud, the idea is to keep your vehicle
moving so you don’t get stuck.
When you drive on sand, you’ll
sense a change in wheel traction.
But it will depend upon how loosely
packed the sand is. On loosely
packed sand (as on beaches or sand
dunes) your tires will tend to sink into
the sand. This has an effect on steer-
ing, accelerating, and braking. You
may want to reduce the air pressure
in your tires slightly when driving on
sand. This will improve traction.
Remember to re-inflate them the first
chance that you have after you leave
the loosely packed sand.
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NOTICE• In case of loss of traction in mud,
loose soil, or sand, turn the steer-
ing wheel rapidly from side-to-
side. This can help generate addi-
tional traction.
• Do not gun the engine. This will
cause the tires to spin and dig
down, not forward, and could
bury the vehicle to the frame.
Smooth, easy power is better than
too much power.
WARNING
- Exiting vehi-
cle
Getting out on the downhill
(low) side of a vehicle stopped
across an incline is dangerous.
If the vehicle rolls over, you
could be crushed or fatally
injured. Always get out on the
uphill (high) side of the vehicle
and stay well clear of the
rollover path.
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Driving tips
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After off-road drivingRemove any brush or debris that has
collected on the underbody, chassis
or under the hood. These accumula-
tions can be a fire hazard.
After driving in mud or sand, clean
and check the brake linings.
Accumulation of mud or sand can
cause glazing and uneven braking.
Check the body structure, steering,
suspension, wheels, tires, and
exhaust system for damage. Also,
check the fuel lines and cooling sys-
tem for any leakage. Your vehicle will
also require more frequent service
due to off-road use.
WARNING
- Water
Driving through rushing water
can be dangerous. Deep water
can sweep your vehicle down-
stream and you and your pas-
sengers could drown. If it’s only
inches deep, it can still wash
away the ground from under
your tires, and you could lose
traction and roll the vehicle.
Never drive through rushing
water.
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Driving tips32 5
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TRAILER TOWING
✽ ✽
NOTICEPulling a trailer improperly can
damage your vehicle and result in
costly repairs not covered by your
warranty. To pull a trailer correctly,
follow the advice in this section. Your vehicle can tow a trailer. To
identify what the vehicle trailering
capacity is for your vehicle, you
should read the information in
“Weight of the Trailer” that appears
later in this section.
Remember that trailering is different
than just driving your vehicle by itself.
Trailering means changes in han-
dling, durability, and fuel economy.
Successful, safe trailering requires
correct equipment, and it has to be
used properly.This section contains many time-
tested, important trailering tips and
safety rules. Many of these are
important for your safety and that of
your passengers. Please read this
section carefully before you pull a
trailer.
Load-pulling components such as
the engine, transaxle, wheel assem-
blies, and tires are forced to work
harder against the load of the added
weight. The engine is required to
operate at relatively higher speeds
and under greater loads. This addi-
tional burden generates extra heat.
The trailer also adds considerably to
wind resistance, increasing the
pulling requirements.
If you do decide to pull a trailerHere are some important points if
you decide to pull a trailer:
 State, provincial, county and
municipal government have vary-
ing trailering laws. Make sure your
hitch, mirrors, lights and wiring
arrangements are legal, not only
where you live, but also where
you’ll be driving. A good source for
this information is provincial or
local law enforcement agencies.
 Consider using a sway control. You
can ask a hitch dealer about sway
control.
 After your odometer indicates 800
km (500 miles) or more, you can
tow a trailer. For the first 800 km
(500 miles) that you tow a trailer,
don’t drive over 80 km/h (50 mph)
and don’t make starts at full throt-
tle. This helps your engine and
other parts of your vehicle “wear” in
at the heavier loads.
 Always drive your vehicle at a mod-
erate speed (less than 100 km/h).
 The important considerations have
to do with weight:
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