57
Driving tips
SPECIAL DRIVING CONDITIONS
Hazardous driving conditions
When hazardous driving conditions are
encountered such as water, snow, ice,
mud, sand, or similar hazards, follow
these suggestions:
• Drive cautiously and allow extra dis-
tance for braking.
• Avoid sudden movements in braking or steering.
• When braking, pump the brake pedal with a light up-and-down motion until
the vehicle is stopped.
✽ NOTICE
Do not pump the brake pedal on a vehi-
cle equipped with ABS.
• If stalled in snow, mud, or sand, use
second gear. Accelerate slowly 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 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 possible. If you are still stuck
after a few tries, have the vehicle pulled
out by a tow vehicle to avoid engine
overheating and possible damage to the
transaxle.
WARNING - Downshifting
Downs hifting with an automatic
transaxle, while driving on slippery
surfaces can cause an accident.
The sudden change in tire speed
could cause the tires to skid. Be
careful when downshifting on slip-
pery surfaces.
Driving tips
85
✽NOTICE
Prolonged rocking may cause engine
over-heating, transaxle damage or fail-
ure, and tire damage.
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 distance
between you and other vehicles, 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 headlights.
• Keep your headlights clean and prop- erly aimed on vehicles not equipped
with the automatic headlight aiming
feature. Dirty or improperly aimed
headlights will make it much more diffi-
cult to see at night.
• Avoid staring directly at the headlights of oncoming vehicles. You could be
temporarily blinded, and it will take
several seconds for your eyes to read-
just to the darkness.
Driving in the rain
Rain and wet roads can make driving
dangerous, especially if you’re not pre-
pared for the slick pavement. Here are a
few things to consider when driving in the
rain:
• A heavy rainfall will make it harder tosee and will increase the distance
needed to stop your vehicle, so slow
down.
• Keep your windshield wiping equip- ment 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 condition, 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 eas- ier for others to see you.
• Driving too fast through large puddles can affect your brakes. If you must go
through puddles, try to drive through
them slowly.
• If you believe you may have gotten your brakes wet, apply them lightly
while driving until normal braking oper-
ation returns.
WARNING- Spinning tires
Do not spin the wheels,e specially
at speeds more than 56 km/h (35
mph). Spinning the wheel s at high
speeds when the vehicle is station-
ary could cause a tire to overheat,
explode and injure bystander s.
59
Driving tips
Winter driving
• We recommend that you carry emer-gency equipment, including tire chains,
a window scraper, windshield de-icer,
a bag of sand or salt, flares, a small
shovel and jumper cables.
• Make sure you have sufficient ethyl- ene-glycol coolant in the radiator.
• Check the battery condition and cables. Cold temperatures reduce the
capacity of any battery, so it must be in
excellent condition to provide enough
winter starting power.
• Make sure the engine oil viscosity is suitable for cold weather.
• Check the ignition system for loose connections and damage.
• Use antifreeze-formulated windshield washer fluid. (Do not use engine
coolant antifreeze.)
• Do not use the parking brake if it might freeze. When parking, shift to P (Park)
with an automatic transaxle and block
the rear wheels.
Snow 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 provided by snow tires on dry
roads may not be as high as your vehi-
cle's original equipment tires. You should
drive cautiously even when the roads are
clear. Check with the tire dealer for max-
imum speed recommendations.
Do not install studded tires without firstchecking local, state and municipal regu- lations for possible restrictions againsttheir use.
Driving in flooded areas
Avoid driving through flooded areas
unless you are sure the water is no high-
er 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 several
times while the vehicle is moving slowly.
WARNING- Snow tire size
Snow tires should be equivalent in
size and type to the vehicle' s stan-
dard tires. Otherwise, the safety and
handling of your vehicle may be
adver sely affected.
Driving tips
105
HLA (Hydraulic Lash Adjuster)
noise
The engine HLA's keep the gap between
the valve and cam at zero regardless of
the valve expansion.
Occasionally, you may hear a temporary
or continuous sound (clatter) from the
engine when starting or idling. This noise
will usually go away by following a few
simple steps: If the temporary sound occurs when
starting a cold engine:
This is a normal condition. This sound
will disappear after the engine oil has
reached normal operating pressure.
If the sound occurs when starting the
engine after the engine has not been oper-
ated for more than 48 hours; or engine
has been cranked excessively:
This condition may be caused by oil
draining from the HLA's. This allows air to
enter the HLA causing insufficient lubri-
cating oil in the HLA. This will usually dis-
appear within 15 minutes with the engine
running at 2000~3000 rpm. If the sound
does not disappear, have the engine oil
pressure, engine lubrication system and
HLA's inspected by an Authorized Kia
Dealer.
CAUTION
Do not run the engine at more than
3000 rpm until the noi se goes away.
Damage to the HLA's could occur.
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Driving tips
Load-pulling components such as the
engine, transaxle, wheel assemblies, 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
additional burden generates extra heat.
The trailer also adds considerably to
wind resistance, increasing the pulling
requirements.If you do decide to pull a trailer
Here are some important points if you
decide to pull a trailer:
• Consider using a sway control. You canask 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 throttle. This helps your
engine and other parts of your vehicle
“wear” in at the heavier loads.
• Always drive at a safe speed (less than 100 km/h) commensurate with road
conditions.
• The important considerations have to do with weight: Weight of the trailer
How heavy can a trailer safely be? It
should never weigh more than 908 kg
(2000 lbs.) with trailer brakes. But even
that can be too heavy.
It depends on how you plan to use your
trailer. For example, speed, altitude, road
grades, outside temperature and how
much your vehicle is used to pull a trailer
are all important. The ideal trailer weight
can also depend on any special equip-
ment that you have on your vehicle.
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Driving tips
Driving on grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear
before you start down a long or steep
downgrade. If you don’t shift down, you
might have to use your brakes so much
that they would get hot and no longer
operate efficiently.
On a long uphill grade, shift down and
reduce your speed to around 70 km/h (45
mph) to reduce the possibility of engine
and transaxle overheating.
If your trailer weighs more than 454 kg
(1000 lbs.) and you have an automatic
transaxle, you should drive in D (Drive)
when towing a trailer.
Operating your vehicle in D (Drive) when
towing a trailer will minimize heat buildup
and extend the life of your transaxle.
Parking on hills
Generally, you should not park your vehi-
cle, with a trailer attached, on a hill.
People can be seriously or fatally injured,
and both your vehicle and the trailer can
be damaged if they begin a downhill tra-
jectory.CAUTION
• When towing a trailer on steep
grades (in excess of 6%) pay
clo se attention to the engine
coolant temperature gauge to ensure the engine does not over-heat. If the needle of the coolanttemperature gauge moves across the dial towards “H” (HOT), pullover and stop as soon as it is safe
to do so, and allow the engine to idle until it cools down. You mayproceed once the engine has cooled sufficiently.
• You must decide driving speed depending on trailer weight anduphill grade to reduce the po ssi-
bility of engine and trans axle
overheating.
WARNING- Parking on a hill
Parking your vehicle on a hill with a
trailer attached could cause serious
injury or death, should a down hill
trajectory happen.
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225
However, if you ever have to park your
trailer on a hill, here’s how to do it:
1. Apply your brakes, but don’t shift intogear.
2. Have someone place chocks under the trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place, release the brakes until the chocks
absorb the load.
4. Reapply the brakes. Apply your park- ing brake, and then shift to P (Park) for
an automatic transaxle.
5. Release the brakes.When you are ready to leave after parking on a hill
1. With the automatic transaxle in P (Park), apply your brakes and hold the
brake pedal down while you:
• Start your engine;
• Shift into gear; and
• Release the parking brake.
2. Slowly remove your foot from the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear of the chocks.
4. Stop and have someone pick up and store the chocks.
Maintenance when trailer towing
Your vehicle will need service more often
when you regularly pull a trailer.
Important items to pay particular atten-
tion include engine oil, automatic
transaxle fluid, axle lubricant and cooling
system fluid. Brake condition is another
important item to frequently check. Each
item is covered in this manual, and the
Index will help you find them quickly. If
you’re trailering, it’s a good idea to review
these sections before you start your trip.
Don’t forget to also maintain your trailer
and hitch. Follow the maintenance
schedule that accompanied your trailer
and check it periodically. Preferably, con-
duct the check at the start of each day’s
driving. Most importantly, all hitch nuts
and bolts should be tight.
WARNING- Parking brake
It can be dangerous to get out of
your vehicle if the parking brake i s
not firmly set.
If you have left the engine running,
the vehicle can move suddenly. You
or other s could be s eriously or
fatally injured.
CAUTION
Due to higher load during trailer usage, overheating might occur inhot days or during uphill driving. Ifthe coolant gauge indicate s over-
heating, switch off the A/C and stop
the vehicle in a safe area to cool
down the engine.
Driving tips
245
Tire specification / pressure label Engine number
3GHA523OGH067003