2008 KIA Sportage Owner's Manual

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Driving tips
Keeping a vehicle in good operating
condition is important both for econ-
omy and safety. Therefore, have an
authorized Kia dealer perform
scheduled inspections and mainte-
nance.
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WARNING - Engine off
during motion
Never turn the engine off to
coast down hills or anytime the
vehicle is in motion.The power
steering and power brakes will
not function without the engine
running.Instead, keep the
engine on and downshift to an
appropriate gear for engine
braking effect.

Driving tips
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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 with non-ABS
brakes pump the brake pedal with
a light up-and-down motion until
the vehicle is stopped.• 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.
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NOTICE
Prolonged 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.
CAUTION - ABS
Do not pump the brake pedal on
a vehicle equipped with ABS.

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Driving tips
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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.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 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.
• Driving too fast through large pud-
dles 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
operation returns.
Winter driving
• We recommend that you carry
emergency 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 eth-
ylene-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.

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Driving tips
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• Use antifreeze-formulated wind-
shield washer fluid. (Do not use
engine coolant antifreeze.)
• Do not use the parking brake if it
might freeze. When parking, shift
to 1 (First) or R (Reverse) with a
manual transaxle or 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 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.
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 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 rollover
This 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.
Rollover warning label
To remind you of the danger of the
rollover, a rollover warning label
which is now required by the Federal
Safety regulations is adhered to the
driver’s sunvisor.

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Driving tips
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To remind you of the danger of the
rollover, the rollover warning label is
adhered to the driver’s sunvisor. If
you close the driver’s sunvisor, you
can see the rollover warning label
which is located at the side of the air
bag warning label.
WARNING- Rollover
As with other Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV), failure to operate
this vehicle correctly may result
in loss of control, an accident or
vehicle rollover.
• Specific design characteris-
tics (higher ground clearance,
narrower track, etc.) give this
vehicle a higher center of
gravity than ordinary cars.
• A SUV is not designed for cor-
nering at the same speeds as
conventional vehicles.
•Avoid sharp turns or abrupt
maneuvers.
• In a rollover crash, an unbelt-
ed per
son is significantly
more likely to die than a per-
son wearing a safety belt.
Make sure everyone in the
vehicle is properly buckled up.
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Driving tips
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USING FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE
Driving 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.
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NOTICE
Prolonged 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.