
2
DRIVING YOUR HYUNDAI
4
!
BEFORE STARTING THE
ENGINEC020A01CM-AATBefore you start the engine, you should
always:
1. Look around the vehicle to be sure
there are no flat tires, puddles of oil,
water or other indications of possible
trouble.
2. After entering the car, check to be sure
the parking brake is engaged.
3. Check that all windows, and lights are
clean.
4. Check that the interior and exterior mir-
rors are clean and in position.
5. Check your seat, seatback and head-
rest to be sure they are in their proper
positions.
6. Lock all the doors.
7. Fasten your seat belt and be sure that all
other occupants have fastened theirs.
8. Turn off all lights and accessories that
are not needed.
9. When you turn the ignition switch to
"ON", check that all appropriate warn-
ing lights are operating and that you
have sufficient fuel.
10. Check the operation of warning lights
and all bulbs when key is in the "ON"
position.
!
WARNING:
Your vehicle is equipped with tires de-
signed to provide for safe ride and han-
dling capability.
Do not use a size and type of tire and
wheel that is different from the one that
is originally installed on your vehicle. It
can affect the safety and performance
of your vehicle, which could lead to han-
dling failure or rollover and serious in-
jury.
When replacing the tires, be sure to equip
all four tires with the tire and wheel of the
same size, type, tread, brand and load-
carrying capacity.
WARNING:
o All passengers must be properly
belted whenever the vehicle is mov-
ing. Refer to pages: 1-27 through 1-
33 for more information on their proper
use.
o Always check the surrounding areas
near your vehicle for people, espe-
cially children, before putting a car
into 'drive.'
o Always wear appropriate shoes when
operating your vehicle. Unsuitable
shoes (high heels, ski boots, etc.) may
interfere with your ability to use the
brake and accelerator pedal, and the
clutch (if installed).
!
WARNING:
When you intend to park or stop the
vehicle with the engine on, be careful not
to depress the accelerator pedal for a
long period of time. It may overheat the
engine or exhaust system and cause
fire.

2
DRIVING YOUR HYUNDAI
8
C070B02A-AATUsing the ClutchThe clutch should be pressed all the way
to the floor before shifting, then released
slowly. The clutch pedal should always be
fully returned to the original position. Do
not rest your foot on the clutch pedal while
driving. This can cause unnecessary wear.
Do not partially engage the clutch to hold
the car on an incline. This causes unnec-
essary wear. Use the foot brake or parking
brake to hold the car on an incline. Do not
operate the clutch pedal rapidly and re-
peatedly.
CAUTION:
When downshifting from fifth gear to
fourth gear, caution should be taken not
to inadvertently press the gear shift le-
ver sideways in such a manner that
second gear is engaged. Such a drastic
downshift may cause the engine speed
to increase to the point that the tachom-
eter will enter the red-zone. Such over-
revving of the engine may possibly cause
engine damage.
!
CAUTION:
Do not downshift more than 2 gears or
downshift the gear when the engine is
running at high speed (5,000 RPM or
higher). Such downshifting may damage
the engine.
!
NOTE:o To shift into reverse, rest the lever in
neutral for at least 3 seconds after
your car is completely stopped. Then
move the lever into the reverse posi-
tion.
o During cold weather, shifting may be
difficult until the transaxle lubricant
has warmed up. This is normal and not
harmful to the transaxle.
o If you've come to a complete stop and
it's hard to shift into 1st or R(Reverse),
put the shift lever in N(Neutral) posi-
tion and release the clutch. Press the
clutch pedal back down, and then shift
into 1st or R(Reverse) gear position.
o Do not use the shift lever as a handrest
during driving, as this can result in
premature wear of the transaxle shift
forks.

2
DRIVING YOUR HYUNDAI
11
C090B02A-AATThe function of each position is as
follows:
o P (Park):Use to hold the vehicle in place when
parked or while starting the engine. When-
ever parking the car, apply the parking
brake and shift the selector lever to the "P"
(Park) position.
CAUTION:
Never place the selector lever in the "P"
(Park) position unless the vehicle is fully
stopped. Failure to observe this caution
will cause severe damage to the
transaxle.
!
C090D02A-AATo N (Neutral):In the "N" position, the transaxle is in neu-
tral, which means that no gears are en-
gaged. The engine can be started with the
shift lever in "N" position, although this is
not recommended except if the engine
stalls while the car is moving.C090E01CM-GATo D (Drive):Use for normal driving. Bring the car to a
complete stop before shifting the selector
to "D" position. The transaxle will automati-
cally shift through a four/five gear se-
quence.C090C01A-AATo R (Reverse):Use for backing up the vehicle. Bring the
car to a complete stop before shifting the
selector lever to "R" position.
C090F02L-GATSports ModeWhether the vehicle is stationary or in
motion, sports mode is selected by push-
ing the selector lever from the "D" position
into the manual gate. To return to "D" range
operation, push the selector lever back
into the main gate.
In sports mode, moving the selector lever
backwards and forwards can make rapid
gearshifts simple. In contrast to a manual
transaxle, the sports mode allows gear-
shifts with the accelerator pedal depressed.
UP (+) : Push the lever forward once to shift
up one gear.
OCM053006

2
DRIVING YOUR HYUNDAI
13
C090I01CM-GAT
CAUTION:
o Shift into "R", "D" and "P" position
only when the vehicle has completely
stopped.
o Do not accelerate the engine in re-
verse or any of the forward positions
with the brakes applied.
o Always apply the footbrake when
shifting from "P" or "N", to "R" or
"D"position.
o Do not use the "P" (Park) position in
place of the parking brake. Always
set the parking brake, shift the
transaxle into "P" (Park) position and
turn off the ignition when you leave the
vehicle, even momentarily. Never
leave the vehicle unattended while
the engine is running.
o Check the automatic transaxle fluid
level regularly, and add fluid as nec-
essary.
o See the maintenance schedule for
the proper fluid recommendation.
!
C090J01NF-GATShift Lock ReleaseIf you cannot move the shift lever from the
"P" (Park) position to any other position
with the brake pedal fully depressed and
the ignition key in the "ON" position, re-
move the cap on the console and with a
thin object such as a flat-head screwdriver,
push the shift lock release button down.
OCM053005
Then, with the brake pedal depressed,
move the shift lever to the desired position,
and then the shift lock release button will
automatically return to its original position
after shifting from the "P" (Park) position.
Then, reinstall the cap.
If you need to use the shift lock release, it
could mean your car is developing a prob-
lem. Have the car checked by your Hyundai
dealer.

2
DRIVING YOUR HYUNDAI
14
!
WARNING:
o Always buckle-up! In a collision, an
unbelted occupant is significantly
more likely to be seriously injured or
killed than a properly belted occu-
pant.
o Avoid high speeds when cornering or
turning.
o Do not make quick steering wheel
movements, such as sharp lane
changes or fast, sharp turns.
o The risk of rollover is greatly in-
creased if you lose control of your
vehicle at highway speeds.
o Loss of control often occurs if two or
more wheels drop off the roadway
and the driver oversteers to reenter
the roadway.
o In the event your vehicle leaves the
roadway, do not steer sharply. In-
stead, slow down before pulling back
into the travel lanes.
o Never exceed posted speed limits. o Exercise extreme caution when driving
on a slippery surface. Be especially
careful when braking, accelerating or
shifting gears. On a slippery surface, an
abrupt change in vehicle speed can
cause the drive wheels to lose traction
and the vehicle to go out of control.
o Optimum vehicle performance and
economy is obtained by smoothly de-
pressing and releasing the accelerator
pedal.
C090N01CM-AATGood Driving Practiceso Never move the gear selector lever
from "P" or "N" to any other position with
the accelerator pedal depressed.
o Never move the gear selector lever into
"P" when the vehicle is in motion.
o Be sure the car is completely stopped
before you attempt to shift into "R" or "D".
o Never take the car out of gear and coast
down a hill. This may be extremely
hazardous. Always leave the car in gear
when moving.
o Do not "ride" the brakes. This can cause
them to overheat and malfunction. In-
stead, when you are driving down a
long hill, slow down and shift to a lower
gear. When you do this, engine braking
will help slow the car.
o Slow down before shifting to a lower
gear. Otherwise, the lower gear may not
be engaged.
o Always use the parking brake. Do not
depend on placing the transaxle in "P"
to keep the car from moving.

2
DRIVING YOUR HYUNDAI
19
o In rare cases when it's unavoidable
that a AWD vehicle is to be inspected
on a 2WD roll tester, strictly follow the
procedures.
1. Check the tire pressures recom-
mended for your vehicle.
2. Place the front wheels on the roll
tester as shown in the illustration.
3. Release the parking brake.
4. Place the rear wheels on the tem-
porary free roller as shown in the
illustration.!
WARNING:
Keep away from the front of the vehicle
while inspecting.
OCM051013
Roll tester(Speedometer)Temporary free roller(9)For a speedometer test or inspection/
maintenance (I/M) program of a Santa
Fe AWD vehicle, use a four wheel chas-
sis dynamometer.
!
CAUTION:
Never engage the parking brake while
performing these tests. (8)The full-time AWD vehicle cannot be
towed by an ordinary tow truck. Make
sure that the vehicle is towed with all
four wheels raised off the ground.
o Roadside Assistance Program:
Off-roading is not covered. To re-
ceive service, the vehicle must be on
a publicly maintained road.
o If the vehicle is towed with only two
wheels raised off the ground, the
AWD system could be damaged.
o In unavoidable cases, if the vehicle
is being towed with all four wheels on
the ground, it should only be towed
forward.
o While towing, check the following
items.
1. The ignition switch is in "ACC" or
"ON".
2. Place the shift lever in neutral (For
Automatic Transaxle, "N" posi-
tion).
3. Release the parking brake.
NOTE:To avoid serious damage to your AWD
vehicle, limit towing to 10 mph and not for
more than 1 mile at ANY TIME.

2
DRIVING YOUR HYUNDAI
21
GOOD BRAKING PRACTICESC130A02A-AAT
WARNING:
o Whenever leaving vehicle or parking,
always set the parking brake as far as
possible and fully engage the vehicle's
transaxle into the park position. Ve-
hicles not fully engaged in park with
the parking brake set are at risk for
moving inadvertently and injuring
yourself or others.
o All vehicles should always have the
parking brake fully engaged when
parking to avoid inadvertent move-
ment of the car which can injure occu-
pants or pedestrians.
o Nothing should be carried on top of
the shelf panel behind the rear seat. If
there were an accident or a sudden
stop, such objects could move for-
ward and cause damage to the ve-
hicle or injure the occupants.
!
During off-road or low-friction driving con-
ditions, press the AWD lock button to drive
in full-time AWD, dividing the power ratio
to 50:50 in the front and rear wheels. The
AWD lock indicator light in the instrument
cluster is illuminated.
This setup begins to get cancelled when
the vehicle speed exceeds 19 mph, and
the function is completely released at a
speed of 25 mph or higher. Conversely,
the function is rerun when the speed again
drops to 25 mph or lower, and is fully
established at speeds below 19 mph.
To release the AWD lock function, press
the AWD lock button again.
The AWD lock indicator light in the instru-
ment cluster should go off.1) Pressing the AWD lock button on the
tough terrain, the driving power is
equally distributed to the front and rear.
AWD lock keeps activating when not
exceeding 25 mph.
2) Release the AWD lock button on the
normal driving conditions.
OCM051047L
1)
2)

2
DRIVING YOUR HYUNDAI
22
o If a tire goes flat while you are driving,
apply the brakes gently and keep the
car pointed straight ahead while you
slow down. When you are moving slowly
enough for it to be safe to do so, pull off
the road and stop in a safe place.
o If your car is equipped with an automatic
transaxle, don't let your car creep for-
ward. To avoid creeping forward, keep
your foot firmly on the brake pedal when
the car is stopped.
o Use caution when parking on a hill.
Firmly engage the parking brake and
place the gear selector lever in "P" (au-
tomatic transaxle) or in first or reverse
gear (manual transaxle). If your car is
facing downhill, turn the front wheels
into the curb to help keep the car from
rolling. If your car is facing uphill, turn
the front wheels away from the curb to
help keep the car from rolling. If there is
no curb or if it is required by other
conditions to keep the car from rolling,
block the wheels. o After being parked, check to be sure the
parking brake is not engaged and that
the parking brake indicator light is out
before driving away.
o Driving through water may get the
brakes wet. They can also get wet when
the car is washed. Wet brakes can be
dangerous! Your car will not stop as
quickly if the brakes are wet. Wet brakes
may cause the car to pull to one side. To
dry the brakes, apply the brakes lightly
while driving slowly until the braking
action returns to normal, taking care to
keep the car under control at all times.
If the braking action does not return to
normal, stop as soon as it is safe to do
so and call your Hyundai dealer for
assistance.
o Don't coast down hills with the car out of
gear. This is extremely hazardous. Keep
the car in gear at all times, use the
brakes to slow down, then shift to a
lower gear so that engine braking will
help you maintain a safe speed.
o Don't "ride" the brake pedal. Resting
your foot on the brake pedal while driv-
ing can be dangerous because it can
result in the brakes overheating and
losing their effectiveness. It also in-
creases the wear of the brake compo-
nents.o Under some conditions your parking
brake can freeze in the engaged posi-
tion. This is most likely to happen when
there is an accumulation of snow or ice
around or near the rear brakes or if the
brakes are wet. If there is a risk that the
parking brake may freeze, apply it only
temporarily while you put the gear se-
lector lever in "P" (automatic) or in first
or reverse gear (manual transaxle) and
block the rear wheels so the car cannot
roll. Then release the parking brake.
o Do not hold the vehicle on the upgrade
with the accelerator pedal. This can
cause the transaxle to overheat. Al-
ways use the brake pedal or parking
brake.