2009 Hyundai Sonata coolant temperature

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Features of your vehicle
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Engine temperature gauge
This gauge shows the temperature of the
engine coolant when the ignition switchis ON.
Do not continue driving with an overheat-
ed engine. If your vehicle overheats, refer
to “If the engine overheats” in section 6.
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CAUTION
If the gauge pointer moves beyondthe normal range area toward the
“H” position, it indicates overheat- ing that may damage the engine.
WARNING
Never remove the radiator cap
when the engine is hot. The enginecoolant is under pressure and
could cause severe burns. Wait
until the engine is cool before
adding coolant to the reservoir.CAUTION
Do not operate the engine within the tachometer's RED ZONE. Thismay cause severe engine damage.

Driving your vehicle
40
5
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Use high quality ethylene glycol coolant
Your vehicle is delivered with high quality
ethylene glycol coolant in the cooling
system. It is the only type of coolant that
should be used because it helps prevent
corrosion in the cooling system, lubri-
cates the water pump and prevents
freezing. Be sure to replace or replenish
your coolant in accordance with themaintenance schedule in section 7.
Before winter, have your coolant tested toassure that its freezing point is sufficient
for the temperatures anticipated during
the winter. E120300AFD-EA
Check battery and cables
Winter puts additional burdens on the
battery system. Visually inspect the bat-
tery and cables as described in section
7. The level of charge in your battery can
be checked by an authorised HYUNDAI
dealer or a service station. E120400AFD-EA
Change to "winter weight" oil if
necessary In some climates it is recommended that
a lower viscosity "winter weight" oil be
used during cold weather. See section 9
for recommendations. If you aren't sure
what weight oil you should use, consult
an authorised HYUNDAI dealer.
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Check spark plugs and ignition system
Inspect your spark plugs as described in
section 7 and replace them if necessary.
Also check all ignition wiring and compo-
nents to be sure they are not cracked,
worn or damaged in any way.
CAUTION
Chains that are the wrong size or
improperly installed can damageyour vehicle's brake lines, sus-pension, body and wheels.
Stop driving and retighten the chains any time you hear themhitting the vehicle.
WARNING - Tyre chains
The use of chains may adversely affect vehicle handling.
Do not exceed 30 km/h (20 mph) or the chain manufacturer’s rec-
ommended speed limit, whichev-
er is lower.
Drive carefully and avoid bumps, holes, sharp turns, and other
road hazards, which may cause
the vehicle to bounce.
Avoid sharp turns or locked- wheel braking.

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Driving your vehicle
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To keep locks from freezing
To keep the locks from freezing, squirt an
approved de-icer fluid or glycerine into
the key opening. If a lock is covered with
ice, squirt it with an approved de-icing
fluid to remove the ice. If the lock is
frozen internally, you may be able to thaw
it out by using a heated key. Handle the
heated key with care to avoid injury.
✽✽NOTICE
The operating temperature range for an
immobiliser key is between -40°C to
80°C. If you heat an immobiliser key
above 80°C to open a frozen lock, you
may damage the transponder located in
the head of the key.
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Use approved window washer
anti-freeze in system
To keep the water in the window washer
system from freezing, add an approved
window washer anti-freeze solution in
accordance with instructions on the con-
tainer. Window washer anti-freeze is
available from an authorised HYUNDAI
dealer and most auto parts outlets. Donot use engine coolant or other types of
anti-freeze as these may damage thepaint finish.
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Don't let your parking brake
freeze
Under some conditions your parking
brake can freeze in the engaged position.
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 the parking
brake may freeze, apply it only temporar-
ily while you put the gear selector lever in
P (automatic transaxle) or in first or
reverse gear (manual transaxle) and
block the rear wheels so the car cannot
roll. Then release the parking brake. E120900AUN
Don't let ice and snow accumu- late underneath
Under some conditions, snow and ice
can build up under the fenders and inter-
fere with the steering. When driving in
severe winter conditions where this may
happen, you should periodically check
underneath the car to be sure the move-
ment of the front wheels and the steering
components is not obstructed.
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Carry emergency equipment
Depending on the severity of the weath-
er where you drive your car, you should
carry appropriate emergency equipment.
Some of the items you may want to carry
include tyre chains, tow straps or chains,
flashlight, emergency flares, sand, a
shovel, jumper cables, a window scraper,
gloves, ground cloth, coveralls, a blanket,etc.

545
Driving your vehicle
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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 (45mph) to reduce the possibility of engine
and transaxle overheating.
If your trailer weighs more than the max-
imum trailer weight without trailer brakes
and you have an automatic transaxle,
you should drive in D (Drive) when tow-
ing a trailer.
Operating your vehicle in D (Drive) when
towing a trailer will minimise heat build up
and extend the life of your transaxle.E140407AUN-EA
Parking on hills
Generally, you should not park your vehi-
cle, with a trailer attached, on a hill.
People can be seriously injured or cause
fatality, and both your vehicle and the
trailer can be damaged if they begin a
downhill trajectory.
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 into
gear.
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 R
(Reverse) for a manual transaxle or P
(Park) for an automatic transaxle.
5. Release the brakes.
CAUTION
When towing a trailer on steep grades (in excess of 6%) payclose attention to the enginecoolant temperature gauge to
ensure the engine does not over- heat.
If the needle of the coolant tem-perature gauge moves across thedial towards “H” (HOT), pull over
and stop as soon as it is safe to do so, and allow the engine to idleuntil it cools down. You may pro-
ceed once the engine has cooledsufficiently.
You must decide driving speed depending on trailer weight anduphill grade to reduce the possi-
bility of engine and transaxle overheating.
WARNING - Parking on a
hill
Parking your vehicle on a hill with a
trailer attached could cause seri-
ous injury or death, should the trail-
er break lose.

What to do in an emergency
6
6
IF THE ENGINE OVERHEATS
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If your temperature gauge indicates over-
heating, you experience a loss of power,
or hear loud pinging or knocking, the
engine is probably too hot. If this hap-
pens, you should:
1. Pull off the road and stop as soon as it is safe to do so.
2. Place the gear selector lever in P (automatic transaxle) or neutral (manu-
al transaxle) and set the parking brake.
If the air conditioning is on, turn it off.
3. If engine coolant is running out under the car or steam is coming out from
the bonnet, stop the engine. Do notopen the bonnet until the coolant has
stopped running or the steaming has
stopped. If there is no visible loss of
engine coolant and no steam, leave
the engine running and check to be
sure the engine cooling fan is operat-
ing. If the fan is not running, turn the
engine off.
4. While engine is switched off, check to see if the water pump drive belt is
missing. If it is not missing, check to
see that it is tight. If the drive belt
seems to be satisfactory, check for
coolant leaking from the radiator,
hoses or under the car. (If the air con-
ditioning had been in use, it is normal
for cold water to be draining from it
when you stop). 5. If the water pump drive belt is broken
or engine coolant is leaking out, stop the engine immediately and call the
nearest authorised HYUNDAI dealer
for assistance. 6. If you cannot find the cause of the
overheating, wait until the engine tem-
perature has returned to normal. Then,if coolant has been lost, carefully add
coolant to the reservoir to bring the
fluid level in the reservoir up to the
halfway mark.
7. Proceed with caution, keeping alert for further signs of overheating. If over-heating happens again, call an autho-
rised HYUNDAI dealer for assistance.
CAUTION
Serious loss of coolant indicates
there is a leak in the cooling systemand this should be checked as soonas possible by an authorisedHYUNDAI dealer.
WARNING
While the engine is running, keep
hair, hands and clothing away from
moving parts such as the fan and
drive belts to prevent injury.
WARNING
Do not remove the radiator cap
when the engine is hot. This can
allow coolant to be blown out of the
opening and cause serious burns.

Maintenance
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-15°C (5°F) 35 65
-25°C (-13°F) 40 60
-35°C (-31°F) 50 50
-45°C (-49°F) 60 40
Ambient
Temperature Mixture Percentage (volume)
Antifreeze Water
Check the condition and connections of all cooling system hoses and heater
hoses. Replace any swollen or deterio-
rated hoses.
The coolant level should be filled
between F (MAX) and L (MIN) marks on
the side of the coolant reservoir when theengine is cool. If the coolant level is low, add enough
specified coolant to provide protection
against freezing and corrosion. Bring the
level to F (MAX), but do not overfill. If fre-quent coolant refill is required, see an
authorised HYUNDAI dealer for a coolingsystem inspection.
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Recommended engine coolant
Use only soft (de-mineralized) water in
the coolant mixture.
The engine in your vehicle has alu- minium engine parts and must be pro-
tected by an ethylene-glycol-based
coolant to prevent corrosion and freez-ing.
DO NOT USE alcohol or methanol coolant or mix them with the specifiedcoolant.
Do not use a solution that contains more than 60% antifreeze or less than
35% antifreeze, which would reduce
the effectiveness of the solution. For mixture percentage, refer to the fol-
lowing table.
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