2009 KIA Sorento All wheel drive

Driving your vehicle14
4Knob positionThis is used to set different positions.
2HI (Rear-wheel drive)
This mode is used, when driving on nor-
mal roads and highway.
4HI (High-range 4-wheel drive)
This mode is used, when driving off-
roads, wet or snow covered roads with
normal speed.
The 4WD indicator light
()
will be
turned on to remind you that you are in
the 4HI mode.
4LO (Low-range 4-wheel drive)
Use 4LO for climbing or descending hills,
off-roads driving and towing the vehicle,
especially when increased power is
required.
The 4WD LOW indicator light
( )
will
be turned on to remind you that you are
in the 4LO mode.
Transfer shift knob operationBy turning the transfer knob (4HI, 4LO),
both front and rear axles are engaged.
This improves the traction characteristic.
2HI ➝ ➝
4HI
Turn the transfer knob from the 2HI mode
to 4HI mode at speed below 80 km/h (50
mph).
It is not necessary to depress the clutch
pedal or put the shift lever into N
(Neutral) position (Manual transmission)
or put the shift lever into N (Neutral) posi-
tion (Automatic transmission).
Perform this operation when driving
straight. There will be a few seconds of
time delay before come into 4HI mode
when you shift the knob to 4 HI from 2HI. 4HI
➝ ➝
2HI
Turn the transfer knob from the 4HI mode
to the 2HI mode at speed below 80 km/h
(50 mph). It is not necessary to depress
the clutch pedal (Manual transmission) or
put the shift lever into N (Neutral)
(Automatic transmission). Perform this
operation when driving straight.
If the transfer mode does not shift into
2HI mode when you turn the transfer
knob to 2HI, drive straight ahead with
accelerating or decelerating, or drive in
reverse.
4WD
LOW

415
Driving your vehicle
4HI ↔
↔
4LO
1. Stop the vehicle.
2. Depress the clutch pedal for the man- ual transmission or put the shift lever
into N (Neutral) for the automatic
transmission.
3. 4HI ➝ ➝
4LO
: Select the 4LO mode.
4LO ➝ ➝
4HI
: Select the 4HI mode.
4. Before releasing the clutch pedal (Manual transmission) or shifting to
other ranges from N range (Automatic
transmission), wait for corresponding
indicator light turns on or off in the
cluster.
For safe four-wheel drive opera-
tion Your vehicle allows you to drive in on-road and off-road conditions.
However, do not try to drive in deep standing water, mud, or over steep
hills.
When you are driving up or down hills,drive as close to straight up and down
the hills as possible. Use extreme cau-
tion in going up or down steep hills,
since you can flip your vehicle over
depending on the grade, terrain and
water/mud conditions.
Drive off-road carefully because your vehicle may be damaged by rocks or
roots of trees. Become familiar with the
off-road conditions you are going to
drive before you start.
CAUTION
If the vehicle moves while the trans-fer shift is in process, the gearboxmay be damaged.
WARNING
- Four-wheel driving
The conditions on-road or off-road
that demand four-wheel drive mean
all functions of your vehicle are
exposed to more extreme stress
than under highway conditions.
Slow down, look ahead, and be
ready for sudden changes in the
composition and traction of the sur-
face under your tires. If you have
any doubt about the safety of the
conditions you are facing, stop and
consider the best way to proceed.
Do not exceed the ability of yourself
or your vehicle to operate safely.
HILL1/HILL2
Approach Hill Straight
Up/Down Do not Approach at
Angle

Driving your vehicle16
4 You must learn how to corner in a 4WD
vehicle as soon as possible. Do not rely
on your experience in conventional
2WD vehicles in choosing a safe cor-
nering speed. You must drive more
slowly.
Always hold the steering wheel firmlywhen you are driving off-road.
Make sure all passengers are wearing seat belts.
WARNING
- Steep hills
Driving across the contour of steep
hills can be extremely dangerous.
This danger can come from slight
changes in the hill angle which can
destabilize the vehicle. Even if the
vehicle is maintaining stability
under power, it can lose that stabil-
ity if the vehicle stops its forward
motion. Your vehicle may roll over
without warning and without time
for you to correct a mistake that
could cause serious injury or death.
WARNING
- Turning cor-ners
Reduce speed when you turn cor-
ners. The center of gravity of 4WD
and 2WD utility vehicles are raised
higher than that of conventional
2WD cars, making them more likely
to roll over when you turn corners
too fast.
WARNING
Do not grab inside of the steering
wheel when you are driving off-road.
Your arm may be hurt by a sudden
steering maneuver or from steering
wheel rebound due to impact with
objects on the ground. You could
lose control of the steering wheel.
OBL046499N

417
Driving your vehicle
If you need to drive in water, stop yourvehicle, set your transfer knob to 4LO
or LOW and drive at less than 8 km/h
(5 mph). Do not drive in water if the level is high-
er than the bottom of the wheel hubs.
Check your brake condition once you are out of mud or water. Press the
brake pedal several times as you move
slowly until you feel normal braking
forces return.
Shorten your scheduled maintenance interval if you drive off-road in condi-
tions such as sand, mud or water (see
“Scheduled Maintenance’’ in the
Index). Always wash your car thor-
oughly.
The full time four wheel drive vehicle cannot be towed by an ordinarily tow
truck. Make sure that the vehicle is
towed with its four wheels raised off the
ground.
Since the driving torque is always applied to the 4 wheels the perform-
ance of the 4WD vehicle is greatly
affected by the condition of the tires.
Be sure to equip them with all four tires
with same size and type.
WARNING
If you are driving in heavy wind, the
vehicle’s higher center of gravity
decreases your steering control.
Drive more slowly than you would
in calm conditions.
WARNING
- Drivingthrough water
If you are driving too fast in water,
the water spray can get into the
engine compartment and wet the
ignition system, causing your vehi-
cle to suddenly stop. If this hap-
pens and your vehicle is in a tilted
position, your vehicle may roll over.
WARNING
Your vehicle is equipped with tires
designed to provide for safe ride
and handling 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 handling failure
or rollover and serious injury.
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. If
you nevertheless decide to equip
your vehicle with any tire/wheel
combination not recommended by
Kia for off road driving, you should
not use these tires for highway driv-
ing.

419
Driving your vehicle
A limited slip differential if equipped, is for
the rear wheel differential only. The fea-
tures of this limited slip differential are
described below;
Just as with conventional differential, the
wheel on one side is allowed to turn at a
different speed from the wheel on the
other side when the vehicle is cornering.
The difference between the limited slip
differential and a conventional differential
is that if the wheel on one side of the
vehicle loses traction, a greater amount
of torque is applied to the rear wheel on
the other side to improve traction.
WARNING
To avoid injury, never run the
engine with one wheel off the
ground, such as when changing a
tire.
WARNING
Avoid high cornering speed.
Do not make quick steering wheelmovements, such as sharp lane
changes or fast, sharp turns.
The risk of rollover is greatly increased if you lose control of
your vehicle at high speeds.
In a collision crash, an unbelted person is significantly more likely
to die compared to a person
wearing a seat belt.
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off the
roadway and the driver over
steers to re-enter the roadway.
In the event your vehicle leaves the roadway, do not steer sharply.
Instead, slow down before pulling
back into the travel lanes.
LIMITED SLIP DIFFERENTIAL (IF EQUIPPED)

Driving your vehicle26
4Tilt steering (if equipped)A tilt steering wheel allows you to adjust
the steering wheel before you drive. You
can also raise it to the highest level to
give your legs more room when you exit
and enter the vehicle.
The steering wheel should be positioned
so that it is comfortable for you to drive,
while permitting you to see the instru-
ment panel warning lights and gauges.
To change the steering wheel angle, pull
up the lock release lever (1), adjust the
steering wheel to the desired angle (2),
then release the lock-release lever to
lock the steering wheel in place. Be sure
to adjust the steering wheel to the
desired position before driving.
HornTo sound the horn, press the horn sym-
bol on your steering wheel.
Check the horn regularly to be sure it
operates properly.
WARNING
- Steering wheel
Never adjust the angle of steeringwheel while driving. You may lose
your steering control and cause
severe personal injury or acci-
dents.
After adjusting, push the steering wheel both up and down to be
certain it is locked in position.
5BLB4019
6BLA422C
➀
➁
CAUTION
- Horn
To sound the horn, press the area indicated by the horn symbol onyour steering wheel (see illustra-tion). The horn will operate only when this area is pressed.
Do not strike the horn severely to operate it, or hit it with your fist.Do not press on the horn with asharp-pointed object.

Driving tips65SUGGESTIONS FOR ECONOMICAL OPERATIONYour vehicle's fuel economy depends
mainly on your style of driving, where you
drive and when you drive.
Each of these factors affects how many
kilometers (miles) you can get from a
liter (gallon) of fuel. To operate your vehi-
cle as economically as possible, use the
following driving suggestions to help
save money in both fuel and repairs:
Avoid lengthy warm-up idling. Once theengine is running smoothly, begin driv-
ing. Remember, engine warm-up may
take a little longer on cold days.
Save fuel by accelerating slowly after stopping.
Keep the engine in tune and follow the recommended periodic maintenance
schedule. This will increase the life of
all parts and lower your operating
costs. Do not use the air conditioner unnec-
essarily.
Slow down when driving on rough roads.
For longer tire life and better fuel econ- omy, always keep the tires inflated to
the recommended pressures.
Maintain a safe distance from other vehicles to avoid sudden stops. This
will reduce wear on brake linings and
pads. Driving in such a way will also
save fuel because extra fuel is required
to accelerate back to driving speed.
Do not carry unnecessary weight in the vehicle.
Do not rest your foot on the brake pedal while driving. This can cause
needless wear, possible damage to the
brakes, and poor fuel economy.
Improper wheel alignment results in faster tire wear and lower fuel econo-
my. Open windows at high speeds can
reduce fuel economy.
Fuel economy is less in crosswinds and headwinds. To help offset some of
this loss, slow down when driving in
these conditions.
Keeping a vehicle in good operating con-
dition is important both for economy and
safety. Therefore, have an authorized Kia
dealer perform scheduled inspections
and maintenance.
WARNING
- Engine off dur- ing 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 with-
out the engine running. Instead,
keep the engine on and downshift
to an appropriate gear for engine
braking effect.

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 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 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 drive wheels. Then,
shift back and forth between 1 (First) and
R (Reverse) in vehicles equipped with a
manual transmission or R (Reverse) and
any forward gear in vehicles equipped
with an automatic transmission. 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 transmis-
sion.
WARNING
- Downshifting
Downshifting with an automatic
transmission, while driving on slip-
pery surfaces can cause an acci-
dent. The sudden change in tire
speed could cause the tires to skid.
Be careful when downshifting on
slippery surfaces.
WARNING
Do not pump the brake pedal on a
vehicle equipped with ABS.
CAUTION
Prolonged rocking may causeengine over-heating, transmissiondamage or failure, and tire damage.