2009 KIA Sorento maintenance

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IntroductionYour vehicle at a glanceKnowing your vehicleDriving your vehicleDriving tipsIn case of an emergencyMaintenanceSpecificationsIndex
table of contents

Knowing your vehicle60
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WARNING
Do not hit or allow any objects to
impact the locations where air
bag or sensors are installed.
This may cause unexpected air
bag deployment, which could
result in severe personal injury or
death.
If the installation location or angle of the sensors is altered in
any way, the air bags may deploy
when they should not or they may
not deploy when they should,
causing severe injury or death.
Therefore, do not try to perform
maintenance on or around the air
bag sensors. Have the vehicle
checked and repaired by the
authorized Kia dealer.
Problems may arise if the sensor installation angles are changed
due to the deformation of front
bumper, body or B pillar where
side collision sensors are
installed. Have the vehicle
checked and repaired by the
authorized Kia dealer.
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Your vehicle has been designedto absorb impact and deploy the
air bag(s) in certain collisions.
Installing aftermarket bumper
guards or replacing a bumper
with non-genuine parts may
adversely affect your vehicles
collision and air bag deployment
performance.
Air bag inflation conditionFront air bag
Front air bags (driver’s and front passen-
ger’s air bags and driver’s knee air bag)
are designed to inflate when the impact
is delivered to front collision sensors
depending on the intensity, speed or
angles of impact of the front collision -
generally from an area a little to the left to
a little to the right of straight ahead.
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Knowing your vehicle66
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Air bag warning lightThe purpose of air bag warning light in
your instrument panel is to alert you of a
potential problem with your air bag -
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS).
When the ignition switch is turned ON,
the indicator light should blink or illumi-
nate for approximately 6 seconds, then
go off.
Have the system checked if:
The light does not turn on briefly when
you turn the ignition ON.
The light stays on after the engine starts.
The light comes on while the vehicle is in motion.
Air bag (Supplemental Restraint
System) service Your Supplemental Restraint System is
virtually maintenance-free. There are no
parts which you can service.
You must have the system serviced
under the following circumstances:
If an air bag ever inflates, the air bagmust be replaced. Do not try to remove
or discard the air bag by yourself. This
must be done by an authorized Kia
dealer.
If the air bag warning indicator light alerts you to a problem, have the air
bag system checked as soon as possi-
ble. Otherwise, your air bag system
may be ineffective.
WARNING
Never put child restraint in thefront passenger seat. If the front
passenger air bag inflates, it may
cause severe or fatal injuries.
When children are seated in the rear outboard seats in which cur-
tain air bags are equipped, be
sure to put the child restraint sys-
tem as far away from the door
side as possible, and secure the
child restraint system to be
locked in position.
Inflation of curtain air bag could
cause severe injury or death due
to the expansion impact.
AIR
BAG
CAUTION
Do not modify any part of the air bag system. Modification could make the air bag system ineffectiveor could cause unnecessary deployment.

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Driving your vehicle
Always hold the steering wheel firmlywhen you are driving off-road.
Make sure all passengers are wearing seat belts.
Do not drive in water if the level is high- er than the bottom of the vehicle.
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 in off-road condi-
tions such as sand, mud or water (see
“Scheduled Maintenance” in the Index).
Always wash your car thoroughly.
Full-time 4WD operation
(if equipped)When 4WD is selected with the transfer
shift knob, the vehicle will switch to 4WD
operation after a few seconds.
WARNING
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 a sudden stop. If this happens
and your vehicle is in a tilted posi-
tion, your vehicle may roll over.
WARNING
If you are driving in heavy wind, the
vehicle's higher center of gravity
decreases your steering control
capacity and requires you to drive
more slowly.
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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.

Driving your vehicle18
4 For speedometer test or inspection/
maintenance (I/M) program of full-time
4WD vehicle, use a four wheel chassis
dynamometer. A 4WD vehicle should not be tested on
a 2WD drive roll tester. If a 2WD roll
tester must be used, perform the fol-
lowing:
1. Check the tire pressures recommend- ed for your vehicle.
2. Place the rear wheels on the roll tester for speedometer test as shown in the
illustration.
3. Release the parking brake.
4. Place the front wheels on the tempo- rary free roller as shown in the illustra-
tion.
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Roll tester (speedometer) Temporary free roller
CAUTION
Never engage the parking brake
while performing these tests.
CAUTION
While the full-time 4WD vehicle isbeing raised on a jack, never start the engine or cause the tires torotate.
There is the danger that rotatingtires touching the ground couldcause the vehicle to go off the jack and to jump forward.
If one of the front or rear wheelsbegins to spin in mud, snow, etc.the vehicle can sometimes be driv-en out by depressing the accelera- tor pedal further; however avoidrunning the engine continuously at high rpm because doing so coulddamage the 4WD system.
WARNING
Keep away from the front of the
vehicle while inspecting. This is
very dangerous as the vehicle can
jump forward and cause serious
injury or death.

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Driving tips
BEFORE DRIVING Before entering vehicle: Be sure that all windows, outside mir-ror(s), and outside lights are clean.
Check the condition of the tires.
Check under the vehicle for any sign of leaks.
Be sure there are no obstacles behind you if you intend to back up.Necessary inspections Fluid levels, such as engine oil, engine
coolant, brake fluid, and washer fluid
should be checked on a regular basis,
with the exact interval depending on the
fluid. Further details are provided in
Section 7, Maintenance.
Before starting Close and lock all doors.
Position the seat so that all controls areeasily reached.
Adjust the inside and outside rearview mirrors.
Be sure that all lights work.
Check all gauges.
Check the operation of warning lights when the ignition switch is turned to
the ON position.
Release the parking brake and make sure the brake warning light goes out.
For safe operation, be sure you are famil-
iar with your vehicle and its equipment.
WARNING
- Driving under
the influence of alcohol or
drugs
Drinking and driving is dangerous.
Drunk driving is the number one
contributor to the highway death
toll each year. Even a small amount
of alcohol will affect your reflexes,
perceptions and judgement. Driving
while under the influence of drugs
is as dangerous or more dangerous
than driving drunk.
You are much more likely to have a
serious accident if you drink or take
drugs and drive.
If you are drinking or taking drugs,
don’t drive. Do not ride with a driv-
er who has been drinking or taking
drugs. Choose a designated driver
or call a cab.

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.