2009 KIA SOUL Owners Manual

Maintenance
24
7
G052200AUN
Steering gear box, linkage &
boots/lower arm ball joint
With the vehicle stopped and engine off,
check for excessive free-play in the
steering wheel.
Check the linkage for bends or damage.
Check the dust boots and ball joints for
deterioration, cracks, or damage.
Replace any damaged parts. G052400AUN Drive shafts and boots
Check the drive shafts, boots and clamps
for cracks, deterioration, or damage.
Replace any damaged parts and, if nec-
essary, repack the grease.
G052500AUN
Air conditioning refrigerant (if equipped)
Check the air conditioning lines and con-
nections for leakage and damage.

725
Maintenance
ENGINE OIL
G060100AUN-HM
Checking the engine oil level
1. Be sure the vehicle is on level ground.
2. Start the engine and allow it to reach normal operating temperature. 3. Turn the engine off and wait for a few
minutes (about 5 minutes) for the oil to
return to the oil pan.
4. Pull the dipstick out, wipe it clean, and reinsert it fully.
5. Pull the dipstick out again and check the level. The level should be betweenF and L. If it is near or at L, add enough oil to bring
the level to F.
Do not overfill.
Use a funnel to help prevent oil frombeing spilled on engine components.
Use only the specified engine oil. (Refer to “Recommended lubricants and capaci-ties” in section 8.)
WARNING - Radiator hose
Be very careful not to touch the
radiator hose when checking or
adding the engine oil as it may be
hot enough to burn you.
OAM079001OAM079004
CAUTION
Do not overfill the engine oil. It may damage the engine.
CAUTION - Diesel engine
Overfilling the engine oil may cause
severe dieseling due to churningeffect. It may lead to engine damage
accompanied with abrupt engine speed increment, combustion noiseand white smoke emission.

Maintenance
26
7
G060200ASA Changing the engine oil and filter
Have the engine oil and filter changed by
an authorized KIA dealer according tothe Maintenance Schedule at the begin-ning of this section. G070000AUN The high-pressure cooling system has a
reservoir filled with year-round antifreeze
coolant. The reservoir is filled at the fac-
tory.
Check the antifreeze protection and
coolant level at least once a year, at thebeginning of the winter season, and
before traveling to a colder climate. G070100ASA-U1
Checking the coolant level
WARNING
Used engine oil may cause skin irri- tation or cancer if left in contact
with the skin for prolonged periods
of time. Used engine oil contains
chemicals that have caused cancer
in laboratory animals. Always pro-
tect your skin by washing your
hands thoroughly with soap and
warm water as soon as possibleafter handling used oil.
ENGINE COOLANT
WARNING - Removing
radiator cap
Never attempt to remove the radi- ator cap while the engine is oper-
ating or hot. Doing so might leadto cooling system and engine
damage. Also hot coolant orsteam could cause serious per-
sonal injury.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Turn the engine off and wait untilit cools down. Use extreme care
when removing the radiator cap.
Wrap a thick towel around it, and
turn it counterclockwise slowly to
the first stop. Step back while the
pressure is released from the
cooling system. When you aresure all the pressure has been
released, press down on the cap,
using a thick towel, and continue
turning counterclockwise to
remove it.
Even if the engine is not operat- ing, do not remove the radiatorcap or the drain plug while the
engine and radiator are hot. Hot
coolant and steam may still blow
out under pressure, causing seri-
ous injury.

727
Maintenance
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 and L marks on the side of the
coolant reservoir when the engine iscool.
If the coolant level is low, add enough
specified coolant to provide protection
against freezing and corrosion. Bring the
level to F, but do not overfill. If frequent
additions are required, see an authorized
KIA dealer for a cooling system inspec-tion.G070101AUN-U1
Recommended engine coolant
Use only soft (destilled) water in the
coolant mixture.
The engine in your vehicle has alu- minum 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.
OAM079005
-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

Maintenance
28
7
G070200AUN-U1 Changing the coolant
Have the coolant changed by an author-
ized KIA dealer according to theMaintenance Schedule at the beginningof this section.
WARNING - Radiator cap
Do not remove the radiator cap when the engine and radiator are
hot. Scalding hot coolant and
steam may blow out under pres-
sure causing serious injury.
OAM079006
CAUTION
Put a thick cloth or fabric around the radiator cap before refilling thecoolant in order to prevent the coolant from overflowing into
engine parts such as the alternator.
WARNING - Coolant
Do not use radiator coolant or antifreeze in the washer fluid
reservoir.
Radiator coolant can severely obscure visibility when sprayed
on the windshield and may cause
loss of vehicle control or damage
to paint and body trim.

729
Maintenance
BRAKE/CLUTCH FLUID (IF EQUIPPED)
G080100ASA-U1
Checking the brake/clutch fluid
level
Check the fluid level in the reservoir peri-
odically. The fluid level should be
between MAX and MIN marks on the
side of the reservoir.
Before removing the reservoir cap and
adding brake/clutch fluid, clean the area
around the reservoir cap thoroughly to
prevent brake/clutch fluid contamination. If the level is low, add fluid to the MAX
level. The level will fall with accumulated
mileage. This is a normal condition asso-
ciated with the wear of the brake linings
and/or clutch disc (if equipped). If the
fluid level is excessively low, have the
brake system checked by an authorized
KIA dealer.
Use only the specified brake/clutch fluid.
(Refer to “Recommended lubricants orcapacities” in section 8.)
Never mix different types of fluid.
WARNING - Loss of brake fluid
In the event the brake system
requires frequent additions of fluid,
the vehicle should be inspected by
an authorized KIA dealer.
WARNING - Brake/clutch fluid
When changing and adding
brake/clutch fluid, handle it careful-
ly. Do not let it come in contact with
your eyes. If brake/clutch fluid
come in contact with your eyes,
immediately flush them with a large
quantity of fresh tap water. Have
your eyes examined by a doctor as
soon as possible.
CAUTION
Do not allow brake/clutch fluid to contact the vehicle's body paint, aspaint damage will result.
Brake/clutch fluid, which has beenexposed to open air for an extended
time should never be used as its quality cannot be guaranteed. Itshould be properly disposed. Don'tput in the wrong kind of fluid. A few
drops of mineral-based oil, such asengine oil, in your brake/clutch sys- tem can damage brake/clutch sys-tem parts.
OAM079007

Maintenance
30
7
AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLE FLUID (IF EQUIPPED)
G100100BUN-C1
Checking the automatic transaxle
fluid level
The automatic transaxle fluid level
should be checked regularly.
Keep the vehicle on the level ground with
the parking brake applied and check the
fluid level according to the following pro-
cedure.
1. Place the shift lever in N (Neutral) posi- tion and confirm the engine is running
at normal idle speed.
2. After the transaxle is warmed up suffi- ciently [fluid temperature 70~80°C
(158~176°F)], for example by 10 min-
utes usual driving, move the shift leverthrough all positions then place the
shift lever in N(Neutral) or P(Park)position. 3. Confirm if the fluid level is in the "HOT"
range on the level gauge. If the fluid
level is lower, add the specified fluid
from the fill hole. If the fluid level is
higher, drain the fluid from the drain
hole.
4. If the fluid level is checked in cold con- dition [fluid temperature 20~30 °C
(68~86 °F)], add the fluid to the “C”
(COLD) line and then recheck the fluid
level according to the above step 2.
WARNING - Transaxle fluid
The transaxle fluid level should be
checked when the engine is at nor-
mal operating temperature. This
means that the engine, radiator,
radiator hose and exhaust system
etc., are very hot. Exercise great
care not to burn yourself during
this procedure.
WARNING - Parking brake
To avoid sudden movement of the
vehicle, apply parking brake and
depress the brake pedal before
moving the shift lever.
CAUTION
Low fluid level causes transaxle slippage. Overfilling can causefoaming, loss of fluid and transaxle
malfunction.
The use of a non-specified fluid could result in transaxle malfunc-tion and failure.
OAM079009OSA077009
HOT
COLD

731
Maintenance
✽✽NOTICE
“C” (COLD) range is for reference only
and should NOT be used to determinetransaxle fluid level. ✽✽
NOTICE
New automatic transaxle fluid should be
red. The red dye is added so the assem-bly plant can identify it as automatic
transaxle fluid and distinguish it from
engine oil or antifreeze. The red dye,
which is not an indicator of fluid quali-
ty, is not permanent. As the vehicle isdriven, the automatic transaxle fluid
will begin to look darker. The color may
eventually appear light brown.
Therefore, have an authorized KIA
dealer change the automatic transaxlefluid according to the ScheduledMaintenance at the beginning of thissection.
Use only specified automatic transaxle
fluid. (Refer to "Recommended lubricantsor capacities" in section 8.) G100200AUN-U1 Changing the automatic transaxle fluid
Have the automatic transaxle fluid
changed by an authorized KIA dealeraccording to the Maintenance Scheduleat the beginning of this section.