2010 KIA SORENTO ground clearance

Introduction
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1
Biodiesel
Commercially supplied Diesel blends of no more than 7% biodiesel, commonly
known as "B7 Diesel" may be used in
your vehicle if Biodiesel meets EN 14214
or equivalent specifications. (EN stands
for "European Norm"). The use of biofu-
els exceeding 7% made from rapeseed
methyl ester (RME), fatty acid methyl
ester (FAME), vegetable oil methyl ester
(VME) etc. or mixing diesel exceeding7% with biodiesel will cause increased
wear or damage to the engine and fuel
system. Repair or replacement of worn ordamaged components due to the use of
non approved fuels will not be covered by
the manufactures warranty. As with other vehicles of this type, failure
to operate this vehicle correctly mayresult in loss of control, an accident or
vehicle rollover.
Specific design characteristics (higher
ground clearance, track, etc.) give this
vehicle a higher center of gravity than
other types of vehicles. In other words
they are not designed for cornering at the
same speeds as conventional 2-wheel
drive vehicles. Avoid sharp turns or
abrupt maneuvers. Again, failure to oper-
ate this vehicle correctly may result in
loss of control, an accident or vehicle
rollover.
Be sure to read the “Reducing
the risk of a rollover” driving guide-
lines, in section 5 of this manual. No special break-in period is needed. By
following a few simple precautions for the
first 1,000 km (600 miles) you may add to
the performance, economy and life of
your vehicle.
Do not race the engine.
While driving, keep your engine speed
(rpm, or revolutions per minute) within
3,000 rpm.
Do not maintain a single speed for long periods of time, either fast or slow.
Varying engine speed is needed to
properly break-in the engine.
Avoid hard stops, except in emergen- cies, to allow the brakes to seat prop-
erly.
Don't let the engine idle longer than 3 minutes at one time.
Don't tow a trailer during the first 2,000
km (1,200 miles) of operation.
VEHICLE BREAK-IN PROCESS
VEHICLE HANDLING
INSTRUCTIONS
CAUTION
Never use any fuel, whether
diesel or B7 biodiesel or other-wise, that fails to meet the latestpetroleum industry specification.
Never use any fuel additives or treatments that are not recom-mended or approved by the vehi- cle manufacturer.

Safety features of your vehicle
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Just before impact, drivers often brake
heavily. Such heavy braking lowers the
front portion of the vehicle causing it to
“ride” under a vehicle with a higher
ground clearance. Air bags may not
inflate in this "under-ride" situation
because deceleration forces that are
detected by sensors may be signifi-
cantly reduced by such “under-ride”
collisions. Front air bags may not inflate in
rollover accidents because front air
bag deployment would not provideadditional occupant protection.
✽✽ NOTICE - For Europe
However, if equipped with side impact
and curtain air bags, the air bags may
inflate in a rollover, when it is detected
by the rollover sensor.
✽
✽ NOTICE - Except Europe
However, side and/or curtain air bags
may inflate when the vehicle is rolled
over by a side impact collision, if the
vehicle is equipped with side impact air
bags and curtain air bags.
Air bags may not inflate if the vehicle collides with objects such as utility
poles or trees, where the point of
impact is concentrated to one area and
the full force of the impact is not deliv-
ered to the sensors.
1VQA20901VQA20911VQA2092

527
Driving your vehicle
✽✽NOTICE
 Do not drive in water if the level is higher 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
“Maintenance under severe usage
conditions” in section 7). Always wash
your vehicle thoroughly after off road
use, especially cleaning the bottom of
the vehicle.
 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 the vehicle with four
tires of the same size and type.
 A full time four wheel drive vehicle cannot be towed by an ordinary tow
truck. Make sure that the vehicle is
placed on a flat bed truck for moving.Reducing the risk of a rollover
This multi-purpose passenger vehicle is
defined as a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).
SUV’s have higher ground clearance and
a narrower track to make them capable
of performing in a wide variety of off-road
applications. Specific design characteris-
tics give them a higher center of gravity
than ordinary vehicles. An advantage of
the higher ground clearance is a better
view of the road, which allows you to
anticipate problems. They are not
designed for cornering at the same
speeds as conventional passenger vehi-
cles, any more than low-slung sports
vehicles are designed to perform satis-
factorily in off-road conditions. Due to this
risk, driver and passengers are strongly
recommended to buckle their seat belts.
In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
more likely to die than a person wearing
a seat belt. There are steps that a driver
can make to reduce the risk of a rollover.
If at all possible, avoid sharp turns or
abrupt maneuvers, do not load your roof
rack with heavy cargo, and never modify
your vehicle in any way.
CAUTION - Mud or snow
If one of the front or rear wheels
begins to spin in mud, snow, etc.
the vehicle can sometimes be driv-en out by depressing the accelera-
tor pedal further; however avoid running the engine continuously at
high rpm because doing so coulddamage the 4WD system.
WARNING - 4WD driving
Avoid high cornering speed.
Do not make quick steering wheel movements, 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 speed.
In a collision, an unbelted person is significantly more likely to die
compared to a person wearing aseat 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.

Driving your vehicle
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5
WARNING - Jacked vehicle
While the full-time 4WD vehicle is
being raised on a jack, never startthe engine or cause the tires to
rotate.
There is the danger that rotating
tires touching the ground could
cause the vehicle to go off the jack
and to jump forward.WARNING
Your vehicle is equipped with tires
designed to provide 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 perform-
ance of your vehicle, which could
lead to steering failure or rollover
and serious injury. When replacing
the tires, be sure to equip all fourtires with the tire and wheel of the
same size, type, tread, brand and
load-carrying capacity. If you never-
theless decide to equip your vehi-
cle with any tire/wheel combination
not recommended by KIA for off
road driving, you should not use
these tires for highway driving.WARNING - Rollover
As with other Sports Utility Vehicle
(SUV), failure to operate this vehi-
cle correctly may result in loss of
control, an accident or vehicle
rollover.
Utility vehicles have a significant- ly higher rollover rate than other
types of vehicles.
Specific design characteristics (higher ground clearance, nar-
rower track, etc.) give this vehicle
a higher center of gravity than
ordinary vehicles.
A SUV is not designed for corner- ing at the same speeds as con-
ventional vehicles.
Avoid sharp turns or abrupt maneuvers.
In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly more like-
ly to die than a person wearing a
seat belt. Make sure everyone in
the vehicle is properly buckledup.

What to do in an emergency
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6
Important - use of compact spare tire
(if equipped)
Your vehicle is equipped with a com-
pact spare tire. This compact spare
tire takes up less space than a regu-
lar-size tire. This tire is smaller than a
conventional tire and is designed for
temporary use only.
The compact spare should be inflat-
ed to 420 kPa (60 psi).
✽✽NOTICE
Check the inflation pressure after
installing the spare tire. Adjust it to
the specified pressure, as necessary.
When using a compact spare tire,
observe the following precautions:
Under no circumstances should you exceed 80 km/h (50 mph); a higher speed could damage the
tire.
Ensure that you drive slowly enough to avoid all hazards. Anyroad hazard, such as a pothole or
debris, could seriously damage the
compact spare.
Any continuous road use of this tire could result in tire failure, loss of
vehicle control, and possible per-
sonal injury.
Do not exceed the vehicle’s maxi- mum load rating or the load-carry-
ing capacity shown on the sidewall
of the compact spare tire.
Avoid driving over obstacles. The compact spare tire diameter issmaller than the diameter of a con-
ventional tire and reduces the
ground clearance approximately25 mm (1 inch), which could result
in damage to the vehicle.
CAUTION
You should drive carefully
when the compact spare is inuse. The compact spareshould be replaced by theproper conventional tire and rim at the first opportunity.
The operation of this vehicle is not recommended withmore than one compact sparetire in use at the same time.
WARNING
The compact spare tire is for
emergency use only. Do not
operate your vehicle on thiscompact spare at the speed
over 80 km/h (50 mph). The orig-inal tire should be repaired or
replaced as soon as possible to
avoid failure of the spare possi-
bly leading to personal injury ordeath.

Maintenance
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Compact spare tire replacement
(if equipped)
A compact spare tire has a shorter
tread life than a regular size tire.
Replace it when you can see the
tread wear indicator bars on the tire.The replacement compact spare tire
should be the same size and design
tire as the one provided with your
new vehicle and should be mountedon the same compact spare tire
wheel. The compact spare tire is notdesigned to be mounted on a regular
size wheel, and the compact spare
tire wheel is not designed for mount-
ing a regular size tire. Wheel replacement
When replacing the metal wheels for
any reason, make sure the new
wheels are equivalent to the original
factory units in diameter, rim widthand offset.
Tire traction
Tire traction can be reduced if you
drive on worn tires, tires that are
improperly inflated or on slippery
road surfaces. Tires should be
replaced when tread wear indicators
appear. Slow down whenever there
is rain, snow or ice on the road toreduce the possibility of losing con-
trol of the vehicle. Tire maintenance In addition to proper inflation, correct wheel alignment helps to decrease
tire wear. If you find a tire is worn
unevenly, have your dealer check thewheel alignment.
When you have new tires installed,
make sure they are balanced. This
will increase vehicle ride comfort and
tire life. Additionally, a tire should
always be rebalanced if it is removedfrom the wheel.
WARNING
A wheel that is not the correct
size may adversely affect wheel
and bearing life, braking and
stopping abilities, handling char-
acteristics, ground clearance,
body-to-tire clearance, snow
chain clearance, speedometer
and odometer calibration, head-
light aim and bumper height.