2012 KIA Optima Hybrid cooling

Features of your vehicle
112
4
Cool box (if equipped)
You can keep beverage cans or other
items cool in the glove box.
1. Turn on the air conditioning.
2. Slide the open/close lever of the vent
installed in the glove box to the open
position.
3. When the cool box is not used, slide the lever to the closed position.
If some items in the cool box block the
vent, the cooling effectiveness of the
coolbox is reduced.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
Do not put perishable food in the cool
box because it may not maintain the
necessary consistent temperature to
keep the food fresh.
✽ ✽NOTICE
If the temperature control knob is in the
warm or hot position, warm or hot air
will flow into the glove box.
Sunglasses holder
To open the sunglasses holder, press the
cover and the holder will slowly open.
Place your sunglasses with the lenses
facing out.
To close the sunglasses holder, push it
up.
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WARNING - Distracted
driving
Do not use the sunglasses holder
while driving.

Driving your vehicle
38
5
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 the
maintenance schedule in section 7.
Before winter, have your coolant tested to
assure that its freezing point is sufficient
for the temperatures anticipated during
the winter.
Check battery and cables
Winter puts additional burdens on the
battery system. Visually inspect the bat-
tery and cables as described in section
7. Never attempt to check the Hybrid
High Voltage Battery. The level of charge
in your battery can be checked by an
authorized Kia dealer or a service sta-
tion.
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 8
for recommendations. If you aren't sure
what weight oil you should use, consult
an authorized Kia dealer.
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.
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.
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 authorized Kia dealer
and most auto parts outlets. Do not use
engine coolant or other types of anti-
freeze as these may damage the paint
finish.

67
What to do in an emergency
IF THE ENGINE OVERHEATS
If your temperature gauge indicates over-
heating, you will 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 itis safe to do so.
2. Place the shift lever in P (automatic transaxle) or neutral (manual
transaxle) and set the parking brake. If
the air conditioning is on, turn it off.
3. If engine coolant is running out under the vehicle or steam is coming out from
underneath the hood, stop the engine.
Do not open the hood 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. 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 vehicle. (If the air
conditioning had been in use, it is nor-
mal for cold water to be draining from it
when you stop). 5. If the water pump drive belt is broken
or engine coolant leaks, stop the
engine immediately and call the near-
est authorized Kia dealer for assis-
tance. 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 author-
ized Kia dealer for assistance.
Serious loss of coolant indicates there is
a leak in the cooling system and this
should be checked as soon as possible
by an authorized Kia dealer.
WARNING - Under the
hood
While the engine is running, keep
hair, hands and clothing away from
moving parts such as the fan and
drive belts.
WARNING - Radiator cap
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
47
Owner maintenance precautions
Improper or incomplete service may
result in problems. This section gives
instructions only for the maintenance
items that are easy to perform.
As explained earlier in this section, sev-
eral procedures can be done only by an
authorized Kia dealer with special tools.
✽ ✽NOTICE
Improper owner maintenance during
the warranty period may affect warran-
ty coverage. For details, read the sepa-
rate Warranty & Consumer
Information manual provided with the
vehicle. If you're unsure about any serv-
icing or maintenance procedure, have it
done by an authorized Kia dealer.
WARNING- Maintenance
work
Do not wear jewelry or loose cloth-
ing while working under the hood
of your vehicle with the engine run-
ning. These can become entangled
in moving parts, if you must run the
engine while working under the
hood, make certain that you
remove all jewelry (especially rings,
bracelets, watches, and necklaces)
and all neckties, scarves, and simi-
lar loose clothing before getting
near the engine or cooling fans.
WARNING
When you open the engine hood,
turn the Hybrid system off. If not, it
may result in death or serious
injury because of the high voltage
flow.
WARNING
After repair of the hydraulic brake
system, the air must be bled from
the system. Contact your
Authorized Kia Dealer for bleeding
of the brake system.

Maintenance
20
7
Air cleaner filter
A Genuine Kia air cleaner filter is recom-
mended when the filter is replaced.
Spark plugs
Make sure to install new spark plugs of
the correct heat range.
Valve clearance
Inspect excessive valve noise and/or
engine vibration and adjust if necessary.
An authorized Kia dealer should perform
the operation.
Cooling system
Check cooling system components, such
as radiator, coolant reservoir, hoses and
connections for leakage and damage.
Replace any damaged parts.
Coolant
The engine and inverter coolant should
be changed at the intervals specified in
the maintenance schedule.
Automatic transaxle fluid
Automatic transaxle fluid should not be
checked under normal usage conditions.
But in severe conditions, the fluid should
be changed at an authorized Kia dealer
in accordance to the scheduled mainte-
nance at the beginning of this chapter.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
Automatic transaxle fluid color is basi-
cally red.
As the vehicle is driven, the automatic
transaxle fluid will begin to look darker.
This is a normal condition and you
should not judge the need to replace the
fluid based upon the changed color.
Brake hoses and lines
Visually check for proper installation,
chafing, cracks, deterioration and any
leakage. Replace any deteriorated or
damaged parts immediately.
Brake fluid
Check brake fluid level in the brake fluid
reservoir. The level should be between
“MIN” and “MAX” marks on the side of
the reservoir. Use only hydraulic brake
fluid conforming to DOT 3 or DOT 4
specification.
Parking brake
Inspect the parking brake system includ-
ing the parking brake pedal and cables.

Maintenance
24
7
COOLANT
Inverter coolant
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 everyday.
If it is near or at MIN, add enough coolant
between MIN and MAX and check the
cooling system for air bleed at an author-
ized Kia dealer.
Engine coolant
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 per every day, at the begin-
ning of the winter season, and before
traveling to a colder climate.
Checking the coolant level
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CAUTION
When adding coolant, be careful
not to overfill.
WARNING
Removing radiator
cap and inverter
coolant cap
Never attempt to remove the radi- ator cap and/or inverter coolant
cap while the engine is operating
or hot. Doing so might lead to
cooling system and engine dam-
age and could result in serious
personal injury from escaping
hot coolant or steam.
(Continued)
CAUTION
Do not confuse the cap of enginecoolant and inverter coolant. If not,the coolant circulation problem ofengine or Hybrid system may occur because the cap pressure is differ-ent.

725
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 is
cool.
If the coolant level is low, add enough
distilled (deionized) water to provide pro-
tection 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 sys-
tem inspection.
(Continued)
The engine coolant level is influ-enced by hybrid system tempera-
ture. Before filling the engine
coolant and/or inverter coolant,
turn the hybrid vehicle off, fill the
engine coolant and/or inverter
coolant carefully.
Turn the engine off and wait until it 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 are
sure 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 radiator
cap and/or inverter or the drain
plug while the engine and radia-
tor are hot. Hot coolant and
steam may still blow out under
pressure, causing serious injury.
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WARNING
The electronic motor
(cooling fan) is con-
trolled by engine
coolant temperature,
refrigerant pressure and
vehicle speed. It may sometimes
operate even when the engine is
not running. Use extreme caution
when working near the blades of
the cooling fan so that you are not
injured by the rotating fan blades.
As the engine coolant temperature
decreases, the electric motor will
automatically shut off. This is a nor-
mal condition.

Maintenance
54
7
Multi fuse
If the multi fuse is blown, it must be
removed as follows:
1. Remove the fuse panel in the engine
compartment.
2. Remove the nuts shown in the picture above.
3. Replace the fuse with a new one of the same rating.
4. Reinstall in the reverse order of removal.
Oil pump cooling fuse/Cooling fan fuse
If the oil pump cooling fuse or cooling fan
fuse is blown, it must be removed as fol-
lows:
1. Turn off the engine.
2. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
3. Remove the fuse panel on the right side in the engine compartment.
4. Replace the fuse with a new one of the same rating.
5. Reinstall in the reverse order of removal.
Sub-relay fuse
If the sub-relay fuse is blown, it must be
removed as follows:
1. Turn off the engine.
2. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
3. Replace the fuse with a new one of thesame rating.
4. Reinstall in the reverse order of removal.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
If the multi or starting fuse is blown,
consult an authorized Kia dealer.
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