2012 KIA Optima ESP

Driving your vehicle
44
5
✽
✽
NOTICE
The ESC system (if equipped) should be
turned OFF prior to rocking the vehicle.
Smooth cornering
Avoid braking or gear changing in cor-
ners, especially when roads are wet.
Ideally, corners should always be taken
under gentle acceleration. If you follow
these suggestions, tire wear will be held
to a minimum.
Driving at night
Because night driving presents more
hazards than driving in the daylight, here
are some important tips to remember:
Slow down and keep more distance
between you and other vehicles, as it
may be more difficult to see at night,
especially in areas where there may
not be any street lights.
OUN056051OMC035004
WARNING- Spinning tires
Do not spin the wheels, especially
at speeds more than 56 km/h (35
mph). Spinning the wheels at high
speeds when the vehicle is station-
ary could cause a tire to overheat
which could result in tire damage
that may injure bystanders.
WARNING
If your vehicle becomes stuck in
snow, mud, sand, etc., then you
may attempt to rock the vehicle free
by moving it forward and backward.
Do not attempt this procedure if
people or objects are anywhere
near the vehicle. During the rocking
operation the vehicle may suddenly
move forward or backward as it
becomes unstuck, causing injury
or damage to nearby people or
objects.

545
Driving your vehicle
Adjust your mirrors to reduce the glarefrom other driver's headlights.
Keep your headlights clean and prop- erly aimed on vehicles not equipped
with the automatic headlight aiming
feature. Dirty or improperly aimed
headlights will make it much more diffi-
cult to see at night.
Avoid staring directly at the headlights of oncoming vehicles. You could be
temporarily blinded, and it will take
several seconds for your eyes to read-
just to the darkness.
Driving in the rain
Rain and wet roads can make driving
dangerous, especially if you’re not pre-
pared for the slick pavement. Here are a
few things to consider when driving in the
rain:
A heavy rainfall will make it harder tosee and will increase the distance
needed to stop your vehicle, so slow
down.
Keep your windshield wiping equip- ment in good shape. Replace your
windshield wiper blades when they
show signs of streaking or missing
areas on the windshield. If your tires are not in good condition,
making a quick stop on wet pavement
can cause a skid and possibly lead to
an accident. Be sure your tires are in
good shape.
Turn on your headlights to make it eas- ier for others to see you.
Driving too fast through large puddles can affect your brakes. If you must go
through puddles, try to drive through
them slowly.
If you believe you may have gotten your brakes wet, apply them lightly
while driving until normal braking oper-
ation returns.
Driving in flooded areas
Avoid driving through flooded areas
unless you are sure the water is no high-
er than the bottom of the wheel hub.
Drive through any water slowly. Allow
adequate stopping distance because
brake performance may be affected.
After driving through water, dry the
brakes by gently applying them several
times while the vehicle is moving slowly.
1JBB3303

What to do in an emergency
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6
Do not take this vehicle through an
automatic car wash while the com-
pact spare tire is installed.
The compact spare tire should not be installed on the front axle if the
vehicle must be driven in snow or
on ice.
Do not use the compact spare tire on any other vehicle because this
tire has been designed especially
for your vehicle.
The compact spare tire’s tread life is shorter than a regular tire.
Inspect your compact spare tire
regularly and replace worn com-
pact spare tires with the same size
and design, mounted on the same
wheel. The compact spare tire should not
be used on any other wheels, nor
should standard tires, snow tires,
wheel covers or trim rings be used
with the compact spare wheel. If
such use is attempted, damage to
these items or other car compo-
nents may occur.
Do not use more than one compact spare tire at a time.
Do not tow a trailer while the com- pact spare tire is installed.

73
Maintenance
MAINTENANCE SERVICES
You should exercise the utmost care to
prevent damage to your vehicle and
injury to yourself whenever performing
any maintenance or inspection proce-
dures.
Should you have any doubts concerning
the inspection or servicing of your vehi-
cle, we strongly recommend that you
have an authorized Kia dealer perform
this work.
An authorized Kia dealer has factory-
trained technicians and genuine Kia
parts to service your vehicle properly. For
expert advice and quality service, see an
authorized Kia dealer.
Inadequate, incomplete or insufficient
servicing may result in operational prob-
lems with your vehicle that could lead to
vehicle damage, an accident, or person-
al injury.Owner’s responsibility
✽ ✽NOTICE
Maintenance Service and Record
Retention are the owner's responsibility.
You should retain documents that show
proper maintenance has been performed
on your vehicle in accordance with the
scheduled maintenance service charts
shown on the following pages. You need
this information to establish your compli-
ance with the servicing and maintenance
requirements of your vehicle warranties.
Detailed warranty information is provided
in your Warranty & Consumer Information
manual. Repairs and adjustments required as a
result of improper maintenance or a lack
of required maintenance are not covered.
We recommend you have your vehicle
maintained and repaired by an author-
ized Kia dealer. An authorized Kia dealer
meets Kia’s high service quality stan-
dards and receives technical support
from Kia in order to provide you with a
high level of service satisfaction.

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 servicing or
maintenance procedure, have it done by
an authorized Kia dealer.
WARNING- Maintenance
work
Performing maintenance work on
a vehicle can be dangerous. You
can be seriously injured while
performing some maintenance
procedures. If you lack sufficient
knowledge and experience or the
proper tools and equipment to do
the work, have it done by an
authorized Kia dealer.
Working under the hood with the engine running is dangerous. It
becomes even more dangerous
when you wear jewelry or loose
clothing. These can become
entangled in moving parts and
result in injury. Therefore, if you
must run the engine while work-
ing under the hood, make certain
that you remove all jewelry (espe-
cially rings, bracelets, watches,
and necklaces) and all neckties,
scarves, and similar loose cloth-
ing before getting near the
engine or cooling fans.

Maintenance
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94 - Load Index, a numerical code
associated with the maximum
load the tire can carry.
H - Speed Rating Symbol. See the speed rating chart in this section
for additional information.
Wheel size designation
Wheels are also marked with impor-
tant information that you need if you
ever have to replace one. The follow-
ing explains what the letters and
numbers in the wheel size designa-
tion mean.
Example wheel size designation:
6.5JX16
6.5 - Rim width in inches.
J - Rim contour designation.
16 - Rim diameter in inches.
Tire speed ratings
The chart below lists many of the dif-
ferent speed ratings currently being
used for passenger vehicles. The
speed rating is part of the tire size
designation on the sidewall of the
tire. This symbol corresponds to that
tire's designed maximum safe oper-
ating speed.
3. Checking tire life (TIN : Tire
Identification Number)
Any tires that are over 6 years old,
based on the manufacturing date,
(including the spare tire) should be
replaced by new ones. You can find
the manufacturing date on the tire
sidewall (possibly on the inside of the
wheel), displaying the DOT Code.
The DOT Code is a series of num-
bers on a tire consisting of numbers
and English letters. The manufactur-
ing date is designated by the last four
digits (characters) of the DOT code.
DOT : XXXX XXXX OOOO
The front part of the DOT means a
plant code number, tire size and
tread pattern and the last four num-
bers indicate week and year manu-
factured.
For example:
DOT XXXX XXXX 1611 represents
that the tire was produced in the 16th
week of 2011.
S 180 km/h (112 mph)
T 190 km/h (118 mph)
H 210 km/h (130 mph) V 240 km/h (149 mph)Z Above 240 km/h (149 mph)
Maximum Speed
Speed
Rating
Symbol

Maintenance
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These grades are molded on the
side-walls of passenger vehicle tires.
The tires available as standard or
optional equipment on your vehicles
may vary with respect to grade.
Traction - AA, A, B & C
The traction grades, from highest to
lowest, are AA, A, B and C. Those
grades represent the tires ability to
stop on wet pavement as measured
under controlled conditions on spec-
ified government test surfaces of
asphalt and concrete. A tire marked
C may have poor traction perform-
ance.
Temperature -A, B & C
The temperature grades are A (the
highest), B and C representing the
tire’s resistance to the generation of
heat and its ability to dissipate heat
when tested under controlled condi-
tions on a specified indoor laboratory
test wheel.
Sustained high temperature can
cause the material of the tire to
degenerate and reduce tire life, and
excessive temperature can lead to
sudden tire failure.
Grades B and A represent higher
levels of performance on the labora-
tory test wheel than the minimum
required by law.WARNING - Tire
temperature
The temperature grade for this
tire is established for a tire that
is properly inflated and not
overloaded. Excessive speed,
underinflation, or excessive
loading, either separately or in
combination, can cause heat
build-up and possible sudden
tire failure. This can cause loss
of vehicle control and serious
injury or death.
WARNING
The traction grade assigned to
this tire is based on straight-
ahead braking traction tests,
and does not include accelera-
tion, cornering, hydroplaning,
or peak traction characteristics.

Maintenance
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7
APPEARANCE CARE
Exterior care
Exterior general caution
It is very important to follow the label
directions when using any chemical
cleaner or polish. Read all warning and
caution statements that appear on the
label.
Finish maintenance
Washing
To help protect your vehicle’s finish from
rust and deterioration, wash it thoroughly
and frequently at least once a month with
lukewarm or cold water.
If you use your vehicle for off-road driv-
ing, you should wash it after each off-
road trip. Pay special attention to the
removal of any accumulation of salt, dirt,
mud, and other foreign materials. Make
sure the drain holes in the lower edges of
the doors and rocker panels are kept
clear and clean.
Insects, tar, tree sap, bird droppings,
industrial pollution and similar deposits
can damage your vehicle’s finish if not
removed immediately.
Even prompt washing with plain water
may not completely remove all these
deposits. A mild soap, safe for use on
painted surfaces, may be used.
After washing, rinse the vehicle thor-
oughly with lukewarm or cold water. Do
not allow soap to dry on the finish.
WARNING - Wet brakes
After washing the vehicle, test the
brakes while driving slowly to see if
they have been affected by water. If
braking performance is impaired,
dry the brakes by applying them
lightly while maintaining a slow for-
ward speed.
CAUTION
Do not use strong soap, chemical
detergents or hot water, and donot wash the vehicle in direct sunlight or when the body of thevehicle is warm.
Be careful when washing the side windows of your vehicle.Especially, with high-pressurewater. Water may leak through the windows and wet the interior.
To prevent damage to the plastic parts and lamps, do not cleanwith chemical solvents or strongdetergents.