2012 KIA PICANTO traction control

Maintenance
50
7
Traction - AA, A, B & C
The traction grades, from highest to
lowest, are AA, A, B and C. Those
grades represent the tire’s ability to
stop on wet pavement as measuredunder 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 ofheat and its ability to dissipate heatwhen tested under controlled condi-
tions on a specified indoor laboratorytest 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 perform-
ance on the laboratory 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.

Index
8
I
Special driving conditions ..............................................5-47
Driving at night ........................................................5-48
Driving in flooded areas............................................5-50
Driving in the rain ....................................................5-49
Hazardous driving conditions ..................................5-47
Highway driving ........................................................5-50
Rocking the vehicle ..................................................5-47
Smooth cornering ......................................................5-48
Speedometer....................................................................4-44
Starting difficulties, see engine will not start ..................6-4
Starting the engine ............................................................5-9
Steering wheel ................................................................4-35 Electronic power steering..........................................4-35
Heated steering wheel ..............................................4-36
Horn ..........................................................................4-37
Tilt steering ..............................................................4-35
Steering wheel audio control ........................................4-111
Storage compartment ....................................................4-103 Glove box ................................................................4-103
Sunglass holder ......................................................4-103
Sunglass holder ............................................................4-103
Sunroof............................................................................4-31
Sunvisor ........................................................................4-106 Tachometer ......................................................................4-44
Tailgate ............................................................................4-19
Tilt steering ....................................................................4-35
Tire specification and pressure label ................................8-7
Tires and wheels ......................................................7-41, 8-2
Checking tire inflation pressure ................................7-42
Recommended cold tire inflation pressures ..............7-41
Tire care ....................................................................7-41
Tire maintenance ......................................................7-46
Tire replacement ........................................................7-45
Tire rotation ..............................................................7-43
Tire sidewall labeling ................................................7-47
Tire traction ..............................................................7-46
Wheel alignment and tire balance ............................7-44
Wheel replacement ....................................................7-46
Towing ............................................................................6-21 Emergency towing ....................................................6-22
Transaxle Automatic transaxle ..................................................5-27
Manual transaxle ......................................................5-24
Tripmeter ........................................................................4-46
Trip computer..................................................................4-45T

Driving your vehicle
18
5
Good driving practices
Never take the vehicle out of gear and
coast down a hill. This is extremely
hazardous. Always leave the vehicle in
gear.
Don't "ride" the brakes. This can cause them to overheat and malfunction.
Instead, when you are driving down a
long hill, shift to a lower gear. When
you do this, engine braking will help
slow down the vehicle.
Slow down before shifting to a lower gear. This will help avoid over-revving
the engine, which can cause damage.
Slow down when you encounter cross winds. This gives you much better con-
trol of your vehicle.
Be sure the vehicle is completely stopped before you attempt to shift into
reverse. The transaxle can be dam-
aged if you do not. To shift into reverse,
depress the clutch, move the shift lever
to neutral, wait three seconds, then
shift to the reverse position.
Exercise extreme caution when driving on a slippery surface. Be especially
careful when braking, accelerating or
shifting gears. On a slippery surface,
an abrupt change in vehicle speed can
cause the drive wheels to lose traction
and the vehicle to go out of control.
WARNING
Always buckle-up! In a collision, an unbelted occupant is signifi-
cantly more likely to be seriously
injured or killed than a properlybelted occupant.
Avoid high speeds when corner- ing or turning.
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 highway speeds.
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off the
roadway and the driver over-
steers to reenter the roadway.
In the event your vehicle leaves the roadway, do not steer sharply.
Instead, slow down before pulling
back into the travel lanes.
Never exceed posted speed lim- its.

523
Driving your vehicle
Good driving practices
Never move the shift lever from P(Park) or N (Neutral) to any other posi-
tion with the accelerator pedaldepressed.
Never move the shift lever into P (Park) when the vehicle is in motion.
Be sure the car is completely stopped before you attempt to shift into R
(Reverse) or D (Drive).
Never take the car out of gear and coast down a hill. This may be
extremely hazardous. Always leave the
car in gear when moving.
Do not "ride" the brakes. This can cause them to overheat and malfunc-
tion. Instead, when you are driving
down a long hill, slow down and shift to
a lower gear. When you do this, engine
braking will help slow the car.
Slow down before shifting to a lower gear. Otherwise, the lower gear maynot be engaged. Always use the parking brake. Do not
depend on placing the transaxle in P
(Park) to keep the car from moving.
Exercise extreme caution when driving on a slippery surface. Be especially
careful when braking, accelerating or
shifting gears. On a slippery surface,
an abrupt change in vehicle speed can
cause the drive wheels to lose traction
and the vehicle to go out of control.
Optimum vehicle performance and economy is obtained by smoothly
depressing and releasing the accelera-tor pedal.
WARNING
Always buckle-up! In a collision, an unbelted occupant is signifi-
cantly more likely to be seriously
injured or killed than a properlybelted occupant.
Avoid high speeds when corner- ing or turning.
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 highway speeds.
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off the
roadway and the driver over-
steers to reenter the roadway.
In the event your vehicle leaves the roadway, do not steer sharply.
Instead, slow down before pulling
back into the travel lanes.
Never exceed posted speed lim- its.

531
Driving your vehicle
The Electronic Stability Program (ESP) system is an electronic system designed
to help the driver maintain vehicle control
under adverse conditions. It is not a
substitute for safe driving practices.
Factors including speed, road conditions
and driver steering input can all affect
whether ESP will be effective in
preventing a loss of control. It is still your
responsibility to drive and corner at
reasonable speeds and to leave a
sufficient margin of safety.
When you apply your brakes under con-
ditions which may lock the wheels, you
may hear a “tik-tik’’ sound from the
brakes, or feel a corresponding sensation
in the brake pedal. This is normal and it
means your ESP is active.✽✽NOTICE
A click sound may be heard in the
engine compartment when the vehicle
begins to move after the engine is start-
ed. These conditions are normal and
indicate that the Electronic Stability
Program System is functioning proper-
ly. WARNING
Never drive too fast for the road
conditions or too quickly when cor-
nering. Electronic stability program
(ESP) will not prevent accidents.
Excessive speed in turns, abrupt
manoeuvres and hydroplaning onwet surfaces can still result in seri-
ous accidents. Only a safe and
attentive driver can prevent acci-
dents by avoiding manoeuvres that
cause the vehicle to lose traction.
Even with ESP installed, always fol-
low all the normal precautions for
driving - including driving at safe
speeds for the conditions.

Driving your vehicle
32
5
ESP operation
ESP ON condition
ON, ESP and ESP OFF indi-
cator lights illuminate for
approximately 3 seconds,
then ESP is turned on.
after turning the ignition ON
to turn ESP off. (ESP OFF
indicator will illuminate). To
turn the ESP on, press the
ESP OFF button (ESP OFFindicator light will go off).
you may hear a slight ticking
sound. This is the ESP per-
forming an automatic system
self-check and does not indi-
cate a problem. When operating
When the ESP is in operation,
the ESP indicator light blinks.
Program is operating proper-
ly, you can feel a slight pulsa-
tion in the vehicle. This is only
the effect of brake control and
indicates nothing unusual.
or driving on a slippery road,
the engine rpm (revolution
per minute) may not be
increased even if you press
the accelerator pedal deeply.This is to maintain the stabili-
ty and traction of the vehicleand does not indicate a prob-lem.
ESP operation off
ESP OFF state
press the ESP OFF button (ESP OFF indicator light illu-minates).
to LOCK position when ESP
is off, ESP remains off. Upon
restarting the engine, the
ESP will automatically turn onagain.
-

Driving your vehicle
42
5
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. Allowadequate stopping distance because
brake performance may be affected.
After driving through water, dry the
brakes by gently applying them several
times whilst the vehicle is moving slowly.
Highway driving
Tyres
Adjust the tyre inflation pressures to
specification. Low tyre inflation pressures
will result in overheating and possible
failure of the tyres.
Avoid using worn or damaged tyres
which may result in reduced traction or
tyre failure.
✽✽NOTICE
Never exceed the maximum tyre infla-
tion pressure shown on the tyres.Fuel, engine coolant and engine oil
High speed travel consumes more fuel
than urban motoring. Do not forget to
check both engine coolant and engine oil.
Drive belt
A loose or damaged drive belt may result
in overheating of the engine.
WARNING
Underinflated or overinflated tyres can cause poor handling, loss of
vehicle control, and sudden tyrefailure leading to accidents,
injuries, and even death. Always
check tyres for proper inflation
before driving. For proper tyre
pressures, refer to “Tyres and
wheels” in section 8.
Driving on tyres with no or insuffi- cient tread is dangerous. Worn-out tyres can result in loss of vehi-
cle control, collisions, injury, and
even death. Worn-out tyresshould be replaced as soon as
possible and should never be
used for driving. Always check
the tyre tread before driving your
car. For further information and
tread limits, refer to “Tyres and
wheels” in section 7.
OSA028008

Maintenance
44
7
Tyre replacement
If the tyre is worn evenly, a tread
wear indicator will appear as a solid
band across the tread. This showsthere is less than 1.6 mm (1/16 inch)
of tread left on the tyre. Replace the
tyre when this happens.
Do not wait for the band to appear
across the entire tread before replac-
ing the tyre.
OEN076053
Tread wear indicatorWARNING - Replacing
tyres
To reduce the chance of serious
or fatal injuries from an acci-
dent caused by tyre failure or
loss of vehicle control:
Replace tyres that are worn, show uneven wear, or are
damaged. Worn tyres can
cause loss of braking effec-
tiveness, steering control, andtraction.
Do not drive your vehicle with too little or too much pressure
in your tyres. This can lead to
uneven wear and tyre failure.
When replacing tyres, never mix radial and bias-ply tyres
on the same car. You must
replace all tyres (including the
spare) if moving from radial to
bias-ply tyres.
(Continued)(Continued)
Using tyres and wheels otherthan the recommended sizes
could cause unusual handling
characteristics and poor vehi-
cle control, resulting in a seri-ous accident.
Wheels that do not meet KIA’s specifications may fit poorly
and result in damage to the
vehicle or unusual handling
and poor vehicle control.
The ABS works by comparing the speed of the wheels. The
tyre size affects wheel speed.
When replacing tyres, all 4
tyres must use the same size
originally supplied with the
vehicle. Using tyres of a dif-
ferent size can cause the
ABS(Anti-lock Brake System)
and ESP(Electronic Stability
Program) to work irregularly.(if equipped)