2012 KIA Rio warning light

521
Driving your vehicle
Power brakes
Your vehicle has power-assisted brakes
that adjust automatically through normal
usage.
In the event that the power-assisted
brakes lose power because of a stalled
engine or some other reason, you can
still stop your vehicle by applying greater
force to the brake pedal than you nor-
mally would. The stopping distance, how-
ever, will be longer.
When the engine is not running, the
reserve brake power is partially depleted
each time the brake pedal is applied. Do
not pump the brake pedal when the
power assist has been interrupted.
Pump the brake pedal only when neces-
sary to maintain steering control on slip-
pery surfaces.Wet brakes may impair the vehicle’s abil-
ity to safely slow down; the vehicle may
also pull to one side when the brakes are
applied. Applying the brakes lightly will
indicate whether they have been affected
in this way. To dry the brakes, apply them
lightly while maintaining a safe forward
speed until brake performance returns to
normal.
In the event of brake failure
If service brakes fail to operate while the
vehicle is in motion, you can make an
emergency stop with the parking brake.
The stopping distance, however, will be
much greater than normal.
BRAKE SYSTEM
WARNING- Parking brake
Avoid applying the parking brake to
stop the vehicle while it is moving
except in an emergency situation.
Applying the parking brake while
the vehicle is moving at normal
speeds can cause a sudden loss of
control of the vehicle. If you must
use the parking brake to stop the
vehicle, use great caution in apply-
ing the brake.
WARNING- Steep hillbraking
Avoid continuous application of the
brakes when descending a long or
steep hill by shifting to a lower
gear. Continuous brake application
will cause the brakes to overheat
and could result in a temporary
loss of braking performance.
CAUTION - Brake pedal
Do not drive with your foot resting
on the brake pedal. This will createabnormally high brake tempera-tures which can cause excessivebrake lining and pad wear.

Driving your vehicle
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5
Disc brakes wear indicator
When your brake pads are worn and new
pads are required, you will hear a high-
pitched warning sound from your front
brakes or rear brakes (if equipped). You
may hear this sound come and go or it
may occur whenever you depress the
brake pedal.
Please remember that some driving con-
ditions or climates may cause a brake
squeal when you first apply (or lightly
apply) the brakes. This is normal and
does not indicate a problem with your
brakes.
Always replace the front or rear brake
pads as pairs.
Rear drum brakes (if equipped)
Your rear drum brakes do not have wear
indicators. Therefore, have the rear brake
linings inspected if you hear a rubbing
noise. Also have your rear brakes
inspected each time you change or
rotate your tires and when you have the
front brakes replaced.
Parking brake
Applying the parking brake
To engage the parking brake, first apply
the foot brake and then without pressing
the release button in, pull the parking
brake lever up as far as possible. In addi-
tion it is recommended that when parking
the vehicle on a gradient, the shift lever
should be positioned in the appropriate
low gear for manual transaxle vehicles or
in the P (Park) position for automatic
transaxle vehicles.
WARNING- Brake wear
Do not ignore high pinched wear
sounds from your brakes. If you
ignore this audible warning, you
will eventually lose braking per-
formance, which could lead to a
serious accident.
CAUTION - Parking brake
Driving with the parking brake
applied will cause excessive brake pad (or lining) and brake rotor wear.
CAUTION - Replace brake pedal
Do not continue to drive with worn
brake pads. Continuing to drivewith worn brake pads can damagethe braking system and result incostly brake repairs.
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Driving your vehicle
Releasing the parking brake
To release the parking brake, first apply
the foot brake and pull up the parking
brake lever slightly. Secondly, press the
release button (1) and lower the parking
brake lever (2) while holding the button.Check the brake warning light by turning
the ignition switch ON (do not start the
engine). This light will illuminate when the
parking brake is applied with the ignition
switch in the START or ON position.
Before driving, be sure the parking brake
is fully released and the brake warning
light is off.
If the brake warning light remains on
after the parking brake is released while
the engine is running, there may be a
malfunction in the brake system.
Immediate attention is necessary.
If at all possible, stop driving the vehicle
immediately. If that is not possible, use
extreme caution while operating the vehi-
cle and only continue to drive the vehicle
until you can reach a safe location or
repair shop.
WARNING - Parking brake
use
All vehicles should always have the
parking brake fully engaged when
parking to avoid inadvertent move-
ment of the vehicle which can
injure occupants or pedestrians.
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Driving your vehicle
The ABS warning light will stay on for
approximately 3 seconds after the igni-
tion switch is ON. During that time, the
ABS will go through self-diagnosis and
the light will go off if everything is normal.
If the light stays on, you may have a
problem with your ABS but your regular
brakes will work normally. Contact an
authorized Kia dealer as soon as possi-
ble. When you drive on a road with poor
traction, such as an icy road, and oper-
ated your brakes continuously, the
ABS will be active continuously and the
ABS warning light may illuminate. Pull
your vehicle over to a safe place and
stop the engine.
Restart the engine. If the ABS warning light is off, then your ABS is normal.
Otherwise, you may have a problem
with the ABS. Contact an authorized
Kia dealer as soon as possible.✽ ✽ NOTICE
When you jump start your vehicle
because of a drained battery, the engine
may not run as smoothly and the ABS
warning light may turn on at the same
time. This happens because of the low
battery voltage. It does not mean your
ABS has malfunctioned.
• Do not pump your brakes!
• Have the battery recharged before
driving the vehicle.
Electronic stability control (ESC)
The Electronic Stability control (ESC)
system is designed to stabilize the vehicle
during cornering maneuvers. ESC checks
where you are steering and where the
vehicle is actually going. ESC applies the
brakes on individual wheels and
intervenes with the engine management
system to stabilize the vehicle.
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Driving your vehicle
ESC operation off
ESC OFF statepress the ESC OFF button
(ESC OFF indicator light illu-
minates).
to LOCK position when ESC
is off, ESC remains off. Upon
restarting the engine, the
ESC will automatically turn
on again.
Indicator light
When the ignition switch is turned ON,
the indicator light illuminates, then goes
off if ESC system is operating normally.
The ESC indicator light blinks whenever
ESC is operating.
The ESC indicator light blinks whenever
ESC is operating or illuminates when
ESC fails to operate.
The ESC OFF indicator light comes on
when the ESC is turned off with the but-
ton.
Driving with varying tire or wheel sizes
may cause the ESC system to malfunc-
tion. When replacing tires, make sure
they are the same size as your original
tires.
■ESC indicator light
■ ESC OFF indicator light
WARNING
- Electronic stability control
Drive carefully even though your
vehicle has Electronic Stability
Control. It can only assist you in
maintaining control under certain
circumstances.

Driving your vehicle
28
5
ESC OFF usage
When driving
It’s a good idea to keep the ESC turned
on for daily driving whenever possible.
To turn ESC off while driving, press the ESC OFF button while driving on a flat
road surface.
Never press the ESC OFF button while
ESC is operating (ESC indicator light
blinks).
If ESC is turned off while ESC is operat-
ing, the vehicle may slip out of control.
Hill-start assist control (HAC)
Hill start Assist Control is a comfort func-
tion. The main intend is to prevent the
vehicle from rolling backwards while driv-
ing off uphill on an inclined surface. HAC
holds the braking pressure builtup by
driver during stopping procedure for 2
seconds after releasing brake pedal.
During the pressure-hold period, the
driver has enough time to press the
accelerator pedal to drive off.
The braking pressure is reduced as soon
as the system detects the driver’s inten-
tion to drive off.WARNING- Operating ESC
Never press the ESC OFF button
while ESC is operating.
If the ESC is turned off while ESC is
operating, the vehicle may go out of
control.
WARNING- Activating HAC
Drivers should pay close attention
when activating the HAC. The vehi-
cle may roll backward causing an
accident due to insufficient brake
hold pressure.

529
Driving your vehicle
The HAC does not operate when thetransaxle shift lever is in the P (Park) or
N (Neutral) position.
The HAC activates even though the ESC is off but it does not activate when
the ESC has malfunctioned.Vehicle stability management
(VSM)
This system provides further enhance-
ments to vehicle stability and steering
responses when a vehicle is driving on a
slippery road or a vehicle detected
changes in coefficient of friction between
right wheels and left wheels when brak-
ing.
VSM operation
When the VSM is in operation, ESC indi-
cator light ( ) blinks.
When the vehicle stability management
is operating properly, you can feel a slight
pulsation in the vehicle and/or abnormal
steering responses (EPS). This is only
the effect of brake and EPS control and
indicates nothing unusual.
The VSM does not operate when:
Driving on bank road such as gradientor incline
Driving rearward
ESC OFF indicator light ( ) remains on the instrument cluster
EPS indicator light remains on the instrument cluster
VSM operation off
If you press the ESC OFF button to turn
off the ESC, the VSM will also cancel and
the ESC OFF indicator light ( ) illumi-
nates.
To turn on the VSM, press the button
again. The ESC OFF indicator light goes
out.
Malfunction indicator
The VSM can be deactivated even if you
don’t cancel the VSM operation by press-
ing the ESC OFF button. It indicates that
a malfunction has been detected some-
where in the Electric Power Steering sys-
tem or VSM system. If the ESC indicator
light ( ) or EPS warning light remains
on, take your vehicle to an authorized Kia
dealer and have the system checked.
The VSM is designed to function aboveapproximately 15 km/h (9 mph) on
curves.
The VSM is designed to function above approximately 30 km/h (18 mph) when
a vehicle is braking on a split-mu road.
The split-mu road is made of surfaces
which have different friction forces.

Driving your vehicle
30
5
The Vehicle Stability Management sys-
tem is not a substitute for safe driving
practices but a supplementary function
only. It is the responsibility of the driver
to always check the speed and the dis-
tance to the vehicle ahead. Always
hold the steering wheel firmly while
driving.
Your vehicle is designed to activate according to the driver’s intention, even
with installed VSM. Always follow all
the normal precautions for driving at
safe speeds for the conditions – includ-
ing driving inclement weather and on a
slippery road.Good braking practices
Check to be sure the parking brake isnot engaged and that the parking
brake indicator light is out before driv-
ing away.
Driving through water may get the brakes wet. They can also get wet
when the vehicle is washed. Wet
brakes can be dangerous! Your vehicle
will not stop as quickly if the brakes are
wet. Wet brakes may cause the vehicle
to pull to one side.
To dry the brakes, apply the brakes
lightly until the braking action returns to
normal, taking care to keep the vehicle
under control at all times. If the braking
action does not return to normal, stop
as soon as it is safe to do so and call
an authorized Kia dealer for assis-
tance.
Don't coast down hills with the vehicle out of gear. This is extremely haz-
ardous. Keep the vehicle in gear at all
times, use the brakes to slow down,
then shift to a lower gear so that
engine braking will help you maintain a
safe speed. Don't "ride" the brake pedal. Resting
your foot on the brake pedal while driv-
ing can be dangerous because the
brakes might overheat and lose their
effectiveness. It also increases the
wear of the brake components.
If a tire goes flat while you are driving, apply the brakes gently and keep the
vehicle pointed straight ahead while
you slow down. When you are moving
slowly enough for it to be safe to do so,
pull off the road and stop in a safe
place.
If your vehicle is equipped with an automatic transaxle, don't let your vehi-
cle creep forward. To avoid creeping
forward, keep your foot firmly on the
brake pedal when the vehicle is
stopped.
WARNING- Tire/Wheelsize
When replacing tires and wheels,
make sure they are the same size
as the original tires and wheels
installed. Driving with varying tire
or wheel sizes may diminish any
supplemental safety benefits of the
VSM system.