2013 Hyundai Santa Fe tow

581
Driving your vehicle
Rocking the vehicle
If it is necessary to rock the vehicle
to free it from snow, sand, or mud,
first turn the steering wheel right and
left to clear the area around your
front wheels. Then, shift back and
forth between 1 (First) and R
(Reverse) in vehicles equipped with
a manual transaxle or R (Reverse)
and any forward gear in vehicles
equipped with an automatic
transaxle. Do not race the engine,
and spin the wheels as little as pos-
sible. If you are still stuck after a few
tries, have the vehicle pulled out by a
tow vehicle to avoid engine overheat-
ing and possible damage to the
transaxle.
CAUTION
Prolonged rocking may cause
engine over-heating, transaxle
damage or failure, and tire dam-
age.
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 four tires with
the tire and wheel of the same
size, type, tread, brand and
load-carrying capacity. If you
nevertheless decide to equip
your vehicle with any tire/wheel
combination not recommended
by HYUNDAI for off road driv-
ing, you should not use these
tires for highway driving.
WARNING - Rollover
As with other Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV), failure to operate
this vehicle correctly may result
in loss of control, an accident or
vehicle rollover.
• Utility vehicles have a signifi-
cantly higher rollover rate
than other types of vehicles.
• Specific design characteris-
tics (higher ground clearance,
narrower track, etc.) give this
vehicle a higher center of
gravity than ordinary vehicles.
• A SUV is not designed for cor-
nering at the same speeds as
conventional vehicles.
• Avoid sharp turns or abrupt
maneuvers.
• In a rollover crash, an unbelt-
ed person is significantly
more likely to die than a per-
son wearing a seat belt. Make
sure everyone in the vehicle is
properly buckled up.

Driving your vehicle
90 5
Carry emergency equipment
Depending on the severity of the
weather, you should carry appropri-
ate emergency equipment. Some of
the items you may want to carry
include tire chains, tow straps or
chains, flashlight, emergency flares,
sand, shovel, jumper cables, window
scraper, gloves, ground cloth, cover-
alls, blanket, etc.

591
Driving your vehicle
If you are considering towing with
your vehicle, you should first check
with your country's Department of
Motor Vehicles to determine their
legal requirements.
Since laws vary the requirements for
towing trailers, cars, or other types of
vehicles or apparatus may differ. We
recommend that you ask an author-
ized HYUNDAI dealer.
✽NOTICE - For Europe
• The technically permissible maxi-
mum load on the rear axle(s) may
be exceeded by not more than 15
% and the technically permissible
maximum laden mass of the vehi-
cle may be exceeded by not more
than 10 % or 100 kg (220.4 lbs),
whichever value is lower. In this
case, do not exceed 100 km/h (62.1
mph) for vehicle of category M1 or
80 km/h (49.7 mph) for vehicle of
category N1.
(Continued)(Continued)
• When a vehicle of category M1 is
towing a trailer, the additional
load imposed at the trailer cou-
pling device may cause the tire
maximum load ratings to be
exceeded, but not by more than 15
%. In this case, do not exceed 100
km/h (62.1 mph) and increase the
tire inflation pressure by at least
0.2 bar.
TRAILER TOWING
CAUTION
Pulling a trailer improperly can
damage your vehicle and result
in costly repairs not covered by
your warranty. To pull a trailer
correctly, follow the advice in
this section.
WARNING- Towing a
trailer
If you don't use the correct
equipment and/or drive improp-
erly, you can lose control when
you pull a trailer. For example, if
the trailer is too heavy, the
brakes may not work well - or
even at all. You and your pas-
sengers could be seriously or
fatally injured. Pull a trailer only
if you have followed all the
steps in this section.
WARNING- Weight
limits
Before towing, make sure the
total trailer weight, GCW (gross
combination weight), GVW
(gross vehicle weight), GAW
(gross axle weight ) and trailer
tongue load are all within the
limits.

Driving your vehicle
92 5
Your vehicle can tow a trailer. To
identify what the vehicle trailering
capacity is for your vehicle, you
should read the information in
“Weight of the trailer” that appears
later in this section.
Remember that trailering is different
than just driving your vehicle by itself.
Trailering means changes in han-
dling, durability, and fuel economy.
Successful, safe trailering requires
correct equipment, and it has to be
used properly.
This section contains many time-
tested, important trailering tips and
safety rules. Many of these are
important for your safety and that of
your passengers. Please read this
section carefully before you pull a
trailer.Load-pulling components such as
the engine, transaxle, wheel assem-
blies, and tires are forced to work
harder against the load of the added
weight. The engine is required to
operate at relatively higher speeds
and under greater loads. This addi-
tional burden generates extra heat.
The trailer also considerably adds
wind resistance, increasing the
pulling requirements.
✽NOTICE - Location of trailer
mounting
The mounting hole for hitches are
located on both sides of the under-
body behind the rear tires.
ODMEDR2020

Driving your vehicle
94 5
Driving with a trailer
Towing a trailer requires a certain
amount of experience. Before setting
out for the open road, you must get
to know your trailer. Acquaint your-
self with the feel of handling and
braking with the added weight of the
trailer. And always keep in mind that
the vehicle you are driving is now a
good deal longer and not nearly so
responsive as your vehicle is by
itself.
Before you start, check the trailer
hitch and platform, safety chains,
electrical connector(s), lights, tires
and mirror adjustment. If the trailer
has electric brakes, start your vehicle
and trailer moving and then apply the
trailer brake controller by hand to be
sure the brakes are working. This lets
you check your electrical connection
at the same time.
During your trip, check occasionally
to be sure that the load is secure,
and that the lights and any trailer
brakes are still working.
Following distance
Stay at least twice as far behind the
vehicle ahead as you would when
driving your vehicle without a trailer.
This can help you avoid situations
that require heavy braking and sud-
den turns.
Passing
You’ll need more passing distance
up ahead when you’re towing a trail-
er. And, because of the increased
vehicle length, you’ll need to go
much farther beyond the passed
vehicle before you can return to your
lane. Due to the added load to the
engine when going uphill the vehicle
may also take longer to pass than it
would on flat ground.
Backing up
Hold the bottom of the steering
wheel with one hand. Then, to move
the trailer to the left, just move your
hand to the left. To move the trailer to
the right, move your hand to the
right. Always back up slowly and, if
possible, have someone guide you.
Making turns
When you’re turning with a trailer,
make wider turns than normal. Do
this so your trailer won’t strike soft
shoulders, curbs, road signs, trees,
or other objects near the edge of the
road. Avoid jerky or sudden maneu-
vers. Signal well in advance before
turning or lane changes.

595
Driving your vehicle
Turn signals when towing a trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle
has to have a different turn signal
flasher and extra wiring. The green
arrows on your instrument panel will
flash whenever you signal a turn or
lane change. Properly connected,
the trailer lights will also flash to alert
other drivers you’re about to turn,
change lanes, or stop.
When towing a trailer, the green
arrows on your instrument panel will
flash for turns even if the bulbs on
the trailer are burned out. Thus, you
may think drivers behind you are
seeing your signals when, in fact,
they are not. It is important to check
occasionally to be sure the trailer
bulbs are still working. You must also
check the lights every time you dis-
connect and then reconnect the
wires.
Do not connect a trailer lighting sys-
tem directly to your vehicle’s lighting
system. Use only an approved trailer
wiring harness.
An authorized HYUNDAI dealer can
assist you in installing the wiring har-
ness.
Driving on grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower
gear before you start down a long or
steep downgrade. If you don’t shift
down, you might have to use your
brakes so much that they would get
hot and no longer operate efficiently.
On a long uphill grade, shift down
and reduce your speed to around 70
km/h (45 mph) to reduce the possi-
bility of engine and transaxle over-
heating.
If your trailer weighs more than the
maximum trailer weight without trail-
er brakes and you have an automat-
ic transaxle, you should drive in D
(Drive) when towing a trailer.
Operating your vehicle in D (Drive)
when towing a trailer will minimize
heat build up and extend the life of
your transaxle.WARNING
Failure to use an approved trail-
er wiring harness could result
in damage to the vehicle electri-
cal system and/or personal
injury.

Driving your vehicle
96 5
Parking on hills
Generally, if you have a trailer
attached to your vehicle, you should
not park your vehicle on a hill. People
can be seriously or fatally injured,
and both your vehicle and the trailer
can be damaged if they unexpected-
ly roll down hill.
However, if you ever have to park
your trailer on a hill, here is how to do
it:
1.Pull the vehicle into the parking
space. Turn the steering wheel in
the direction of the curb (right if
headed down hill, left if headed up
hill).2.If the vehicle has a manual
transaxle, place the car in neutral.
If the vehicle has an automatic
transaxle, place the car in P (Park).
3.Set the parking brake and shut off
the vehicle.
4.Place chocks under the trailer
wheels on the down hill side of the
wheels.
5.Start the vehicle, hold the brakes,
shift to neutral, release the parking
brake and slowly release the
brakes until the trailer chocks
absorb the load.
6.Reapply the brakes, reapply the
parking brake and shift the vehicle
to R (Reverse) for manual
transaxle or P (Park) for automatic
transaxle.
7.Shut off the vehicle and release the
vehicle brakes but leave the park-
ing brake set.CAUTION
• When towing a trailer on steep
grades (in excess of 6%) pay
close attention to the engine
coolant temperature gauge to
ensure the engine does not
overheat.
If the needle of the coolant
temperature gauge moves
across the dial towards “130/H
(HOT)”, pull over and stop as
soon as it is safe to do so, and
allow the engine to idle until it
cools down. You may proceed
once the engine has cooled
sufficiently.
• You must decide driving
speed depending on trailer
weight and uphill grade to
reduce the possibility of
engine and transaxle over-
heating.
WARNING- Parking on
a hill
Parking your vehicle on a hill
with a trailer attached could
cause serious injury or death,
should the trailer break loose or
the brake stops working.

597
Driving your vehicle
When you are ready to leave after
parking on a hill
1.With the manual transaxle in
Neutral or automatic transaxle in P
(Park), apply your brakes and hold
the brake pedal down while you:
• Start your engine;
• Shift into gear; and
• Release the parking brake.
2.Slowly remove your foot from the
brake pedal.
3.Drive slowly until the trailer is clear
of the chocks.
4.Stop and have someone pick up
and store the chocks.
Maintenance when trailer tow-
ing
Your vehicle will need service more
often when you regularly pull a trail-
er. Important items to pay particular
attention to include engine oil, auto-
matic transaxle fluid, axle lubricant
and cooling system fluid. Brake con-
dition is another important item to
frequently check. Each item is cov-
ered in this manual, and the Index
will help you find them quickly. If
you’re trailering, it is a good idea to
review these sections before you
start your trip.
Do not forget to also maintain your
trailer and hitch. Follow the mainte-
nance schedule that accompanied
your trailer and check it periodically.
Preferably, conduct the check at the
start of each day’s driving. Most
importantly, all hitch nuts and bolts
should be tight.
CAUTION
• Due to higher load during
trailer usage, overheating
might occur in hot days or
during uphill driving. If the
coolant gauge indicates over-
heating, switch off the air con-
ditioner and stop the vehicle
in a safe area to cool down the
engine.
• When towing check transaxle
fluid more frequently.
WARNING- Parking
brake
It can be dangerous to get out
of your vehicle if the parking
brake is not firmly set.
If you have left the engine run-
ning, the vehicle can move sud-
denly. You or others could be
seriously or fatally injured.