
Driving your vehicle
22
5
Downshifting
When you must slow down in heavy traf-
fic or while driving up steep hills, down-
shift before the engine starts to labor.
Downshifting reduces the chance of
stalling and gives better acceleration
when you again need to increase your
speed. When the vehicle is traveling
down steep hills, downshifting helps
maintain safe speed and prolongs brake
life. 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, slow down and 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
R (Reverse). The transaxle can be
damaged if you do not. To shift into R
(Reverse), depress the clutch, move
the shift lever to neutral, wait three sec-
onds, then shift to the R (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.
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525
Driving your vehicle
CAUTION
To avoid damage to yourtransaxle, do not accelerate the
engine in R (Reverse) or any for- ward gear position with thebrakes on.
When stopped on an upgrade, do not hold the vehicle stationarywith engine power. Use the serv- ice brake or the parking brake.
Do not shift from N (Neutral) or P (Park) into D (Drive), or R
(Reverse) when the engine isabove idle speed.
CAUTION - DCT
If the vehicle is held by applying
accelerator pedal at the hill, the
transmission and clutch will be damaged. To hold at the hill, usethe parking brake or foot brake.
An overload of the clutch is indi- cated by a longitudinal judder anda blinking display. To exclude aclutch-damage, the clutch is opened and the torque flow inter-
rupted. If the clutch is opened, apply the foot brake and waitsome minutes before driving again.
Ignoring the warnings can lead to severe injuries and damage onthe car.
If the LCD warning is active, the foot brake has to be applied.
When the problem of gear system occurs, the transaxle indicatorwill blink. For your safety, we rec- ommend that you contact anauthorized Kia dealer and have
the system checked.
(Continued)
(Continued) When the clutch is overheated, the safe protection mode oper-ates. According to the safe pro-tection mode, the transaxle indi-
cator blinks with buzzer sound.The buzzer beeps 3 times.
In this time, the LCD warningabout safe protection mode also
displays. In this condition, thedriving may not be smoothly. Ifyou ignore this warning, the driv-ing condition is getting worse and
the system may have problem. Toreturn the normal driving condi- tion, apply the foot brake and
stop the vehicle for few minutes before driving off.
While shifting the gear automati- cally, you may feel a correspon-ding shifting of gear. However, it
is not malfunction.
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529
Driving your vehicle
Shift lock system (if equipped)
For your safety, the automatic transaxle
has a shift lock system which prevents
shifting the transaxle from P (Park) or N
(Neutral) into R (Reverse) unless the
brake pedal is depressed.
To shift the transaxle from P (Park) or N
(Neutral) into R (Reverse):
1. Depress and hold the brake pedal.
2. Start the engine or turn the ignitionswitch to the ON position.
3. Move the shift lever.
If the brake pedal is repeatedly depressed and released with the shift
lever in the P (Park) position, a chattering
noise near the shift lever may be heard.
This is a normal condition. Shift-lock override
If the shift lever cannot be moved from
the P (Park) or N (Neutral) position into R
(Reverse) position with the brake pedal
depressed, continue depressing the
brake, then do the following:
1. Press the shift-lock release button.
2. Move the shift lever.
3. We recommend that the system be
inspected by an authorized Kia dealer. Ignition key interlock system (if equipped)
The ignition key cannot be removed
unless the shift lever is in the P (Park)position.
WARNING
Always fully depress the brake
pedal before and while shifting out
of the P (Park) position into anoth-
er position to avoid inadvertent
motion of the vehicle which could
injure persons in or around the
vehicle.
OJD052007
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Driving your vehicle
30
5
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 vehicle is completely stopped before you attempt to shift into
R (Reverse) or D (Drive).
Never take the vehicle out of gear and coast down a hill. This may be
extremely hazardous. Always leave the
vehicle 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 down the vehicle.
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 vehicle 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.
JD eng 5.qxp 7/17/2012 10:42 AM Page 30

531
Driving your vehicle
Moving up a steep grade from a stand-ing start
Auto transaxle and DCT
To move up a steep grade from a stand-
ing start, depress the brake pedal, shift
the shift lever to D (Drive). Select the
appropriate gear depending on load
weight and steepness of the grade, and
release the parking brake. Depress the
accelerator pedal gradually while releas-
ing the service brakes. Auto transaxle
When accelerating from a stop on a
steep hill, the vehicle may have a ten-
dency to roll backwards. Shifting the
shift lever into 2 (Second Gear) will
help prevent the vehicle from rolling
backwards.
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 of backward as it
becomes unstuck, causing injury
or damage to nearby people orobjects.
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533
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.BRAKE SYSTEM (Continued)
Always, confirm the position of
the brake and accelerator pedal
before driving. If you don't checkthe position of the accelerator
and brake pedal before driving,
you may depress the accelerator
instead of the brake pedal. It maycause a serious accident.WARNING - Brakes
Do not drive with your foot rest- ing on the brake pedal. This will create abnormal high brake tem-
peratures, excessive brake lining
and pad wear, and increasedstopping distances.
When descending a long or steep hill, shift to a lower gear and
avoid continuous application of
the brakes. Continuous brakeapplication will cause the brakes
to overheat and could result in a
temporary loss of braking per-
formance.
Wet brakes may impair the vehi- cle’s ability to sefely slow down;
the vehicle may also pull to oneside when the brakes are applied.
Applying the brakes lightly will
indicate whether they have been
affected in this way. Always test
your brakes in this fashion after
driving through deep water. To
dry the brakes, apply them lightly
while maintaining a safe forward
speed until brake performancereturns to normal.
(Continued)
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Driving your vehicle
34
5
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.
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. 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.
WARNING - Brake wear
This brake wear warning sound
means your vehicle needs service.
If you ignore this audible warning,
you will eventually lose braking
performance, which could lead to aserious accident.
CAUTION
To avoid costly brake repairs, do not continue to drive with worn
brake pads.
Always replace the front or rear brake pads as pairs.
WARNING - Parking brake
Applying the parking brake while
the vehicle is moving at normal
speeds can cause a sudden loss of
control of the vehicle. If you mustuse the parking brake to stop the
vehicle, use great caution in apply-
ing the brake.
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Driving your vehicle
36
5
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, cease driving the vehi-
cle immediately. If that is not possible,
use extreme caution while operating the
vehicle and only continue to drive the
vehicle until you can reach a safe loca-
tion or repair shop.
WARNING
To prevent unintentional move- ment when stopped and leaving
the vehicle, do not use the shift
lever instead of the parking
brake. Set the parking brake AND
make sure the shift lever is
securely positioned in 1st (First)
gear or R (Reverse) for manual
transaxle equipped vehicles and
in P (Park) for automatic transaxle
equipped vehicles.
Never allow anyone who is unfa- miliar with the vehicle to touch
the parking brake. If the parking
brake is released unintentionally,
serious injury may occur.
All vehicles should always have the parking brake fully engaged
when parking to avoid inadver-
tent movement of the vehicle
which can injure occupants orpedestrians.
WK-23
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