513
Driving your vehicle
During cold weather, shifting may bedifficult until the transaxle lubricant is
warmed up. This is normal and not
harmful to the transaxle.
If you've come to a complete stop and it's hard to shift into 1st or R (Reverse),
leave the shift lever at neutral position
and release the clutch. Depress the
clutch pedal back down, and then shift
into 1st or R (Reverse) gear position.Using the clutch
The clutch should be depressed all the
way to the floor before shifting, then
released slowly. The clutch pedal should
always be fully released while driving. Do
not rest your foot on the clutch pedal
while driving. This can cause unneces-
sary wear. Do not partially engage the
clutch to hold the vehicle on an incline.
This causes unnecessary wear. Use the
foot brake or parking brake to hold the
vehicle on an incline. Do not operate the
clutch pedal rapidly and repeatedly.
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 need to increase your speed
again. When the vehicle is traveling down
steep hills, downshifting helps maintain
safe speed and prolongs brake life.
CAUTION - Premature wear
• Do not drive with your foot rest- ing on the clutch pedal or use theclutch pedal to hold the vehiclestopped on an uphill or at a trafficlight. This will result in prematureclutch wear.
Do not use the shift lever as a handrest during driving, as thiscan result in premature wear ofthe transaxle shift forks.
WARNING - Incline parking
Before leaving the driver’s seat,
always set the parking brake fully
and shut the engine off. Then make
sure the transaxle is shifted into 1st
gear when the vehicle is parked on
a level or uphill grade, and shifted
into R (Reverse) on a downhill
grade. Unexpected and sudden
vehicle movement can occur if
these precautions are not followed
in the order identified.
Driving your vehicle
14
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
R (Reverse). The transaxle can be
damaged if you do not. 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.
Always buckle-up! In a collision, an unbelted occupant is significantly more
likely to be seriously injured or killed
than a properly belted occupant.
Never exceed posted speed limits.
WARNING - Vehicle handling
Avoid high speeds when cornering
or turning. High speed cornering
and turning increases the risk of
vehicle rollover due to loss of vehi-
cle control. Rollover accidents are
extremely violent and unpre-
dictable.
Driving your vehicle
16
5
For smooth operation, depress the brake
pedal when shifting from N (Neutral) to aforward or reverse gear.
When stopped on an upgrade, do not
hold the vehicle with engine power. Use
the service brake or the parking brake.
Transaxle ranges
The indicator light in the instrument clus-
ter displays the shift lever position when
the ignition switch is in the ON position.
P (Park)
Always come to a complete stop before
shifting into P (Park). This position locks
the transaxle and prevents the front
wheels from rotating.
Shifting into P (Park) while the vehicle is
in motion will cause the drive wheels to
lock which will cause you to lose control
of the vehicle.
WARNING- Automatic transaxle
Before leaving the driver’s seat,
always make sure the shift lever is
in the P (Park) position; then set the
parking brake fully and shut the
engine off. Do not use the P posi-
tion in place of the parking brake.
Always make sure the shift lever is
latched in the P position and set the
parking brake fully. Unexpected
and sudden vehicle movement can
occur if these precautions are not
followed.
CAUTION - Transaxle
To avoid damage to your transaxle,
do not accelerate the engine in R(Reverse) or any forward gear posi-tion with the brakes on. Thetransaxle may be damaged if you shift into P (Park) while the vehicleis in motion.
Driving your vehicle
18
5
Up (+) : Push the lever forward once to
shift up one gear.
Down (-) : Pull the lever backwards once to shift down one gear.
In sports mode, the driver must exe- cute upshifts in accordance with road
conditions, taking care to keep the
engine speed below the red zone.
In sports mode, only the 6 forward gears can be selected. To reverse or
park the vehicle, move the shift lever to
the R (Reverse) or P (Park) position as
required.
In sports mode, downshifts are made automatically when the vehicle slows
down. When the vehicle stops, 1st gear
is automatically selected.
In sports mode, when the engine rpm approaches the red zone shift points
are varied to upshift automatically.
To maintain the required levels of vehi- cle performance and safety, the system
may not execute certain gearshifts
when the shift lever is operated. When driving on a slippery road, push
the shift lever forward into the +(up)
position. This causes the transaxle to
shift into the 2nd gear which is better
for smooth driving on a slippery road.
Push the shift lever to the -(down) side
to shift back to the 1st gear.Shift lock system (if equipped)
For your safety, the automatic transaxle
has a shift lock system which prevents
shifting the transaxle out of P (Park)
unless the brake pedal is depressed.
To shift the transaxle from P (Park) into R
(Reverse):
1. Depress and hold the brake pedal.
2. Start the engine or turn the ignition switch 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.
WARNING - Shifting from park
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.
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
22
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.
OUB051016
523
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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525
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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