2013 KIA Sportage overheating

311
Safety features of your vehicle
The seat heater (with air ventilation)defaults to the OFF position whenever
the ignition switch is turned on.
C010108AAM
Seatback pocket (if equipped)
OCM030052
WARNING- Seatback
pockets
Do not put heavy or sharp objects
in the seatback pockets. In an acci-
dent they could come loose from
the pocket and injure vehicle occu-
pants.
CAUTION
When cleaning the seats, do not use an organic solvent such asthinner, benzene, alcohol and gasoline. Doing so may damagethe surface of the heater or seats.
To prevent overheating the seat heater, do not place anything onthe seats that insulates againstheat, such as blankets, cushionsor seat covers while the seatheater is in operation.
Do not place heavy or sharp objects on seats equipped withseat warmers. Damage to the seatwarming components could occur.
WARNING- Seat heater burns
Passengers should use extreme
caution when using seat heaters
due to the possibility of excess
heating or burns. The seat heater
may cause burns even at low tem-
peratures, especially if used for
long periods of time. In particular,
the driver must exercise extreme
care for the following types of pas-
sengers:
1. Infants, children, elderly or hand-
icapped persons, or hospital out-
patients
2. Persons with sensitive skin or those that burn easily
3. Fatigued individuals
4. Intoxicated individuals
5. Individuals taking medication that can cause drowsiness or
sleepiness (sleeping pills, cold
tablets, etc.)

317
Safety features of your vehicle
CAUTION
When cleaning the seats, do notuse an organic solvent such asthinner, benzene, alcohol andgasoline. Doing so may damagethe surface of the heater or seats.
To prevent overheating the seat heater, do not place anything onthe seats that insulates againstheat, such as blankets, cushionsor seat covers while the seatheater is in operation.
Do not place heavy or sharp objects on seats equipped withseat warmers. Damage to the seatwarming components could occur.WARNING- Seat heater burns
Passengers should use extreme
caution when using seat heaters
due to the possibility of excess
heating or burns. The seat heater
may cause burns even at low tem-
peratures, especially if used for
long periods of time. In particular,
the driver must exercise extreme
care for the following types of pas-
sengers:
1. Infants, children, elderly or hand-
icapped persons, or hospital out-
patients
2. Persons with sensitive skin or those that burn easily
3. Fatigued individuals
4. Intoxicated individuals
5. Individuals taking medication that can cause drowsiness or
sleepiness (sleeping pills, cold
tablets, etc.)

Features of your vehicle
86
4
✽
✽
NOTICE
• When using the air conditioning sys-
tem, monitor the temperature gauge
closely while driving up hills or in
heavy traffic when outside tempera-
tures are high. Air conditioning sys-
tem operation may cause engine over-
heating. Continue to use the blower
fan but turn the air conditioning sys-
tem off if the temperature gauge indi-
cates engine overheating.
• When opening the windows in humid weather air conditioning may create
water droplets inside the vehicle.
Since excessive water droplets may
cause damage to electrical equipment,
air conditioning should only be used
with the windows closed.
Air conditioning system operation tips
If the vehicle has been parked in direct
sunlight during hot weather, open the
windows for a short time to let the hot
air inside the vehicle escape.
To help reduce moisture inside of the windows on rainy or humid days,
decrease the humidity inside the vehi-
cle by operating the air conditioning
system.
During air conditioning system opera- tion, you may occasionally notice a
slight change in engine speed as the
air conditioning compressor cycles.
This is a normal system operation
characteristic.
Use the air conditioning system every month only for a few minutes to ensure
maximum system performance. When using the air conditioning sys-
tem, you may notice clear water drip-
ping (or even puddling) on the ground
under the passenger side of the vehi-
cle. This is a normal system operation
characteristic.
Operating the air conditioning system in the recirculated air position provides
maximum cooling, however, continual
operation in this mode may cause the
air inside the vehicle to become stale.
During cooling operation, you may occasionally notice a misty air flow
because of rapid cooling and humid air
intake. This is a normal system opera-
tion characteristic.

547
Driving your vehicle
E170600AHME110200AAM-EU
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 1st (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
possible. If you are still stuck after a few
tries, have the vehicle pulled out by a tow
vehicle to avoid engine overheating and
possible damage to the transaxle.
CAUTION
Prolonged rocking may cause
engine overheating, transaxle dam- age or failure, and tire damage.
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 never-
theless decide to equip your vehi-
cle with any tire/wheel combination
not recommended by Kia for off
road driving, you should not use
these tires for highway driving.
WARNING - Rollover
As with other Sports Utility Vehicle
(SUV), failure to operate this vehi-
cle correctly may result in loss of
control, an accident or vehicle
rollover.
Utility vehicles have a significant- ly higher rollover rate than other
types of vehicles.
Specific design characteristics (higher ground clearance, nar-
rower track, etc.) give this vehicle
a higher center of gravity than
ordinary vehicles.
A SUV is not designed for corner- ing at the same speeds as con-
ventional vehicles.
Avoid sharp turns or abrupt maneuvers.
In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly more like-
ly to die than a person wearing a
seat belt. Make sure everyone in
the vehicle is properly buckled
up.

Driving your vehicle
50
5
E110700AHM
Highway driving
Tires
Adjust the tire inflation pressures to
specification. Low tire inflation pressures
will result in overheating and possible
failure of the tires.
Avoid using worn or damaged tires which
may result in reduced traction or tire fail-
ure.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
Never exceed the maximum tire inflation
pressure shown on the tires.
Fuel, engine coolant and engine oil
High speed travel consumes more fuel
than urban motoring. Do not forget to
check both the engine coolant and
engine oil.
Drive belt
A loose or damaged drive belt may result
in overheating of the engine.
WARNING
Underinflated or overinflated
tires can cause poor handling,
loss of vehicle control, and sud-
den tire failure leading to acci-
dents, injuries, and even death.
Always check tires for proper
inflation before driving. For prop-
er tire pressures, refer to “Tires
and wheels” in section 8.
Driving on tires with no or insuffi- cient tread is dangerous. Worn-
out tires can result in loss of
vehicle control, collisions, injury,
and even death. Worn-out tires
should be replaced as soon as
possible and should never be
used for driving. Always check
the tire tread before driving your
car. For further information and
tread limits, refer to “Tires and
wheels” in section 7.

557
Driving your vehicle
E140405AFD
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’s important
to check occasionally to be sure the trail-
er bulbs are still working. You must also
check the lights every time you discon-
nect and then reconnect the wires.
Do not connect a trailer lighting system
directly to your vehicle’s lighting system.
Use only an approved trailer wiring har-
ness.
An authorized Kia dealer can assist you
in installing the wiring harness.
E140406AFD
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 possibility of engine
and transaxle overheating.
If your trailer weighs more than the max-
imum trailer weight without trailer brakes
and you have an automatic transaxle,
you should drive in D (Drive) when tow-
ing 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 trailer
wiring harness could result in dam-
age to the vehicle electrical system
and/or personal injury.

Driving your vehicle
58
5
E140407AUN-EA
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
unexpectedly roll downhill.
However, if you ever have to park your
trailer on a hill, here's 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 downhill,
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 park- ing 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 parking
brake set.
CAUTION
When towing a trailer on steep grades (in excess of 6%) payclose attention to the enginecoolant temperature gauge toensure the engine does not over- heat.
If the needle of the coolant tem-perature gauge moves across thedial towards “H” (HOT), pull overand stop as soon as it is safe todo so, and allow the engine to idleuntil it cools down. You may pro-ceed once the engine has cooledsufficiently.
You must decide driving speed depending on trailer weight anduphill grade to reduce the possi-bility of engine and transaxle overheating.
WARNING- Parking on a hill
Parking your vehicle on a hill with a
trailer attached could cause seri-
ous injury or death, should the trail-
er break loose or brake stops work-
ing.
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 running,
the vehicle can move suddenly. You
or others could be seriously or
fatally injured.

559
Driving your vehicle
When you are ready to leave after park-
ing on a hill
1. With the manual transaxle in Neutralor automatic transaxle in P (Park),
apply your brakes and hold the brake
pedal down while you:

and

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.E140500AUN
Maintenance when trailer towing
Your vehicle will need service more often
when you regularly pull a trailer.
Important items to pay particular atten-
tion to include engine oil, automatic
transaxle fluid, axle lubricant and cooling
system fluid. Brake condition is another
important item to frequently check. Each
item is covered in this manual, and the
Index will help you find them quickly. If
you’re trailering, it’s a good idea to review
these sections before you start your trip.
Don’t forget to also maintain your trailer
and hitch. Follow the maintenance
schedule that accompanied your trailer
and check it periodically. Preferably, con-
duct 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 occurin hot days or during uphill driv- ing. If the coolant gauge indicatesover-heating, switch off the A/Cand stop the vehicle in a safe area to cool down the engine.
When towing check transaxle fluid more frequently.