2014 Hyundai Santa Fe Owner's Manual

Driving your vehicle
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Hazardous driving conditions
When hazardous driving conditions
are encountered such as water,
snow, ice, mud, sand, or similar haz-
ards, follow these suggestions:
• Drive cautiously and allow extra
distance for braking.
• Avoid sudden braking or steering.
• When braking with non-ABS
brakes pump the brake pedal with
a light up-and-down motion until
the vehicle is stopped.
• If stalled in snow, mud, or sand,
use second gear. Accelerate slow-
ly to avoid spinning the drive
wheels.
• Use sand, rock salt, tire chains, or
other non-slip material under the
drive wheels to provide traction
when stalled in ice, snow, or mud.
Reducing the risk of a rollover
This multi-purpose passenger vehi-
cle is defined as a Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV).
SUV’s have higher ground clearance
and a narrower track to make them
capable of performing in a wide vari-
ety of road applications. Specific
design characteristics give them a
higher center of gravity than ordinary
vehicles. An advantage of the higher
ground clearance is a better view of
the road, which allows you to antici-
pate problems. They are not
designed for cornering at the same
speeds as conventional passenger
vehicles. Due to this risk, driver and
passengers are strongly recom-
mended to buckle their seat belts. In
a rollover crash, an unbelted person
is more likely to die than a person
wearing a seat belt. There are steps
that a driver can make to reduce the
risk of a rollover. If at all possible,
avoid sharp turns or abrupt maneu-
vers, do not load your roof rack with
heavy cargo, and never modify your
vehicle in any way.
SPECIAL DRIVING CONDITIONS
WARNING
- Downshifting
Downshifting with an automatic
transaxle, while driving on slip-
pery surfaces can cause an
accident. The sudden change in
tire speed could cause the tires
to skid. Be careful when down-
shifting on slippery surfaces.
WARNING - ABS
Do not pump the brake pedal on
a vehicle equipped with ABS.

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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
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✽NOTICE
The ESC system should be turned
OFF prior to rocking the vehicle.
Smooth cornering
Avoid braking or gear changing in
corners, especially when roads are
wet. Ideally, corners should always
be taken under gentle acceleration. If
you follow these suggestions, tire
wear will be held to a minimum.
WARNING- Spinning
tires
Do not spin the wheels, espe-
cially at speeds more than 56
km/h (35 mph). Spinning the
wheels at high speeds when the
vehicle is stationary could
cause a tire to overheat which
could result in tire damage that
may injure bystanders.
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 or backward as it
becomes unstuck, causing
injury or damage to nearby peo-
ple or objects.
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Driving your vehicle
Driving at night
Because night driving presents more
hazards than driving in the daylight,
here are some important tips to
remember:
• Slow down and keep more dis-
tance between you and other vehi-
cles, as it may be more difficult to
see at night, especially in areas
where there may not be any street
lights.
• Adjust your mirrors to reduce the
glare from other driver's head-
lights.• Keep your headlights clean and
properly aimed on vehicles not
equipped with the automatic head-
light aiming feature. Dirty or
improperly aimed headlights will
make it much more difficult to see
at night.
• Avoid staring directly at the head-
lights of oncoming vehicles. You
could be temporarily blinded, and it
will take several seconds for your
eyes to readjust to the darkness.
Driving in the rain
Rain and wet roads can make driving
dangerous, especially if you’re not
prepared for the slick pavement.
Here are a few things to consider
when driving in the rain:
• A heavy rainfall will make it harder
to see and will increase the dis-
tance needed to stop your vehicle,
so slow down.
• Keep your windshield wiping
equipment in good shape. Replace
your windshield wiper blades when
they show signs of streaking or
missing areas on the windshield.
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Driving your vehicle
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• If your tires are not in good condi-
tion, making a quick stop on wet
pavement can cause a skid and
possibly lead to an accident. Be
sure your tires are in good shape.
• Turn on your headlights to make it
easier for others to see you.
• Driving too fast through large pud-
dles can affect your brakes. If you
must go through puddles, try to
drive through them slowly.
• If you believe you may have gotten
your brakes wet, apply them lightly
while driving until normal braking
operation returns.Driving in flooded areas
Avoid driving through flooded areas
unless you are sure the water is no
higher than the bottom of the wheel
hub. Drive through any water slowly.
Allow adequate stopping distance
because brake performance may be
affected.
After driving through water, dry the
brakes by gently applying them sev-
eral times while the vehicle is moving
slowly.
Driving off-road
Drive carefully off-road because your
vehicle may be damaged by rocks of
roots of trees. Become familiar with
the off-road conditions where you
are going to drive before you begin
driving.
Highway driving
Tires
Adjust the tire inflation pressures to
specification. Low tire inflation pres-
sures will result in overheating and
possible failure of the tires.
Avoid using worn or damaged tires
which may result in reduced traction
or tire failure.
✽NOTICE
Never exceed the maximum tire
inflation pressure shown on the
tires.
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Driving your vehicle
Fuel, engine coolant and engine
oil
High speed travel consumes more
fuel than urban motoring. Do not for-
get to check both 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
sudden tire failure leading to
accidents, injuries, and even
death. Always check the tires
for proper inflation before
driving. For proper tire pres-
sures, refer to section 8,
“Tires and wheels”.
• Driving on tires with no or
insufficient tread is danger-
ous. Worn-out tires can result
in loss of vehicle control, col-
lisions, 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 vehi-
cle. For further information
and tread limits, refer to sec-
tion 7, “Tires and wheels”.

Driving your vehicle
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Severe weather conditions in the
winter result in greater wear and
other problems. To minimize the
problems of winter driving, you
should follow these suggestions:
Snowy or Icy conditions
To drive your vehicle in deep snow, it
may be necessary to use snow tires
or to install tire chains on your tires.
If snow tires are needed, it is neces-
sary to select tires equivalent in size
and type of the original equipment
tires. Failure to do so may adversely
affect the safety and handling of your
vehicle. Furthermore, speeding,
rapid acceleration, sudden brake
applications, and sharp turns are
potentially very hazardous practices.
During deceleration, use engine
braking to the fullest extent. Sudden
brake applications on snowy or icy
roads may cause skids to occur. You
need to keep sufficient distance
between the vehicle in operation in
front and your vehicle. Also, apply
the brake gently. It should be noted
that installing tire chains on the tire
will provide a greater driving force,
but will not prevent side skids.
✽NOTICE
Tire chains are not legal in all coun-
tries. Check the country laws before
fitting tire chains.
Snow tires
If you mount snow tires on your vehi-
cle, make sure they are radial tires of
the same size and load range as the
original tires. Mount snow tires on all
four wheels to balance your vehicle’s
handling in all weather conditions.
Keep in mind that the traction provid-
ed by snow tires on dry roads may
not be as high as your vehicle's orig-
inal equipment tires. You should drive
cautiously even when the roads are
clear. Check with the tire dealer for
maximum speed recommendations.
Do not install studded tires without
first checking local, state and munic-
ipal regulations for possible restric-
tions against their use.
WINTER DRIVING
WARNING- Snow tire
size
Snow tires should be equivalent
in size and type to the vehicle's
standard tires. Otherwise, the
safety and handling of your
vehicle may be adversely affect-
ed.
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Driving your vehicle
Tire chains
Since the sidewalls of radial tires are
thinner, they can be damaged by
mounting some types of snow chains
on them. Therefore, the use of snow
tires is recommended instead of
snow chains. Do not mount tire
chains on vehicles equipped with
aluminum wheels; snow chains may
cause damage to the wheels. If snow
chains must be used, use wire-type
chains with a thickness of less than
15 mm (0.59 in). Damage to your
vehicle caused by improper snow
chain use is not covered by your
vehicle manufacturers warranty.When using tire chains, attach them
to the drive wheels as follows.
2WD : Front wheels
4WD : All four wheels
If a full set of chains is not
available for an 4WD vehicle,
chains may be installed on
the front wheels only.
CAUTION
• Make sure the snow chains
are the correct size and type
for your tires. Incorrect snow
chains can cause damage to
the vehicle body and suspen-
sion and may not be covered
by your vehicle manufacturer
warranty. Also, the snow chain
connecting hooks may be
damaged from contacting
vehicle components causing
the snow chains to come
loose from the tire. Make sure
the snow chains are SAE
class “S” certified.
• Always check chain installa-
tion for proper mounting after
driving approximately 0.5 to 1
km (0.3 to 0.6 miles) to ensure
safe mounting. Retighten or
remount the chains if they are
loose.
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