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5
Electronic stability control (ESC) (if equipped) The Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
system is designed to stabilize the vehi-
cle during cornering manoeuvres. ESC
checks where you are steering and
where the vehicle is actually going. ESC
applies the brakes at individual wheels
and intervenes with engine management
system to stabilize the vehicle. The Electronic stability control (ESC)system is an electronic system designed
to help the driver maintain vehicle control
under adverse conditions. It is not a
substitute for safe driving practices.
Factors including speed, road conditions
and driver steering input can all affect
whether ESC will be effective in
preventing a loss of control. It is still your
responsibility to drive and corner at
reasonable speeds and to leave a
sufficient margin of safety.
When you apply your brakes under con-
ditions which may lock the wheels, you
may hear a “tik-tik’’ sound from the
brakes, or feel a corresponding sensation
in the brake pedal. This is normal and it
means your ESC is active.
✽✽
NOTICE
A click sound may be heard in the engine compartment when the vehicle
begins to move after the engine is start-
ed. These conditions are normal and
indicate that the Electronic stability
control (ESC) System is functioning
properly.
WARNING
Never drive too fast for the road
conditions or too quickly when cor-
nering. Electronic stability control
(ESC) will not prevent accidents.
Excessive speed in turns, abrupt
manoeuvres and hydroplaning onwet surfaces can still result in seri-
ous accidents. Only a safe and
attentive driver can prevent acci-
dents by avoiding manoeuvres that
cause the vehicle to lose traction.
Even with ESC installed, always fol-
low all the normal precautions for
driving - including driving at safe
speeds for the conditions.
OJD052009R
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Hill-start assist control (HAC) (if equipped)
A vehicle has the tendency to slip back
on a steep hill when it starts to go after
stopping. The Hill-start Assist Control
(HAC) prevents the vehicle from slipping
back by operating the brakes automati-
cally for about 1~2 seconds. The brakes
are released when the accelerator pedal
is depressed or after about 1~2 seconds.
✽✽
NOTICE
549
Driving your vehicle
Good braking practices Check to be sure the parking brake is
not engaged and that the parking
brake indicator light is out before driv-
ing away.
Driving through water may get the brakes wet. They can also get wet
when the vehicle is washed. Wet
brakes can be dangerous! Your vehicle
will not stop as quickly if the brakes are
wet. Wet brakes may cause the vehicle
to pull to one side.
To dry the brakes, apply the brakes
lightly until the braking action returns to
normal, taking care to keep the vehicle
under control at all times. If the braking
action does not return to normal, stop
as soon as it is safe to do so and we
recommend that you call an authorised
Kia dealer.
Do not coast down hills with the vehicle out of gear. This is extremely haz-
ardous. Keep the vehicle in gear at all
times, use the brakes to slow down,
then shift to a lower gear so that
engine braking will help you maintain a
safe speed. Do not "ride" the brake pedal. Resting
your foot on the brake pedal whilst driv-ing can be dangerous because it can
result in the brakes overheating and
losing their effectiveness. It also
increases the wear of the brake com-
ponents.
If a tyre goes flat whilst you are driving, apply the brakes gently and keep the
vehicle pointed straight ahead whilst
you slow down. When you are moving
slowly enough for it to be safe to do so,
pull off the road and stop in a safe
place.
If your vehicle is equipped with an automatic transaxle, do not let your
vehicle creep forward. To avoid creep-
ing forward, keep your foot firmly on
the brake pedal when the vehicle isstopped.
WARNING
Whenever you leave or park your vehicle, always set the parking
brake as far as possible and fully
engage the vehicle's transaxle
into the P (Park) position. If the
parking brake is not fully
engaged, the vehicle may move
inadvertently and injure yourself
and others.
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.
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Be cautious when parking on a hill.
Firmly engage the parking brake and
place the shift lever in P (automatic
transaxle) or in first or reverse gear
(manual transaxle). If your vehicle is
facing downhill, turn the front wheels
into the curb to help keep the vehicle
from rolling. If your vehicle is facing
uphill, turn the front wheels away from
the curb to help keep the vehicle from
rolling. If there is no curb or if it is
required by other conditions to keep
the vehicle from rolling, block the
wheels.
Under some conditions your parking brake can freeze in the engaged posi-
tion. This is most likely to happen when
there is an accumulation of snow or ice
around or near the rear brakes or if the
brakes are wet. If there is a risk that the
parking brake may freeze, apply it only
temporarily whilst you put the shift
lever in P (automatic transaxle) or in
first or reverse gear (manual transaxle)
and block the rear wheels so the vehi-
cle cannot roll. Then release the park-
ing brake. Do not hold the vehicle on the upgrade
with the accelerator pedal. This can
cause the transaxle to overheat.
Always use the brake pedal or parking
brake.
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ECONOMICAL OPERATION
Your vehicle's fuel economy depends
mainly on your style of driving, where you
drive and when you drive.
Each of these factors affects how many
kilometers (miles) you can get from a
litre (gallon) of fuel. To operate your vehi-
cle as economically as possible, use the
following driving suggestions to help
save money in both fuel and repairs:
Drive smoothly. Accelerate at a moder- ate rate. Do not make "jack-rabbit"
starts or full-throttle shifts and maintain
a steady cruising speed. Do not race
between stoplights. Try to adjust your
speed to the traffic so you do not have
to change speeds unnecessarily. Avoid
heavy traffic whenever possible.
Always maintain a safe distance from
other vehicles so you can avoid unnec-
essary braking. This also reduces
brake wear.
Drive at a moderate speed. The faster you drive, the more fuel your vehicle
uses. Driving at a moderate speed,
especially on the highway, is one of the
most effective ways to reduce fuel con-sumption. Do not "ride" the brake or clutch pedal.
This can increase fuel consumption
and also increase wear on these com-
ponents. In addition, driving with your
foot resting on the brake pedal may
cause the brakes to overheat, which
reduces their effectiveness and may
lead to more serious consequences.
Take care of your tyres. Keep them inflated to the recommended pressure.
Incorrect inflation, either too much or
too little, results in unnecessary tyre
wear. Check the tyre pressures at leastonce a month.
Be sure that the wheels are aligned correctly. Improper alignment can
result from hitting curbs or driving too
fast over irregular surfaces. Poor align-
ment causes faster tyre wear and may
also result in other problems as well as
greater fuel consumption. Keep your vehicle in good condition.
For better fuel economy and reduced
maintenance costs, maintain your vehi-cle in accordance with the mainte-
nance schedule. If you drive your vehi-
cle in severe conditions, more frequentmaintenance is required.
Keep your vehicle clean. For maximum service, your vehicle should be kept
clean and free of corrosive materials. It
is especially important that mud, dirt,
ice, etc. not be allowed to accumulate
on the underside of the vehicle. This
extra weight can result in increased
fuel consumption and also contributeto corrosion.
Travel lightly. Do not carry unnecessary weight in your vehicle. Weight reduces
fuel economy.
Do not let the engine idle longer than necessary. If you are waiting (and not
in traffic), turn off your engine and
restart only when you're ready to go.
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Remember, your vehicle does notrequire extended warm-up. After the
engine has started, allow the engine to
run for 10 to 20 seconds prior to plac-
ing the vehicle in gear. In very cold
weather, however, give your engine a
slightly longer warm-up period.
Do not "lug" or "over-rev" the engine. Lugging is driving too slowly in too
high a gear resulting engine bucking. If
this happens, shift to a lower gear.
Over-revving is racing the engine
beyond its safe limit. This can be avoid-
ed by shifting at the recommended
speeds.
Use your air conditioning sparingly. The air conditioning system is operat-
ed by engine power so your fuel econ-
omy is reduced when you use it.
Open windows at high speeds can reduce fuel economy.
Fuel economy is less in crosswinds and headwinds. To help offset some of
this loss, slow down when driving in
these conditions. Keeping a vehicle in good operating con-
dition is important both for economy and
safety. We recommend in general that the
vehicle be serviced by an authorised Kia
dealer.
WARNING
- Engine off dur-
ing motion
Never turn the engine off to coast
down hills or anytime the vehicle is
in motion. The power steering and
power brakes will not function
properly without the engine run-
ning. Instead, keep the engine on
and downshift to an appropriate
gear for engine braking effect. In
addition, turning off the ignition
whilst driving could engage the
steering wheel lock (if equipped)
resulting in loss of vehicle steering
which could cause serious injuryor death.
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Hazardous driving conditions
When hazardous driving conditions are
encountered such as water, snow, ice,
mud, sand, or similar hazards, followthese suggestions:
Drive cautiously and allow extra dis-
tance 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 isstopped.
If stalled in snow, mud, or sand, use second gear. Accelerate slowly to
avoid spinning the drive wheels.
Use sand, rock salt, tyre chains, or other non-slip material under the drive
wheels to provide traction when stalled
in ice, snow, or mud. 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
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.
SPECIAL DRIVING CONDITIONS
WARNING
- Downshifting
Downshifting with an automatic
transaxle, whilst driving on slipperysurfaces can cause an accident.
The sudden change in tyre speed
could cause the tyres to skid. Be
careful when downshifting on slip-
pery surfaces.
WARNING - ABS
Do not pump the brake pedal on a
vehicle equipped with ABS.
CAUTION
Prolonged rocking may cause engine over-heating, transaxle dam- age or failure, and tyre damage.
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Driving your vehicle
✽✽NOTICE
The ESC system should be turned OFF
prior to rocking the vehicle.
Smooth cornering
Avoid braking or gear changing in cor-
ners, especially when roads are wet.
Ideally, corners should always be taken
under gentle acceleration. If you follow
these suggestions, tyre wear will be held
to a minimum. 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 distance between you and other vehicles, 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 headlights.
Keep your headlights clean and prop- erly aimed on vehicles not equippedwith the automatic headlight aiming
feature. Dirty or improperly aimed
headlights will make it much more diffi-cult to see at night.
Avoid staring directly at the headlights of oncoming vehicles. You could be
temporarily blinded, and it will take
several seconds for your eyes to read-
just to the darkness. Driving in the rain
Rain and wet roads can make driving
dangerous, especially if you’re not pre-
pared 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 distance
needed to stop your vehicle, so slow
down.
Keep your windscreen wiping equip- ment in good shape. Replace your
windscreen wiper blades when they
show signs of streaking or missingareas on the windscreen.
If your tyres are not in good condition, making a quick stop on wet pavement
can cause a skid and possibly lead to
an accident. Be sure your tyres are in
good shape.
Turn on your headlights to make it eas- ier for others to see you.
Driving too fast through large puddles 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
whilst driving until normal braking
operation returns.
WARNING - Spinning tyres
Do not spin the wheels, especially at speeds more than 56 km/h (35
mph). Spinning the wheels at high
speeds when the vehicle is station-
ary could cause a tyre to overheat
which could result in tyre 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 people orobjects.
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