531
Driving your vehicle
BRAKE SYSTEM
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 astalled engine or some other reason,
you can still stop your vehicle by
applying greater force to the brake
pedal than you normally would. The
stopping distance, however, 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
necessary to maintain steering con-
trol on slippery surfaces.
(Continued) Always test your brakes in this fashion after driving
through deep water. To dry the
brakes, apply them lightly
while maintaining a safe for-
ward speed until brake per-
formance returns to normal.
Always, confirm the position of the brake and accelerator
pedal before driving. If you
don’t check the position of theaccelerator and brake pedal
before driving, you maydepress the accelerator
instead of the brake pedal. It
may cause a serious accident.WARNING - Brakes
Do not drive with your foot resting on the brake pedal. This will create abnormal high
brake temperatures, exces-sive brake lining and pad
wear, and increased stoppingdistances.
When descending a long or steep hill, shift to a lower gear
and avoid continuous applica-
tion of the brakes. Continuousbrake application will cause
the brakes to overheat and
could result in a temporary
loss of braking performance.
Wet brakes may impair the vehicle’s ability to safely slow
down; the vehicle may alsopull to one side when the
brakes are applied. Applying
the brakes lightly will indicate
whether they have been
affected in this way.
(Continued)
Driving your vehicle
96
5
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.
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. 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 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 vehi-
cle pulled out by a tow vehicle to
avoid engine overheating and possi-
ble damage to the transaxle.
SPECIAL DRIVING CONDITIONS WARNING
- Downshifting
Downshifting with an automatic
transaxle, while driving on slip-
pery surfaces can cause an
accident. The sudden change intire 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.
CAUTION
Prolonged rocking may cause engine over-heating, transaxledamage or failure, and tire dam- age.
5103
Driving your vehicle
Use high quality ethylene gly- col coolant
Your vehicle is delivered with high
quality ethylene glycol coolant in the
cooling system. It is the only type ofcoolant that should be used because
it helps prevent corrosion in the cool-
ing system, lubricates the water
pump and prevents freezing. Be sure
to replace or replenish your coolantin accordance with the maintenance
schedule in section 7. Before winter,
have your coolant tested to assure
that its freezing point is sufficient for
the temperatures anticipated during
the winter.
Check battery and cables
Winter puts additional burdens on
the battery system. Visually inspect
the battery and cables as described
in section 7. We recommend that the
level of charge in your battery be
checked by an authorized Kia dealer.Change to "winter weight" oil
if necessary In some climates it is recommended
that a lower viscosity "winter weight"
oil be used during cold weather. See
section 8 for recommendations. If
you aren't sure what weight oil you
should use, we recommend that you
consult an authorized Kia dealer.
Check spark plugs and igni- tion system
Inspect your spark plugs as
described in section 7 and replace
them if necessary. Also check all
ignition wiring and components to be
sure they are not cracked, worn or
damaged in any way.
CAUTION
The AutoSock (fabric snow
chain) that are the wrong sizeor improperly installed can damage your vehicle's brakelines, suspension, body andwheels.
Stop driving and retighten the AutoSock (fabric snow chain)any time you hear them hittingthe vehicle.
WARNING - Tire chains
The use of the AutoSock (fab- ric snow chain) may adversely
affect vehicle handling.
Do not exceed 30 km/h (20 mph) or the AutoSock (fabric
snow chain) manufacturer’srecommended speed limit,
whichever is lower.
Drive carefully and avoid bumps, holes, sharp turns, and
other road hazards, which may
cause the vehicle to bounce.
Avoid sharp turns or locked- wheel braking.
What to do in an emergency
8
6
IF THE ENGINE OVERHEATS
If your temperature gauge indicates
overheating, you will experience a
loss of power, or hear loud pinging or
knocking, the engine is probably too
hot. If this happens, you should:
1.Pull off the road and stop as soon as it is safe to do so.
2.Place the shift lever in P (Park) and set the parking brake. If the air con-
ditioning is on, turn it off.
3.If engine coolant is running out under the car or steam is coming
out from the hood, stop the engine.Do not open the hood until the
coolant has stopped running or the
steaming has stopped. If there is no
visible loss of engine coolant and
no steam, leave the engine running
and check to be sure the engine
cooling fan is operating. If the fan is
not running, turn the engine off. 4.Check to see if the water pump
drive belt is missing. If it is not miss-
ing, check to see that it is tight. If
the drive belt seems to be satisfac-
tory, check for coolant leaking from
the radiator, hoses or under the car.(If the air conditioning had been in
use, it is normal for cold water to be
draining from it when you stop).
5.If the water pump drive belt is bro- ken or engine coolant is leakingout, stop the engine immediately
and we recommend that you call
an authorized Kia dealer. 6.If you cannot find the cause of the
overheating, wait until the engine
temperature has returned to nor-
mal. Then, if coolant has been lost,carefully add coolant to the reser-
voir to bring the fluid level in the
reservoir up to the halfway mark.
7.Proceed with caution, keeping alert for further signs of overheat-
ing. If overheating happens again,
we recommend that you call an
authorized Kia dealer.
WARNING
While the engine is running,
keep hair, hands and clothing
away from moving parts suchas the fan and drive belts to pre-
vent injury.
WARNING
Do not remove the radiator cap
when the engine is hot. This can
allow coolant to blow out of theopening and cause serious
burns.
CAUTION
Serious loss of coolant indi- cates there is a leak in thecooling system and we recom- mend that the system bechecked by an authorized Kiadealer.
When the engine overheats from low engine coolant, sud-denly adding engine coolantmay cause cracks in theengine. To prevent damage, add engine coolant slowly insmall quantities.
Maintenance
26
7
ENGINE COOLANT
The high-pressure cooling system
has a reservoir filled with year-round
antifreeze coolant. The reservoir is
filled at the factory.
Check the antifreeze protection and
coolant level at least once a year, atthe beginning of the winter season,
and before traveling to a colder cli-
mate. Checking the coolant level
WARNING
Removing radiator cap
Never attempt to remove the radiator cap while the engine
is operating or hot. Doing somight lead to cooling system
and engine damage and could
result in serious personal
injury from escaping hotcoolant or steam.
Turn the engine off and wait until it cools down. Use
extreme care when removing
the radiator cap. Wrap a thick
towel around it, and turn it
counterclockwise slowly to
the first stop. Step back while
the pressure is released fromthe cooling system.
(Continued)
(Continued)When you are sure all the pressure has been released,
press down on the cap, using
a thick towel, and continue
turning counterclockwise to
remove it.
Even if the engine is not oper- ating, do not remove the radi-ator cap or the drain plugwhile the engine and radiator
are hot. Hot coolant and
steam may still blow out
under pressure, causing seri-
ous injury.
CAUTION
When the engine overheats
from low engine coolant, sud-denly adding engine coolantmay cause cracks in theengine. To prevent damage, add engine coolant slowly insmall quantities.
Do not drive with no engine coolant. It may cause waterpump failure and engine seizure, etc.