
Driving your vehicle
25
Be sure the exhaust system
does not leak.
The exhaust system should be
checked whenever the vehicle is
raised to change the oil or for any
other purpose. If you hear a change
in the sound of the exhaust or if you
drive over something that strikes the
underneath side of the car, have the
exhaust system checked as soon as
possible by an authorized Kia dealer.
WARNING - Engineexhaust
Do not inhale exhaust fumes or
leave your engine running in a
enclosed area for a prolonged
time. Exhaust fumes contain
carbon monoxide, a colorless,
odorless gas that can cause
unconsciousness and death by
asphyxiation.
WARNING - Open tailgate
Do not drive with the tailgate
open. Poisonous exhaust gases
can enter the passenger com-
partment
If you must drive with the tail-
gate open proceed as follows:
1. Close all windows.
2. Open side vents.
3. Set the air intake control at
"Fresh", the air flow control at
"Floor" or "Face" and the fan
at the highest speed.
WARNING - Californiaproposition
65
Engine exhaust and a wide vari-
ety of automobile components
and parts, including compo-
nents found in the interior fur-
nishings in a vehicle, contain or
emit chemicals known to the
State of California to cause can-
cer and birth defects and repro-
ductive harm. In addition, cer-
tain fluids contained in vehicles
and certain products of compo-
nent wear contain or emit chem-
icals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and
birth defects or other reproduc-
tive harm.

Before entering vehicle
• Be sure that all windows, outsidemirror(s), and outside lights are
clean.
Check the condition of the tires.
Check under the vehicle for any sign of leaks.
Be sure there are no obstacles behind you if you intend to back up.
Necessary inspections
Fluid levels, such as engine oil,
engine coolant, brake fluid, and
washer fluid should be checked on a
regular basis, with the exact interval
depending on the fluid. Further
details are provided in Section 7,
“Maintenance”.
Before starting
Close and lock all doors.
Position the seat so that all con-trols are easily reached.
Buckle your seat belt.
Adjust the inside and outside rearview mirrors.
Be sure that all lights work.
Check all gauges.
Check the operation of warning lights when the ignition switch is
turned to the ON position.
Release the parking brake and make sure the brake warning light
goes out.
For safe operation, be sure you are
familiar with your vehicle and its
equipment.
BEFORE DRIVING
53
Driving your vehicle
WARNING - Distracted driving
Focus on the road while driving.
The driver's primary responsi-
bility is in the safe and legal
operation of the vehicle. Use of
any handled devices, other
equipment or vehicle systems
that distract the drive should
not be used during vehicle
operation.
WARNING
- Check surrounding
Always check the surrounding
areas near your vehicle for peo-
ple, especially children, before
putting a vehicle into D (Drive)
or R (Reverse).

555
Driving your vehicle
To keep locks from freezing
To keep the locks from freezing,
squirt an approved de-icer fluid or
glycerine into the key opening. If a
lock is covered with ice, squirt it with
an approved de-icing fluid to remove
the ice. If the lock is frozen internally,
you may be able to thaw it out by
using a heated key. Handle the heat-
ed key with care to avoid injury.
Use approved window washer
anti-freeze in system
To keep the water in the window
washer system from freezing, add an
approved window washer anti-freeze
solution in accordance with instruc-
tions on the container. Window wash-
er anti-freeze is available from an
authorized Kia dealer and most auto
parts outlets. Do not use engine
coolant or other types of anti-freeze
as these may damage the paint fin-
ish.
Don't let your parking brake
freeze
Under some conditions your parking
brake can freeze in the engaged
position. This is most likely to hap-
pen 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 the parking brake
may freeze, apply it only temporarily
while you put the shift lever in P
(automatic transaxle) or in first or
reverse gear (manual transaxle) and
block the rear wheels so the vehicle
cannot roll. Then release the parking
brake.
Don't let ice and snow accu-
mulate underneath
Under some conditions, snow and
ice can build up under the fenders
and interfere with the steering. When
driving in severe winter conditions
where this may happen, you should
periodically check underneath the
car to be sure the movement of the
front wheels and the steering com-
ponents is not obstructed.
Carry emergency equipment
Depending on the severity of the
weather you should carry appropri-
ate emergency equipment. Some of
the items you may want to carry
include tire chains, tow straps or
chains, flashlight, emergency flares,
sand, a shovel, jumper cables, a win-
dow scraper, gloves, ground cloth,
coveralls, a blanket, etc.
TRAILER TOWING
We do not recommend using this
vehicle for trailer towing.

What to do in an emergency
86
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 soonas it is safe to do so.
2.Place the shift lever in P (automat- ic transaxle) or neutral (manual
transaxle) and set the parking
brake. If the air conditioning is on,
turn it off.
3.If engine coolant is running out under the vehicle or steam is com-
ing out from underneath 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 cool-
ing 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
missing, check to see that it is
tight. If the drive belt seems to be
satisfactory, check for coolant leak-
ing from the radiator, hoses or
under the vehicle. (If the air condi-
tioning had been in use, it is nor-
mal for cold water to be draining
from it when you stop).
5. If the water pump drive belt is bro- ken or engine coolant leaks, stop
the engine immediately and call
the nearest authorized Kia dealer
for assistance. 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,
call an authorized Kia dealer for
assistance.
Serious loss of coolant indicates
there is a leak in the cooling system
and this should be checked as soon
as possible by an authorized Kia
dealer.
WARNING - Under the hood
While the engine is running,
keep hair, hands and clothing
away from moving parts such
as the fan and drive belts.
WARNING - Radiatorcap
Do not remove the radiator cap
when the engine is hot. This can
allow coolant to be blown out of
the opening and cause serious
burns.

631
What to do in an emergency
Use a towing strap less than 16 feet (5 m) long. Attach a white or red
cloth (about 12 inches (30 cm)
wide) in the middle of the strap for
easy visibility.
Drive carefully so that the towing strap is not loosened during tow-
ing.
Emergency towing precautions
Turn the ignition switch to ACC sothe steering wheel isn’t locked.
Place the transaxle shift lever in N (Neutral).
Release the parking brake.
Press the brake pedal with more force than normal since you will
have reduced brake performance.
More steering effort will be required because the power steer-
ing system will be disabled.
If you are driving down a long hill, the brakes may overheat and brake
performance will be reduced. Stop
often and let the brakes cool off. If the car is being towed with all four
wheels on the ground, it can be
towed only from the front. Be sure
that the transmission is in neutral. Be
sure the steering is unlocked by plac-
ing the ignition switch in the ACC
position. A driver must be in the
towed vehicle to operate the steering
and brakes.
CAUTION - Automatic
transaxle
To avoid serious damage to
the automatic transmission,limit the vehicle speed to 15km/h (10 mph) and drive lessthan 1.5 km (1 mile) when tow-ing.
Before towing, check for an automatic transmission fluidleak under your vehicle. If theautomatic transmission fluidis leaking, a flatbed equipmentor towing dolly must be used.
OED066029

Maintenance
Engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
Maintenance services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
• Owner’s responsibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5
Owner maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
Scheduled maintenance service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
. . . . . . 7-21
Explanation of scheduled maintenance items . . . . 7-23
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-26
Engine coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-27
Brake/clutch fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-30
Automatic transaxle fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-31
Washer fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-31
Parking brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-32
Air cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-32
Climate control air filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-34
Wiper blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-36
Battery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
7-39 Tires and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-42
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-42
. . . . . . . 7-42
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-43
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-44
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-45
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-46
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-51
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-53
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-53
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-53
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-54
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-54
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
. 7-56
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-57
. . . . . . . . . . 7-58
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-597

73
Maintenance
ENGINE COMPARTMENT
1. Engine coolant reservoir
2. Engine oil filler cap
3. Brake/clutch fluid reservoir
4. Air cleaner
5. Fuse box
6. Positive battery terminal
7. Negative battery terminal
8. Windshield washer fluid reservoir
9. Radiator cap
10. Engine oil dipstick
OUB071103N
* The actual engine room in the vehicle may differ from the illustration.

Maintenance
67
OWNER MAINTENANCE
The following lists are vehicle checks
and inspections that should be per-
formed by the owner or an author-
ized Kia dealer at the frequencies
indicated to help ensure safe,
dependable operation of your vehi-
cle.
Any adverse conditions should be
brought to the attention of your deal-
er as soon as possible.
These Owner Maintenance Checks
are generally not covered by war-
ranties and you may be charged for
labor, parts and lubricants used.Owner maintenance schedule
When you stop for fuel:
Check the engine oil level.
Check the coolant level in coolantreservoir.
Check the windshield washer fluid level.
Look for low or under-inflated tires.
While operating your vehicle:
Note any changes in the sound of the exhaust or any smell of
exhaust fumes in the vehicle.
Check for vibrations in the steering wheel. Notice any increased steer-
ing effort or looseness in the steer-
ing wheel, or change in the
straight-ahead position.
Notice if your vehicle constantly turns slightly or “pulls” to one side
when traveling on smooth, level
road.
When stopping, listen and check for unusual sounds, pulling to one
side, increased brake pedal travel
or “hard-to-push” brake pedal.
If any slipping or changes in the operation of your transaxle occurs,
check the transaxle fluid level.
Check the automatic transaxle P (Park) function.
Check the parking brake.
Check for fluid leaks under your vehicle (water dripping from the air
conditioning system during or after
use is normal).
WARNING - Hot coolant
Be careful when checking your
engine coolant level when the
engine is hot. Scalding hot
coolant and steam may blow
out under pressure.