2015 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Owner's Manual

Driving your vehicle
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5
✽
✽
NOTICE
• In sports mode, the driver must exe-
cute upshifts in accordance with road
conditions.
• In sports mode, only the 6 forward gears can be selected. To reverse or
park the vehicle, move the shift lever
to the R (Reverse) or P (Park) position
as required.
• In sports mode, downshifts are made automatically when the vehicle slows
down. When the vehicle stops, 1st gear
is automatically selected.
• In sports mode, when the engine rpm approaches the red zone, the transaxle
will upshift automatically.
• To maintain the required levels of vehi- cle performance and safety, the system
may not execute certain gearshifts
when the shift lever is operated.
• When accelerating from a stop on a slippery road, push the shift lever for-
ward into the +(up) position. This
causes the transaxle to shift into the
2nd gear which is better for smooth
driving on a slippery road. Push the
shift lever to the -(down) side to shift
back to the 1st gear.
• When using sports mode, slow down before shifting to a lower gear.
Otherwise, the lower gear may not be
engaged.
Shift lock system
For your safety, the automatic transaxle
has a shift lock system which prevents
shifting the transaxle from P (Park) into R
(Reverse) unless the brake pedal is
depressed.
To shift the transaxle from P (Park) into R
(Reverse):
1. Depress and hold the brake pedal.
2. Start the engine or turn the engine
start/stop button to the ON position.
3. Move the shift lever.
Shift-lock override
If the shift lever cannot be moved from
the P (Park) position into R (Reverse)
position with the brake pedal depressed,
continue depressing the brake, then do
the following:
1. Carefully remove the cap (1) coveringthe shift-lock access hole.
2. Insert a screwdriver into the access hole and press down on the screwdriver.
3. Move the shift lever.
4. Have your vehicle inspected by an authorized HYUNDAI dealer immedi-
ately.
WARNING
Always fully depress the brake
pedal before and while shifting out
of the P (Park) position into anoth-
er position to avoid inadvertent
motion of the vehicle which could
injure persons in or around the car.
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Driving your vehicle
Good driving practices
Never move the gear shift lever from P(Park) or N (Neutral) to any other posi-
tion with the accelerator pedal
depressed.
Never move the gear shift lever into P (Park) when the vehicle is in motion.
Be sure the car is completely stopped before you attempt to shift into R
(Reverse) or D (Drive).
Never take the car out of gear and coast down a hill. This may be
extremely hazardous. Always leave the
car in gear when moving.
Do not "ride" the brakes. This can cause them to overheat and malfunc-
tion. Instead, when you are driving
down a long hill, shift into sports mode,
slown down and shift to a lower gear.
When you do this, engine braking will
help slow the car.
Always use the parking brake when parked. Do not depend on placing the
transaxle in P (Park) to keep the car
from moving. Exercise extreme caution when driving
on a slippery surface. Be especially
careful when braking, accelerating or
shifting gears. On a slippery surface,
an abrupt change in vehicle speed can
cause the drive wheels to lose traction
and the vehicle to go out of control.
Optimum vehicle performance and economy is obtained by smoothly
depressing and releasing the accelera-
tor pedal.WARNING
Always buckle-up! In a collision,an unbelted occupant is signifi-
cantly more likely to be seriously
injured or killed than a properly
belted occupant.
Avoid high speeds when corner- ing or turning.
Do not make quick steering wheel movements, such as sharp
lane changes or fast, sharp turns.
The risk of rollover is greatly increased if you lose control of
your vehicle at highway speeds.
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off the
roadway and the driver over-
steers to reenter the roadway.
In the event your vehicle leaves the roadway, do not steer sharply.
Instead, slow down before pulling
back into the travel lanes.
Never exceed posted speed lim- its.

Driving your vehicle
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5
Moving up a steep grade from a stand-
ing start
To move up a steep grade from a stand-
ing start, depress the brake pedal, shift
the shift lever to D (Drive). Depress the
accelerator gradually while releasing the
service brakes.
Power brakes
Your vehicle's brake system is power-
assisted by the electric hydraulic pump.
In the event the brakes lose power
because of a brake control system mal-
function, unstable power supply or some
other reason, you can still stop your vehi-
cle by applying greater force to the brake
pedal than you normally would. The stop-
ping distance, however will be longer. For
your safety, please have the system
checked as soon as possible.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 or
objects.
BRAKE SYSTEM
WARNING- Brakes
Do not drive with your foot rest- ing on the brake pedal. This will
create abnormal high brake tem-
peratures, excessive brake lining
and pad wear, and increased
stopping distances.
When descending a long or steep hill, move the shift lever to sports
mode, shift to a lower gear and
avoid continuous application of
the brakes. Continuous brake
application will cause the brakes
to overheat and could result in a
temporary loss of braking per-
formance.
(Continued)

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Driving your vehicle
In the event of brake failure
If service brakes fail to operate while the
vehicle is in motion, you can make an
emergency stop with the parking brake.
The stopping distance, however, will be
much greater than normal.
✽ ✽NOTICE
1) When you apply the brake repeatedly,
you may hear the sound the electric
hydraulic pump or motor operating.
This is a normal condition.
2) The following types of pedal applica- tions may result in the brake pedal
feeling different, however it is normal
condition.
- When you apply the pedal quickly
- When you apply the pedal continu-ously and repeatedly
- While braking, when the ABS oper- ated
(Continued)
Wet brakes may impair the vehi-
cle’s ability to safely slow down;
the vehicle may also pull to one
side when the brakes are applied.
Applying the brakes lightly will
indicate whether they have been
affected in this way. Always test
your brakes in this fashion after
driving through deep water. To
dry the brakes, apply them lightly
while maintaining a safe forward
speed until brake performance
returns to normal.
Always confirm the position of the brake and accelerator pedal
before driving. If you don't check
the position of the accelerator
and brake pedal before driving,
you may depress the accelerator
instead of the brake pedal. It may
cause a serious accident.
Do not turn off the Hybrid system while going down a hill. The brake
booster may not work sufficiently
and the braking distance may be
longer.
(Continued)(Continued)
If the brake pedal does not returnto its normal position when
released, there may be a malfunc-
tion in the brake system. Take
your vehicle to an authorized
HYUNDAI dealer and have the
system checked.
To avoid applying the brakes do not get too close to the vehicle in
front of you and try to avoid
going down steep roads or sharp
corning if the power assisted
brakes are not functioning nor-
mally. The vehicle will stop but
the braking distance may be
longer.
WARNING- Parking brake
Applying the parking brake while
the vehicle is moving at normal
speeds can cause a sudden loss of
control of the vehicle. If you must
use the parking brake to stop the
vehicle, use great caution in apply-
ing the brake.
CAUTION
If the driver’s door is not firmlyclosed, the auxiliary battery may bedischarged because the brake con-troller remains in standby opera-tion. To prevent the battery frombeing discharged, ensure the door is fully closed.

Driving your vehicle
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Disc brakes wear indicator
Your vehicle has disc brakes.
When your brake pads are worn and new
pads are required, you will hear a high-
pitched warning sound from your front
brakes or rear brakes. You may hear this
sound come and go or it may occur when-
ever you depress the brake pedal.
Please remember that some driving condi-
tions or climates may cause a brake
squeal when you first apply (or lightly
apply) the brakes. This is normal and does
not indicate a problem with your brakes.
Parking brake
Applying the parking brake
To engage the parking brake, first apply the
service brake and then depress the parking
brake pedal down as far as possible.
Releasing the parking brake
To release the parking brake, depress
the parking brake pedal a second time
while applying the service brake. The
pedal will automatically extend to the fully
released position.
WARNING- Brake wear
This brake wear warning sound
means your vehicle needs service.
If you ignore this audible warning,
you will eventually lose braking
performance, which could lead to a
serious accident.
CAUTION
To avoid costly brake repairs, do
not continue to drive with wornbrake pads.
Always replace the front or rear brake pads as pairs.
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CAUTION
Driving with the parking brake
applied will cause excessivebrake pad and brake rotor wear.
Applying the parking brake while the vehicle is moving at normalspeeds can cause a sudden lossof control of the vehicle. If youmust use the parking brake to stopthe vehicle, use great caution inapplying the brake.

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Driving your vehicle
If the parking brake does not release or
does not release all the way, have the
system checked by an authorized
HYUNDAI dealer.Check the brake warning light by pressing
the engine start/stop button ON (do not
start the engine). This light will be illumi-
nated when the parking brake is applied
with the engine start/stop button in the
START or ON position.
Also, the brake warning light may illumi-
nate for a second even though the park-
ing brake is released at the moment the
engine start/stop button is pressed to the
ON position.
Before driving, be sure the parking brake
is fully released and the brake warning
light is off.
If the brake warning light remains on after
the parking brake is released while the
hybrid system is in READY state, there
may be a malfunction in the brake sys-
tem. Immediate attention is necessary.If at all possible, cease driving the vehicle
immediately. If that is not possible, use
extreme caution while operating the vehi-
cle and only continue to drive the vehicle
until you can reach a safe location or
repair shop.
WARNING
To prevent unintentional move-
ment when stopped and leaving
the vehicle, do not use the
gearshift lever in place of the
parking brake. Set the parking
brake AND make sure the
gearshift lever is securely posi-
tioned in P (Park) for automatic
transaxle equipped vehicles.
Never allow anyone who is unfa- miliar with the vehicle to touch
the parking brake. If the parking
brake is released unintentionally,
serious injury may occur.
All vehicles should always have the parking brake fully engaged
when parking to avoid inadver-
tent movement of the vehicle
which can injure occupants or
pedestrians.
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WARNING
It is normal for the brake warninglight to illuminate temporarily
when the brake is depressed
repeatedly and go out after a few
seconds when the brake is no
longer depressed. However, if the
brake warning light turns on, this
may be a sign of a malfunctioning
brake system and could cause
the braking distance to increase.
Have your system checked if the brake warning light remains on. A
malfunctioning brake system
could result in a vehicle accident
and serious injury or death.

Driving your vehicle
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5
Anti-lock brake system (ABS)
The ABS continuously senses the speed
of the wheels. If the wheels are going to
lock, the ABS system repeatedly modu-
lates the hydraulic brake pressure to the
wheels.
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 ABS is active.
In order to obtain the maximum benefit
from your ABS in an emergency situation,
do not attempt to modulate your brake
pressure and do not try to pump your
brakes. Press your brake pedal as hard
as possible or as hard as the situation
warrants and allow the ABS to control the
force being delivered to the brakes.
✽ ✽
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 anti-lock brake system
is functioning properly.
Even with the anti-lock brake system,
your vehicle still requires sufficient
stopping distance. Always maintain a
safe distance from the vehicle in front
of you.
Always slow down when cornering. The anti-lock brake system cannot pre-
vent accidents resulting from exces-
sive speeds.
On loose or uneven road surfaces, operation of the anti-lock brake system
may result in a longer stopping dis-
tance than for vehicles equipped with a
conventional brake system.
WARNING
ABS (or ESC) will not prevent acci-
dents due to improper or danger-
ous driving maneuvers. Even
though vehicle control is improved
during emergency braking, always
maintain a safe distance between
you and objects ahead. Vehicle
speeds should always be reduced
during extreme road conditions.
The braking distance for cars
equipped with an anti-lock braking
system (or Electronic Stability
Control system) may be longer than
for those without it in the following
road conditions.
During these conditions the vehicle
should be driven at reduced
speeds:
Rough, gravel or snow-coveredroads.
With tire chains installed. (Continued)
(Continued)
On roads where the road surfaceis pitted or has different surface
height.
The safety features of an ABS (or
ESC) equipped vehicle should not
be tested by high speed driving or
cornering. This could endanger the
safety of yourself or others.

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Driving your vehicle
✽
✽NOTICE
When you jump start your vehicle
because of a drained battery, the engine
may not run as smoothly and the ABS
warning light may turn on at the same
time. This happens because of the low
battery voltage. It does not mean your
ABS is malfunctioning.
• Do not pump your brakes!
• Have the battery recharged before
driving the vehicle.
Electronic stability control (ESC)
The Electronic Stability control (ESC)
system is designed to stabilize the vehicle
during cornering maneuvers. ESC checks
where you are steering and where the
vehicle is actually going. ESC applies the
brakes at individual wheels and
intervenes in the engine management
system to stabilize the vehicle.
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CAUTION
If the ABS warning light is on and
stays on, you may have a problemwith the ABS. In this case, howev-er, your regular brakes will worknormally.
The ABS warning light will stay on for approximately 3 seconds afterthe engine start/stop button is ON.During that time, the ABS will gothrough self-diagnosis and thelight will go off if everything is nor-mal. If the light stays on, you mayhave a problem with your ABS.Contact an authorized HYUNDAIdealer as soon as possible.
CAUTION
When you drive on a road having poor traction, such as an icy road,and operate your brakes continu-ously, the ABS will be active con-tinuously and the ABS warning light may illuminate. Pull your carover to a safe place and stop theengine.
Restart the engine. If the ABS warning light is off, then yourABS system is normal.Otherwise, you may have a prob-lem with the ABS. Contact anauthorized HYUNDAI dealer assoon as possible.
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