2015 KIA PICANTO Owners Manual

Maintenance
40
7
CAUTION
Underinflation also results in
excessive wear, poor handlingand reduced fuel economy. Wheel deformation also ispossible. Keep your tyre pres-sures at the proper levels. If a tyre frequently needs refilling,have it checked by an autho-rised Kia dealer.
Overinflation produces a harsh ride, excessive wear atthe centre of the tyre tread,and a greater possibility ofdamage from road hazards.
TYRES AND WHEELS
Tyre care
For proper maintenance, safety, and
maximum fuel economy, you must
always maintain recommended tyre
inflation pressures and stay within
the load limits and weight distribution
recommended for your vehicle. Recommended cold tyre inflation pressures All tyre pressures (including the
spare) should be checked when the
tyres are cold. “Cold Tyres” means
the vehicle has not been driven for at
least three hours or driven less than1.6 km (one mile).
Recommended pressures must be
maintained for the best ride, top vehi-
cle handling, and minimum tyre
wear.
For recommended inflation pressure,
refer to “Tyre and wheels” in section8. All specifications (sizes and pres-
sures) can be found on a label
attached to the vehicle.
WARNING
- Tyre underin-
flation
Severe underinflation can lead
to severe heat build-up, causing
blowouts, tread separation andother tyre failures that can
result in the loss of vehicle con-
trol leading to severe injury or
death. This risk is much higher
on hot days and when driving
for long periods at high speeds.
OTA080002/H

741
Maintenance
Checking tyre inflation pressure
Check your tyres once a month or
more.
Also, check the tyre pressure of the
spare tyre.
How to check
Use a good quality gauge to check
tyre pressure. You can not tell if your
tyres are properly inflated simply by
looking at them. Radial tyres may
look properly inflated even when
they're underinflated.
Check the tyre's inflation pressure
when the tyres are cold. - "Cold"
means your vehicle has been sitting
for at least three hours or driven nomore than 1.6 km (1 mile).
WARNING - Tyre Inflation
Overinflation or underinflation
can reduce tyre life, adversely
affect vehicle handling, and
lead to sudden tyre failure. This
could result in loss of vehicle
control and potential injury.
CAUTION - Tyre pressure
Always observe the following:
Check tyre pressure when the tyres are cold. (After vehiclehas been parked for at leastthree hours or hasn't beendriven more than 1.6 km (one mile) since startup.)
Check the pressure of your spare tyre each time youcheck the pressure of othertyres.
Never overload your vehicle. Be careful not to overload avehicle luggage rack if yourvehicle is equipped with one.
Worn, old tyres can cause accidents. If your tread isbadly worn, or if your tyres have been damaged, replacethem.
CAUTION
Warm tyres normally exceed recommended cold tyre pres-sures by 28 to 41 kPa (4 to 6psi). Do not release air fromwarm tyres to adjust the pres- sure or the tyres will be under-inflated.
Be sure to reinstall the tyre inflation valve caps. Withoutthe valve cap, dirt or moisture could get into the valve coreand cause air leakage. If avalve cap is missing, install a new one as soon as possible.

Maintenance
42
7
Remove the valve cap from the tyre
valve stem. Press the tyre gauge
firmly onto the valve to get a pres-
sure measurement. If the cold tyreinflation pressure matches the rec-ommended pressure on the tyre and
loading information label, no further
adjustment is necessary. If the pres-
sure is low, add air until you reachthe recommended amount.
If you overfill the tyre, release air by pushing on the metal stem in the
centre of the tyre valve. Recheck the
tyre pressure with the tyre gauge. Be
sure to put the valve caps back on
the valve stems. They help prevent
leaks by keeping out dirt and mois-
ture. Tyre rotation
To equalize tread wear, it is recom- mended that the tyres be rotated
every 12,000 km (7,500 miles) or
sooner if irregular wear develops.
During rotation, check the tyres for
correct balance.
When rotating tyres, check for
uneven wear and damage. Abnormal
wear is usually caused by incorrect
tyre pressure, improper wheel align-
ment, out-of-balance wheels, severe
braking or severe cornering. Look for
bumps or bulges in the tread or side
of tyre. Replace the tyre if you find
either of these conditions. Replace
the tyre if fabric or cord is visible.
After rotation, be sure to bring thefront and rear tyre pressures to spec-
ification and check lug nut tightness.
Refer to “Tyre and wheels” in section 8.
WARNING
Inspect your tyres frequently for proper inflation as well as
wear and damage. Always use
a tyre pressure gauge.
Tyres with too much or too lit- tle pressure wear unevenly
causing poor handling, loss of
vehicle control, and suddentyre failure leading to acci-
dents, injuries, and even death.The recommended cold tyre
pressure for your vehicle can
be found in this manual and onthe tyre label located on the
driver's side centre pillar.
Worn tyres can cause acci- dents. Replace tyres that are
worn, show uneven wear, or
are damaged.
Remember to check the pres- sure of your spare tyre. Kia
recommends that you check
the spare every time you
check the pressure of the
other tyres on your vehicle.

743
Maintenance
Disc brake pads should be inspectedfor wear whenever tyres are rotated.
✽✽ NOTICE
Rotate radial tyres that have an
asymmetric tread pattern only from
front to rear and not from right to
left.
Wheel alignment and tyre balance
The wheels on your vehicle were aligned and balanced carefully at the
factory to give you the longest tyre
life and best overall performance.
In most cases, you will not need to
have your wheels aligned again.
However, if you notice unusual tyre
wear or your vehicle pulling one way
or the other, the alignment may needto be reset.
If you notice your vehicle vibrating
when driving on a smooth road, your
wheels may need to be rebalanced.
S2BLA790
S2BLA790A
CBGQ0707A
Without a spare tyre
With a full-size spare tyre (if equipped) Directional tyres (if equipped)WARNING
Do not use the compact spare tyre for tyre rotation.
Do not mix bias ply and radial ply tyres under any circum-
stances. This may cause
unusual handling characteris-tics that could result in death,
severe injury, or property
damage.
CAUTION
Improper wheel weights can
damage your vehicle's alu-minum wheels. Use onlyapproved wheel weights.

Maintenance
44
7
Tyre replacement
If the tyre is worn evenly, a tread
wear indicator will appear as a solid
band across the tread. This showsthere is less than 1.6 mm (1/16 inch)
of tread left on the tyre. Replace the
tyre when this happens.
Do not wait for the band to appear
across the entire tread before replac-
ing the tyre.
✽✽
NOTICE
We recommend that when replacing
tyres, use the same originally sup-
plied with the vehicles.
If not, that effects driving perform-
ance.
OEN076053
Tread wear indicatorWARNING - Replacing
tyres
To reduce the chance of serious
or fatal injuries from an acci-
dent caused by tyre failure or
loss of vehicle control:
Replace tyres that are worn, show uneven wear, or are
damaged. Worn tyres can
cause loss of braking effec-
tiveness, steering control, andtraction.
Do not drive your vehicle with too little or too much pressure
in your tyres. This can lead to
uneven wear and tyre failure.
When replacing tyres, never mix radial and bias-ply tyres
on the same car. You must
replace all tyres (including the
spare) if moving from radial to
bias-ply tyres.
(Continued)(Continued)
Using tyres and wheels otherthan the recommended sizes
could cause unusual handling
characteristics and poor vehi-
cle control, resulting in a seri-ous accident.
Wheels that do not meet Kia’s specifications may fit poorly
and result in damage to the
vehicle or unusual handling
and poor vehicle control.
The ABS works by comparing the speed of the wheels. The
tyre size affects wheel speed.
When replacing tyres, all 4
tyres must use the same size
originally supplied with the
vehicle. Using tyres of a dif-
ferent size can cause the
ABS(Anti-lock Brake System)
and ESP(Electronic Stability
Program) to work irregularly.(if equipped)

745
Maintenance
Compact spare tyre replacement (if equipped)
A compact spare tyre has a shorter
tread life than a regular size tyre.
Replace it when you can see the
tread wear indicator bars on the tyre.The replacement compact spare tyre
should be the same size and design
tyre as the one provided with your
new vehicle and should be mountedon the same compact spare tyre
wheel. The compact spare tyre is notdesigned to be mounted on a regular
size wheel, and the compact spare
tyre wheel is not designed for mount-
ing a regular size tyre. Wheel replacement
When replacing the metal wheels for
any reason, make sure the new
wheels are equivalent to the original
factory units in diameter, rim widthand offset.
Tyre traction
Tyre traction can be reduced if you
drive on worn tyres, tyres that are
improperly inflated or on slippery
road surfaces. tyres should be
replaced when tread wear indicators
appear. Slow down whenever there
is rain, snow or ice on the road toreduce the possibility of losing con-
trol of the vehicle.
Tyre maintenance In addition to proper inflation, correct wheel alignment helps to decrease
tyre wear. If you find a tyre is worn
unevenly, have your dealer check thewheel alignment.
When you have new tyres installed,
make sure they are balanced. This
will increase vehicle ride comfort and
tyre life. Additionally, a tyre should
always be rebalanced if it is removedfrom the wheel.
WARNING
A wheel that is not the correct
size may adversely affect wheel
and bearing life, braking and
stopping abilities, handling char-
acteristics, ground clearance,
body-to-tyre clearance, snow
chain clearance, speedometer
and odometer calibration, head-
light aim and bumper height.

Maintenance
46
7
Tyre sidewall labeling
This information identifies and
describes the fundamental charac-
teristics of the tyre and also provides
the tyre identification number (TIN)
for safety standard certification. TheTIN can be used to identify the tyre incase of a recall.
1. Manufacturer or brand name
Manufacturer or Brand name is
shown.
2. tyre size designation
A tyre’s sidewall is marked with a tyre
size designation. You will need this
information when selecting replace-
ment tyres for your car. The following
explains what the letters and num-
bers in the tyre size designationmean.
Example tyre size designation:
(These numbers are provided as an
example only; your tyre size designa-
tor could vary depending on your
vehicle.) 175/50R15 75H
175 - tyre width in millimeters.
50 - Aspect ratio. The tyre’s section
height as a percentage of its width.
R - tyre construction code (Radial).
15 - Rim diameter in inches.
75 - Load Index, a numerical code associated with the maximum
load the tyre can carry.
H - Speed Rating Symbol. See the
speed rating chart in this section
for additional information. Wheel size designation
Wheels are also marked with impor-
tant information that you need if you
ever have to replace one. The follow-
ing explains what the letters and
numbers in the wheel size designa-tion mean.
Example wheel size designation: 5.5JX15
5.5 - Rim width in inches. J - Rim contour designation.
15 - Rim diameter in inches.
Tyre speed ratings
The chart below lists many of the dif-
ferent speed ratings currently being
used for passenger car tyres. The
speed rating is part of the tyre size
designation on the sidewall of the
tyre. This symbol corresponds to that
tyre's designed maximum safe oper-ating speed.
I030B04JM
1
1
23
4
5,6
7

747
Maintenance
3. Checking tyre life (TIN : TyreIdentification Number)
Any tyres that are over 6 years old,
based on the manufacturing date,(including the spare tyre) should be
replaced by new ones. You can find
the manufacturing date on the tyre
sidewall (possibly on the inside of the
wheel), displaying the DOT Code.
The DOT Code is a series of num-
bers on a tyre consisting of numbers
and English letters. The manufactur-
ing date is designated by the last four
digits (characters) of the DOT code. DOT : XXXX XXXX OOOO
The front part of the DOT means a
plant code number, tyre size and
tread pattern and the last four num-
bers indicate week and year manu-
factured.
For example:
DOT XXXX XXXX 1614 represents
that the tyre was produced in the
16th week of 2014.
4. Tyre ply composition and material
The number of layers or plies of rub-
ber-coated fabric in the tyre. Tyre
manufacturers also must indicate the
materials in the tyre, which include
steel, nylon, polyester, and others.
The letter "R" means radial ply con-
struction; the letter "D" means diago-
nal or bias ply construction; and theletter "B" means belted-bias ply con-
struction.
5. Maximum permissible inflation
pressure
This number is the greatest amount of air pressure that should be put in
the tyre. Do not exceed the maximum
permissible inflation pressure. Refer
to the Tyre and Loading Information
label for recommended inflation
pressure.
S 180 km/h (112 mph)
T 190 km/h (118 mph)
H 210 km/h (130 mph)
V 240 km/h (149 mph) Z Above 240 km/h (149 mph)
Maximum Speed
Speed
Rating
Symbol
WARNING - Tyre age
Tyres degrade over time, even
when they are not being used.
Regardless of the remaining
tread, it is recommended that
tyres generally be replaced
after six (6) years of normal
service. Heat caused by hot cli-mates or frequent high loadingconditions can accelerate the
aging process. Failure to followthis warning can result in sud-
den tyre failure, which could
lead to a loss of control and an
accident involving serious
injury or death.