2015 KIA PICANTO ECO

525
Driving your vehicle
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). Select the
appropriate gear depending on load
weight and steepness of the grade, and
release the parking brake. Depress the
accelerator gradually while releasing the
service brakes.
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.

527
Driving your vehicle
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
whenever you depress the brake pedal.
Please remember that some driving con-
ditions 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.
Rear drum brakes (if equipped)
Your rear drum brakes do not have wear
indicators. Therefore, have the rear brake
linings inspected if you hear a rear brake
rubbing noise. Also have your rear
brakes inspected each time you change
or rotate your tires and when you have
the front brakes replaced.Parking brake
Applying the parking brake
To engage the parking brake, first apply
the foot brake and then pull up the park-
ing brake lever as far as possible. In addition it is recommended that when
parking the vehicle on a incline, the shift
lever should be in a low gear on manual
transaxle vehicles or in the P (Park) posi-
tion on automatic transaxle vehicles.
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 aserious 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.
OTA050012

Driving your vehicle
28
5
Releasing the parking brake
To release the parking brake, first apply
the foot brake and pull up the parking
brake lever slightly. Secondly depress the
release button (1) and lower the parking
brake lever (2) while holding the button.
If the parking brake does not release or
does not release all the way, we recom-
mend that the system be checked by an
authorized Kia dealer.
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 parkingbrake 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 orpedestrians.
OTA050013
CAUTION
Driving with the parking brake
applied will cause excessive brake
pad and brake rotor wear.
Do not operate the parking brake while the vehicle is moving exceptin an emergency situation. It could
damage the vehicle system and make endanger driving safety.

Driving your vehicle
30
5
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.
W-78
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 ignition switch is ON. During that time, the ABS will go throughself-diagnosis and the light will gooff if everything is normal. If thelight stays on, you may have aproblem with your ABS. We recom-mend that you contact an author- ized Kia dealer.

531
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) (if equipped) 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.
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 car
over to a safe place and stop theengine.
Restart the engine. If the ABS warning light is off, then your ABS
system is normal. Otherwise, youmay have a problem with the ABS.We recommend that you contactan authorized Kia dealer.
OTA050014

533
Driving your vehicle
ESC operation
ESC ON conditionON, ESC and ESC OFF indi-
cator lights illuminate for
approximately 3 seconds,
then ESC is turned on.
after turning the ignition ON
to turn ESC off. (ESC OFF
indicator will illuminate). To
turn the ESC on, press the
ESC OFF button (ESC OFFindicator light will go off).
you may hear a slight ticking
sound. This is the ESC per-
forming an automatic system
self-check and does not indi-
cate a problem. When operating
When the ESC is in operation,
the ESC indicator light blinks.
Control is operating properly,
you can feel a slight pulsation
in the vehicle. This is only the
effect of brake control and
indicates nothing unusual.
or driving on a slippery road,
the engine rpm (revolution per
minute) may not be increased
even if you press the acceler-
ator pedal deeply. This is to
maintain the stability and trac-
tion of the vehicle and does
not indicate a problem.
ESC operation off
ESC OFF state
press the ESC OFF button (ESC OFF indicator light illu-minates).
to LOCK position when ESC
is off, ESC remains off. Upon
restarting the engine, the
ESC will automatically turnon again.
-

535
Driving your vehicle
Hill-start assist control (HAC) (if equipped)
Hill start Assist Control is a comfort func-
tion. The main intend is to prevent the
vehicle from rolling backwards while driv-
ing off uphill on an inclined surface. HAC
holds the braking pressure builtup by
driver during stopping procedure for 2
seconds after releasing brake pedal.
During the pressure-hold period, the
driver has enough time to press the
accelerator pedal to drive off.
The braking pressure is reduced as soon
as the system detects the driver’s inten-
tion to drive off.✽✽NOTICE
 The HAC does not operate when the transaxle shift lever is in the P (Park)
or N (Neutral) position.
 The HAC activates even though the
ESC is off but it does not activate
when the ESC has malfunctioned. Vehicle stability management (VSM) (if equipped)
This system provides further enhance-
ments to vehicle stability and steering
responses when a vehicle is driving on a
slippery road or a vehicle detected
changes in coefficient of friction between
right wheels and left wheels when brak-ing.
VSM operation
When the VSM is in operation, ESC indi-
cator light ( ) blinks.
When the vehicle stability management
is operating properly, you can feel a slight
pulsation in the vehicle. This is only the
effect of brake control and indicates noth-
ing unusual.
The VSM does not operate when:
Driving on bank road such as gradientor incline
Driving rearward
ESC OFF indicator light ( ) remains on the instrument cluster
EPS indicator light remains on the instrument cluster
WARNING
The HAC is usually activated only
for 2 seconds. The driver should be
careful from the rolling backwardcausing the accident with behind
objects or human, when the driver
may feel the unintended rolling
backward while driving off on hilldue to insufficient brake hold pres-
sure built-up by driver during stop-
ping procedure.

Driving your vehicle
36
5
VSM operation off
If you press the ESC OFF button to turn off
the ESC, the VSM will also cancel and the
ESC OFF indicator light ( ) illuminates.
To turn on the VSM, press the button
again. The ESC OFF indicator light goesout.
Malfunction indicator
The VSM can be deactivated even if you
don’t cancel the VSM operation by press-
ing the ESC OFF button. It indicates thata malfunction has been detected some-
where in the Electric Power Steering sys-
tem or VSM system. If the ESC indicator
light ( ) or EPS warning light remains
on, we recommend that you contact an
authorized Kia dealer.
✽✽
NOTICE
 The VSM is designed to function above approximately 15 km/h (9 mph)
on curves.
 The VSM is designed to function above approximately 30 km/h (18
mph) when a vehicle is braking on a
split-mu road. The split-mu road is
made of surfaces which have different
friction forces.
ESS : Emergency Stop Signal The Emergency Stop Signal system
alerts the driver behind by blinking the
stop light when the vehicle suddenly
stops or when the ABS activates in a
stop. (The system activates when the
vehicle speed is over 55km/h and the
vehicle deceleration is over 7m/s² or the
ABS activates when the vehicle emer-
gency braking.)
When the vehicle speed is under 40 km/h
and the ABS deactivates or the sudden
stop situation is over, the stop light blink-
ing will stop.
WARNING
The Vehicle Stability Management system is not a substitute for
safe driving practices but a sup-
plementary function only. It is theresponsibility of the driver to
always check the speed and the
distance to the vehicle ahead.
Always hold the steering wheel
firmly while driving.
Your vehicle is designed to acti- vate according to the driver’s
intention, even with installed
VSM. Always follow all the normal
precautions for driving at safe
speeds for the conditions –
including driving inclement
weather and on a slippery road.
Driving with varying tire or wheel sizes may cause the VSM system
to malfunction. When replacing
tires, make sure they are the
same size as your original tires.
CAUTION
The Emergency Stop Signal system
will not work if the hazard warning flasher is already on.