2015 KIA PICANTO overheating

551
Driving your vehicle
Following distance
Stay at least twice as far behind the vehi-
cle ahead as you would when driving
your vehicle without a trailer. This can
help you avoid situations that require
heavy braking and sudden turns.
Passing
You’ll need more passing distance up
ahead when you’re towing a trailer. And,
because of the increased vehicle length,
you’ll need to go much farther beyond the
passed vehicle before you can return to
your lane.
Backing up
Hold the bottom of the steering wheel
with one hand. Then, to move the trailer
to the left, just move your hand to the left.
To move the trailer to the right, move your
hand to the right. Always back up slowly
and, if possible, have someone guide
you.
Making turns
When you’re turning with a trailer, make
wider turns than normal. Do this so your
trailer won’t strike soft shoulders, curbs,
road signs, trees, or other objects. Avoid
jerky or sudden maneuvers. Signal well
in advance.
Turn signals when towing a trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle has
to have a different turn signal flasher and
extra wiring. The green arrows on your
instrument panel will flash whenever you
signal a turn or lane change. Properly
connected, the trailer lights will also flash
to alert other drivers you’re about to turn,
change lanes, or stop.
When towing a trailer, the green arrows
on your instrument panel will flash for
turns even if the bulbs on the trailer are
burned out. Thus, you may think drivers
behind you are seeing your signals
when, in fact, they are not. It’s important
to check occasionally to be sure the trail-
er bulbs are still working. You must also
check the lights every time you discon-
nect and then reconnect the wires.
Do not connect a trailer lighting system
directly to your vehicle’s lighting system.
Use only an approved trailer wiring har-
ness.
An authorized Kia dealer can assist you
in installing the wiring harness.
Driving on grades
Reduce the speed and shift to a lower
gear before you start down a long or
steep downgrade. If you don’t shift down,
you might have to use your brakes so
much that they would get hot and no
longer operate efficiently.
On a long uphill grade, shift down and
reduce your speed to around 45 mph (70km/h) to reduce the possibility of engine
and transaxle overheating.
If your trailer weighs more than the max-
imum trailer weight without trailer brakes
and you have an automatic transaxle,
you should drive in D (Drive) when tow-
ing a trailer.
Operating your vehicle in D (Drive) when
towing a trailer will minimize heat build up
and extend the life of your transaxle.
WARNING
Failure to use an approved trailer wiring harness could result in dam-
age to the vehicle electrical system
and/or personal injury.

Driving your vehicle
52
5
Parking on hills
Generally, if you have a trailer attached to
your vehicle, you should not park your
vehicle on a hill. People can be seriously
or fatally injured, and both your vehicle
and the trailer can be damaged if unex-
pectedly roll down hill.
However, if you ever have to park your
trailer on a hill, here's how to do it:
1. Pull the vehicle into the parking space.
Turn the steering wheel in the direction
of the curb (right if headed down hill,left if headed up hill).
2. If the vehicle has a manual transaxle, place the car in neutral. If the vehicle
has an automatic transaxle, place the
car in P (Park).
3. Set the parking brake and shut off the vehicle.
4. Place chocks under the trailer wheels on the down hill side of the wheels. 5. Start the vehicle, hold the brakes, shift
to neutral, release the parking brake
and slowly release the brakes until the
trailer chocks absorb the load.
6. Reapply the brakes, reapply the park- ing brake and shift the vehicle to R
(Reverse) for manual transaxle or P
(Park) for automatic transaxle.
7. Shut off the vehicle and release the vehicle brakes but leave the parking
brake set.
WARNING - Parking brake
It can be dangerous to get out of
your vehicle if the parking brake is
not firmly set.
If you have left the engine running,
the vehicle can move suddenly. You
or others could be seriously or
fatally injured.
CAUTION
When towing a trailer on steep grades (in excess of 6%) pay
close attention to the enginecoolant temperature gauge toensure the engine does not over- heat. If the needle of the coolant
temperature gauge moves acrossthe dial towards “H (or 130°C / 260°F)” (HOT), pull over and stop
as soon as it is safe to do so, andallow the engine to idle until itcools down. You may proceedonce the engine has cooled suffi-
ciently.
You must decide the driving speed depending on trailerweight and uphill grade to reducethe possibility of engine and
transaxle overheating.
WARNING - Parking on a
hill
Parking your vehicle on a hill with a
trailer attached could cause seri-
ous injury or death, should the trail-
er break loose.

553
Driving your vehicle
When you are ready to leave after park-
ing on a hill
1. With the manual transaxle in Neutralor automatic transaxle in P (Park),
apply your brakes and hold the brake
pedal down while you:

and

2. Slowly remove your foot from the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear of the chocks.
4. Stop and have someone pick up and store the chocks. Maintenance when trailer towing
Your vehicle will need service more often
when you regularly pull a trailer.
Important items to pay particular atten-tion to include engine oil, automatic
transaxle fluid, axle lubricant and cooling
system fluid. Brake condition is another
important item to frequently check. Each
item is covered in this manual, and the
Index will help you find them quickly. If
you’re trailering, it’s a good idea to review
these sections before you start your trip.
Don’t forget to also maintain your trailer
and hitch. Follow the maintenance
schedule that accompanied your trailer
and check it periodically. Preferably, con-
duct the check at the start of each day’s
driving. Most importantly, all hitch nutsand bolts should be tight.CAUTION
Due to higher load during trailer
usage, overheating might occur
in hot days or during uphill driv- ing. If the coolant gauge indicatesover-heating, switch off the A/Cand stop the vehicle in a safe area
to cool down the engine.
When towing, check the transaxle fluid more frequently.
If your vehicle is not equipped with an air conditioner, you
should install a condenser fan toimprove engine performancewhen towing a trailer.

67
What to do in an emergency
IF THE ENGINE OVERHEATS
If your temperature gauge indicates over-
heating, you experience a loss of power,
or hear loud pinging or knocking, the
engine is probably too hot. If this hap-
pens, 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 condition-
ing 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 run-
ning 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 missing,
check to see that it is tight. If the drive
belt seems to be satisfactory, check for
coolant leaking from the radiator,
hoses or under the car. (If the air con-
ditioning 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 broken or engine coolant is leaking out, 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 tem-
perature has returned to normal. Then,if coolant has been lost, carefully add
coolant to the reservoir to bring the
fluid level in the reservoir up to the
halfway mark.
7. Proceed with caution, keeping alert for further signs of overheating. If overheat-
ing 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 such as the fan and
drive belts to prevent injury.
WARNING
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.
CAUTION
Serious loss of coolant indicates there is a leak in the cooling sys-
tem and we recommend that the system be checked by an author-ized Kia dealer.
When the engine overheats from low engine coolant, suddenly
adding engine coolant may causecracks in the engine. To prevent damage, add engine coolantslowly in small quantities.

Safety features of your vehicle
8
3
Seat warmer (if equipped)
The seat warmer is provided to warm the
front seats during cold weather. With the
ignition switch in the ON position, push
either of the switches to warm the driver'sseat or the front passenger's seat.
During mild weather or under conditions
where the operation of the seat warmer
is not needed, keep the switches in the"OFF" position.
Each time you press the button, the
temperature setting of the seat will
change as follows :
The seat warmer defaults to the OFF position whenever the ignition switch is
turned on.
✽✽ NOTICE
With the seat warmer switch in the ON
position, the heating system in the seat
turns off or on automatically depending
on the seat temperature.
WARNING - Seat warmer
burns
Passengers should use extreme
caution when using seat warmers
due to the possibility of excess
heating or burns. The occupants
must be able to feel if the seat isbecoming too warm and to turn the
seat warmer off. The seat warmer
may cause burns even at low tem-
peratures, especially if used for
long periods of time.
In particular, the driver must exer-
cise extreme care for the following
types of passengers:
1. Infants, children, elderly or dis- abled persons, or hospital outpa- tients
2. Persons with sensitive skin or those that burn easily
3. Fatigued individuals
4. Intoxicated individuals
5. Individuals taking medication that can cause drowsiness or
sleepiness (sleeping pills, cold
tablets, etc.)CAUTION
When cleaning the seats, do not
use an organic solvent such as
paint thinner, benzene, alcoholand petrol. Doing so may damagethe surface of the heater or seats.
To prevent overheating the seat warmer, do not place anything onthe seats that insulates againstheat, such as blankets, cushionsor seat covers whilst the seat
warmer is in operation.
Do not place heavy or sharp objects on seats equipped withseat warmers. Damage to the seatwarming components could occur.
OFF HIGH( ) LOW( )

OTA030008R

447
Features of your vehicle
Engine coolant temperature gauge (for supervision cluster, if equipped)
Do not continue driving with an overheat-
ed engine. If your vehicle overheats, refer
to “If the engine overheats” in section 6. ECO ON/OFF mode (if equipped)

You can turn the ECO indicator on/off on
the instrument cluster in this mode.
If you push the RESET button more than
1 second in the ECO ON mode, ECO
OFF is displayed in the screen and the
ECO indicator turns off whilst driving.
If you want to display the ECO indicator
again, press the RESET button more than1 second in the ECO OFF mode and then
ECO ON mode is displayed in the screen.
When you press the TRIP button less
than 1 second in the ECO mode, the
mode is changed to tripmeter.
CAUTION
If the gauge moves beyond the nor-
mal range area toward the “130/H”
position, it indicates overheatingthat may damage the engine.
WARNING
Never remove the radiator cap
when the engine is hot. The enginecoolant is under pressure and
could cause severe burns. Wait
until the engine is cool before
adding coolant to the reservoir.
OTA043360E
OTA043360L
OTA040045/OTA042045
■ Type A ■Type B

Features of your vehicle
60
4
Engine coolant tempera-
ture warning light (if equipped)
The warning light illuminates if the tem-
perature of the engine coolant is above120±3.0°C (248±5.4°F).
Do not continue driving with an overheat-
ed engine. If your vehicle overheats, refer
to “Overheating” in section 6.
✽✽ NOTICE
If the engine coolant temperature warn-
ing light illuminates, it indicates over-
heating that may damage the engine.
ESC indicator (Electronic Stability Control) (if equipped)
The ESC indicator will illuminate when
the ignition switch is turned ON, but
should go off after approximately 3 sec-
onds. When the ESC is on, it monitors
the driving conditions. Under normal driv-
ing conditions, the ESC indicator will
remain off. When a slippery or low trac-tion condition is encountered, the ESC
will operate, and the ESC indicator will
blink to indicate the ESC is operating. But, if the ESC system malfunctions the
indicator illuminates and stays on. Take
your vehicle to an authorised Kia dealer
and have the system checked.
ESC OFF indicator
(if equipped)
The ESC OFF indicator will illuminate
when the ignition switch is turned ON,
but should go off after approximately 3
seconds. To switch to ESC OFF mode,
press the ESC OFF button. The ESCOFF indicator will illuminate indicating
the ESC is deactivated.
KEY OUT indicator (if equipped)
When the ENGINE START/STOP button
is in the ACC or ON position, if any door
is open, the system checks for the smart
key. If the smart key is not in the vehicle,
the indicator will blink, and if all doors are
closed, the chime will also sound for
about 5 seconds. The indicator will go off
whilst the vehicle is moving. Keep the
smart key in the vehicle.
KEY
OUT

Features of your vehicle
88
4
✽✽
NOTICE
 When using the air conditioning sys- tem, monitor the temperature gauge
closely whilst driving up hills or in
heavy traffic when outside tempera-
tures are high. Air conditioning sys-
tem operation may cause engine over-
heating. Continue to use the blower
fan but turn the air conditioning sys-
tem off if the temperature gauge indi-
cates engine overheating.
 When opening the windows in humid weather air conditioning may create
water droplets inside the vehicle.
Since excessive water droplets may
cause damage to electrical equipment,
air conditioning should only be used
with the windows closed.Air conditioning system operation tips
If the vehicle has been parked in direct
sunlight during hot weather, open the
windows for a short time to let the hot
air inside the vehicle escape.
To help reduce moisture inside of the windows on rainy or humid days,
decrease the humidity inside the vehi-
cle by operating the air conditioningsystem.
During air conditioning system opera- tion, you may occasionally notice aslight change in engine speed as the
air conditioning compressor cycles.
This is a normal system operation
characteristic.
Use the air conditioning system every month only for a few minutes to ensure
maximum system performance. When using the air conditioning sys-
tem, you may notice clear water drip-
ping (or even puddling) on the ground
under the passenger side of the vehi-
cle. This is a normal system operation
characteristic.
Operating the air conditioning system in the recirculated air position provides
maximum cooling, however, continual
operation in this mode may cause the
air inside the vehicle to become stale.
During cooling operation, you may occasionally notice a misty air flow
because of rapid cooling and humid air
intake. This is a normal system opera-
tion characteristic.
If you operate air conditioner exces- sively, the difference between the tem-
perature of the outside air and that ofthe windscreen could cause the outer
surface of the windscreen to fog up,
causing loss of visibility. In this case,
set the mode selection knob or button
to the position and fan speed con-
trol to the lower speed.