2015 KIA Sorento Owner's Manual

Driving your vehicle40
5Vehicle stability management
(VSM)This system provides further
enhancements to vehicle stability
and steering responses when a vehi-
cle is driving on a slippery road or a
vehicle detects changes in coeffi-
cient of friction between right wheels
and left wheels when braking.VSM operationWhen the VSM is in operation, ESC
indicator light ( ) blinks.
When the vehicle stability manage-
ment is operating properly, you can
feel a slight pulsation in the vehicle
and/or abnormal steering responses
(EPS). This is only the effect of brake
and EPS control and indicates noth-
ing unusual. The VSM does not operate when:
 Driving on bank road such as gra-
dient or incline
 Driving in reverse
 ESC OFF indicator light ( ) remains on the instrument cluster
 EPS indicator light remains on the instrument cluster
VSM operation offIf 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
goes out.
Malfunction indicatorThe VSM can be deactivated even if
you don’t cancel the VSM operation
by pressing the ESC OFF button. It
indicates that a malfunction has
been detected somewhere in the
Electric Power Steering system or
VSM system. If the ESC indicator
light ( ) or EPS warning light
remains on, take your vehicle to an
authorized Kia dealer and have the
system checked.
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Driving your vehicle
✽
✽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 dif-
ferent friction forces.
Hill-start assist control (HAC)A vehicle has the tendency to roll
back on a steep hill when it starts to
go after stopping. The Hill-start
Assist Control (HAC) prevents the
vehicle from rolling back by applying
the brakes automatically for about
1.5 seconds. The brakes are
released when the accelerator pedal
is depressed or after about 1.5 sec-
onds.✽ ✽ 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 acti-
vate when the ESC has malfunc-
tioned.
WARNING
 The Vehicle Stability
Management system is not a
substitute for safe driving
practices but a supplemen-
tary function only. It is the
responsibility of the driver to
always check the speed and
the distance to the vehicle
ahead. Always hold the steer-
ing wheel firmly while driving.
 Your vehicle is designed to activate according to the dri-
ver’s intention, even with
installed VSM. Always follow
all the normal precautions for
driving at safe speeds for the
conditions – including driving
in clement 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.
WARNING
The HAC is activated only for
about 1.5 seconds, so when the
vehicle is starting off always
depress the accelerator pedal.
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Driving your vehicle42
5Good braking practices
 Check to be sure the parking brake
is not engaged and the parking
brake indicator light is out before
driving away.
 Driving through water may get the brakes wet. They can also get wet
when the vehicle is washed. Wet
brakes can be dangerous! Your
vehicle will not stop as quickly if the
brakes are wet. Wet brakes may
cause the vehicle to pull to one
side.
To dry the brakes, apply the brakes
lightly until the braking action
returns to normal, taking care to
keep the vehicle under control at
all times. If the braking action does
not return to normal, stop as soon
as it is safe to do so and call an
authorized Kia dealer for assis-
tance.  Don't coast down hills with the
vehicle out of gear. This is extreme-
ly hazardous. Keep the vehicle in
gear at all times, use the brakes to
slow down, then shift to a lower
gear so that engine braking will
help you maintain a safe speed.
 Don't "ride" the brake pedal. Resting your foot on the brake
pedal while driving can be danger-
ous because the brakes might
overheat and lose their effective-
ness. It also increases the wear of
the brake components.
 If a tire goes flat while you are driv- ing, apply the brakes gently and
keep the vehicle pointed straight
ahead while you slow down. When
you are moving slowly enough for it
to be safe to do so, pull off the road
and stop in a safe place.
WARNING
 Whenever you leave or parkyour vehicle, always set the
parking brake as far as possi-
ble and shift the vehicle to 1st
(First) gear or R (Reverse) for
manual transaxle, or P (Park)
for automatic transaxle. If the
parking brake is not fully
engaged, the vehicle may
move inadvertently and injure
yourself and others.
 All vehicles should always have the parking brake fully
engaged when parking to
avoid inadvertent movement
of the vehicle which can injure
occupants or pedestrians.
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543
Driving your vehicle
 If your vehicle is equipped with anautomatic transaxle, don't let your
vehicle creep forward. To avoid
creeping forward, keep your foot
firmly on the brake pedal when the
vehicle is stopped.
 Be cautious when parking on a hill. Firmly engage the parking brake
and place the shift lever in P (auto-
matic transaxle) or in first or
reverse gear (manual transaxle). If
your vehicle is facing downhill, turn
the front wheels into the curb to
help keep the vehicle from rolling. If
your vehicle is facing uphill, turn
the front wheels away from the
curb to help keep the vehicle from
rolling. If there is no curb or if it is
required by other conditions to
keep the vehicle from rolling, block
the wheels.  Under some conditions your park-
ing brake can freeze in the
engaged position. This is most like-
ly to happen 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
that 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.
 Do not hold the vehicle on the upgrade with the accelerator
pedal. This can cause the transaxle
to overheat. Always use the brake
pedal or parking brake.
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Driving your vehicle44
51. Cruise indicator
2. Cruise set indicator
The cruise control system allows you
to program the vehicle to maintain a
constant speed without pressing the
accelerator pedal.
This system is designed to function
above approximately 40 km/h (25
mph).CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM (IF EQUIPPED)
WARNING
 If the cruise control is left on
(CRUISE indicator light in the
instrument cluster illuminat-
ed), the cruise control can be
switched on accidentally.
Keep the cruise control sys-
tem off (CRUISE indicator
light OFF) when the cruise
control is not in use, to avoid
inadvertently setting a speed.
 Use the cruise control system only when traveling on open
highways in good weather.
 Do not use the cruise control when it may not be safe to
keep the vehicle at a constant
speed, for instance, driving in
heavy or varying traffic, or on
slippery (rainy, icy or snow-
covered) or winding roads or
over 6% up-hill or down-hill
roads.
 Pay particular attention to the driving conditions whenever
using the cruise control sys-
tem.
(Continued)
(Continued)
 Be careful when drivingdownhill using the cruise con-
trol system, which may
increase the vehicle speed.
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545
Driving your vehicle
✽
✽NOTICE• During normal cruise control
operation, when the SET switch is
activated or reactivated after
applying the brakes, the cruise
control will energize after approx-
imately 3 seconds. The delay is
normal.
• To activate cruise control, depress the brake pedal at least once after
turning the ignition switch to the
ON position or starting the engine.
This is to check if the brake switch
which is important part to cancel
cruise control is in normal condi-
tion.
Cruise control switchCRUISE : Turns cruise control sys-
tem on or off.
CANCEL: Cancels cruise control
operation.
RES+: Resumes or increases cruise control speed.
SET-: Sets or decreases cruise con- trol speed.
To set cruise control speed:1. Press the CRUISE button on thesteering wheel to turn the system
on. The CRUISE indicator light in
the instrument cluster will illumi-
nate.
2. Accelerate to the desired speed, which must be more than 40 km/h
(25 mph ).
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Driving your vehicle46
53. Move the lever down (to SET-),
and release it at the desired
speed. The SET indicator light in
the instrument cluster will illumi-
nate. Release the accelerator
pedal at the same time. The
desired speed will automatically
be maintained.On a steep grade, the vehicle mayslow down or speed up slightly whilegoing uphill or downhill.
To increase cruise control set
speed:Follow either of these procedures:
 Move the lever up (to RES+) and hold it. Your vehicle will accelerate.
Release the lever at the speed you
want.
 Move the lever up (to RES+) and release it immediately.
The cruising speed will increase by
2km/h (or 1 mph) each time you
move the lever up (to RES+) in this
manner.
To decrease the cruising
speed:Follow either of these procedures:
 Move the lever down (to SET-) andhold it. Your vehicle will gradually
slow down. Release the lever at the
speed you want to maintain.
 Move the lever down (to SET-) and release it immediately.
The cruising speed will decrease
by 1.6 km/h (1 mph) each time you
move the lever down (to SET-) in
this manner.
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Driving your vehicle
To temporarily accelerate with
the cruise control on:If you want to speed up temporarily
when the cruise control is on,
depress the accelerator pedal.
Increased speed will not interfere
with cruise control operation or
change the set speed.
To return to the set speed, take your
foot off the accelerator.
To cancel cruise control, do
one of the following: Press the brake pedal.
 Shift into N (Neutral) with an auto-matic transaxle.
 Push the CANCEL switch located on the steering wheel.
 Decrease the vehicle speed lower than the memory speed by 15
km/h (9 mph ).
 Decrease the vehicle speed to less than approximately 40 km/h (25
mph).
Each of these actions will cancelcruise control operation (the SETindicator light in the instrument clus-ter will go off), but it will not turn thesystem off. If you wish to resumecruise control operation, push theRES + switch located on your steer-ing wheel. You will return to your pre-viously preset speed.
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