Driving your vehicle45
WARNING
- Driving
under the influence of
alcohol or drugs
Drinking and driving is danger-
ous. Drunk driving is the num-
ber one contributor to the high-
way death toll each year. Even a
small amount of alcohol will
affect your reflexes, percep-
tions and judgment. Driving
while under the influence of
drugs is as dangerous or more
dangerous than driving drunk.
You are much more likely to
have a serious accident if you
drink or take drugs and drive.
If you are drinking or taking
drugs, don’t drive. Do not ride
with a driver who has been
drinking or taking drugs.
Choose a designated driver or
call a cab.
WARNING
All passengers must be proper-
ly belted whenever the vehicle
is moving. Refer to “Seat belts”
in chapter 3 for more informa-
tion on their proper use.
WARNING
Always check the surrounding
areas near your vehicle for peo-
ple, especially children, before
putting a vehicle into D (Drive)
or R (Reverse).
WARNING
When you intend to park or
stop the vehicle with the
engine on, be careful not to
depress the accelerator pedal
for a long period of time. It
may overheat the engine or
exhaust system and ignite a
fire.
When you make a sudden stop or turn the steering
wheel rapidly, loose objects
may drop on the floor and it
could interfere with the opera-
tion of the foot pedals, possi-
bly causing an accident. Keep
all things in the vehicle safely
stored.
If you do not focus on driving, it may cause an accident. Be
careful when operating what
may disturb driving such as
audio or heater. It is the
responsibility of the driver to
always drive safely.
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Driving your vehicle
Good driving practices Never take the vehicle out of gearand coast down a hill. This is
extremely hazardous. Always leave
the vehicle in gear.
Don't "ride" the brakes. This can cause them to overheat and mal-
function. Instead, when you are
driving down a long hill, slow down
and shift to a lower gear. When you
do this, engine braking will help
slow down the vehicle.
Slow down before shifting to a lower gear. This will help avoid
over-revving the engine, which can
cause damage.
Slow down when you encounter cross winds. This gives you much
better control of your vehicle.
Be sure the vehicle is completely stopped before you attempt to shift
into reverse. The transaxle can be
damaged if you do not. To shift into
reverse, depress the clutch, move
the shift lever to neutral, then shift
to the reverse position. 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.
WARNING
Always buckle-up! In a colli-sion, an unbelted occupant is
significantly more likely to be
seriously injured or killed than
a properly belted occupant.
Avoid high speeds when cor- nering 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
oversteers to reenter the road-
way.
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 limits.
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Driving your vehicle
Good driving practices Never move the gear shift leverfrom P (Park) to any other position
with the accelerator pedal
depressed.
Never move the gear shift lever into P (Park) when the vehicle is in
motion.
Be sure the vehicle is completely stopped before you attempt to shift
into R (Reverse) or D (Drive).
Never take the vehicle out of gear and coast down a hill. This may be
extremely hazardous. Always leave
the vehicle in gear when moving.
Do not "ride" the brakes. This can cause them to overheat and mal-
function. Instead, when you are
driving down a long hill, slow down
and shift to a lower gear. When you
do this, engine braking will help
slow down the vehicle.
Slow down before shifting to a lower gear. Otherwise, the lower
gear may not be engaged. Always use the parking brake. Do
not depend on placing the
transaxle in P (Park) to keep the
vehicle 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
accelerator pedal.
WARNING
Always buckle-up! In a colli-sion, an unbelted occupant is
significantly more likely to be
seriously injured or killed than
a properly belted occupant.
Avoid high speeds when cor- nering 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
oversteers to reenter the road-
way.
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 limits.
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Driving your vehicle26
5 You must consciously take the
effort to learn how to corner in an
AWD vehicle. Do not rely on your
experience in conventional 2WD
vehicles in choosing safe cornering
speed in AWD mode. For starters,
you must drive more slowly in
AWD.
Drive carefully off-road because your vehicle may be damaged by
rocks or roots of trees. Become
familiar with the off-road conditions
where you are going to drive
before you begin driving. Always hold the steering wheel
firmly when you are driving off-
road.
Make sure all passengers are wearing seat belts.
If you need to drive in the water, stop your vehicle, set your transfer
to the AWD LOCK mode and drive
at less than 8 km/h (5 mph).
WARNING
- Steeringwheel
Do not grab the inside of the
steering wheel when you are
driving off-road. You may hurt
your arm by a sudden steering
maneuver or from steering
wheel rebound due to impact
with objects on the ground. You
could lose control of the steer-
ing wheel.
WARNING
- Wind danger
If you are driving in heavy wind,
the vehicle's higher center of
gravity decreases your steering
control capacity and requires
you to drive more slowly.
OXM053026
WARNING
- 4WD
Reduce speed when you turn
corners. The center of gravity of
AWD vehicles is higher than
that of conventional 2WD vehi-
cles, making them more likely to
roll over when you turn corners
too fast.
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Driving your vehicle
✽
✽NOTICE• Do not drive in water if the level is
higher than the bottom of the vehi-
cle.
• Check your brake condition once you are out of mud or water. Press
the brake pedal several times as
you move slowly until you feel nor-
mal braking forces return.
• Shorten your scheduled mainte- nance interval if you drive in off-
road conditions such as sand, mud
or water (see “Maintenance under
severe usage conditions” in chap-
ter 7). Always wash your vehicle
thoroughly after off-road use,
especially cleaning the bottom of
the vehicle.
• Since the driving torque is always applied to the 4 wheels the per-
formance of the AWD vehicle is
greatly affected by the condition of
the tires. Be sure to equip the vehi-
cle with four tires of the same size
and type.
• A full time four wheel drive vehi- cle cannot be towed by an ordi-
nary tow truck. Make sure that
the vehicle is placed on a flat bed
truck for moving.
WARNING
- Drivingthrough
water
Drive slowly. If you are driving
too fast in water, the water can
get into the engine compart-
ment and wet the ignition sys-
tem, causing your vehicle to
suddenly stop. If this happens
and your vehicle is in a tilted
position, your vehicle may roll
over.
WARNING
- AWD driving
Avoid high cornering speed.
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 high speed.
In a collision, an unbelted per- son is significantly more like-
ly to die compared to a person
wearing a seat belt.
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off
the roadway and the driver
oversteers to re-enter the
roadway. In the event your
vehicle leaves the roadway, do
not steer sharply. Instead,
slow down before pulling
back into the travel lanes.
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Driving your vehicle28
5
Reducing the risk of a rolloverThis multi-purpose passenger vehi-
cle is defined as a Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV). A SUV has higher
ground clearance and a narrower
track to make it more capable of per-
forming in a wide variety of off-road
applications. Specific design charac-
teristics give them a higher center of
gravity than ordinary vehicles. An
advantage of the higher ground
clearance is a better view of the
road, which allows you to anticipate
problems. A SUV is not designed for
cornering at the same speeds as
conventional passenger vehicles,
any more than low profile sports cars
are designed to perform satisfactori-
ly in off-road conditions. Due to this
risk, driver and passengers are
strongly recommended to buckle
their seat belts. In a rollover crash,
an unbelted person is more likely to
die than a person wearing a seat
belt. There are steps that a driver can
take to reduce the risk of a rollover.
Avoid sharp turns, excessive speed,
and or abrupt maneuvers, do not
load your roof rack with heavy cargo,
and never modify your vehicle in any
way.
CAUTION
- Mud or snow
If one of the front or rear wheels
begins to spin in mud, snow,etc. the vehicle can sometimesbe driven out by depressing theaccelerator pedal further; how-ever avoid running the enginecontinuously at high rpmbecause doing so could dam-age the AWD system.
WARNING
- Jacked vehicle
While the full-time AWD vehicle
is being raised on a jack, never
start the engine or cause the
tires to rotate.
There is the danger that rotating
tires touching the ground could
cause the vehicle to go off the
jack and to jump forward.
WARNING
- Rollover
As with other Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV), failure to operate
this vehicle correctly may result
in loss of control, an accident or
vehicle rollover.
Utility vehicles have a signifi-
cantly higher rollover rate
than other types of vehicles.
Specific design characteris- tics (higher ground clearance,
narrower track, etc.) give this
vehicle a higher center of
gravity than ordinary vehicles.
A SUV is not designed for cor- nering at the same speeds as
conventional vehicles.
Avoid sharp turns or abrupt maneuvers.
In a rollover crash, an unbelt- ed person is significantly
more likely to die than a per-
son wearing a seat belt. Make
sure everyone in the vehicle is
properly buckled up.
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Driving your vehicle
Hazardous driving conditions When hazardous driving conditions
are encountered such as water,
snow, ice, mud, sand, or similar haz-
ards, follow these suggestions:
Drive cautiously and allow extradistance for braking.
Avoid sudden braking or steering.
When braking with non-ABS brakes pump the brake pedal with
a light up-and-down motion until
the vehicle is stopped. If stalled in snow, mud, or sand,
use second gear. Accelerate slow-
ly to avoid spinning the drive
wheels.
Use sand, rock salt, or other non- slip material under the drive
wheels to provide traction when
stalled in ice, snow, or mud.
Reducing the risk of a rolloverThis multi-purpose passenger vehi-
cle is defined as a Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV). SUV’s have higher
ground clearance and a narrower
track to make them capable of per-
forming in a wide variety of off-road
applications. Specific design charac-
teristics give them a higher center of
gravity than ordinary vehicles. An
advantage of the higher ground
clearance is a better view of the
road, which allows you to anticipate
problems. They are not designed for
cornering at the same speeds as
conventional passenger vehicles,
any more than low-slung sports vehi-
cles are designed to perform satis-
factorily in off-road conditions. Due to
this risk, driver and passengers are
strongly recommended to buckle
their seat belts. In a rollover crash,
an unbelted person is more likely to
die than a person wearing a seat
belt. There are steps that a driver can
make to reduce the risk of a rollover.
If at all possible, avoid sharp turns or
abrupt maneuvers, do not load your
roof rack with heavy cargo, and
never modify your vehicle in any way.
SPECIAL DRIVING CONDITIONS
WARNING
- ABS
Do not pump the brake pedal on
a vehicle equipped with ABS.
WARNING
- Downshifting
Downshifting with an automatic
transaxle, while driving on slip-
pery surfaces can cause an
accident. The sudden change in
tire speed could cause the tires
to skid. Be careful when down-
shifting on slippery surfaces.
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Driving your vehicle58
5
Rocking the vehicle If it is necessary to rock the vehicle
to free it from snow, sand, or mud,
first turn the steering wheel right and
left to clear the area around your
front wheels. Then, shift back and
forth between 1st (First) and R
(Reverse) in vehicles equipped with
a manual transaxle or R (Reverse)
and any forward gear in vehicles
equipped with an automatic
transaxle. Do not race the engine,
and spin the wheels as little as pos-
sible. If you are still stuck after a few
tries, have the vehicle pulled out by a
tow vehicle to avoid engine overheat-
ing and possible damage to the
transaxle.
CAUTION
Prolonged rocking may cause
engine overheating, transaxledamage or failure, and tire dam-age.
WARNING
Your vehicle is equipped with
tires designed to provide safe
ride and handling capability. Do
not use a size and type of tire
and wheel that is different from
the one that is originally
installed on your vehicle. It can
affect the safety and perform-
ance of your vehicle, which
could lead to steering failure or
rollover and serious injury.
When replacing the tires, be
sure to equip all four tires with
the tire and wheel of the same
size, type, tread, brand and
load-carrying capacity. If you
nevertheless decide to equip
your vehicle with any tire/wheel
combination not recommended
by Kia for off road driving, you
should not use these tires for
highway driving.
WARNING
- Rollover
As with other Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV), failure to operate
this vehicle correctly may result
in loss of control, an accident or
vehicle rollover.
Utility vehicles have a signifi- cantly higher rollover rate
than other types of vehicles.
Specific design characteris- tics (higher ground clearance,
narrower track, etc.) give this
vehicle a higher center of
gravity than ordinary vehicles.
A SUV is not designed for cor- nering at the same speeds as
conventional vehicles.
Avoid sharp turns or abrupt maneuvers.
In a rollover crash, an unbelt- ed person is significantly
more likely to die than a per-
son wearing a seat belt. Make
sure everyone in the vehicle is
properly buckled up.
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