2015 KIA Sportage Owner's Manual

Driving your vehicle
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Good driving practices
Never take the vehicle out of gear
and 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.
Always buckle-up! In a collision, an unbelted occupant is significantly
more likely to be seriously injured
or killed than a properly belted
occupant.
Avoid high speeds when cornering or turning. High speed cornering
and turning increase the risk of
vehicle rollover. Rollover accidents
are violent and unpredictable.
Never exceed posted speed limits.

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Driving your vehicle
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Automatic transaxle operation
The automatic transaxle has 6 for-
ward speeds and one reverse speed.
The individual speeds are selected
automatically, depending on the
position of the shift lever.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
The first few shifts on a new vehicle,
if the battery has been disconnected,
may be somewhat abrupt. This is a
normal condition, and the shifting
sequence will adjust after shifts are
cycled a few times by the TCM
(Transaxle Control Module) or
PCM (Powertrain Control Module).
AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLE (IF EQUIPPED)
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+ (UP)
Button
Shift lever
- (DOWN)
To shift, depress the brake pedal and press the button when the ignition switch
is in the ON position.
The shift lever can be shifted freely. Press the button when shifting.

Driving your vehicle
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For smooth operation, depress the
brake pedal when shifting from N(Neutral) to a forward or reversegear.
When stopped on an incline, do not
hold the vehicle with the engine
power. Use the service brake or the
parking brake.
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Transaxle ranges
The indicator in the instrument clus-
ter displays the shift lever position
when the ignition switch is in the ON
position.
P (Park)
Always come to a complete stop
before shifting into P (Park). This
position locks the transaxle and pre-
vents the drive wheels from rotating.
Shifting into P (Park) while the vehi-
cle is in motion will cause the drive
wheels to lock which will cause you
to lose control of the vehicle.
WARNING- Leaving the vehicle
Before leaving the driver’s seat,
always make sure the shift lever
is in the P (Park) position; then
set the parking brake fully and
shut the engine off. Do not use
the P position in place of the
parking brake. Always make
sure the shift lever is latched in
the P position and set the park-
ing brake fully. Unexpected and
sudden vehicle movement can
occur if these precautions are
not followed.
CAUTION- Transaxle
To avoid damage to your
transaxle, do not accelerate theengine in R (Reverse) or any for-ward gear position with thebrakes on. The transaxle may bedamaged if you shift into P(Park) while the vehicle is inmotion.

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Driving your vehicle
R (Reverse)
Use this position to drive the vehicle
backward.N (Neutral)
The wheels and transaxle are not
engaged. The vehicle will roll freely
even on the slightest incline unless
the parking brake or service brakes
are applied.
D (Drive)
This is the normal forward driving
position. The transaxle will automati-
cally shift through a 6-gear
sequence, providing the best fuel
economy and power.
For extra power when passing anoth-
er vehicle or climbing grades,
depress the accelerator fully, at
which time the transaxle will auto-
matically downshift to the next lower
gear.Sports mode
Whether the vehicle is stationary or
in motion, sports mode is selected by
pushing the shift lever from the D
(Drive) position into the manual gate.
To return to D (Drive) range opera-
tion, push the shift lever back into the
main gate.
CAUTION- Shifting
Always come to a complete stop
before shifting into or out of R(Reverse); you may damage thetransaxle if you shift into R(Reverse) while the vehicle is inmotion, except when “Rockingthe vehicle” explained in thissection.
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Driving your vehicle
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In sports mode, moving the shift
lever backwards and forwards will
allow you to make gearshifts rapidly.
In contrast to a manual transaxle, the
sports mode allows gearshifts with
the accelerator pedal depressed.
Up (+) : Push the lever forward
once to shift up one gear.
Down (-) : Pull the lever backwards once to shift down one
gear. In sports mode, the driver must
execute upshifts in accordance
with road conditions, taking care to
keep the engine speed below the
red zone.
In sports mode, only the 6 forward gears can be selected. To reverse
or park the vehicle, move the shift
lever to the R (Reverse) or P (Park)
position as required.
In sports mode, downshifts are made automatically when the vehi-
cle slows down. When the vehicle
stops, 1st gear is automatically
selected.
In sports mode, when the engine rpm approaches the red zone shift
points are varied to upshift auto-
matically. To maintain the required levels of
vehicle performance and safety,
the system may not execute cer-
tain gearshifts when the shift lever
is operated.
When driving on a slippery road, push the shift lever forward into the
+(up) position. This causes the
transaxle to shift into the 2nd gear
which is better for smooth driving
on a slippery road. Push the shift
lever to the -(down) side to shift
back to the 1st gear.

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Driving your vehicle
Shift lock system
For your safety, the automatic
transaxle has a shift lock system
which prevents shifting the transaxle
from P (Park) into R (Reverse)
unless the brake pedal is depressed.
To shift the transaxle from P (Park)
into R (Reverse):
1.Depress and hold the brake pedal.
2.Start the engine or turn the ignitionswitch to the ON position.
3.Depress the lock release button and move the shift lever.
If the brake pedal is repeatedly
depressed and released with the
shift lever in the P (Park) position, a
chattering noise near the shift lever
may be heard. It is a normal condi-
tion. Shift-lock override
If the shift lever cannot be moved
from the P (Park) position into R
(Reverse) position with the brake
pedal depressed, continue depress-
ing the brake, then do the following:
1.Carefully remove the cap covering
the shift-lock access hole (1).
2.Insert a screwdriver into the access hole and press down on
the screwdriver.
3.Depress the lock release button (2) and move the shift lever.
4.Have your vehicle inspected by an authorized Kia dealer immediately.
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WARNING- Shiftingfrom part
Always fully depress the brake
pedal before and while shifting
out of the P (Park) position into
another position to avoid inad-
vertent motion of the vehicle
which could injure persons in
or around the vehicle.

Driving your vehicle
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Ignition key interlock system
The ignition key cannot be removed
unless the shift lever is in the P
(Park) position. Even if the ignition
switch is in the LOCK position, the
key also cannot be removed.
If your vehicle is equipped with
ENGINE START/STOP button, the
button will not change to the OFF
position unless the shift lever is in the
P (Park) position.
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Good driving practices
Never move the gear shift lever
from P (Park) or N (Neutral) 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).
Always use the parking brake. Do not depend on placing the
transaxle in P (Park) to keep the
vehicle from moving.
Optimum vehicle performance and economy is obtained by smoothly
depressing and releasing the
accelerator pedal.
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Moving up a steep grade from a
standing start
To move up a steep grade from a
standing start, depress the brake
pedal, shift the shift lever to D
(Drive). Select the appropriate gear
depending on load weight and steep-
ness of the grade, and release the
parking brake. Depress the accelera-
tor gradually while releasing the
service brakes.
When accelerating from a stop on
a steep hill, the vehicle may have a
tendency to roll backwards.
Shifting the shift lever into 2
(Second Gear) will help prevent
the vehicle from rolling back-
wards.

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Driving your vehicle
Engine power can be delivered to all
front and rear wheels for maximum
traction. 4WD is useful when extra
traction is required on road, such as,
when driving on slippery, muddy, wet,
or snow-covered roads. These vehi-
cles are not designed for challenging
off-road use. Occasional off-road use
such as established unpaved roads
and trails are OK. It is always impor-
tant when traveling off-highway that
the driver carefully reduces the speed
to a level that does not exceed the
safe operating speed for those condi-
tions. In general, off-road conditions
provide less traction and braking effec-
tiveness than normal road conditions.
The driver must be especially alert to
avoid driving on slopes which tilt the
vehicle to either side.
These factors must be carefully con-
sidered when driving off-road. Keeping
the vehicle in contact with the driving
surface and under control in these
conditions is always the driver's
responsibility for the safety of him/her-
self and his or her passengers.If the 4WD system warning light ( )
illuminates, this indicates that there
is a malfunction in the 4WD system.
If this occurs, have your vehicle
checked by an authorized Kia dealer
as soon as possible.Tight corner brake effect
Tight corner brake effect is a unique
characteristic of four-wheel drive
vehicles caused by the difference in
tire rotation at the four wheels and
the zero-degree alignment of the
front wheels and suspension.
Sharp turns at low speeds should be
carried out with caution.
FOUR WHEEL DRIVE (4WD) (IF EQUIPPED)
WARNING - Off road
driving
Do no attempt to operate you
vehicle under extreme or chal-
lenging off road driving condi-
tion. Although this vehicle has
off-road capability, it was not
designed to be driven off road.