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Driving your vehicle
SpECIAL DRIVING CONDITIONS
Hazardous driving conditions
When hazardous driving conditions
are encountered such as water,
snow, ice, mud or sand:
Drive cautiously and allow extra dis
tance for braking.
Avoid sudden movements in braking
or steering.
If stuck in snow, mud, or sand, use
second gear. Accelerate slowly 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.
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 and R (Reverse,
for manual transaxle vehicle) or R
(Reverse) and a forward gear (for
automatic transaxle vehicle). Try to
avoid spinning the wheels, and do
not race the engine.
To prevent transaxle wear, wait until
the wheels stop spinning before
shifting gears. Release the accelera
tor pedal while shifting, and press
lightly on the accelerator pedal while
the transaxle is in gear. Slowly spin
ning the wheels in forward and
reverse directions causes a rocking
motion that may free the vehicle.
Downshifting with an automatic
transaxle, while driving on slippery
surfaces can cause an accident.
The sudden change in tire speed
could cause the tires to skid. Be
careful when downshifting on slip
pery surfaces.
WARNING
If the vehicle is stuck and exces
sive wheel spin occurs, the tem
perature in the tires can increase
very quickly. If the tires become
damaged, a tire blow out or tire
explosion can occur. This condi
tion is dangerous you and others
may be injured. Do not attempt
this procedure if people or objects
are anywhere near the vehicle.
If you attempt to free the vehicle,
the vehicle can overheat quickly,
possibly causing an engine com
partment fire or other damage. Try
to avoid spinning the wheels as
much as possible to prevent over
heating of either the tires or the
engine. DO NOT allow the vehicle
to spin the wheels above 35 mph
(56 km/h).
WARNING

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Driving your vehicle
Driving in the rain
Rain and wet roads can make driving
dangerous. Here are a few things to
consider when driving in the rain or
on slick pavement:
• Slow down and allow extra follow ing distance. A heavy rainfall
makes it harder to see and increas
es the distance needed to stop
your vehicle.
• Replace your windshield wiper blades when they show signs of
streaking or missing areas on thewindshield.
• Be sure your tires have enough tread. If your tires do not have
enough tread, making a quick stop
on wet pavement can cause a skid
and possibly lead to an accident.
See “Tire Tread
”in chapter 7.
• Turn on your headlights to make it easier for others to see you. • Driving too fast through large pud
dles can affect your brakes. If you
must go through puddles, try to
drive through them slowly.
• If you believe your brakes may be wet, apply them lightly while driv
ing until normal braking operation
returns.
Hydroplaning
If the road is wet enough and you are
going fast enough, your vehicle may
have little or no contact with the road
surface and actually ride on the
water. The best advice is SLOWDOWN when the road is wet. The
risk of hydroplaning increases as the
depth of tire tread decreases, refer to
“Tire Tread” in chapter 7.
Driving in flooded areas
Avoid driving through flooded areas
unless you are sure the water is no
higher than the bottom of the wheel
hub. Drive through any water slowly.
Allow adequate stopping distance
because brake performance may bereduced.
After driving through water, dry the
brakes by gently applying them sev
eral times while the vehicle is moving
slowly.

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Driving your vehicle
Snow or icy conditions
You need to keep sufficient distance
between your vehicle and the vehicle
in front of you.
Apply the brakes gently. Speeding,
rapid acceleration, sudden brake
applications, and sharp turns are
potentially very hazardous practices.
During deceleration, use engine
braking to the fullest extent. Sudden
brake applications on snowy or icy
roads may cause the vehicle to skid.
To drive your vehicle in deep snow, it
may be necessary to use snow tires
or to install tire chains on your tires.
Always carry emergency equipment.
Some of the items you may want to
carry include tire chains, tow straps
or chains, a flashlight, emergency
flares, sand, a shovel, jumper cables,
a window scraper, gloves, ground
cloth, coveralls, a blanket, etc.
Snow tires
If you mount snow tires on your vehi
cle, make sure to use radial tires of
the same size and load range as the
original tires. Mount snow tires on all
four wheels to balance your vehicle’s
handling in all weather conditions.
The traction provided by snow tires
on dry roads may not be as high as
your vehicle's original equipmenttires. Check with the tire dealer for
maximum speed recommendations.
Information
Do not install studded tires without
first checking local and municipal reg
ulations for possible restrictions
against their use.i
WINTER DRIVING
Snow tires should be equivalent in
size and type to the vehicle's stan
dard tires. Otherwise, the safety
and handling of your vehicle may
be adversely affected.
WARNING

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Driving your vehicle
5
Tire chains
Since the sidewalls of radial tires are
thinner than other types of tires, they
may be damaged by mounting some
types of tire chains on them.
Therefore, the use of snow tires is
recommended instead of tire chains.
Do not mount tire chains on vehicles
equipped with aluminum wheels; if
unavoidable use a wire type chain. If
tire chains must be used, use gen
uine HYUNDAI parts and install the
tire chain after reviewing the instruc
tions provided with the tire chains.
Damage to your vehicle caused by
improper tire chain use is not cov
ered by your vehicle manufacturer’s
warranty.
Information
• Install tire chains on the front tires. It should be noted that installing tire
chains on the tires will provide a
greater driving force, but will not
prevent side skids.
• Do not install tire chains without first checking local and municipal
regulations for possible restrictions
against their use.
Chain Installation
When installing tire chains, follow the
manufacturer's instructions and
mount them as tightly possible. Drive
slowly (less than 30 km/h (20 mph))
with chains installed. If you hear the
chains contacting the body or chas
sis, stop and tighten them. If they still
make contact, slow down until the
noise stops. Remove the tire chains
as soon as you begin driving on
cleared roads.
When mounting snow chains, park
the vehicle on level ground away
from traffic. Turn on the vehicle
Hazard Warning Flasher and place a
triangular emergency warning device
behind the vehicle (if available).
Always place the vehicle in P (Park),
apply the parking brake and turn off
the engine before installing snow
chains.
i
OED050200
The use of tire chains may
adversely affect vehicle handling:
•Drive less than 30 km/h (20
mph) or the chain manufactur
er’s recommended speed limit,
whichever is lower.
•Drive carefully and avoid
bumps, holes, sharp turns, and
other road hazards, which may
cause the vehicle to bounce.
•Avoid sharp turns or locked
wheel braking.
WARNING

When using tire chains:
•Wrong size chains or improperly
installed chains can damage your
vehicle's brake lines, suspension,
body and wheels.
•Use SAE “S” class or wire chains.
•If you hear noise caused by chains
contacting the body, retighten the
chain to prevent contact with the
vehicle body.
•To prevent body damage, retighten
the chains after driving 0.5~1.0 km
(0.3~0.6 miles).
•Do not use tire chains on vehicles
equipped with aluminum wheels. If
unavoidable, use a wire type
chain.
•Use wire chains less than 15 mm
(0.59 in) wide to prevent damage
to the chain’s connection.
Winter precautions
Use high quality ethylene glycol
coolant
Your vehicle is delivered with high
quality ethylene glycol coolant in the
cooling system. It is the only type of
coolant that should be used because
it helps prevent corrosion in the cool
ing system, lubricates the water
pump and prevents freezing. Be sure
to replace or replenish your coolant
in accordance with the maintenance
schedule in chapter 7. Before winter,
have your coolant tested to assure
that its freezing point is sufficient for
the temperatures anticipated during
the winter.
Check battery and cables
Winter puts additional burdens on
the battery system. Visually inspect
the battery and cables as described
in chapter 7. The level of charge in
your battery can be checked by an
authorized HYUNDAI dealer or a
service station.
Change to "winter weight" oil if
necessary
In some climates it is recommended
that a lower viscosity "winter weight"
oil be used during cold weather. See
chapter 8 for recommendations. If
you aren't sure what weight oil you
should use, we recommend that you
consult with an authorized HYUNDAI
dealer.
Check spark plugs and ignition
system
Inspect your spark plugs as
described in chapter 7 and replace
them if necessary. Also check all
ignition wiring and components to be
sure they are not cracked, worn or
damaged in any way.
NOTICE
Driving your vehicle
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