Driving your vehicle
54
5
Remember, your vehicle does not
require extended warm-up. After
the engine has started, allow the
engine to run for 10 to 20 seconds
prior to placing the vehicle in gear.
In very cold weather, however, give
your engine a slightly longer warm-
up period.
Don't "lug" or "over-rev" the engine. Lugging is driving too slowly in a
very high gear resulting in engine
bucking. If this happens, shift to a
lower gear. Over-revving is racing
the engine beyond its safe limit.
This can be avoided by shifting at
the recommended speed. Use your air conditioning sparingly.
The air conditioning system is
operated by engine power so your
fuel economy is reduced when you
use it.
Open windows at high speeds can reduce fuel economy.
Fuel economy is less in crosswinds and headwinds. To help offset
some of this loss, slow down when
driving in these conditions.
Keeping a vehicle in good operating
condition is important both for econ-
omy and safety. Therefore, have an
authorized Kia dealer perform
scheduled inspections and mainte-
nance.
WARNING - Engine off during
motion
Never turn the engine off to
coast down hills or anytime the
vehicle is in motion. The power
steering and power brakes will
not function properly without
the engine running. Instead,
keep the engine on and down-
shift to an appropriate gear for
engine braking effect. In addi-
tion, turning off the ignition
while driving could engage the
steering wheel lock resulting in
loss of vehicle steering which
could cause serious injury or
death.
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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.
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.
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.
CAUTION
Prolonged rocking may causeengine overheating, transaxledamage or failure, and tire dam-age.
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Driving your vehicle
Driving at night
Because night driving presents more
hazards than driving in the daylight,
here are some important tips to
remember:
Slow down and keep more dis-tance between you and other vehi-
cles, as it may be more difficult to
see at night, especially in areas
where there may not be any street
lights. Adjust your mirrors to reduce the
glare from other driver's head-
lights.
Keep your headlights clean and properly aimed. (On vehicles not
equipped with the automatic head-
light aiming feature.) Dirty or
improperly aimed headlights will
make it much more difficult to see
at night.
Avoid staring directly at the head- lights of oncoming vehicles. You
could be temporarily blinded, and it
will take several seconds for your
eyes to readjust to the darkness.
Driving in the rain
Rain and wet roads can make driving
dangerous, especially if you’re not
prepared for the slick pavement.
Here are a few things to consider
when driving in the rain:
A heavy rainfall will make it harderto see and will increase the dis-
tance needed to stop your vehicle,
so slow down.
Keep your windshield wiping equipment in good shape. Replace
your windshield wiper blades when
they show signs of streaking or
missing areas on the windshield.
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Driving your vehicle
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5
If your tires are not in good condi-
tion, making a quick stop on wet
pavement can cause a skid and
possibly lead to an accident. Be
sure your tires are in good shape.
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 you may have gotten your brakes wet, apply them lightly
while driving until normal braking
operation returns.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 be
affected.
After driving through water, dry the
brakes by gently applying them sev-
eral times while the vehicle is moving
slowly.
Driving off-road
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.
Highway driving
Tires
Adjust the tire inflation pressures to
specification. Low tire inflation pres-
sures will result in overheating and
possible failure of the tires.
Avoid using worn or damaged tires
which may result in reduced traction
or tire failure.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
Never exceed the maximum tire
inflation pressure shown on the
tires.
Driving your vehicle
62
5
Don’t let your parking brake
freeze
Under some conditions your parking
brake can freeze in the engaged
position. This is most likely to hap-
pen 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 the parking brake
may freeze, apply it only temporarily
while you put the gear shift lever in P
(Park, 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.
Don't let ice and snow accu-
mulate underneath
Under some conditions, snow and
ice can build up under the fenders
and interfere with the steering. When
driving in severe winter conditions
where this may happen, you should
periodically check underneath the
vehicle to be sure the movement of
the front wheels and the steering
components are not obstructed.
Carry emergency equipment
Depending on the severity of the
weather, you should carry appropri-
ate emergency equipment. Some of
the items you may want to carry
include tow straps or chains, flash-
light, emergency flares, sand, shov-
el, jumper cables, window scraper,
gloves, ground cloth, coveralls, blan-
ket, etc.
Driving your vehicle
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5
Driving with a trailer
Towing a trailer requires a certain
amount of experience. Before setting
out for the open road, you must get
to know your trailer. Acquaint your-
self with the feel of handling and
braking with the added weight of the
trailer. And always keep in mind that
the vehicle you are driving is now a
good deal longer and not nearly so
responsive as your vehicle is by
itself.
Before you start, check the trailer
hitch and platform, safety chains,
electrical connector(s), lights, tires
and mirror adjustment. If the trailer
has electric brakes, start your vehicle
and trailer moving and then apply the
trailer brake controller by hand to be
sure the brakes are working. This lets
you check your electrical connection
at the same time.
During your trip, check occasionally
to be sure that the load is secure,
and that the lights and any trailer
brakes are still working.
Following distance
Stay at least twice as far behind the
vehicle ahead as you would when
driving your vehicle without a trailer.
This can help you avoid situations
that require heavy braking and sud-
den turns.
Passing
You’ll need more passing distance
up ahead when you’re towing a trail-
er. 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. Due to the added load to the
engine when going uphill the vehicle
may also take longer to pass than it
would on flat ground.
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 near the edge of the
road. Avoid jerky or sudden maneu-
vers. Signal well in advance before
turning or lane changes.
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Driving your vehicle
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 trailer
bulbs are still working. You must also
check the lights every time you dis-
connect and then reconnect the
wires.
Do not connect a trailer lighting sys-
tem directly to your vehicle’s lighting
system. Use only an approved trailer
wiring harness.
An authorized Kia dealer can assist
you in installing the wiring harness.
Driving on grades
Reduce 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 70
km/h (45 mph) to reduce the possi-
bility of engine and transaxle over-
heating.
If your trailer weighs more than the
maximum trailer weight without trail-
er brakes and you have an automat-
ic transaxle, you should drive in D
(Drive) when towing 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 trail-
er wiring harness could result
in damage to the vehicle electri-
cal system and/or personal
injury.
What to do in an emergency
26
ROAD WARNING
Hazard warning flasher
The hazard warning flasher serves
as a warning to other drivers to exer-
cise extreme caution when
approaching, overtaking, or passing
your vehicle.It should be used whenever emer-
gency repairs are being made or
when the vehicle is stopped near the
edge of a roadway.
Depress the flasher switch with the
ignition switch in any position. The
flasher switch is located in the center
console switch panel. All turn signal
lights will flash simultaneously.
• The hazard warning flasher oper-
ates whether your vehicle is run-
ning or not.
The turn signals do not work when the hazard flasher is on.
Care must be taken when using the hazard warning flasher while
the vehicle is being towed.
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