
Driving your vehicle
Before driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Key positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Engine start/stop button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
• Illuminated ENGINE START/STOP button . . . . . . . 5-7
. . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Starting the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Manual transaxle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Automatic transaxle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Brake system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
. . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Cruise control system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Active eco system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Economical operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41Special driving conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-44
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-44
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Winter driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-49
Vehicle load limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-50
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-50
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-53
Vehicle weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-55
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-55
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-55
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-55
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-55
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-55
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-55
. . . . . . . . . . . . 5-55
5

Driving your vehicle
10
5
Starting the engine with an
ignition key (if equipped)
1.Make sure the parking brake is
applied.
2. Manual Transaxle - Depress the
clutch pedal fully and shift the
transaxle into Neutral. Keep the
clutch pedal and brake pedal
depressed while turning the igni-
tion switch to the start position.
Automatic Transaxle - Place the
transaxle shift lever in P (Park).
Depress the brake pedal fully.
You can also start the engine when the shift lever is in the N (Neutral)position.
3.Turn the ignition switch to START and hold it there until the engine
starts (a maximum of 10 seconds),
then release the key.
It should be started withoutdepressing the accelerator.
4.Do not wait for the engine to warm up while the vehicle remains sta-
tionary.
Start driving at moderate engine
speeds. (Steep accelerating and
decelerating should be avoided.)
If the engine stalls while the vehicle
is in motion, do not attempt to move
the shift lever to the P (Park) posi-
tion. If traffic and road conditions per-
mit, you may put the shift lever in the
N (Neutral) position while the vehicle
is still moving and turn the ignition
switch to the START position in an
attempt to restart the engine.
STARTING THE ENGINE
WARNING- Proper footwear
Always wear appropriate shoes
when operating your vehicle.
Unsuitable shoes (high heels,
ski boots, sandals, etc.) may
interfere with your ability to use
the brake and accelerator ped-
als.CAUTION - Starter
Do not engage the starter for more than 10 seconds. If theengine stalls or fails to start,wait 5 to 10 seconds before re-engaging the starter. Improperuse of the starter may damageit.

Driving your vehicle
14
5
During cold weather, shifting may
be difficult until the transaxle lubri-
cant is warmed up. This is normal
and not harmful to the transaxle.
If you've come to a complete stop and it's hard to shift into 1st or R
(Reverse), leave the shift lever at
neutral position and release the
clutch. Depress the clutch pedal
and then shift into 1st or R
(Reverse) gear position.Using the clutch
The clutch should be depressed all
the way to the floor before shifting,
then released slowly. The clutch
pedal should always be fully
released while driving. Do not rest
your foot on the clutch pedal while
driving. This can cause unnecessary
wear. Do not partially engage the
clutch to hold the vehicle on an
incline. This causes unnecessary
wear. Use the foot brake or parking
brake to hold the vehicle on an
incline. Do not operate the clutch
pedal rapidly and repeatedly.
Downshifting
When you must slow down in heavy
traffic or while driving up steep hills,
downshift before the engine starts to
labor. Downshifting reduces the
chance of stalling and gives better
acceleration when you need to
increase your speed again. When the
vehicle is traveling down steep hills,
downshifting helps maintain safe
speed and prolongs brake life.
CAUTION - Prematurewear
Do not use the shift lever as a
handrest during driving, as thiscan result in premature wear ofthe transaxle shift forks.
WARNING- Automatic
transaxle
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 parking brake fully.
Unexpected and sudden vehicle
movement can occur if these
precautions are not followed.

Driving your vehicle
16
5
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)
OYDDDR4102N
+ (UP)
Button
Shift lever
- (DOWN)
To shift, depress the brake pedal and press the button.
The shift lever can be shifted freely. Press the button when shifting.

517
Driving your vehicle
For smooth operation, depress thebrake pedal when shifting from N(Neutral) to a forward or reversegear.
When stopped on an upgrade, do not
hold the vehicle with engine power.
Use the service brake or the parking
brake.
Transaxle ranges
The indicator light in the instrument
cluster displays the shift lever posi-
tion 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 front 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.CAUTION - Transaxle
To avoid damage to yourtransaxle, 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.
WARNING- Automatic
Transaxle
Before leaving the driver's seat,
always make sure the shift lever
is engaged in P (Park), set the
parking brake fully and shut the
engine off. Unexpected and
sudden vehicle movement may
occur if these precautions are
not followed.

519
Driving your vehicle
Up (+) : Push the lever forwardonce 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.Paddle shifter (if equipped)
The paddle shifter is available when
the shift lever is in the D position or
the sport mode.
OYDDDR2111
![KIA Cerato 2016 2.G Owners Manual Driving your vehicle
20
5
With the shift lever in the D position
The paddle shifter can operate when
the vehicle speed is more than 6.2
mph.
Pull the [+] or [-] paddle shifter once
to shift up or dow KIA Cerato 2016 2.G Owners Manual Driving your vehicle
20
5
With the shift lever in the D position
The paddle shifter can operate when
the vehicle speed is more than 6.2
mph.
Pull the [+] or [-] paddle shifter once
to shift up or dow](/manual-img/2/2972/w960_2972-341.png)
Driving your vehicle
20
5
With the shift lever in the D position
The paddle shifter can operate when
the vehicle speed is more than 6.2
mph.
Pull the [+] or [-] paddle shifter once
to shift up or down one gear and the
system changes from automatic
mode to manual mode.
If the vehicle speed is lower than 6.2
mph, if you depress the accelerator
pedal for more than 7 seconds or if
you shift the shift lever from D to
sports mode and shift it from sports
mode to D again, the system change
from manual mode to automatic
mode.
With the shift lever in the sports mode
Pull the [+] or [-] paddle shifter once
to shift up or down one gear.
If you pull the [+] and [-] paddle
shifters at the same time, you can't
shift the gear.Shift lock system (if equipped)
For your safety, the automatic
transaxle has a shift lock system
which prevents shifting the transaxle
out of P (Park) 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 ignition
switch to the ON position.
3.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. This is a normal con-
dition. Shift-lock override
(with smart key system)
If the shift lever cannot be moved
from the P (Park) position into the R
(Reverse) position with the brake
pedal depressed, continue depress-
ing the brake, then do the following:
1.Press the shift-lock release button.
2.Move the shift lever.
3.Have your vehicle inspected by an
authorized Kia dealer immediately.
WARNING - Shifting from
park
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.
OYDDDR4104

Driving your vehicle
22
5
Power brakes
Your vehicle has power-assisted
brakes that adjust automatically
through normal usage.
In the event that the power-assisted
brakes lose power because of a
stalled engine or some other reason,
you can still stop your vehicle by
applying greater force to the brake
pedal than you normally would. The
stopping distance, however, will be
longer.
When the engine is not running, the
reserve brake power is partially
depleted each time the brake pedal
is applied. Do not pump the brake
pedal when the power assist has
been interrupted.
Pump the brake pedal only when
necessary to maintain steering con-
trol on slippery surfaces.
Wet brakes may impair the vehicle’s
ability to safely slow down; the vehi-
cle may also pull to one side when
the brakes are applied. Applying the
brakes lightly will indicate whether
they have been affected in this way.To dry the brakes, apply them lightly
while maintaining a safe forward
speed until brake performance
returns to normal.
In the event of brake failure
If service brakes fail to operate while
the vehicle is in motion, you can
make an emergency stop with the
parking brake. The stopping dis-
tance, however, will be much greater
than normal.
BRAKE SYSTEM
WARNING- Parking brake
Avoid applying the parking
brake to stop the vehicle while it
is moving except in an emer-
gency situation. Applying the
parking brake while the vehicle
is moving at normal speeds can
cause a sudden loss of control
of the vehicle. If you must use
the parking brake to stop the
vehicle, use great caution in
applying the brake.
WARNING- Steep hill braking
Avoid continuous application of
the brakes when descending a
long or steep hill by shifting to a
lower gear. Continuous brake
application will cause the
brakes to overheat and could
result in a temporary loss of
braking performance.
CAUTION- Brake pedal
Do not drive with your foot rest- ing on the brake pedal. This willcreate abnormally high braketemperatures which can causeexcessive brake lining and padwear.