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Driving your vehicle
18
6
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 brakesare applied. - Parking in N (Neutral) gear
Follow below steps when parking
and you want the vehicle to movewhen pushed.
1.After parking your vehicle, step on
the brake pedal and move the shift
lever to [P] with the ignition button
in [ON] or while the engine is run-ning.
2.If the parking brake is applied unlock the parking brake.
3.While pressing the brake pedal, turn the ignition button [OFF].
- For smart key equipped vehicles,the ignition switch can be moved
to [OFF] only when the shift leveris in [P].
4.Change the gear shift lever to [N] (Neutral) while pressing the brakepedal and pushing [SHIFT LOCK
RELEASE] button or inserting,
pressing down a tool (e.g. flathead
screw-driver) into the [SHIFTLOCK RELEASE] access hole at
the same time. Then, the vehicle
will move when external force isapplied.
CAUTION
Always come to a complete stop
before shifting into or out of R(Reverse); you may damage the transaxle if you shift into R(Reverse) while the vehicle is inmotion, except as explained in “Rocking the vehicle”, in thismanual.
CAUTION
With the exception of parking in neutral gear, always park thevehicle in [P] (Park) for safety and engage the parking brake.
Before parking in [N] (Neutral) gear, first make sure the park-ing ground is level and flat. Donot park in [N] gear on any slopes or gradients.
If parked and left in [N], thevehicle may move and causeserious damage and injury.
WARNING
Do not drive with the shift lever in N (Neutral).
The engine brake will not work and lead to an accident.
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621
Driving your vehicle
Ignition key interlock system (if equipped)
The ignition key cannot be removed
unless the shift lever is in the P
(Park) position. Good driving practices
Never move the shift lever from P
(Park) or N (Neutral) to any other
position with the accelerator pedaldepressed.
Never move the 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 smoothlydepressing and releasing the
accelerator pedal.
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Driving your vehicle
22
6
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.
WARNING
If your vehicle becomes stuck in
snow, mud, sand, etc., then you
may attempt to rock the vehicle
free by moving it forward and
backward. Do not attempt this
procedure if people or objects
are anywhere near the vehicle.
During the rocking operation
the vehicle may suddenly move
forward of backward as it
becomes unstuck, causing
injury or damage to nearby peo-ple or objects.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 highwayspeeds.
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off the
roadway and the driver over-
steers to reenter the roadway.
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.
Page 357 of 548
633
Driving your vehicle
Full-time 4WD vehicles must betested on a special four wheel
chassis dynamometer.
Part-time 4WD vehicles must be tested on a 2WD roll tester with the
transfer shift knob in the 2H posi-tion.
✽✽ NOTICE
Never engage the parking brake
while performing these tests.
A full-time 4WD vehicle should not be tested on a 2WD roll tester. If a
2WD roll tester must be used, per-
form the following: 1. Check the tire pressures recom-
mended for your vehicle.
2. Place the rear wheels on the roll tester for a speedometer test as
shown in the illustration.
3. Release the parking brake.
4. Place the front wheels on the tem- porary free roller as shown in the
illustration.
OHM058020Roll tester (speedometer)
Temporary free roller
WARNING - Dynamometer testing
Keep away from the front of the
vehicle while the vehicle is in
gear on the dynamometer. This
is very dangerous as the vehi-
cle can jump forward and cause
serious injury or death.
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635
Driving your vehicle
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.
Disc brakes wear indicator
When your brake pads are worn and
new pads are required, you will hear
a high-pitched warning sound from
your front brakes or rear brakes (if
equipped). You may hear this sound
come and go or it may occur when-
ever you depress the brake pedal.
Please remember that some driving
conditions or climates may cause a
brake squeal when you first apply (or
lightly apply) the brakes. This is nor-
mal and does not indicate a problem
with your brakes.
CAUTION
To avoid costly brake repairs,do not continue to drive withworn brake pads.
Always replace the front or rear brake pads as pairs.
WARNING - Parking brake
Applying the parking brake
while the vehicle is moving atnormal speeds can cause a
sudden loss of control of the
vehicle. If you must use theparking brake to stop the vehi-
cle, use great caution in apply-
ing the brake.
CAUTION
Do not operate the parking brake while the vehicle is mov-ing except in an emergency sit- uation. It could damage thevehicle system and makeendanger driving safety.
WARNING - Brake wear
This brake wear warning sound
means your vehicle needs serv-
ice. If you ignore this audible
warning, you will eventually
lose braking performance,
which could lead to a seriousaccident.
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Driving your vehicle
36
6
Parking brake
Applying the parking brake
To engage the parking brake, first
apply the foot brake and then depress
the parking brake pedal down as far
as possible. In addition it is recom-
mended that when parking the vehicle
on an incline, the shift lever should be
in the P (Park) position.
Releasing the parking brake
To release the parking brake,
depress the parking brake pedal a
second time while applying the foot
brake. The pedal will automatically
extend to the fully released position.
If the parking brake pedal does notrelease or does not release all the
way, we recommend that the system
be checked by an authorized kia
dealer.
CAUTION
Driving with the parking brake
applied will cause excessivebrake pad and brake rotorwear.
Do not operate the parking brake while the vehicle ismoving except in an emer- gency situation. It could dam-age the vehicle system andmake endanger driving safety.
OHM058021
OHM058022
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637
Driving your vehicle
Check the brake warning light by
turning the ignition switch ON (do not
start the engine). This light will be
illuminated when the parking brake is
applied with the ignition switch in the
START or ON position.
Before driving, be sure the parking
brake is fully released and the brake
warning light is off.
If the brake warning light remains on
after the parking brake is released
while the engine is running, there
may be a malfunction in the brake
system. Immediate attention is nec-
essary.If at all possible, cease driving the
vehicle immediately. If that is not pos-
sible, use extreme caution while
operating the vehicle and only con-
tinue to drive the vehicle until you
can reach a safe location or repair
shop.
WARNING
To prevent unintentional movement when stopped and
leaving the vehicle, do not use
the shift lever instead of the
parking brake. Set the parkingbrake AND make sure the shift
lever is securely positioned in
1st (First) gear or in P (Park).
Never allow anyone who is unfamiliar with the vehicle to
touch the parking brake. If theparking brake is released
unintentionally, serious injury
may occur.
All vehicles should always have the parking brake fully
engaged when parking to
avoid inadvertent movement
of the vehicle which can injureoccupants or pedestrians.
WK-23_TF
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645
Driving your vehicle
Hill-start assist control (HAC) (if equipped)
A vehicle has the tendency to slip
back on a steep hill when it starts to
go after stopping. The Hill-start
Assist Control (HAC) prevents the
vehicle from slipping back by operat-
ing the brakes automatically for
about 1~2 seconds. The brakes are
released when the accelerator pedalis depressed or after about 1~2 sec-
onds.✽✽NOTICE
The HAC does not operate when the transaxle shift lever is in the P
(Park) or N (Neutral) position.
The HAC activates even though the ESC is off but it does not activate
when the ESC has malfunctioned. Good braking practices
WARNING
The HAC is activated only for
about 1~2 seconds, so when the
vehicle is starting off alwaysdepress the accelerator pedal.
WARNING
Whenever you leave or park your vehicle, always set the parking brake as far as possi-
ble and fully engage the vehi-
cle's transaxle into the P
(Park) position. If the parking
brake is not fully engaged, the
vehicle may move inadver-
tently and injure yourself and
others.
All vehicles should always have the parking brake fully
engaged when parking to
avoid inadvertent movement
of the vehicle which can injureoccupants or pedestrians.