Driving your vehicle
30
6
You must consciously take the
effort to learn how to corner in a
4WD vehicle. Do not rely on your
experience in conventional 2WD
vehicles in choosing safe cornering
speed in 4WD mode. For starters,
you must drive more slowly in
4WD.
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. Always hold the steering wheel firm-
ly when you are driving off-road.
Make sure all passengers are wearing seat belts. If you need to drive in the water,
stop your vehicle, set your transfer
to the 4L mode and drive at lessthan 8 km/h (5 mph).
WARNING - 4WD
Reduce speed when you turn
corners. The center of gravity of
4WD vehicles is higher than
that of conventional 2WD vehi-
cles, making them more likely to
roll over when you turn cornerstoo fast.
WARNING - Wind danger
If you are driving in heavy wind,
the vehicle's higher center of
gravity decreases your steering
control capacity and requires
you to drive more slowly.
WARNING - Driving
through water
Drive slowly. If you are driving
too fast in water, the water can
get into the engine compart-ment and wet the ignition sys-
tem, causing your vehicle to
suddenly stop. If this happens
and your vehicle is in a tilted
position, your vehicle may roll
over.
WARNING - Steering wheel
Do not grab the inside of the
steering wheel when you are
driving off-road. You may hurt
your arm by a sudden steering
maneuver or from steeringwheel rebound due to impact
with objects on the ground. You
could lose control of the steer-ing wheel.
OHM056102L
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Driving your vehicle
✽✽NOTICE
Do not drive in water if the level is higher than the bottom of the vehi-
cle.
Check your brake condition once you are out of mud or water. Press
the brake pedal several times as
you move slowly until you feel nor-
mal braking forces return.
Shorten your scheduled mainte- nance interval if you drive in off-
road conditions such as sand, mud
or water (see “Maintenance under
severe usage conditions” in chapter
8). Always wash your vehicle thor-
oughly after off road use, especially
cleaning the bottom of the vehicle.
Since the driving torque is always applied to the 4 wheels the per-
formance of the 4WD vehicle is
greatly affected by the condition of
the tires. Be sure to equip the vehi-
cle with four tires of the same size
and type.
A full time four wheel drive vehi- cle cannot be towed by an ordi-
nary tow truck. Make sure that
the vehicle is placed on a flat bed
truck for moving.Reducing the risk of a rollover
This multi-purpose passenger vehicle
is defined as a Sports Utility Vehicle
(SUV). SUV’s have higher ground
clearance and a narrower track to
make them capable of performing in a
wide variety of off-road applications.
Specific design characteristics give
them a higher center of gravity than
ordinary vehicles. An advantage of the
higher ground clearance is a better
view of the road, which allows you to
anticipate problems. They are not
designed for cornering at the same
speeds as conventional passenger
vehicles, any more than low-slung
sports vehicles are designed to per-
form satisfactorily in off-road condi-
tions. Due to this risk, driver and pas-sengers are strongly recommended to
buckle their seat belts. In a rollover
crash, an unbelted person is more
likely to die than a person wearing a
seat belt. There are steps that a driver
can make to reduce the risk of a
rollover. If at all possible, avoid sharp
turns or abrupt maneuvers, do not
load your roof rack with heavy cargo,
and never modify your vehicle in any
way.CAUTION - Mud or snow
If one of the front or rear wheels
begins to spin in mud, snow,etc. the vehicle can sometimes be driven out by depressing theaccelerator pedal further; how-ever avoid running the engine continuously at high rpmbecause doing so could dam-age the 4WD system.
Driving your vehicle
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6
WARNING - Rollover
As with other Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV), failure to operate
this vehicle correctly may result
in loss of control, an accident or
vehicle rollover.
Utility vehicles have a signifi- cantly higher rollover rate
than other types of vehicles.
Specific design characteris- tics (higher ground clearance,
narrower track, etc.) give this
vehicle a higher center of
gravity than ordinary vehicles.
A SUV is not designed for cor- nering at the same speeds as
conventional vehicles.
Avoid sharp turns or abrupt maneuvers.
In a rollover crash, an unbelt- ed person is significantly
more likely to die than a per-
son wearing a seat belt. Make
sure everyone in the vehicle is
properly buckled up.WARNING
Your vehicle is equipped with
tires designed to provide safe
ride and handling capability. Do
not use a size and type of tire
and wheel that is different from
the one that is originally
installed on your vehicle. It can
affect the safety and perform-
ance of your vehicle, whichcould lead to steering failure or
rollover and serious injury.
When replacing the tires, be
sure to equip all four tires withthe tire and wheel of the same
size, type, tread, brand and
load-carrying capacity. If you
nevertheless decide to equip
your vehicle with any tire/wheelcombination not recommended
by Kia for off road driving, you
should not use these tires for
highway driving.WARNING - Jacked
vehicle
While the full-time 4WD vehicle
is being raised on a jack, never
start the engine or cause the
tires to rotate.
There is the danger that rotating
tires touching the ground could
cause the vehicle to go off the
jack and to jump forward.
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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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6
Anti-lock brake system (ABS) The ABS continuously senses the
speed of the wheels. If the wheels
are going to lock, the ABS system
repeatedly modulates the hydraulic
brake pressure to the wheels.
When you apply your brakes under
conditions which may lock the wheels,
you may hear a “tik-tik’’ sound from the
brakes, or feel a corresponding sensa-
tion in the brake pedal. This is normal
and it means your ABS is active.
In order to obtain the maximum ben-
efit from your ABS in an emergencysituation, do not attempt to modulate
your brake pressure and do not try to
pump your brakes. Press your brake
pedal as hard as possible or as hard
as the situation warrants and allow
the ABS to control the force being
delivered to the brakes.
✽✽
NOTICE
A click sound may be heard in the
engine compartment when the vehi-
cle begins to move after the engine is
started. These conditions are normal
and indicate that the anti-lock brake
system is functioning properly.
(Continued)
On roads where the road sur- face is pitted or has different surface height.
The safety features of an ABS
(or ESC) equipped vehicle
should not be tested by high
speed driving or cornering. This
could endanger the safety of
yourself or others.
WARNING
ABS (or ESC) will not prevent
accidents due to improper or
dangerous driving maneuvers.
Even though vehicle control is
improved during emergency
braking, always maintain a safe
distance between you and
objects ahead. Vehicle speeds
should always be reduced dur-
ing extreme road conditions.
The braking distance for vehicle
equipped with an anti-lock brak-
ing system (or Electronic
Stability Control) may be longer
than for those without it in the
following road conditions. During these conditions the
vehicle should be driven atreduced speeds:
Rough, gravel or snow-cov- ered roads.
With tire chains installed. (Continued)
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6
✽✽
NOTICE
When you jump start your vehicle
because of a drained battery, the
engine may not run as smoothly and
the ABS warning light may turn on
at the same time. This happens
because of the low battery voltage. It
does not mean your ABS is malfunc-
tioning.
Do not pump your brakes!
Have the battery recharged before driving the vehicle.Electronic stability control (ESC) (if equipped) The Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system is designed to stabi-
lize the vehicle during cornering
maneuvers. ESC checks where you
are steering and where the vehicle is
actually going. ESC applies the
brakes at individual wheels and inter-
venes with engine management sys-
tem to stabilize the vehicle.CAUTION
When you drive on a road hav-
ing poor traction, such as anicy road, and operate yourbrakes continuously, the ABSwill be active continuously and the ABS warning lightmay illuminate. Pull your vehi-cle over to a safe place andstop the engine.
Restart the engine. If the ABS warning light is off, then yourABS system is normal.Otherwise, you may have aproblem with the ABS. We rec- ommend that you contact anauthorized Kia dealer.
OHM056023L
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Driving your vehicle
The Electronic stability control (ESC) system is an electronic system
designed to help the driver maintain
vehicle control under adverse condi-
tions. It is not a substitute for safe
driving practices. Factors including
speed, road conditions and driver
steering input can all affect whether
ESC will be effective in preventing a
loss of control. It is still your respon-
sibility to drive and corner at reason-
able speeds and to leave a sufficient
margin of safety.
When you apply your brakes under
conditions which may lock the
wheels, you may hear a “tik-tik’’
sound from the brakes, or feel a cor-
responding sensation in the brake
pedal. This is normal and it means
your ESC is active.✽✽NOTICE
A click sound may be heard in the
engine compartment when the vehi-
cle begins to move after the engine is
started. These conditions are normal
and indicate that the Electronic sta-
bility control (ESC) System is func-
tioning properly. WARNING
Never drive too fast for the road
conditions or too quickly when
cornering. Electronic stability
control (ESC) will not prevent
accidents. Excessive speed in
turns, abrupt maneuvers and
hydroplaning on wet surfacescan still result in serious acci-
dents. Only a safe and attentive
driver can prevent accidents by
avoiding maneuvers that cause
the vehicle to lose traction.
Even with ESC installed, always
follow all the normal precau-
tions for driving - including driv-
ing at safe speeds for the condi-tions.
Driving your vehicle
44
6
ESC OFF usage
When driving
ESC should be turned on for daily
driving whenever possible.
To turn ESC off while driving, press the ESC OFF button while driving
on a flat road surface.
✽✽ NOTICE
When operating the vehicle on a dynamometer, ensure that the ESC
is turned off by pressing the ESC
OFF button for more than 3 sec-
onds (ESC OFF light illuminated).
If the ESC is left on, it may prevent
the vehicle speed from increasing,
and result in false diagnosis.
Turning the ESC off does not affect ABS or brake system operation.
WARNING
Never press the ESC OFF but- ton while ESC is operating (ESC
indicator light blinks). If ESC is turned off while ESC is
operating, the vehicle may slip
out of control.
CAUTION
Driving with varying tire or wheel sizes may cause the ESC systemto malfunction. When replacing tires, make sure they are thesame size as your original tires.
WARNING
The Electronic Stability Control
system is only a driving aid; use
precautions for safe driving by
slowing down on curved,
snowy, or icy roads. Drive slow-
ly and don’t attempt to acceler-
ate whenever the ESC indicator
light is blinking, or when the
road surface is slippery.