523
Driving your vehicle
Automatic transaxle operation
The highly efficient automatic transaxle
has 6 forward speeds and one reverse
speed. The individual speeds are select-
ed automatically, depending on the posi-
tion 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).
For smooth operation, depress the brake pedal when shifting from N (Neutral) to aforward or reverse gear.
AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLE (IF EQUIPPED)
OJD052005
+
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---- ((((DDDDOOOOWWWWNNNN))))
The shift lever can be shifted freely.
Press the lock release button when shifting.
Depress the brake pedal and the lock release button when shifting.
(If the shift lock system is not equipped, it is not necessary to depress the brake pedal.
However, it is recommended to depress the brake pedal to avoid inadvertent movement
of the vehicle.)
WARNING
- Automatic
transaxle
Always check the surrounding areas near your vehicle for peo-
ple, especially children, before
shifting a vehicle into D (Drive) or
R (Reverse).
(Continued)
Driving your vehicle
24
5
Transaxle ranges
The indicator lights in the instrument clus-
ter displays the shift lever position 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 prevents the frontwheels from rotating. R (Reverse)
Use this position to drive the vehicle
backward.
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 brakes are applied.(Continued)
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. Unexpected
and sudden vehicle movementcan occur if these precautions
are not followed in the order iden-tified.
Do not use the engine brake (shifting from a high gear to
lower gear) rapidly on slippery
roads. The vehicle may slip caus-ing an accident.
CAUTION
To avoid damage to your
transaxle, do not accelerate theengine in R (Reverse) or any for-ward gear position with thebrakes on.
When stopped on an upgrade, do not hold the vehicle stationarywith engine power. Use the serv-ice brake or the parking brake.
Do not shift from N (Neutral) or P (Park) into D (Drive), or R(Reverse) when the engine isabove idle speed.
WARNING
Shifting into P (Park) while the vehicle is in motion will cause the
drive wheels to lock which will
cause you to lose control of the
vehicle.
Do not use the P (Park) position in place of the parking brake.
Always make sure the shift lever
is latched in the P (Park) position
and set the parking brake fully.
Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle.
CAUTION
The transaxle may be damaged if
you shift into P (Park) while thevehicle is in motion.
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 in motion, except as explained in “Rocking the vehi-cle”, in this manual.
WARNING
Do not drive with the shift lever in N
(Neutral). The engine brake will not
work and lead to an accident.
527
Driving your vehicle
Paddle shifter (if equipped)
The paddle shifter is available when the
shift lever is in the D (Drive) position or
the sports mode.With the shift lever in the D position
The paddle shifter will operate when the
vehicle speed is more than 10km/h. Pull the [+] or [-] paddle shifter once to
shift up or down one gear and the system
changes from automatic mode to manual
mode.
When the vehicle speed is lower than
10km/h, if you depress the accelerator
pedal for more than 5 seconds or if you
shift the shift lever from D (Drive) to
sports mode and shift it from sports
mode to D (Drive) again, the system
changes 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.
✽✽
NOTICE
If you pull the [+] and [-] paddle shifters
at the same time, you cannot shift the
gear.
Shift lock system (if equipped)
For your safety, the automatic transaxle
has a shift lock system which prevents
shifting the transaxle from P (Park) or N
(Neutral) into R (Reverse) unless the
brake pedal is depressed.
To shift the transaxle from P (Park) or N
(Neutral) 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 condition.
OJD052025
WARNING
Always fully depress the brake
pedal before and while shifting out
of the P (Park) position into anoth-
er position to avoid inadvertent
motion of the vehicle which could
injure persons in or around the
vehicle.
529
Driving your vehicle
Moving up a steep grade from a stand-ing start
To move up a steep grade from a stand-
ing start, depress the brake pedal, shift
the shift lever to D (Drive). Select the
appropriate gear depending on load
weight and steepness of the grade, and
release the parking brake. Depress the
accelerator gradually while releasing the
service brakes.
When accelerating from a stop on a
steep hill, the vehicle may have a ten-
dency to roll backwards. Shifting the
shift lever into 2 (Second Gear) will
help prevent the vehicle from rolling
backwards.
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 people orobjects.WARNING
Always buckle-up! In a collision, an unbelted occupant is signifi-
cantly more likely to be seriously
injured or killed than a properlybelted occupant.
Avoid high speeds when corner- ing 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 highway speeds.
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 lim- its.
Driving your vehicle
30
5
DUAL CLUTCH TRANSMISSION (DCT) (IF EQUIPPED)
Dual clutch transmission opera- tion
The dual clutch transmission has 7 (or 6)
forward speeds and one reverse speed. The individual speeds are selected auto-
matically in the D (Drive) position.
OJD052005
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---- ((((DDDDOOOOWWWWNNNN))))
The shift lever can be shifted freely.
Press the lock release button when shifting.
Depress the brake pedal and the lock release button when shifting.
(If the shift lock system is not equipped, it is not necessary to depress the brake pedal.
However, it is recommended to depress the brake pedal to avoid inadvertent movement
of the vehicle.)
WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury or death:
ALWAYS check the surrounding areas near your vehicle for peo-
ple, especially children, before
shifting a vehicle into D (Drive) or
R (Reverse).
Before leaving the driver’s seat, always make sure the shift lever
is in the P (Park) position, then
set the parking brake, and place
the ignition switch in the
LOCK/OFF position. Unexpected
and sudden vehicle movementcan occur if these precautions
are not followed.
Do not use engine braking (shift- ing from a high gear to lower
gear) rapidly on slippery roads.
The vehicle may slip causing anaccident.
531
Driving your vehicle
The Dual Clutch Transmission givesthe driving feel of a manual transmis-
sion, yet provides the ease of a fully
automatic transmission. Unlike a tradi-
tional automatic transmission, the gear
shifting can be felt (and heard) on the
dual clutch transmission
- Think of it as an automatically shifting
manual transmission.
- Shift into Drive range and get fully automatic shifting, similar to a con-
ventional automatic transmission.
Dual clutch transmission adopts dry- type dual clutch, which is different from
torque converter of automatic trans-
mission, and shows better acceleration
performance during driving. But, initial
launch might be little bit slower than
Automatic Transmission.
The dry-type clutch transfers torque and provides a direct driving feeling
which may feel different from a con-
ventional automatic transmission with
a torque converter. This may be more
noticeable when starting from a stop or
low vehicle speed.
When rapidly accelerating at low vehi- cle speed, engine could rev at high rpm
depending on vehicle drive condition. For smooth launch uphill, press down
the accelerator pedal smoothly
depending on the current conditions.
If you release your foot from the accel- erator pedal at low vehicle speed, you
may feel strong engine brake, which is
similar to manual transmission.
When driving downhill, you may use Sports Mode and press the paddle
shifters to downshift to a lower gear in
order to control your speed without
using the brake pedal excessively.
When you turn the engine on and off, you may hear clicking sounds as the
system goes through a self test. This is
a normal sound for the Dual Clutch
Transmission.CAUTION
To hold the vehicle on a hill use
the foot brake or the parkingbrake. If the vehicle is held by
applying the accelerator pedal on a hill the clutch and transmissionwill be overheated resulting in damage.
At this time, a warning messagewill appear on the LCD displayand you may feel a vibration.
(Continued)
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Driving your vehicle
32
5
(Continued)
If the clutch becomes overheated by excessive use of the clutch tohold on a hill, you may notice a shudder feeling and a blinking
display on the instrument cluster.When this occurs, the clutch isdisabled until the clutch cools to
normal temperatures. If thisoccurs, pull over to a safe loca- tion, shift into P (Park) and applythe foot brake for a few minutes.
If the LCD warning is active, the foot brake must be applied.
Ignoring the warnings can lead to damage to the transmission.
If the display continues to blink, for your safety, we recommend
that you contact an authorizedKia dealer.
(Continued)(Continued)
Under certain conditions such asrepeated launch on steep grades,the clutch in the transmissioncould overheat. When the clutch
is overheated, the safe protectionmode engages. If the safe protec- tion mode engages, the gear posi-tion indicator on the cluster
blinks with a chime sound.
(Continued)
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OJD055177L
(Continued)At this time, a warning messagewill appear on the LCD display and driving may not be smooth.
If you ignore this warning, thedriving condition may becomeworse. To return the normal driv- ing condition, stop the vehicleand apply the foot brake for a few
minutes before driving off.
Gear shifts may be more notice- able than a conventional automat-ic transmission. This is a normalcharacteristic of this type of dual
clutch transmission.
The overheated Dual clutch trans- mission may change the gearshifting characteristics, and illumi- nate the warning message on the
LCD display under the conditions that operation of the kickdownmechanism is repetitively used.
Do not use the kickdown mecha- nism to return to the normal driv-ing condition. Also, temporarily stop the vehicle at a safe location,when the warning message illu-
minates on the LCD display.
(Continued)
533
Driving your vehicle
The indicator in the instrument cluster
displays the shift lever position when the
ignition switch is in the ON position.
P (Park)
Always come to a complete stop before
shifting into P (Park).
To shift from P (Park), you must depress
firmly on the brake pedal and make sure
your foot is off the accelerator pedal.
The shift lever must be in P (Park) before
turning the engine off.R (Reverse)
Use this position to drive the vehicle
backward.N (Neutral)
The wheels and transmission are not engaged.
Use N (Neutral) if you need to restart a
stalled engine, or if it is necessary to stop
with the engine ON. Shift into P (Park) if
you need to leave your vehicle for anyreason.
Always depress the brake pedal when
you are shifting from N (Neutral) to
another gear.
WARNING
Shifting into P (Park) while the vehicle is in motion may cause
you to lose control of the vehicle.
After the vehicle has stopped, always make sure the shift lever
is in P (Park), apply the parking
brake, and turn the engine off.
Do not use the P (Park) position in place of the parking brake.(Continued)
During the first 1,500 km (1,000 miles), you may feel that the vehi-cle may not be smooth whenaccelerating at low speed. During
this break-in period, the shift qual-ity and performance of your newvehicle is continuously optimized.
Always come to a complete stop before shifting into D (Drive) or R(Reverse).
Do not put the shift lever in N (Neutral) while driving.
CAUTION
Always come to a complete stopbefore shifting into or out of R(Reverse); you may damage the
transmission if you shift into R(Reverse) while the vehicle is inmotion.
WARNING
Do not shift into gear unless your
foot is firmly on the brake pedal.
Shifting into gear when the engineis running at high speed can cause
the vehicle to move very rapidly.
You could lose control of the vehi-
cle and hit people or objects.
WARNING
Do not drive with the shift lever in N (Neutral).
The engine brake will not work and lead to an accident.