2017 KIA Sportage warning

Driving your vehicle
18
6
Shift lock system
For your safety, the automatic
transaxle has a shift lock system
which prevents shifting the transaxle
from P (Park) into R (Reverse)
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 & vibration near the
shift lever may be heard. It is a nor-
mal condition. Shift-lock override
If the shift lever cannot be moved
from the P (Park) position into R
(Reverse) position with the brake
pedal depressed, continue depress-
ing the brake, then do the following:
1. Place the ignition switch in the
LOCK/OFF position.
2. Apply the parking brake.
3. Carefully remove the cap (1) cov- ering the shift-lock release access
hole.
4. Insert a tool (e.g. flathead screw- driver) into the access hole and
press down on the tool.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
which could injure persons in
or around the vehicle.
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Driving your vehicle
20
6
Engine power can be delivered to all
front and rear wheels for maximum
traction. AWD is useful when extra
traction is required on road, such as,
when driving on slippery, muddy,
wet, or snow-covered roads. These
vehicles are not designed for chal-
lenging off-road use. Occasional off-road use such as
established unpaved roads and trails
are OK. It is always important when
traveling off-highway that the driver
carefully reduces the speed to a level
that does not exceed the safe oper-
ating speed for those conditions. In
general, off-road conditions provide
less traction and braking effective-
ness than normal road conditions.
* AWD : All Wheel Drive
FWD : Front Wheel Drive The driver must be especially alert to
avoid driving on slopes which tilt the
vehicle to either side.
These factors must be carefully con-
sidered when driving off-road. Keeping
the vehicle in contact with the driving
surface and under control in these
conditions is always the driver's
responsibility for the safety of him/her-
self and his or her passengers.
ALL WHEEL DRIVE (AWD) (IF EQUIPPED)
WARNING - Off road
driving
Do not attempt to operate your
vehicle under extreme or chal-
lenging off road driving condi-
tions. Although this vehicle has
off-road capability, it was not
designed to be driven off road.
OQL055060L
OQL055060
■ Type A
■Type B

621
Driving your vehicle
✽ ✽NOTICE
If the AWD system warning light
( ) illuminates, this indicates that
there is a malfunction in the AWD
system.
If this occurs, we recommend that
the system be checked by an author-
ized Kia dealer.
Tight corner brake effect
✽ ✽NOTICE- AWD
When turning sharply on a paved
road at low speed while in all wheel
drive, steering control will be difficult.
Tight corner brake effect is a unique
characteristic of all wheel drive vehi-
cles caused by the difference in tire
rotation at the four wheels and the
zero-degree alignment of the front
wheels and suspension.
Sharp turns at low speeds should be
carried out with caution.

623
Driving your vehicle
For safe all wheel drive opera-
tion
✽ ✽NOTICE- All wheel drive
The conditions of on-road or off-
road that demand all wheel drive
mean all functions of your vehicle
are exposed to extreme stress than
under normal road conditions. Slow
down and be ready for changes in
the composition and traction of the
surface under your tires. If you have
any doubt about the safety of the
conditions you are facing, stop and
consider the best way to proceed. Do
not exceed the ability of yourself or
your vehicle to operate safely.
Do not try to drive in deep standing
water or mud since such conditions
can stall your engine and clog your
exhaust pipes. Do not drive down
steep hills since it requires extreme
skill to maintain control of the vehicle. When you are driving up or down
hills drive as straight as possible.
Use extreme caution in going up or
down steep hills, since you may flip
your vehicle over depending on the
grade, terrain and water/mud con-
ditions.
WARNING - Hills
Driving across the contour of
steep hills can be extremely
dangerous. This danger can
come from slight changes in the
wheel angle which can destabi-
lize the vehicle or, even if the
vehicle is maintaining stability
under power, it can lose that
stability if the vehicle stops its
forward motion. Your vehicle
may roll over without warning
and without time for you to cor-
rect a mistake that could cause
serious injury or death.
HILL1HILL2

Driving your vehicle
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6
You must consciously take the
effort to learn how to corner in a
AWD vehicle. Do not rely on your
experience in conventional FWD
vehicles in choosing safe cornering
speed in AWD mode. For starters,
you must drive more slowly in
AWD.
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.
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 steering
wheel rebound due to impact
with objects on the ground. You
could also lose control of your
steering wheel while driving on
rough terrain.
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.
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WARNING - AWD
Reduce speed when you turn
corners. The center of gravity of
AWD vehicles is higher than
that of conventional FWD vehi-
cles, making them more likely to
roll over when you turn corners
too fast.

625
Driving your vehicle
If you need to drive in the water,stop your vehicle, set your transfer
to the AWD LOCK mode and drive
at less than 8 km/h (5 mph).✽ ✽ 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 section
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 AWD 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 all wheel drive vehicle cannot be towed by an ordinary
tow truck. Make sure that the
vehicle is placed on a flat bed
truck for moving.
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 - AWD driving
Avoid high cornering speed.
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 high speed.
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off
the roadway and the driver
over-steers to re-enter the
roadway. In the event your
vehicle leaves the roadway, do
not steer sharply. Instead,
slow down before pulling
back into the travel lanes.

Driving your vehicle
26
6
Reducing the risk of a rollover
This multi-purpose passenger vehi-
cle is defined as a Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV). SUV’s have higher
ground clearance and a narrower
track to make them capable of per-
forming in a wide variety of off-road
applications. Specific design charac-
teristics 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 vehi-
cles are designed to perform satis-
factorily in off-road conditions. 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 sometimesbe driven out by depressing theaccelerator pedal further; how-ever, do not run the engine con-tinuously at high rpms to freethe vehicle from snow or mudbecause doing so could dam-age the AWD system
WARNING- Replacement
tires
Always use the size and type of
tires recommended in the tire
section of the manual.
Installation of variant tires can
affect the safety and perform-
ance of your vehicle.

627
Driving your vehicle
Full-time AWD vehicles must betested on a special four wheel
chassis dynamometer.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
Never engage the parking brake
while performing these tests.
A full-time AWD vehicle should not
be tested on a FWD roll tester. If a
FWD roll tester must be used, per-
form the following: 1. Check the tire pressures recom-
mended for your vehicle.
2. Place the front wheels on the roll tester (1) for a speedometer test
as shown in the illustration.
3. Release the parking brake.
4. Place the rear wheels on the tem- porary free roller (2) as shown in
the illustration.
✽ ✽NOTICE
When lifting up the vehicle, do not
operate front and rear wheel sepa-
rately. All four wheels should be
operated.
WARNING - Jacked
vehicle
While the full-time AWD 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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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.
CAUTION
If you need to operate the front wheel and rear wheel when lift-ing up the vehicle, you shouldrelease the parking brake.