2018 KIA FORTE Gear shift

Driving your vehicle
30
5
+ (Up) : Push the lever forward once
to shift up one gear.
- (Down) : Pull the lever backwards once to shift down one
gear.
✽ ✽NOTICE
• Only the seven 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.
• Downshifts are made automatical- ly when the vehicle slows down.
When the vehicle stops, 1st gear is
automatically selected.
• When the engine rpm approaches the red zone the transmission will
upshift automatically.
• If the driver presses the lever to + (Up) or - (Down) position, the trans-
mission may not make the request-
ed gear change if the next gear is
outside of the allowable engine rpm
range. The driver must execute
upshifts in accordance with road
conditions, taking care to keep the
engine rpms below the red zone.
Paddle shifter (if equipped)
The paddle shifter is available when
the shift lever is in the D (Drive) posi-
tion or the manual mode.
With the shift lever in the D posi-
tion
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 manual mode and
shift it from manual mode to D
(Drive) again, the system changes
from manual mode to automatic
mode.
With the shift lever in the manual
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.
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Driving your vehicle
32
5
Good driving practices
Never move the shift lever from P
(Park) or N (Neutral) to any other
position with the accelerator pedal
depressed.
Never move the shift lever into P (Park) when the vehicle is in motion.
Be sure the car is completely stopped before you attempt to shift
into R (Reverse) or D (Drive).
Never take the car out of gear and coast down a hill. This may be
extremely hazardous. Always leave
the car 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
the car.
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 trans-
mission in P (Park) to keep the car
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 smoothly
depressing and releasing the
accelerator pedal.WARNING
When you are in the vehicle with
the engine running, be careful
not to depress the accelerator
pedal for a long period of time.
The engine or exhaust system
may overheat and start a fire.
The exhaust gas and the
exhaust system are very hot.
Keep away from the exhaust
system components.
Do not stop or park over flam-
mable materials, such as dry
grass, paper or leaves. They may
ignite and cause a fire.

533
Driving your vehicle
Kickdown Mechanism
Use the kickdown mechanism for
maximum acceleration. Depress the
accelerator pedal beyond the pres-
sure point. The transmission will shift
to a lower gear depending on the
engine speed.
Moving up a steep grade from astanding start
To move up a steep grade from a
standing start, depress the brake
pedal, shift the shift lever to D
(Drive). Depress the accelerator
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 for-
ward or backward as it becomes
unstuck, causing injury or dam-
age to nearby people or objects.
(Continued)
In the event your vehicle leaves the roadway, do not
steer sharply. Instead, slow
down before pulling back into
the travel lanes.
Kia recommends you follow all posted speed limits.WARNING
To reduce the risk of SERIOUS
INJURY or DEATH:
ALWAYS wear your seatbelt.In a collision, an unbelted
occupant is significantly more
likely to be seriously injured
or killed than a properly belt-
ed 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 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.
(Continued)

Driving your vehicle
34
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.

535
Driving your vehicle
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.
Always replace the front or rear
brake pads as pairs.
Parking brake
Applying the parking brake
To engage the parking brake, first
apply the foot brake and then without
pressing the release button in, pull
the parking brake lever up as far as
possible. In addition it is recommend-
ed that when parking the vehicle on
a gradient, the shift lever should be
positioned in the appropriate low
gear for manual transaxle vehicles or
in the P (Park) position for automatic
transaxle vehicles.CAUTION- Replace brakepads
Do not continue to drive withworn brake pads. Continuing todrive with worn brake pads candamage the braking system andresult in costly brake repairs.
WARNING- Brake wear
Do not ignore high pitched wear
sounds from your brakes. If you
ignore this audible warning, you
will eventually lose braking per-
formance, which could lead to a
serious accident.
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545
Driving your vehicle
Good braking practices
Check to be sure the parking brakeis not engaged and that the park-
ing brake indicator light is out
before driving away.
Driving through water may get the brakes wet. They can also get wet
when the vehicle is washed. Wet
brakes can be dangerous! Your
vehicle will not stop as quickly if the
brakes are wet. Wet brakes may
cause the vehicle to pull to one
side.
To dry the brakes, apply the brakes
lightly until the braking action
returns to normal, taking care to
keep the vehicle under control at
all times. If the braking action does
not return to normal, stop as soon
as it is safe to do so and call an
authorized Kia dealer for assis-
tance.
Don't coast down hills with the vehicle out of gear. This is extreme-
ly hazardous. Keep the vehicle in
gear at all times, use the brakes to
slow down, then shift to a lower
gear so that engine braking will
help you maintain a safe speed. Don't "ride" the brake pedal.
Resting your foot on the brake
pedal while driving can be danger-
ous because the brakes might
overheat and lose their effective-
ness. It also increases the wear of
the brake components.
If a tire goes flat while you are driv- ing, apply the brakes gently and
keep the vehicle pointed straight
ahead while you slow down. When
you are moving slowly enough for it
to be safe to do so, pull off the road
and stop in a safe place.
If your vehicle is equipped with an automatic transaxle, don't let your
vehicle creep forward. To avoid
creeping forward, keep your foot
firmly on the brake pedal when the
vehicle is stopped.WARNING- Tire/Wheel
size
When replacing tires and
wheels, make sure they are the
same size as the original tires
and wheels installed. Driving
with varying tire or wheel sizes
may affect the vehicle's han-
dling.

Driving your vehicle
46
5
Be cautious when parking on a hill.
Firmly engage the parking brake
and place the shift lever in P (auto-
matic transaxle) or in first or
reverse gear (manual transaxle). If
your vehicle is facing downhill, turn
the front wheels into the curb to
help keep the vehicle from rolling. If
your vehicle is facing uphill, turn
the front wheels away from the
curb to help keep the vehicle from
rolling. If there is no curb or if it is
required by other conditions to
keep the vehicle from rolling, block
the wheels.
Under some conditions your park- ing brake can freeze in the
engaged position. This is most like-
ly to happen when there is an
accumulation of snow or ice
around or near the rear brakes or if
the brakes are wet. If there is a risk
that the parking brake may freeze,
apply it only temporarily while you
put the shift lever in P (automatic
transaxle) or in first or reverse gear
(manual transaxle) and block the
rear wheels so the vehicle cannot
roll. Then release the parking
brake. Do not hold the vehicle on the
upgrade with the accelerator
pedal. This can cause the transaxle
to overheat. Always use the brake
pedal or parking brake.

565
Driving your vehicle
ed:
- While holding vehicle speed, it maintains the
gear and RPM for some
time even though the
accelerator pedal is not
depressed.
- Up-shifting is delayed.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
In Sport drive mode, the fuel effi-
ciency may decrease.