
511
Driving your vehicle
Starting the engine with an
ignition key (if equipped) 
1.Make sure the parking brake isapplied.
2. Manual Transaxle  - Depress the
clutch pedal fully and shift the
transaxle into Neutral. Keep the
clutch pedal and brake pedal
depressed while turning the igni-
tion switch to the start position.
Automatic Transaxle  - Place the
transaxle shift lever in P (Park).
Depress the brake pedal fully.
You can also start the engine when the shift lever is in the N (Neutral)position.
3.Turn the ignition switch to START and hold it there until the engine
starts (a maximum of 10 seconds),
then release the key.
It should be started withoutdepressing the accelerator.
4.Do not wait for the engine to warm up while the vehicle remains sta-
tionary.
Start driving at moderate engine
speeds. (Steep accelerating and
decelerating should be avoided.) If the engine stalls while the vehicle
is in motion, do not attempt to move
the shift lever to the P (Park) posi-
tion. If traffic and road conditions per-
mit, you may put the shift lever in the
N (Neutral) position while the vehicle
is still moving and turn the ignition
switch to the START position in an
attempt to restart the engine.
STARTING THE  ENGINE
WARNING- Proper
footwear
Always wear appropriate shoes
when operating your vehicle.
Unsuitable shoes (high heels, ski
boots, sandals, etc.) may  inter-
fere with your ability to use the
brake and accelerator pedals.
CAUTION- Starter
Do not engage the starter for more than 10 seconds. If theengine stalls or fails to start,wait 5 to 10 seconds before re-engaging the starter. Improperuse of the starter may damageit. 

Driving your vehicle
22
5
Paddle shifter (if equipped)
The paddle shifter is available when
the shift lever is in the D position or
the sport mode. With the shift lever in the D position 
The paddle shifter can operate when
the vehicle speed is more than 6.2
mph.
Pull the [+] or [-] paddle shifter once
to shift up or down one gear and the
system changes from automatic
mode to manual mode.
If the vehicle speed is lower than 6.2
mph, if you depress the accelerator
pedal for more than 7 seconds or if
you shift the shift lever from D to
sports mode and shift it from sports
mode to D again, the system change
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.
If you pull the [+] and [-] paddle
shifters at the same time, you can't
shift the gear.
Shift lock system (if equipped)
For your safety, the automatic
transaxle has a shift lock system
which prevents shifting the transaxle
out of P (Park) 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 near the shift lever
may be heard. This is a normal con-
dition.
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.
OYDDDR2111 

Driving your vehicle
26
5
 When rapidly accelerating at low
vehicle 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 accelerator pedal at low vehicle
speed, you may feel strong engine
brake, which is similar to manual
transmission.
 When driving downhill, you may use Manual 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.✽ ✽ NOTICE
If your transmission should fail,
your gear shift lever may not move
from and  position indicator (D,R,N,
etc.) will blink on the cluster.  If this
occurs, have the system checked by
an authorized Kia dealership.
 To hold the vehicle on a hill use the
foot brake or the parking brake. If
the vehicle is held by applying the
accelerator pedal on a hill the
clutch and transmission will be
overheated resulting in damage.
At this time, a warning message
will appear on the LCD display.
 If the clutch becomes overheated by excessive use of the clutch to
hold on a hill, you may notice a
shudder feeling and a blinking dis-
play on the instrument cluster.
When this occurs, the clutch is dis-
abled until the clutch cools to nor-
mal temperatures. If this occurs,
pull over to a safe location, shift
into P (Park) and apply the foot
brake for a few minutes.
■ Type B
OYD056031L/OYD056032L■
Type C 

527
Driving your vehicle
 If the LCD warning is active, thefoot 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 authorized Kia dealer.
 Under certain conditions such asrepeated launch on steep grades,
the clutch in the transmission could
overheat. When the clutch is over-
heated, the safe protection mode
engages.
If the safe protection mode
engages, the gear position indica-
tor on the cluster blinks with a
chime sound. At this time, a warning message
will appear on the LCD display and
driving may not be smooth.
If you ignore this warning, the driv-
ing condition may become worse.
To return the normal driving condi-
tion, stop the vehicle and apply the
foot brake for a few minutes before
driving off.
 Gear shifts may be more notice- able than a conventional automatic
transmission. This is a normal
characteristic of this type of dual
clutch transmission.
 Repetitive kick downs may lead to overheating of the transmission.
This will lead to change in the vehi-
cle speed shift pattern, and illumi-
nate some warning message.
To return the normal driving condi-
tion, refrain from kick down speed
changes. When the warning mes-
sage illuminates, park the vehicle
at a safe location.■ Type B■Type C
■Type B
OYD056027L/OYD056028L■
Type C
OYD056029L/OYD056030L 

529
Driving your vehicle
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 any reason.
Always depress the brake pedal
when you are shifting from N
(Neutral) to another gear.
D (Drive) 
This is the normal forward driving
position. The transaxle will automati-
cally shift through a seven-gear
sequence, providing the best fuel
economy and power.
For extra power when passing anoth-
er vehicle or driving uphill, depress
the accelerator further and the
transaxle will automatically downshift
to the next lower gear (or gears, as
appropriate).
The DRIVE MODE switch, located
on the shift lever console, allows the
driver to switch from NORMAL mode
to SPORT or ECO mode. (if
equipped)For more information, refer to "Drive
Mode Integrated Control System"
later in this chapter.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
Always ensure vehicle is stationary,
at a complete stop, before selecting
D (Drive).
Manual mode 
Whether the vehicle is stationary or
in motion, manual mode is selected
by pushing the shift lever from the D
(Drive) position into the manual gate.
To return to D (Drive) range opera-
tion, push the shift lever back into the
main gate.
In Manual Mode, moving the shift
lever backwards and forwards will
allow you to select the desired range
of gears for the current driving condi-
tions.
WARNING
 Do not shift into gear unless
your foot is firmly on the
brake pedal. Shifting into gear
when the engine is running at
high speed can cause the
vehicle to move very rapidly.
You could lose control of the
vehicle and hit people or
objects.
 Do not drive with the shift lever in N (Neutral).
The engine brake will not
work and lead to an accident.
OYD056057
M M
M M
a a
a a
n n
n n
u u
u u
a a
a a
l l
l l
m m
m m
o o
o o
d d
d d
e e
e e + +
+ +
   
   
( (
( (
U U
U U
P P
P P
) )
) )
- -
- -
   
   
( (
( (
D D
D D
O O
O O
W W
W W
N N
N N
) )
) ) 

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.
OYDDDR2111 

563
Driving your vehicle
DRIVE mode
The drive mode may be selected
according to the driver’s preference
or road condition.The mode changes whenever the
DRIVE MODE button is pressed.
❈ 
When normal mode is selected, it
is not displayed on the cluster.
ECO mode (Active ECO)
Active ECO helps improve
fuel efficiency by control-
ling certain engine and
transaxle system operat-
ing parameters. Fuel effi-
ciency depends on the
driver's driving habit and
road condition.
button is pressed and
the ECO mode is select-
ed, the ECO indicator
(green) will illuminate to
show that the Active
ECO is operating.
 activated, it does not
turn off even though the
engine is restarted
again. To turn off the
system, press the
DRIVE MODE button
again.
DRIVE MODE INTEGRATED CONTROL SYSTEM
NORMAL
SPORT                 ECO
OYD056039L
ECO 

Driving your vehicle
64
5
When Active ECO is activated:
 The acceleration may slightly be
reduced even though you depress
the accelerator fully.
 The air conditioner performance may be limited
 The shift pattern of the automatic transaxle may change.
 The engine noise may get louder.
The above situations are normal
conditions when the Active Eco
System is activated to improve fuel
efficiency. Limitation of Active ECO opera-
tion:
If the following conditions occur while
Active ECO is operating, the system
operation is limited even though
there is no change in the ECO indi-
cator.
 When the coolant temperature is
low:
The system will be limited until
engine performance becomes nor-
mal.
 When driving up a hill: The system will be limited to gain
power when driving uphill because
the engine torque is restricted.
 When using manual mode: The system will be limited accord-
ing to the shift location.
 When the accelerator pedal is deeply depressed for a few sec-
onds:
The system will be limited, judging
that the driver wants to speed up.SPORT mode
SPORT mode focuses on
dynamic driving by auto-
matically adjusting the
steering wheel, engine
and transaxle system.
button is pressed and
the SPORT mode is
selected, the SPORT
indicator (yellow) will illu-
minate.
 is activated, and the
engine start/stop button
is turned off and on it will
change to NORMAL
mode. To turn on the
SPORT mode press
DRIVE MODE button
again.
SPORT