2018 KIA NIRO PLUG-IN HYBRID warning

Driving your vehicle
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The ABS warning light will stay on for
approximately 3 seconds after the
engine start/stop button is ON.
During that time, the ABS will go
through self-diagnosis and the light
will go off if everything is normal. If
the light stays on, you may have a
problem with your ABS. Contact an
authorized Kia dealer as soon as
possible. When you drive on a road having
poor traction, such as an icy road,
and have operated your brakes
continuously, the ABS will be active
continuously and the ABS warning
light may illuminate. Pull your vehi-
cle over to a safe place and stop
the engine.
Restart the engine. If the ABS warning light goes off, then your
ABS system is normal. Otherwise,
you may have a problem with the
ABS. Contact an authorized Kia
dealer as soon as possible.
✽ ✽ 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 low battery voltage. It does not
mean your ABS has malfunctioned.
• Do not pump your brakes!
• Have the battery recharged before
driving the vehicle.
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Driving your vehicle
“Traction Control disabled”
ESC off state 1
To cancel ESC operation, press the
ESC OFF button (ESC OFF ) short-
ly (ESC OFF indicator light (ESC OFF ) illuminates). At this state, the
engine control function does not oper-
ate. It means the traction control func-
tion does not operate. Brake control
function only operates.
“Traction & Stability Control disabled”

To cancel ESC operation, press the
ESC OFF button (ESC OFF ) for
more than 3 seconds. ESC OFF indi-
cator light (ESC OFF ) illuminates
and ESC OFF warning chime will
sound. At this state, the engine con-
trol function and brake control func-
tion do not operate. It means the car
stability control function does not
operate any more.Indicator light
When engine start/stop button is
turned to ON, the indicator light illu-
minates, then goes off if the ESC
system is operating normally.
The ESC indicator light blinks when-
ever ESC is operating or illuminates
when ESC fails to operate.
The ESC OFF indicator light comes
on when the ESC is turned off with
the button.
■ ESC indicator light
■ ESC OFF indicator light
WARNING- Electronic sta-
bility control
Drive carefully even though your
vehicle has Electronic Stability
Control. It can only assist you in
maintaining control under cer-
tain circumstances.

Driving your vehicle
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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 (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 opera-
tion.
Vehicle stability management
(VSM)
This system provides further
enhancements to vehicle stability
and steering responses when a vehi-
cle is driving on a slippery road or a
vehicle detects changes in coeffi-
cient of friction between right wheels
and left wheels when braking.
WARNING- Operating
ESC
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.
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 diminish
any supplemental safety benefits
of the VSM system.

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Driving your vehicle
VSM operation
When the VSM is in operation, ESC
indicator light ( ) blinks.
When the vehicle stability manage-
ment is operating properly, you can
feel a slight pulsation in the vehicle
and/or abnormal steering responses
(EPS- Electronic Power Steering).
This is only the effect of brake and
EPS control and indicates nothing
unusual.
The VSM does not operate when:
Driving on a sloping road such as agradient or incline
Driving in reverse
ESC OFF indicator light ( ) remains on the instrument cluster
EPS indicator light remains on the instrument cluster
VSM operation off
If you press the ESC OFF button to
turn off the ESC, the VSM will also
cancel and the ESC OFF indicator
light ( ) illuminates.
To turn on the VSM, press the button
again. The ESC OFF indicator light
goes out.
Malfunction indicator
The VSM can be deactivated even if
you don’t cancel the VSM operation
by pressing the ESC OFF button. It
indicates that a malfunction has
been detected somewhere in the
Electric Power Steering system or
VSM system. If the ESC indicator
light ( ) or EPS warning light
remains on, take your vehicle to an
authorized Kia dealer and have the
system checked.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
• The VSM is designed to function
above approximately 13 mph (22
km/h) on curves.
• The VSM is designed to function above approximately 6 mph (10
km/h) when a vehicle is braking on
a split-mu surface. A split-mu sur-
face is made of two surfaces which
have different friction forces.

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The Vehicle Stability Management
system is not a substitute for safe
driving practices but a supplemen-
tary function only. It is the responsi-
bility of the driver to always check
the speed and the distance to the
vehicle ahead. Always hold the
steering wheel firmly while driving.
Your vehicle is designed to activate according to the driver’s intention,
even with installed VSM. Always fol-
low all the normal precautions for
driving at safe speeds for the condi-
tions – including driving in clement
weather and on a slippery road.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
For maximum protection, always
wear your seat belt. No system, no
matter how advanced, can compen-
sate for all driver error and/or driv-
ing conditions. Always drive respon-
sibly.
Hill-start assist control (HAC)
A vehicle has the tendency to roll
back on a steep hill when it starts to
go after stopping. The Hill-start
Assist Control (HAC) prevents the
vehicle from rolling back by applying
the brakes automatically for about 2
seconds. The brakes are released
when the accelerator pedal is
depressed or after about 2 seconds.
The HAC is activated only for about 2
seconds, so when the vehicle is
starting off always depress the accel-
erator pedal.
Good braking practices
Check to be sure the parking brake
is not engaged and the parking
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 author-
ized Kia dealer for assistance.
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.
WARNING- Maintaining
Brake Pressure on Incline
HAC does not replace the need
to apply brakes while stopped on
an incline. While stopped, make
sure you maintain brake pres-
sure sufficient to prevent your
vehicle from rolling backward
and causing an accident. Don’t
release the brake pedal until you
are ready to accelerate forward.

Driving your vehicle
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AUTONOMOUS EMERGENCY BRAKING (AEB) (IF EQUIPPED)
The AEB system is to reduce or to
avoid accident risk. It recognizes the
distance from the vehicle ahead or
the pedestrian through the sensors
(i.e. radar and camera), and, if nec-
essary, warns the driver of accident
risk with the warning message or the
warning alarms.✽ ✽
NOTICE
Take the following precautions when
using the Autonomous Emergency
Braking (AEB):
• This system is only a supplemental
system and it is not intended to,
nor does it replace the need for
extreme care and attention of the
driver. The sensing range and
objects detectable by the sensors
are limited. Pay attention to the
road conditions at all times.
• NEVER drive too fast in accor- dance with the road conditions or
while cornering.
• Always drive cautiously to prevent unexpected and sudden situations
from occurring. AEB does not stop
the vehicle completely and does
not avoid collisions.
System setting and activation
System setting
The driver can activate the AEB by
placing the engine start/stop button
to the ON position and by selecting
'User Settings', 'Driving Assist', and
'Autonomous Emergency Braking
System'. The AEB deactivates, when
the driver cancels the system setting.
WARNING
-
Autonomous Emergency
Braking (AEB) Limitations
The AEB system is a supple-
mental system and is not a sub-
stitute for safe driving prac-
tices. It is the responsibility of
the driver to always check the
speed and distance to the vehi-
cle ahead to ensure it is safety
to use the AEB system.

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Driving your vehicle
The warning light illumi-
nates on the LCD display,
when you cancel the AEB
system. The driver can
monitor the AEB ON/OFF status on
the LCD display. When the warning
light remains ON with the AEB acti-
vated, have your vehicle inspected
by an authorized Kia dealer.
The driver can select the initial warn-
ing activation time in the User
Settings in the instrument cluster
LCD display. The options for the ini-
tial Forward Collision Warning
include the following:
selected, the initial
Forward Collision Warning
is activated earlier than
normal. This setting maxi-
mizes the amount of dis-
tance between the vehicle
or pedestrian ahead before
the initial warning occurs.
The driver feels it is too
sensitive to activate than
expectation, change it to
Normal. If the vehicle in
front stops abruptly, the
driver can notice the warn-
ing alarm is late even
though the early option is
selected.
selected, the initial
Forward Collision
Warning is activated nor-
mally. This setting allows
for a nominal amount of
distance between the
vehicle or pedestrian
ahead before the initial
warning occurs.
selected, the initial Forward
Collision Warning is activat-
ed later than normal. This
setting reduces the amount
of distance between the
vehicle or pedestrian ahead
before the initial warning
occurs. The driver can use it
when the traffic is not busy
on the road and driving
speed is lower.

Driving your vehicle
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Prerequisite for activation
The AEB will activate activated when
the AEB is selected on the LCD dis-
play, and when the following prereq-
uisites are satisfied:
- The ESC (Electronic Stability
Control) is activated.
- The driving speed is over 6 mph (10 km/h). (The AEB only works
within a certain range of vehicle
speeds)
- When the AEB recognizes a vehi- cle or the pedestrian in front. (The
AEB may not recognize every
obstacle or provide warnings and
braking in every situation, so do
not rely on the AEB to stop the
vehicle in instances where the driv-
er sees an obstacle and has the
ability to apply the brakes) The AEB automatically activates
when you turn the vehicle on.
The driver can deactivate the AEB
by canceling the in the system set-
ting on the LCD display.
The AEB automatically deactivates when canceling the ESC. When the
ESC is canceled, the AEB cannot
be activated on the LCD display.WARNING
To avoid driver distractions, do
not attempt to set or cancel the
AEB while operating the vehicle.