2018 KIA SOUL EV Owners Manual

525
Driving your vehicle
When you drive on a road havingpoor 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 turn off
the POWER button.
Restart the vehicle. 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
ABS warning light may turn on.
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.
Electronic stability control
(ESC)
The Electronic Stability control
(ESC) system is designed to stabi-
lize the vehicle during cornering
maneuvers. ESC checks where you
are steering and where the vehicle is
actually going. ESC applies the
brakes on individual wheels to stabi-
lize the vehicle. Electronic stability control (ESC) will
not prevent accidents. Excessive
speed in turns, abrupt maneuvers and
hydroplaning on wet surfaces can still
result in serious accidents. Only a
safe and attentive driver can prevent
accidents by avoiding maneuvers that
cause the vehicle to lose traction.
Even with ESC installed, always fol-
low all the normal precautions for driv-
ing - including driving at safe speeds
for the conditions.
The Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
system is an electronic system
designed to help the driver maintain
vehicle control under adverse condi-
tions. It is not a substitute for safe driv-
ing practices. Factors including speed,
road conditions and driver steering
input can all affect whether ESC will be
effective in preventing a loss of control.
It is still your responsibility to drive and
corner at reasonable speeds and to
leave a sufficient margin of safety.
When you apply your brakes under
conditions which may lock the wheels,
you may hear a “tik-tik’’ sound from the
brakes, or feel a corresponding sensa-
tion in the brake pedal. This is normal
and it means your ESC is active.
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Driving your vehicle
26
5
✽
✽
NOTICE
A click sound may be heard in the
motor compartment when the vehi-
cle begins to move after the vehicle is
started. These conditions are normal
and indicate that the Electronic
Stability Control System is function-
ing properly.
✽ ✽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
responsibly.
ESC operation
ESC ON condition
When the POWER buttonis turned ON, ESC and
ESC OFF indicator lights
illuminate for approximately
3 seconds, then ESC is
turned on.
ton for at least half a sec-
ond after turning the igni-
tion ON to turn ESC off.
(ESC OFF indicator will
illuminate). To turn the
ESC on, press the ESC
OFF button (ESC OFF
indicator light will go off).
you may hear a slight tick-
ing sound. This is the ESC
performing an automatic
system self-check and does
not indicate a problem. When operating
When the ESC is in opera-
tion, the ESC indicator light
blinks.
Stability Control is operat-
ing properly, you can feel a
slight pulsation in the vehi-
cle. This is only the effect
of brake control and indi-
cates nothing unusual.
-
WARNING
Electronic stability control (ESC)
will not prevent accidents.
Excessive speed in turns, abrupt
maneuvers and hydroplaning on
wet surfaces can still result in
serious accidents. Only a safe
and attentive driver can prevent
accidents by avoiding maneu-
vers that cause the vehicle to
lose traction. Even with ESC
installed, always follow all the
normal precautions for driving -
including driving at safe speeds
for the conditions.

527
Driving your vehicle
ESC operation off
ESC OFF stateThis car has 2 kinds of ESC
off states.
If the POWER button is turn
off when ESC is off, ESC
remains off. Upon restarting
the vehicle, the ESC will
automatically turn on again.
ESC off state 1
To cancel ESC operation, press the
ESC OFF button (ESC OFF )
shortly (ESC OFF indicator light
(ESC OFF ) illuminates). At this
state, the vehicle control function
does not operate. It means the trac-
tion control function does not oper-
ate. Brake control function only oper-
ates.
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 vehicle con-
trol function and brake control func-
tion do not operate. It means the car
stability control function does not
operate any more.
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Driving your vehicle
28
5
Indicator light
When POWER button is turned to
ON, the indicator light illuminates,
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 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.CAUTION
Driving with varying tire orwheel sizes may cause the ESCsystem to malfunction. Whenreplacing tires, make sure theyare the same size as your origi-nal tires.
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- Electronic sta- bility control
Drive carefully even though
your vehicle has Electronic
Stability Control. It can only
assist you in maintaining con-
trol under certain circum-
stances.
■ ESC indicator light
■ ESC OFF indicator light

529
Driving your vehicle
✽
✽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.
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). This is only the effect of brake
and EPS control and indicates noth-
ing unusual. The VSM does not operate when:
Driving on bank road such as gra-
dient 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.

Driving your vehicle
30
5
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 road. The split-mu road
is made of surfaces which have dif-
ferent friction forces.
The Vehicle Stability Management
system is not a substitute for safe
driving practices but a supplemen-
tary function only. It is the respon-
sibility 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
follow all the normal precautions
for driving at safe speeds for the
conditions – including driving in
clement weather and on a slippery
road.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.

531
Driving your vehicle
Good braking practices
Check to be sure the parking brakeis 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
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 regenerative 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.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
pressure sufficient to prevent
your vehicle from rolling back-
ward and causing an accident.
Don’t release the brake pedal
until you are ready to accelerate
forward.

Driving your vehicle
32
5
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.
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.