
627
Driving your vehicle
When rapidly accelerating at lowvehicle 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 Sports 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
(“Steep grade! Press brake pedal”)
will appear on the LCD display and
you may feel a vibration.
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Driving your vehicle
28
6
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.
If the LCD warning is active, the foot 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 as
repeated 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
(“Transmission temp. is high! Stop
safely”, “Trans Hot! Park with
engine on”, “Trans Cooling.
Remain parked for 00 min.”, “Trans
cooled. Resume driving”) 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.
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629
Driving your vehicle
Repetitive kick downs may lead tooverheating 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.
During the first 1,500 km (1,000 miles), you may feel that the vehi-
cle may not be smooth when accel-
erating at low speed. During this
break-in period, the shift quality
and performance of your new vehi-
cle is continuously optimized.
Always come to a complete stop before shifting into D (Drive) or R
(Reverse).
Do not put the shift lever in N (Neutral) while driving. Transmission ranges
The indicator in the instrument clus-
ter displays the shift lever position
when the ignition switch is in the ON
position.
P (Park)
Always come to a complete stop
before shifting into P (Park).
To shift from P (Park), you must
depress firmly on the brake pedal
and make sure your foot is off the
accelerator pedal.
The shift lever must be in P (Park)
before turning the engine off. R (Reverse)
Use this position to drive the vehicle
backward.
WARNING
Shifting into P (Park) while the
vehicle is in motion may
cause you to lose control of
the vehicle.
After the vehicle has stopped, always make sure the shift
lever is in P (Park), apply the
parking brake, and turn the
engine off.
Do not use the P (Park) posi- tion in place of the parking
brake.
CAUTION
Always come to a complete stopbefore shifting into or out of R(Reverse); you may damage thetransmission if you shift into R(Reverse) while the vehicle is inmotion.
CAUTION - Holding the
Vehicle Using Accelerator
Pedal
Do not attempt to hold your vehicle on a hill by applying theaccelerator pedal. This cancause your clutch and transmis-sion to be damaged as a resultof overheating.

633
Driving your vehicle
Parking
Always come to a complete stop and
continue to depress the brake pedal.
Move the shift lever into the P (Park)
position, apply the parking brake,
and place the ignition switch in the
LOCK/OFF position. Take the Key
with you when exiting the vehicle.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 stay in the vehicle
with the engine running, be
careful not to depress the accel-
erator pedal for a long period of
time. The engine or exhaust sys-
tem 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.

635
Driving your vehicle
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.
Always test your brakes in this fash-
ion after driving through deep water.
To dry the brakes, apply them lightly
while maintaining a safe forward
speed until brake performance
returns to normal.
BRAKE SYSTEM
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.

647
Driving your vehicle
Don't coast down hills with thevehicle 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.
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.

6103
Driving your vehicle
Your vehicle's fuel economy depends
mainly on your style of driving, where
you drive and when you drive.
Each of these factors affects how
many miles (kilometers) you can get
from a gallon (liter) of fuel. To operate
your vehicle as economically as pos-
sible, use the following driving sug-
gestions to help save money in both
fuel and repairs:
Drive smoothly. Accelerate at amoderate rate. Don't make "jack-
rabbit" starts or full-throttle shifts
and maintain a steady cruising
speed. Don't race between stop-
lights. Try to adjust your speed to
the traffic so you don't have to
change speeds unnecessarily.
Avoid heavy traffic whenever pos-
sible. Always maintain a safe dis-
tance from other vehicles so you
can avoid unnecessary braking.
This also reduces brake wear.
Drive at a moderate speed. The faster you drive, the more fuel your
vehicle uses. Driving at a moderate
speed, especially on the highway,
is one of the most effective ways to
reduce fuel consumption. Don't "ride" the brake or clutch
pedal. This can increase fuel con-
sumption and also increase wear
on these components. In addition,
driving with your foot resting on the
brake pedal may cause the brakes
to overheat, which reduces their
effectiveness and may lead to
more serious consequences.
Take care of your tires. Keep them inflated to the recommended pres-
sure. Incorrect inflation, either too
much or too little, results in unnec-
essary tire wear. Check the tire
pressures at least once a month.
Be sure that the wheels are aligned correctly. Improper align-
ment can result from hitting curbs
or driving too fast over irregular
surfaces. Poor alignment causes
faster tire wear and may also result
in other problems as well as
greater fuel consumption. Keep your vehicle in good condi-
tion. For better fuel economy and
reduced maintenance costs, main-
tain your vehicle in accordance
with the maintenance schedule in
section 8. If you drive your vehicle
in severe conditions, more frequent
maintenance is required (see sec-
tion 8 for details).
Keep your vehicle clean. For maxi- mum service, your vehicle should
be kept clean and free of corrosive
materials. It is especially important
that mud, dirt, ice, etc. not be
allowed to accumulate on the
underside of the vehicle. This extra
weight can result in increased fuel
consumption and also contribute to
corrosion.
Travel lightly. Don't carry unneces- sary weight in your vehicle. Weight
reduces fuel economy.
Don't let the engine idle longer than necessary. If you are waiting
(and not in traffic), turn off your
engine and restart only when
you're ready to go.
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Driving your vehicle
106
6
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.Rocking the vehicle
If it is necessary to rock the vehicle to
free it from snow, sand, or mud, first
turn the steering wheel right and left
to clear the area around your front
wheels. Then, shift back and forth
between 1st (First) and R (Reverse)
in vehicles equipped with a manual
transaxle or R (Reverse) and any for-
ward gear in vehicles equipped with
an automatic transaxle. Do not race
the engine, and spin the wheels as lit-
tle as possible. If you are still stuck
after a few tries, have the vehicle
pulled out by a tow vehicle to avoid
engine overheating and possible
damage to the transaxle.
The ESC system should be turned
OFF prior to rocking the vehicle.CAUTION- Vehicle rocking
Prolonged rocking may causeengine overheating, transaxledamage or failure, and tire dam-age.
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.
CAUTION- Spinning tires
Do not spin the wheels, espe- cially at speeds more than 35mph (56 km/h). Spinning thewheels at high speeds when thevehicle is stationary couldcause a tire to overheat whichcould result in tire damage thatmay injure bystanders.
WARNING
- Sudden vehicle movement
Do not attempt to rock the vehi-
cle if people or objects are near-
by. The vehicle may suddenly
move forward or backwards as
it becomes unstuck.