2-2
You will find many safety precautions
and recommendations throughout
this section, and throughout this man-
ual. The safety precautions in this sec-
tion are among the most important.
Always Wear Your Seat Belt
A seat belt is your best protection in
all types of accidents. Air bags are
designed to supplement seat belts,
not replace them. So even though
your vehicle is equipped with air bags,
ALWAYS make sure you and your
passengers wear your seat belts, and
wear them properly.
Restrain All Children
All children under age 13 should ride
in your vehicle properly restrained in
a rear seat, not the front seat. Infants
and small children should be
restrained in an appropriate child
restraint. Larger children should use
a booster seat with the lap/shoulder
belt until they can use the seat belt
properly without a booster seat.
Air Bag Hazards
While air bags can save lives, they can
also cause serious or fatal injuries to
occupants who sit too close to them, or
who are not properly restrained. Infants,
young children, and shorter adults are
at the greatest risk of being injured by
an inflating air bag. Follow all instruc-
tions and warnings in this manual.
Driver Distraction
Driver distraction presents a serious
and potentially deadly danger, espe-
cially for inexperienced drivers. Safety
should be the first concern when
behind the wheel and drivers need to
be aware of the wide array of potential
distractions, such as drowsiness,
reaching for objects, eating, personal
grooming, other passengers, and
using cellular phones.
Drivers can become distracted when
they take their eyes and attention off
the road or their hands off the wheel to
focus on activities other than driving. To
reduce your risk of distraction or get-
ting into an accident:
• ALWAYS set up your mobile devices(i.e., MP3 players, phones, naviga-
tion units, etc.) when your vehicle is
parked or safely stopped. ONLY use your mobile device when
allowed by laws and when conditions
permit safe use. NEVER text or
email while driving. Most states have
laws prohibiting drivers from texting.
Some states and cities also prohibit
drivers from using handheld phones.
NEVER let the use of a mobile device distract you from driving. You
have a responsibility to your passen-
gers and others on the road to
always drive safely, with your hands
on the wheel as well as your eyes
and attention on the road.
Control Your Speed
Excessive speed is a major factor in
crash injuries and deaths. Generally,
the higher the speed, the greater the
risk, but serious injuries can also occur
at lower speeds. Never drive faster than
is safe for current conditions, regard-
less of the maximum speed posted.
Keep Your Vehicle in Safe
Condition
Having a tire blowout or a mechanical
failure can be extremely hazardous. To
reduce the possibility of such prob-
lems, check your tire pressures and
condition frequently, and perform all
regularly scheduled maintenance.
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Safety system of your vehicle
3-60
Convenient features of your vehicle
Low Tire PressureWarning Light (if equipped)
This warning light illuminates:
When you press the Engine
Start/Stop b utton ON position.
- It illuminates for approximately 3 seconds and then goes off.
When one or more of your tires are significantly underinflated.
For more details, refer to "Tire
Pressure Monitoring System
(TPMS)" in chapter 6.
This warning light remains ON after
blinking for approximately 60 sec-
onds, or repeatedly blinks ON and
OFF in 3 second intervals:
When there is a malfunction with the TPMS.
In this case, have the vehicle
inspected by an authorized retailer
of Genesis Branded products as
soon as possible.
For more details, refer to "Tire
Pressure Monitoring System
(TPMS)" in chapter 6.
All Wheel Drive (AWD) Warning Light (if equipped)
This warning light illuminates:
When there is a malfunction with
the AWD system.
In this case, have your vehicle
inspected by an authorized retailer
of Genesis Branded products.
Icy Road Warning Light(if equipped)
This warning light is to warn the driver
the road may be icy.
When the temperature on the out-
side temperature gauge is approxi-
mately below 40°F (4°C), the Icy
Road Warning Light and Outside
Temperature Gauge blinks and then
illuminates. Also, the warning chime
sounds 1 time.
You can activate or deactivate Icy
Road Warning function from the User
Settings mode in the cluster LCD dis-
play.
Information
If the icy road warning light appears
while driving, you should drive more
attentively and safely refraining from
over-speeding, rapid acceleration, sud-
den braking or sharp turning, etc.
i
Safe Stopping
The TPMS cannot alert you to
severe and sudden tire dam-
age caused by external fac-
tors.
If you notice any vehicle insta-
bility, immediately take your
foot off the accelerator pedal,
apply the brakes gradually
with light force, and slowly
move to a safe position off the
road.
WARNING
3-96
Convenient features of your vehicle
When the vehicle is driven on a
narrow curved road or rough
road
When the vehicle is driven on
an uphill road or downhill road
When only part of the vehicle in
front is visible on a crossroad
or curved road
When there is a traffic light,
reflecting sign, flashing sign or
mirror
When the road conditions are
bad such as being wet or cov-
ered with snow
When a vehicle suddenly
appears from a curve
When the vehicle is tilted from
a flat tire or being towed
When the Lane Keeping Assist
(LKA) system warning light
illuminates
When the light from the on-
coming or front vehicle is not
detected because of exhaust
fume, smoke, fog, snow, etc.
When the front window is cov-
ered with foreign matters such
as ice, dust, fog, or is damaged
3) When the forward visibility is poor. Such examples may
include:
When the headlamps of an on-
coming vehicle or a vehicle in
front is not detected due to
poor outside visibility (smog,
smoke, dust, fog, heavy rain,
snow, etc.)
When the windshield visibility
is poor
Do not attempt to disassem-
ble the front view camera
without the assistance of an
authorized retailer of Genesis
Branded products technician.
If camera is removed for any
reason, the system may need
to be re-calibrated. Have the
system inspected by an
authorized retailer of Genesis
Branded products.
If the windshield of your vehi-
cle is replaced, most likely the
front view camera will need to
be re-calibrated. If this occurs,
have your vehicle inspected
and have the system re-cali-
brated by an authorized retailer
of Genesis Branded products.
Be careful that water doesn’t
get into the High Beam Assist
(HBA) unit and do not remove
or damage related parts of the
High Beam Assist (HBA) sys-
tem.
WARNING
5-41
Driving your vehicle
5Driving with wheels and tires with
different sizes may cause the ESC
system to malfunction. Before
replacing tires, make sure all four
tires and wheels are the same
size. Never drive the vehicle with
different sized wheels and tires
installed.
ESC OFF usage
When Driving
The ESC OFF mode should only be
used briefly to help free the vehicle if
stuck in snow or mud by temporarily
stopping operation of the ESC to
maintain wheel torque.
To turn ESC off while driving, press
the ESC OFF button while driving on
a flat road surface.To prevent damage to the trans-
mission:
Do not allow wheel(s) of one
axle to spin excessively while
the ESC, ABS, and parking brake
warning lights are displayed.
The repairs would not be cov-
ered by the vehicle warranty.
Reduce engine power and do
not spin the wheel(s) excessive-
ly while these lights are dis-
played.
When operating the vehicle on a dynamometer, make sure the
ESC is turned off (ESC OFF light
illuminated).
Information
Turning the ESC off does not affect ABS
or standard brake system operation.
i
NOTICE
NOTICE
When the ESC is blinking, this
indicates the ESC is active:
Drive slowly and NEVER attempt
to accelerate. NEVER turn the
ESC off while the ESC indicator
light is blinking or you may lose
control of the vehicle resulting in
an accident.
WARNING
5-43
Driving your vehicle
5
Hill-Start Assist Control (HAC)
The Hill-Start Assist Control (HAC)
helps prevent the vehicle from rolling
backwards when starting a vehicle
from a stop on a hill. The system
operates the brakes automatically for
approximately 2 seconds and releas-
es the brake after 2 seconds or when
the accelerator pedal is depressed.
The HAC does not operate whenthe vehicle is shifted to P (Park)
or N (Neutral)
The HAC activates even though the ESC (Electronic Stability
Control) is off but does not acti-
vate when the ESC has malfunc-
tioned.
Good Braking Practices
Wet brakes can be dangerous! The
brakes may get wet if the vehicle is
driven through standing water or if it
is washed. 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 retailer
of Genesis Branded products for
assistance.
DO NOT drive with your foot resting
on the brake pedal. Even light, but
constant pedal pressure can result in
the brakes overheating, brake wear,
and possibly even brake failure.
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 location.
Keep your foot firmly on the brake
pedal when the vehicle is stopped to
prevent the vehicle from rolling for-
ward.
NOTICE
Whenever leaving the vehicle or
parking, always come to a com-
plete stop and continue to
depress the brake pedal. Shift
the vehicle to neutral (for manu-
al transmission vehicle) or P
(Park, for automatic transmis-
sion vehicle), apply the parking
brake, and press the Engine
Start/Stop button to the OFF
position.
Vehicles parked with the park-
ing brake not applied or not
fully engaged may roll inadver-
tently and may cause injury to
the driver and others. ALWAYS
apply the parking brake before
exiting the vehicle.
WARNING
Always be ready to depress the
accelerator pedal when starting
off on a incline. The HAC activates
only for approximately 2 seconds.
WARNING
5-45
Driving your vehicle
5
Information
• Do not drive in water if the level ishigher than the bottom of the vehi-
cle.
• Check your brake condition once you are out of mud or water.
Depress the brake pedal several
times as you move slowly until you
feel normal braking return.
• Shorten your scheduled mainte- nance interval if you drive in off-
road conditions such as sand, mud
or water (see "Maintenance Under
Severe Usage Conditions" in chap-
ter 7).
• Make sure that an AWD vehicle is towed by flatbed tow truck.
For safe AWD operation
Before driving
Make sure all passengers arewearing seat belts.
Sit upright and adjust the steering wheel to a position comfortable for
you to drive.
Driving on snow-covered or icy
roads
Start off slowly by applying theaccelerator pedal gently.
Use of snow tires is recommended. For more information on Snow
Tires refer to "Winter Driving" in
this chapter.
Keep sufficient distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front
of you.
When approaching a stop sign or stop light, release the accelerator
pedal to provide engine braking
during deceleration.
Avoid speeding, rapid acceleration, sudden brake applications, and
sharp turns to prevent skids.
Driving in sand or mud
Maintain slow and constant speed.
Keep sufficient distance betweenyour vehicle and the vehicle in front
of you.
Reduce vehicle speed and always check the road condition.
Avoid speeding, rapid acceleration, sudden brake applications, and
sharp turns to prevent getting
stuck.
When the vehicle is stuck in snow,
sand or mud, avoid running the
engine continuously at high rpm,
doing so may damage the tires,
transmission, differential or AWD
system.
NOTICE
i
5-47
Driving your vehicle
5
Tire size mismatch. Check all tire
sizes.
If your vehicle is equipped with differ-
ent tires (size, type, etc.) on the front
and rear, the message will appear. To
use the AWD system, equip the vehi-
cle with the same tires on the front
and rear.
Towing
AWD vehicles must be towed with all
wheels off the ground, either on a
flatbed tow truck or using doilies.
For more details, refer to "Towing"
in chapter 6.
Vehicle inspection
If the vehicle needs to be operatedon a vehicle lift do not attempt to
stop any of the four wheels for turn-
ing. This could damage the sys-
tem.
Never engage the parking brake while running the engine on a car
lift. This may damage the AWD
system.
Dynamometer testing
An AWD vehicle must be tested on a
special four wheel chassis dynamome-
ter.
Never start or run the engine
while an AWD vehicle is raised
on a jack. The vehicle can slip or
roll off of a jack causing serious
injury or death to you or those
nearby.
WARNING
OIK057056N
OIK057034
5-71
Driving your vehicle
5
Non-operating condition
The BCW indicator on the outer
side view mirror may not illumi-
nate properly when:
- The outer side view mirror housingis damaged.
- The mirror is covered with dirt, snow, or debris.
- The window is covered with dirt, snow, or debris.
- The window is tinted.
Limitations of the System
The driver must be cautious in the
below situations, because the sys-
tem may not detect other vehicles or
objects in certain circumstances.
The vehicle drives on a curved road or through a tollgate.
The vehicle is turning left or right at a crossroads.
The sensor is polluted with rain, snow, mud, etc.
The rear bumper where the sensor is located is covered with a foreign
object such as a bumper sticker, a
bumper guard, a bike rack, etc.
The rear bumper is damaged, or the sensor is out of the original
default position.
The vehicle height gets lower or higher due to heavy loading in the
luggage compartment, abnormal
tire pressure, etc.
The vehicle drives in inclement weather such as heavy rain or
snow.
There is a fixed object near the vehicle, such as a guardrail, per-
son, animal, etc. The vehicle is driven near areas
containing metal substances such
as a construction zone, railroad,
etc.
A big vehicle is near such as a bus or truck.
A motorcycle or bicycle is near.
A flat trailer is near.
If the vehicle has started at the same time as the vehicle next to
you and has accelerated.
When the other vehicle passes at a very fast speed.
While changing lanes.
While going down or up a steep road where the height of the lane is
different.
When the other vehicle approach- es very close.
When a trailer or carrier is installed.
When the temperature near the rear bumper area is high or low.
When the sensors are blocked by other vehicles, walls or parking-lot
pillars.