5-18
✽ ✽
NOTICE - Kickdown
Mechanism
Use the kickdown mechanism for
maximum acceleration. Depress the
accelerator pedal beyond the pres-
sure point. The automatic transmis-
sion will shift to a lower gear
depending on the engine speed.
Driving your vehicle
To reduce the risk of SERIOUS
INJURY or DEATH:
ALWAYS wear your seatbelt.
In a collision, an unbelted
occupant is significantly more
likely to be seriously injured
or killed than a properly belt-
ed occupant.
Avoid high speeds when cor-
nering or turning.
Do not make quick steering
wheel movements, such as
sharp lane changes or fast,
sharp turns.
The risk of rollover is greatly
increased if you lose control
of your vehicle at highway
speeds.
Loss of control often occurs if
two or more wheels drop off
the roadway and the driver
over steers to reenter the
roadway.
(Continued)
(Continued)
In the event your vehicle
leaves the roadway, do not
steer sharply. Instead, slow
down before pulling back into
the travel lanes.
Genesis Branded Vehicle rec-
ommends you follow all post-
ed speed limits.
WARNING
5-28
Driving your vehicle
When driving in Manual shift mode
with the paddle shifter, slow down
before shifting to a lower gear.
Otherwise, the lower gear may not
be engaged if the engine rpms are
outside of the allowable range.
Always apply the parking brake
when leaving the vehicle. Do not
depend on placing the transmis-
sion in P (Park) to keep the vehicle
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
may cause loss of vehicle control
resulting in an accident.
Optimum vehicle performance and
economy is obtained by smoothly
depressing and releasing the
accelerator.
When using the paddle shifter
(Manual shift mode), do not use
engine braking (shifting from a high
gear to lower gear) rapidly on slip-
pery roads. The vehicle may slip
causing an accident.
✽ ✽
NOTICE - Kickdown
Mechanism
Use the kickdown mechanism for
maximum acceleration. Depress the
accelerator pedal beyond the pres-
sure point. The automatic transmis-
sion will shift to a lower gear
depending on the engine speed.
To reduce the risk of SERIOUS
INJURY or DEATH:
ALWAYS wear your seatbelt.
In a collision, an unbelted
occupant is significantly more
likely to be seriously injured
or killed than a properly belt-
ed occupant.
Avoid high speeds when cor-
nering or turning.
Do not make quick steering
wheel movements, such as
sharp lane changes or fast,
sharp turns.
The risk of rollover is greatly
increased if you lose control
of your vehicle at highway
speeds.
Loss of control often occurs if
two or more wheels drop off
the roadway and the driver
over steers to reenter the
roadway.
(Continued)
(Continued)
In the event your vehicle
leaves the roadway, do not
steer sharply. Instead, slow
down before pulling back into
the travel lanes.
Genesis Branded Vehicle rec-
ommends you follow all post-
ed speed limits.
WARNING
5-29
Driving your vehicle
5
Using All Wheel Drive (AWD)
The All Wheel Drive (AWD) System
delivers engine power to front and
rear wheels for maximum traction.
AWD is useful when extra traction is
required, such as when driving on
slippery, muddy, wet, or snow-cov-
ered roads.
If the system determines there is a
need for four wheel drive, the
engine's driving power is distributed
to all four wheels automatically.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
• Do not drive in water if the level is
higher 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.
A AL
LL
L
W
WH
HE
EE
EL
L
D
DR
RI
IV
VE
E
(
(A
AW
WD
D)
)
(
(I
IF
F
E
EQ
QU
UI
IP
PP
PE
ED
D)
)
To reduce the risk of SERIOUS
INJURY or DEATH:
Do not drive in conditions that
exceed the vehicles intended
design such as challenging
off-road conditions.
Avoid high speeds when cor-
nering or turning.
Do not make quick steering
wheel movements, such as
sharp lane changes or fast,
sharp turns.
The risk of a rollover is great-
ly increased if you lose con-
trol of your vehicle at highway
speeds.
Loss of control often occurs if
two or more wheels drop off
the roadway and the driver
over steers to reenter the
roadway.
(Continued)
(Continued)
In the event your vehicle
leaves the roadway, do not
steer sharply. Instead, slow
down before pulling back into
the travel lanes.
Always drive safely and use
caution when driving an AWD
vehicle.
WARNING
If the AWD warning light ( )
stays on the instrument cluster,
your vehicle may have a mal-
function with the AWD system.
When the AWD warning light
( ) illuminates have your
vehicle checked by an author-
ized retailer of Genesis Branded
products as soon as possible.
WARNING
5-30
Driving your vehicle
For safe AWD operation
Before driving
Make sure all passengers are
wearing 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 the
accelerator pedal gently.
Use of snow tires is recommended.
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.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
• When using Snow Tires, mount
them on the rear wheels.
• If tire chains must be used, use
AutoSock (fabric snow chain) and
install the tire chain after review-
ing the instructions provided with
the tire chains.
For more information on Snow Tires
and Tire Chains, refer to "Winter
Driving" in this chapter.Driving in sand or mud Maintain slow and constant speed.
Keep sufficient distance between
your 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 run-
ning the engine continuously at
high rpm, doing so may damage
the tires, transmission, differen-
tial or AWD system.
CAUTION
5-31
Driving your vehicle
5
Driving up or down hills
Driving uphill
- Before starting off, check if it is
possible to drive uphill.
- Drive as straight as possible.
Driving downhill
- Do not change gear while driving
downhill. Select gear before driv-
ing downhill.
- Drive slowly and select Manual
Shift Mode to provide engine
braking while driving downhill.
- Drive straight as possible.
Emergency precautions
Tires
When replacing the tires, be sure to
equip all four tires with the tire and
wheel of the same size, type, tread,
brand and load-carrying capacity.
When replacing the tires, be sure to
equip the same size, type, tread,
brand and load-carrying capacity.
In an emergency situation, a com-
pact spare tire may be used. But, do
not use the compact spare tire con-
tinuously. Repair or replace the origi-
nal tire as soon as possible to avoid
failure of the differential or AWD sys-
tem.Do not use tire and wheel with
different size and type from the
one originally installed on your
vehicle. It can affect the safety
and performance of your vehi-
cle, which could lead to steering
failure or rollover causing seri-
ous injury.
WARNING
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
ODH057139
Exercise extreme caution driv-
ing up or down steep hills. The
vehicle may flip depending on
the grade, terrain and water/
mud conditions.
WARNING
5-33
Driving your vehicle
5
Power brakes
Your vehicle has power-assisted
brakes that adjust automatically
through normal usage.
If the engine is not running or is
turned off while driving, the power
assist for the brakes will not work.
You can still stop your vehicle by
applying greater force to the brake
pedal than typical. The stopping dis-
tance, however, will be longer than
with power brakes.
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.
B BR
RA
AK
KI
IN
NG
G
S
SY
YS
ST
TE
EM
M
Take the following precautions:
Do not drive with your foot
resting on the brake pedal.
This will create abnormal high
brake temperatures, exces-
sive brake lining and pad
wear, and increased stopping
distances.
When descending a long or
steep hill, shift to a lower gear
and avoid continuous applica-
tion of the brakes. Applying
the brakes continuously will
cause the brakes to overheat
and could result in a tempo-
rary loss of braking perform-
ance.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Wet brakes may impair the
vehicle's ability to safely slow
down; the vehicle 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, light-
ly tap the brake pedal to heat
up the brakes while maintain-
ing a safe forward speed until
brake performance returns to
normal. Avoid driving at high
speeds until the brakes func-
tion correctly.
WARNING
5-48
Driving your vehicle
Electronic Stability Control
(ESC)
The Electronic Stability Control
(ESC) system helps to stabilize the
vehicle during cornering maneuvers.
ESC checks where you are steering
and where the vehicle is actually
going. ESC applies braking pressure
to any one of the vehicle's brakes
and intervenes in the engine man-
agement system to assist the driver
with keeping the vehicle on the
intended path. It is not a substitute
for safe driving practices. Always
adjust your speed and driving to the
road conditions.
ESC operation
ESC ON condition
When the Engine Start/Stop button
is in the ON position, the ESC and
the ESC OFF indicator lights illumi-
nate for approximately three seconds
and goes off, then the ESC is turned
on.
When operating
When the ESC is in opera-
tion, the ESC indicator light
blinks:
conditions which may lock the
wheels, you may hear sounds from
the brakes, or feel a corresponding
sensation in the brake pedal. This
is normal and it means your ESC is
active.
engine may not respond to the
accelerator as it does under rou-
tine conditions.
when the ESC activates, the
Cruise Control automatically disen-
gages. The Cruise Control can be
reengaged when the road condi-
tions allow. See "Cruise Control
System" later in this chapter. (if
equipped) Never drive too fast for the road
conditions or too quickly when
cornering. The ESC system will
not prevent accidents.
Excessive speed in turns, abrupt
maneuvers, and hydroplaning
on wet surfaces can result in
severe accidents.WARNING
ODH054163N
5-51
Driving your vehicle
Vehicle Stability Management
(VSM) (if equipped)
The Vehicle Stability Management
(VSM) is a function of the Electronic
Stability Control (ESC) system. It
helps ensure the vehicle stays stable
when accelerating or braking sud-
denly on wet, slippery and rough
roads where traction over the four
tires can suddenly become uneven.
VSM operation
VSM ON condition
The VSM operates when:
The Electronic Stability Control
(ESC) is on.
Vehicle speed is approximately
above 9 mph (15 km/h) on curve
roads.
Vehicle speed is approximately
above 12 mph (20 km/h) when the
vehicle is braking on rough roads.
When operating
When you apply your brakes under
conditions which may activate the
ESC, you may hear sounds from the
brakes, or feel a corresponding sen-
sation in the brake pedal. This is nor-
mal and it means your VSM is active.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
The VSM does not operate when:
• Driving on a banked road such as
gradient or incline
• Driving rearward.
• ESC OFF indicator light is on.
• EPS (Electric Power Steering)
warning light ( ) is on or blinks.
5Take the following precautions
when using the Vehicle Stability
Management (VSM):
ALWAYS check the speed and
the distance to the vehicle
ahead. The VSM is not a sub-
stitute for safe driving prac-
tices.
Never drive too fast for the
road conditions. The VSM sys-
tem will not prevent acci-
dents. Excessive speed in bad
weather, slippery and uneven
roads can result in severe
accidents.
WARNING
Driving with wheels and tires
with different sizes may cause
the VSM system to malfunction.
Before replacing tires, make
sure all four tires and wheels
are the original size. Never drive
the vehicle with different sized
tires and wheels than what is
recommended.
CAUTION
If ESC indicator light ( ) or
EPS warning light ( ) stays on
or blinks, your vehicle may have
a malfunction with the VSM sys-
tem. When the warning light illu-
minates we recommend that the
vehicle be checked by an
authorized retailer of Genesis
Branded products as soon as
possible.
WARNING