2019 Hyundai Kona Owner's Manual

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Driving your vehicle
5
Hazardous Driving Conditions
When hazardous driving elements
are encountered such as water,
snow, ice, mud and sand, take the
below suggestions:
Drive cautiously and keep a longerbraking distance.
Avoid abrupt braking or steering.
When your vehicle is stuck in snow, mud, or sand, use second gear.
Accelerate slowly to avoid unnec-
essary wheel spin.
Put sand, rock salt, tire chains or other non-slip materials under the
wheels to provide additional trac-
tion while the vehicle becomes
stuck in ice, snow, or mud.
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 R (Reverse) and a for-
ward gear.
Try to avoid spinning the wheels, and
do not race the engine.
To prevent transmission wear, wait
until the wheels stop spinning before
shifting gears. Release the accelera-
tor pedal while shifting, and press
lightly on the accelerator pedal while
the transmission is in gear. Slowly
spinning the wheels in forward and
reverse directions causes a rocking
motion that may free the vehicle.
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Downshifting with an automatic
transmission/dual clutch trans-
mission while driving on slip-
pery surfaces can cause an
accident. The sudden change in
tire speed could cause the tires
to skid. Be careful when down-
shifting on slippery surfaces.
WARNING
If the vehicle is stuck and
excessive wheel spin occurs,
the temperature in the tires can
increase very quickly. If the tires
become damaged, a tire blow
out or tire explosion can occur.
This condition is dangerous -
you and others may be injured.
Do not attempt this procedure if
people or objects are anywhere
near the vehicle.
If you attempt to free the vehicle,
the vehicle can overheat quickly,
possibly causing an engine
compartment fire or other dam-
age. Try to avoid spinning the
wheels as much as possible to
prevent overheating of either the
tires or the engine. DO NOT
allow the vehicle to spin the
wheels above 35 mph (56 km/h).
WARNING

Information
The ESC system must be turned OFF
before rocking the vehicle.
If you are still stuck after rocking
the vehicle a few times, have the
vehicle pulled out by a tow vehicle
to avoid engine overheating, pos-
sible damage to the transmission,
and tire damage. See "Towing" in
chapter 6.
Smooth Cornering
Avoid braking or gear changing in
corners, especially when roads are
wet. Ideally, corners should always
be taken under gentle acceleration.
Driving at Night
Night driving presents more hazards
than driving in the daylight. Here are
some important tips to remember:
Slow down and keep more dis-tance between you and other vehi-
cles, as it may be more difficult to
see at night, especially in areas
where there may not be any street
lights.
Adjust your mirrors to reduce the glare from other driver's head-
lamps.
Keep your headlamps clean and properly aimed. Dirty or improperly
aimed headlamps will make it
much more difficult to see at night.
Avoid staring directly at the head- lamps of oncoming vehicles. You
could be temporarily blinded, and it
will take several seconds for your
eyes to readjust to the darkness.
Driving in the Rain
Rain and wet roads can make driving
dangerous. Here are a few things to
consider when driving in the rain or
on slick pavement:
Slow down and allow extra follow-ing distance. A heavy rainfall
makes it harder to see and increas-
es the distance needed to stop
your vehicle.
Turn OFF your Cruise Control.
Replace your windshield wiper blades when they show signs of
streaking or missing areas on the
windshield.
Tires should be properly main- tained with at least 2/32nds of an
inch of tread depth. If your tires do
not have enough tread, making a
quick stop on wet pavement can
cause a skid and possibly lead to
an accident. See "Tire Tread" in
chapter 7.
Turn on your headlamps to make it easier for others to see you.
NOTICE
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Driving too fast through large pud-dles can affect your brakes. If you
must go through puddles, try to
drive through them slowly.
If you believe your brakes may be wet, apply them lightly while driv-
ing until normal braking operation
returns.
Hydroplaning
If the road is wet enough and you are
going fast enough, your vehicle may
have little or no contact with the road
surface and actually ride on the
water. The best advice is SLOW
DOWN when the road is wet.
The risk of hydroplaning increas-
es as the depth of tire tread
decreases, refer to "Tire Tread" in
chapter 7.
Driving in Flooded Areas
Avoid driving through flooded areas
unless you are sure the water is no
higher than the bottom of the wheel
hub. Drive through any water slowly.
Allow adequate stopping distance
because brake performance may be
reduced.
After driving through water, dry the
brakes by gently applying them sev-
eral times while the vehicle is moving
slowly.
Highway Driving
Tires
Adjust the tire inflation, as specified.
Under-inflation may overheat or
damage the tires.
Do not install worn-out or damaged
tires, which may reduce traction or
adversely affect vehicle handling.
This could lead to sudden tire failure
that may cause loss of vehicle con-
trol resulting in an accident.
Information
Never over-inflate your tires above the
maximum inflation pressure, as speci-
fied on your tires.
Fuel, engine coolant and engineoil
Driving at higher speeds on the high-
way consumes more fuel and is less
efficient than driving at a slower,
more moderate speed. Maintain a
moderate speed in order to conserve
fuel when driving on the highway.
Be sure to check both the engine
coolant level and the engine oil
before driving.
Drive belt
A loose or damaged drive belt may
overheat the engine.
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5

Reducing the risk of a rollover
Your multi-purpose passenger vehi-
cle is defined as a Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV). SUV's have higher
ground clearance and a narrower
track to make them capable of per-
forming in a wide variety of off-road
applications. The specific design
characteristics give them a higher
center of gravity than ordinary vehi-
cles making them more likely to roll
over if you make abrupt turns. Utility
vehicles have a significantly higher
rollover rate than other types of vehi-
cles. Due to this risk, driver and pas-
sengers are strongly recommended
to buckle their seat belts. In a rollover
crash, an unbelted person is signifi-
cantly more likely to die than a per-
son wearing a seat belt.
There are steps that a driver can
make to reduce the risk of a rollover.
If at all possible, avoid sharp turns or
abrupt maneuvers, do not load your
vehicle with heavy cargo on the roof,
and never modify your vehicle in any
way.Utility vehicles have a signifi-
cantly higher rollover rate than
other types of vehicles. To pre-
vent rollovers or loss of control:
Take corners at slower speeds
than you would with a passen-
ger vehicle.
Avoid sharp turns and abrupt
maneuvers.
Do not modify your vehicle in
any way that you would raise
the center of gravity.
Keep tires properly inflated.
Do not carry heavy cargo on
the roof.
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The severe weather conditions of
winter quickly wear out tires and
cause other problems. To minimize
winter driving problems, you should
take the following suggestions:
Snow or Icy Conditions
You need to keep sufficient distance
between your vehicle and the vehicle
in front of you.
Apply the brakes gently. Speeding,
rapid acceleration, sudden brake
applications, and sharp turns are
potentially very hazardous practices.
During deceleration, use engine
braking to the fullest extent. Sudden
brake applications on snowy or icy
roads may cause the vehicle to skid.
To drive your vehicle in deep snow, it
may be necessary to use snow tires
or to install tire chains on your tires.
Always carry emergency equipment.
Some of the items you may want to
carry include tire chains, tow straps
or chains, a flashlight, emergency
flares, sand, a shovel, jumper cables,
a window scraper, gloves, ground
cloth, coveralls, a blanket, etc.
Snow tires
If you mount snow tires on your vehi-
cle, make sure to use radial tires of
the same size and load range as the
original tires. Mount snow tires on all
four wheels to balance your vehicle’s
handling in all weather conditions.
The traction provided by snow tires
on dry roads may not be as high as
your vehicle's original equipment
tires. Check with the tire dealer for
maximum speed recommendations.
Information
Do not install studded tires without
first checking local, state and munici-
pal regulations for possible restric-
tions against their use.
Tire chains
Since the sidewalls of radial tires are
thinner than other types of tires, they
may be damaged by mounting some
types of tire chains on them.
Therefore the use of snow tires is
preferred over the use of tire chains.
If the road and weather conditions
require the use of tire chains, be sure
to use tire chains that have been
properly selected for the size of tire
on your HYUNDAI vehicle.
Be sure to follow the guidelines and
installation instructions provided
from the tire chain manufacturer.
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Snow tires should be equivalent
in size and type to the vehicle’s
standard tires. Otherwise, the
safety and handling of your
vehicle may be adversely affect-
ed.
WARNING
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Damage to your vehicle caused by
improper tire chain use is not cov-
ered by your vehicle manufacturer’s
warranty.Information
• Install tire chains on both left andright front tires. It should be noted
that installing tire chains on the
tires will provide a greater driving
force, but will not prevent side
skids.
• Do not install studded tires without first checking local, state and
municipal regulations for possible
restrictions against their use.
Chain installation
When installing tire chains, follow the
manufacturer’s instructions and
mount them as tightly possible. Drive
slowly (less than 20 mph (30 km/h))
with chains installed. If you hear the
chains contacting the body or chas-
sis, stop and tighten them. If they still
make contact, slow down until the
noise stops. Remove the tire chains
as soon as you begin driving on
cleared roads.
When mounting snow chains, park
the vehicle on level ground away
from traffic. Turn on the vehicle
Hazard Warning Flasher and place a
triangular emergency warning device
behind the vehicle (if available).
Always place the vehicle in P (Park),
apply the parking brake and turn off
the engine before installing snow
chains.i
The use of tire chains may
adversely affect vehicle han-
dling:
Drive less than 20 mph
(30 km/h) or the chain manu-
facturer's recommended speed
limit, whichever is lower.
Drive carefully and avoid
bumps, holes, sharp turns,
and other road hazards, which
may cause the vehicle to
bounce.
Avoid sharp turns or locked
wheel braking.
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- When using tire chains:
Wrong size chains or improperlyinstalled chains can damage
your vehicle's brake lines, sus-
pension, body and wheels.
Use SAE "S" class or wire chains.
If you hear noise caused by chains contacting the body,
retighten the chain to prevent
contact with the vehicle body.
To prevent body damage, retighten the chains after driving
0.3~0.6 miles (0.5~1.0 km).
Do not use tire chains on vehi- cles equipped with aluminum
wheels. If unavoidable, use a
wire type chain.
Use wire chains less than 0.47 inch (12 mm) wide to prevent
damage to the chain’s connec-
tion.
Winter Precautions
Use high quality ethylene glycolcoolant
Your vehicle is delivered with high
quality ethylene glycol coolant in the
cooling system. It is the only type of
coolant that should be used because
it helps prevent corrosion in the cool-
ing system, lubricates the water
pump and prevents freezing. Be sure
to replace or replenish your coolant
in accordance with the maintenance
schedule in chapter 7. Before winter,
have your coolant tested to assure
that its freezing point is sufficient for
the temperatures anticipated during
the winter.
Change to "winter weight" oil ifnecessary
In some climates it is recommended
that a lower viscosity "winter weight"
oil be used during cold weather. See
chapter 8 for recommendations. If
you aren't sure what weight oil you
should use, consult an authorized
HYUNDAI dealer.
Check battery and cables
Winter puts additional burdens on
the battery system. Visually inspect
the battery and cables as described
in chapter 7. The level of charge in
your battery can be checked by an
authorized HYUNDAI dealer or a
service station.
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Check spark plugs and ignitionsystem
Inspect your spark plugs as
described in chapter 7 and replace
them if necessary. Also check all
ignition wiring and components to be
sure they are not cracked, worn or
damaged in any way.
Use approved window washeranti-freeze in system
To keep the water in the window
washer system from freezing, add an
approved window washer anti-freeze
solution in accordance with instruc-
tions on the container. Window wash-
er anti-freeze is available from an
authorized HYUNDAI dealer and
most auto parts outlets. Do not use
engine coolant or other types of anti-
freeze as these may damage the
paint finish.
Do not let your parking brakefreeze
Under some conditions your parking
brake can freeze in the engaged
position. This is most likely 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 the parking brake may
freeze, apply it only temporarily while
you put the gear selector lever in P
and block the rear wheels so the car
cannot roll. Then release the parking
brake.
Do not let ice and snow accu-mulate underneath
Under some conditions, snow and
ice can build up under the fenders
and interfere with the steering. When
driving in severe winter conditions
where this may happen, you should
periodically check underneath the
car to be sure the movement of the
front wheels and the steering com-
ponents is not obstructed.
Don't place foreign objects ormaterials in the engine com-partment
Placement of foreign object or mate-
rials which prevent cooling of the
engine, in the engine compartment,
may cause a failure or combustion.
The manufacturer is not responsible
for the damage caused by such
placement.
To keep locks from freezing
To keep the locks from freezing,
squirt an approved de-icer fluid or
glycerine into the key opening. If a
lock is covered with ice, squirt it with
an approved de-icing fluid to remove
the ice. If the lock is frozen internally,
you may be able to thaw it out by
using a heated key. Handle the heat-
ed key with care to avoid injury.
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