2019 KIA NIRO PHEV Owners Manual

633
Driving your vehicle
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- Electronic Power Steering).
This is only the effect of brake and
EPS control and indicates nothing
unusual.
The VSM does not operate when:
Driving on a sloping road such as agradient 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.
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 surface. A split-mu sur-
face is made of two surfaces which
have different friction forces.
WARNING
- Vehicle stability manage-
ment
Drive carefully even though your
vehicle has vehicle stability
management. It can only assist
you in maintaining control of the
vehicle under certain circum-
stances.

Driving your vehicle
34
6
The Vehicle Stability Management
system is not a substitute for safe
driving practices but a supplemen-
tary function only. It is the responsi-
bility 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 fol-
low all the normal precautions for
driving at safe speeds for the condi-
tions – 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.
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 author-
ized Kia dealer for assistance.
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 engine braking will
help you maintain a safe speed.
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 pres-
sure sufficient to prevent your
vehicle from rolling backward
and causing an accident. Don’t
release the brake pedal until you
are ready to accelerate forward.WARNING
For maximum protection,
always wear your seat belt. No
system, no matter how
advanced, can compensate for
all driver error and/or driving
conditions. Always drive
responsibly.

635
Driving your vehicle
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 a dual clutch transmission, 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 (Dual
clutch transmission). 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 (Dual clutch
transmission) and block the rear
wheels so the vehicle cannot roll.
Then release the parking brake.
Do not hold the vehicle on an incline with the accelerator pedal.
This can cause the transaxle to
overheat. Always use the brake
pedal or parking brake.

Driving your vehicle
36
6
AUTONOMOUS EMERGENCY BRAKING (AEB) (IF EQUIPPED)
The AEB system is designed to
reduce or to avoid accident risk. It
recognizes the distance from the
vehicle ahead or the pedestrian
through the sensors (i.e. radar and
camera), and, if necessary, warns
the driver of accident risk with the
warning message or the warning
alarms.System setting and activation
System setting
The driver can activate the AEB by
placing the engine start/stop button
to the ON position and by selecting
'User Settings', 'Driving Assist', and
'Autonomous Emergency Braking
System'. The AEB deactivates, when
the driver cancels the system setting.
WARNING
Take the following precautions
when using the Autonomous
Emergency Braking (AEB) sys-
tem:
This system is only a supple-
mental system and it is not
intended to, nor does it
replace the need for extreme
care and attention of the driv-
er. The sensing range and
objects detectable by the sen-
sors are limited. Pay attention
to the road conditions at all
times.
NEVER drive too fast in accor- dance with the road condi-
tions or while cornering.
Always drive cautiously to prevent unexpected and sud-
den situations from occur-
ring. AEB does not stop the
vehicle completely and does
not avoid collisions.

637
Driving your vehicle
The warning light illumi-
nates on the LCD display,
when you cancel the AEB
system. The driver can
monitor the AEB ON/OFF status on
the LCD display. When the warning
light remains ON with the AEB acti-
vated, have your vehicle inspected
by an authorized Kia dealer.
The driver can select the initial warn-
ing activation time in the User
Settings in the instrument cluster
LCD display. The options for the ini-
tial Forward Collision Warning
include the following:
When this setting is select-
ed, the initial Forward
Collision Warning is acti-
vated earlier than normal.
This setting maximizes the
amount of distance
between the vehicle or
pedestrian ahead before
the initial warning occurs. If
the driver feels this setting
is too sensitive to activate
than expectation, change it
to Normal. If the vehicle in
front stops abruptly, the
driver can notice the warn-
ing alarm is late even
though the early option is
selected.
selected, the initial
Forward Collision
Warning is activated nor-
mally. This setting allows
for a smaller amount of
distance between the
vehicle or pedestrian
ahead before the initial
warning occurs com-
pared to the EARLY set-
ting.
ed, the initial Forward
Collision Warning is activat-
ed later than normal. This
setting reduces the amount
of distance between the
vehicle or pedestrian ahead
before the initial warning
occurs. The driver can use it
when the traffic is not busy
on the road and driving
speed is lower.

Driving your vehicle
38
6
Prerequisite for activation
The AEB will activate activated when
the AEB is selected on the LCD dis-
play, and when the following prereq-
uisites are satisfied:
- The ESC (Electronic Stability
Control) is activated.
- The driving speed is over 6 mph (10 km/h). (The AEB only works
within a certain range of vehicle
speeds)
- When the AEB recognizes a vehi- cle or the pedestrian in front. (The
AEB may not recognize every
obstacle or provide warnings and
braking in every situation, so do
not rely on the AEB to stop the
vehicle in instances where the driv-
er sees an obstacle and has the
ability to apply the brakes) The AEB automatically activates
when you turn the vehicle on.
The driver can deactivate the AEB
by canceling the in the system set-
ting on the LCD display.
The AEB automatically deactivates when canceling the ESC. When the
ESC is canceled, the AEB cannot
be activated on the LCD display.WARNING
To avoid driver distractions, do
not attempt to set or cancel the
AEB while operating the vehicle.

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Driving your vehicle
AEB warning message and
system control
The AEB produces warning mes-
sages, warning alarms, and emer-
gency braking based on the level of
risk of a frontal collision, such as
when a vehicle ahead suddenly
brakes, when there is no following dis-
tance from the vehicle in front, or
when it detects a collision with a
pedestrian is imminent.
Forward Warning (1st warning)
The warning message appears on
the LCD display with the warning
alarms.
Collision Warning (2nd warning)
The warning message appears onthe LCD display with the warning
alarms.
The AEB applies the brakes within certain limit to reduce the impact
from a collision.
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Driving your vehicle
40
6
Emergency braking (3rdwarning)
• The warning message appears on
the LCD display with the warning
alarms.
The AEB controls the brakes with- in certain limit to reduce the impact
from the collision.
The AEB controls the maximum
brakes just before the collision.
Brake operation
In an urgent situation, the brakingsystem enters into the ready status
for prompt reaction against the dri-
ver’s depressing the brake pedal.
The AEB system provides addi- tional braking power for optimum
braking performance, when the
driver depresses the brake pedal.
The braking control is automatical- ly deactivated, when the driver
sharply depresses the accelerator
pedal, or when the driver abruptly
operates the steering wheel.
The braking control is automatical- ly canceled, when risk factors dis-
appear.
ODE056077L
WARNING
The AEB assesses the risk of a
collision by monitoring several
variables avoid all collisions.
The AEB might not completely
stop the vehicle before colli-
sion, due to ambient weather
and road conditions. The driver
has the responsibility to drive
safely and control the vehicle.
CAUTION
The driver should always exer-cise caution when operatingthe vehicle, even though there isno warning message or warningalarm.
WARNING
The AEB assesses the risk of a
collision by monitoring several
variables, such as the distance
from the vehicle/passer-by in
front, the speed of the
vehicle/passer-by in front, and
the driver's vehicle operation.
Certain conditions such as
inclement weather and road
conditions may affect the oper-
ation of the AEB system.