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Driving your vehicle
For smooth operation, depress thebrake pedal and the lock release but-ton when shifting from N (Neutral) toa forward or reverse gear.
When stopped on an incline, do not
hold the vehicle with the engine
power. Use the service brake or the
parking brake.
Transaxle ranges
The indicator in the instrument clus-
ter displays the shift lever position
when the engine start/stop button is
in the ON position.
P (Park)
Always come to a complete stop
before shifting into P (Park). This
position locks the transaxle and pre-
vents the drive wheels from rotating.
Shifting into P (Park) while the vehi-
cle is in motion will cause the drive
wheels to lock which will cause you
to lose control of the vehicle.
To shift from P (Park), you must
depress firmly on the brake pedal
and make sure your foot is off the
accelerator pedal.
If you have done all of the above
and still cannot shift the lever out of
P (Park), see "Shift-lock override" in
this chapter.
The shift lever must be in P (Park)
before turning the hybrid system off.
WARNING- Leaving
Vehicle
Before leaving the driver’s seat,
always make sure the shift lever
is in the P (Park) position; then
set the parking brake fully and
shut the engine off. Do not use
the P position in place of the
parking brake. Always make
sure the shift lever is locked in
the P position and set the park-
ing brake fully. Unexpected and
sudden vehicle movement can
occur if these precautions are
not followed.
CAUTION- Transaxle
To avoid damage to your transaxle, do not accelerate theengine in R (Reverse) or any for-ward gear position with thebrakes on. The transaxle may bedamaged if you shift into P(Park) while the vehicle is inmotion.
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✽ ✽NOTICE
• After the ignition switch has been
turned off, the electronic parking
brake cannot be disengaged.
• For EPB (Electronic Parking Brake) equipped vehicles with
AUTO HOLD function used while
driving, if the ignition button has
been turned OFF, the electronic
parking brake will be engaged
automatically. Therefore, AUTO
HOLD function should be turned
off before the ignition button is
turned off.
D (Drive)
This is the normal forward driving
position. The transaxle will automati-
cally shift through a 6-gear
sequence, providing the best fuel
economy and power.
For extra power when passing anoth-
er vehicle or climbing grades,
depress the accelerator fully, at
which time the transaxle will auto-
matically downshift to the next lower
gear.
WARNING - Parking in
Neutral
With the exception of parking in neutral gear, always park the
vehicle in [P] (Park) for safety
and apply the parking brake.
Before parking in [N] (Neutral) gear, first make sure the park-
ing ground is level and flat. Do
not park in [N] gear on any
slopes or gradients. If parked
and left in [N], the vehicle may
move and cause serious dam-
age or injury.
CAUTION- Starter
If the engine stalls while thevehicle is in motion, do notattempt to move the shift leverto the P (Park) position. If thetraffic and road conditions per-mit, you may put the shift leverin the N (Neutral) position whilethe vehicle is still moving andpress the ENGINE START/STOPbutton in an attempt to restartthe engine.
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Shift lock system
For your safety, the automatic
transaxle has a shift lock system
which prevents shifting the transaxle
from P (Park) into R (Reverse)
unless the brake pedal is depressed.
To shift the transaxle from P (Park)
into R (Reverse):
1. Depress and hold the brake pedal.
2. Start the hybrid system or turn theignition switch to the ON position.
3. Move the shift lever.
If the brake pedal is repeatedly
depressed and released with the
shift lever in the P (Park) position, a
chattering noise & vibration near the
shift lever may be heard. It is a nor-
mal condition. Shift-lock override
If the shift lever cannot be moved
from the P (Park) position into R
(Reverse) position with the brake
pedal depressed, continue depress-
ing the brake, then do the following:
1. Place the engine start/stop button
in the OFF position.
2. Apply the parking brake.
3. Carefully remove the cap (1) cov- ering the shift-lock release access
hole.
4. Insert a tool (e.g. flathead screw- driver) into the access hole and
press down on the tool.WARNING- Shifting from
park
Always fully depress the brake
pedal before and while shifting
out of the P (Park) position into
another position to avoid inad-
vertent motion of the vehicle
which could injure persons in
or around the vehicle.
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18
6
5. Move the shift lever.
6. Remove the tool from the shiftlock
override access hole then install
the cap.
7. Have your vehicle inspected by an authorized Kia dealer.
If your vehicle is equipped with
ENGINE START/STOP button, the
button will not change to the OFF
position unless the shift lever is in the
P (Park) position.Good driving practices
Never move the gear shift lever from P (Park) to any other position with
the accelerator pedal depressed.
Never move the gear shift lever into P (Park) when the vehicle is in
motion.
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
transaxle in P (Park) to keep the
vehicle from moving.
Optimum vehicle performance and economy is obtained by smoothly
depressing and releasing the
accelerator pedal.
✽ ✽ NOTICE- Kickdown
Mechanism
Use the kickdown mechanism for
maximum acceleration. Depress the
accelerator pedal beyond the pres-
sure point. The automatic transaxle
will shift to a lower gear depending
on the engine speed.
Moving up a steep grade from astanding start
To move up a steep grade from a
standing start, depress the brake
pedal, release the parking brake,
and shift the shift lever to D (Drive).
Select the appropriate gear depend-
ing on load weight and steepness of
the grade, and release the parking
brake. Depress the accelerator grad-
ually while releasing the service
brakes.
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22
6
Check the brake warning light by
pressing engine start/stop button ON
(do not start the hybrid system). This
light will be illuminated when the park-
ing brake is applied with the engine
start/stop button in the START or ON
position.
Before driving, be sure the parking
brake is fully released and the brake
warning light is off.
If the brake warning light remains on
after the parking brake is released
while the hybrid system is on, there
may be a malfunction in the brake sys-
tem. Immediate attention is necessary. If at all possible, cease driving the
vehicle immediately. If that is not pos-
sible, use extreme caution while
operating the vehicle and only contin-
ue to drive the vehicle until you can
reach a safe location or repair shop.
Electronic parking brake (EPB)
(if equipped)
Applying the parking brake
To apply the EPB (electronic parking
brake):
1. Depress the brake pedal.
2. Pull up the EPB switch.
Make sure the warning light comes on.
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Driving your vehicle
Also, the EPB is applied automatical-
ly if the Auto Hold button is on when
the engine is turned off.
✽ ✽NOTICE
On a steep incline or when pulling a
trailer, if the vehicle does not remain
at a standstill, do as follows:
1. Apply the EPB.
2. Pull up the EPB switch for more
than 3 seconds.
Do not operate the parking brake/
EPB while the vehicle is moving
except in an emergency situation.
✽ ✽NOTICE
A click or electric brake motor
whine sound may be heard while
operating or releasing the EPB, but
these conditions are normal and
indicate that the EPB is functioning
properly.
Releasing the parking brake
To release the EPB (electronic parking
brake), press the EPB switch while
doing the following:
Have the engine start/stop button
in the ON position.
Depress the brake pedal.
The shift lever must be in P (Park).
Make sure the brake warning light
goes off.
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6
To release EPB (electronic parking
brake) automatically:
Shift lever in P (Park)
With the engine running depress
the brake pedal and shift out of P
(Park) to R (Reverse) or D (Drive).
Shift lever in N (Neutral) With the engine running depress
the brake pedal and shift out of N
(Neutral) to R (Reverse) or D
(Drive).
Automatic Transaxle 1. Start the engine.
2. Fasten the driver's seat belt.
3. Close the driver's door, engine hood and trunk.
4. Depress the accelerator pedal while the shift lever is in R (Rear),
D (Drive) or Sports mode.
Make sure the brake warning light
goes off.✽ ✽ NOTICE
• For your safety, you can engage
the EPB even though the engine
stop/start button is in the OFF
position, but you cannot release it.
• For your safety, depress the brake pedal and release the parking
brake manually with the EPB
switch when you drive downhill or
when backing up the vehicle.
Do not follow the above procedure
when driving on a flat level ground.
The vehicle may suddenly move for-
ward.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
If the parking brake warning light is
still on even though the EPB has
been released, have the system
checked by an authorized Kia dealer.
EPB (electronic parking brake) may
be automatically applied when:
The EPB is overheated
Requested by other systems
The hybrid system is turned off
with the EPB applied
✽ ✽ NOTICE
For EPB equipped vehicles with the
AUTO HOLD function used while
driving, if the ignition button has
been turned OFF, the EPB will be
engaged automatically. Therefore,
the AUTO HOLD function should
be turned off before the ignition but-
ton is turned OFF.
CAUTION
Do not drive your vehicle with
the EPB applied. It may causeexcessive brake pad and brakerotor wear.
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EPB malfunction indicator (if equipped)
This warning light illuminates if the
engine start/stop button is changed
to the ON position and goes off in
approximately 3 seconds if the sys-
tem is operationg normally.
If the EPB malfunction indicator
remains on, comes on while driving,
or does not come on when the igni-
tion switch or the engine start/stop
button is changed to the ON position,
this indicates that the EPB may have
malfunctioned. If this occurs, have your vehicle
checked by an authorized Kia dealer
as soon as possible.
The EPB malfunction indicator may
illuminate when the ESC indicator
comes on to indicate that the ESC is
not working properly, but it does not
indicate a malfunction of the EPB.
The EPB warning light may illumi-
nate if the EPB switch operates
abnormally. Shut the engine off
and turn it on again after a few min-
utes. The warning light will go off
and the EPB switch will operate
normally. However, if the EPB
warning light is still on, have the
system checked by an authorized
Kia dealer.
If the parking brake warning light does not illuminate or blinks even
though the EPB switch was pulled
up, the EPB is not applied.
If the parking brake warning light blinks when the EPB warning light
is on, press the switch, then pull it
up. Once more press it back to its
original position and pull it back up.
If the EPB warning does not go off,
have the system checked by an
authorized Kia dealer.
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