2019 KIA SORENTO Owners Manual

Driving your vehicle
20
5
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 trans-
mission in P (Park) to keep the
vehicle from moving.
Optimum vehicle performance and economy is obtained by smoothly
depressing and releasing the
accelerator pedal.
Moving up a steep grade from a
standing start
To move up a steep grade from a
standing start, depress the brake
pedal, shift the shift lever to D
(Drive). Select the appropriate gear
depending on load weight and steep-
ness of the grade, and release the
parking brake. Depress the accelera-
tor gradually while releasing the
service brakes.
When accelerating from a stop on
a steep hill, the vehicle may have a
tendency to roll backwards.
Shifting the shift lever into 2
(Second Gear) will help prevent
the vehicle from rolling back-
wards.

521
Driving your vehicle
Engine power can be delivered to all
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-covered roads.These vehicles are not designed for
challenging off-road use. Occasional
off-road use such as established
unpaved roads and trails are OK. It is
always important when traveling off-
highway that the driver carefully
reduces the speed to a level that
does not exceed the safe operating
speed for those conditions. In gener-
al, off-road conditions provide less
traction and braking effectiveness
than normal road conditions.
The driver must be especially alert to
avoid driving on slopes which tilt the
vehicle to either side.
These factors must be carefully con-
sidered when driving off-road.
Keeping the vehicle in contact with
the driving surface and under control
in these conditions is always the dri-
ver's responsibility for the safety of
him/herself and his or her passen-
gers.
* AWD : All Wheel Drive
FWD : Front Wheel Drive If the AWD system warning light
( ) illuminates, this indicates that
there is a malfunction in the AWD
system.
If this occurs, have your vehicle
checked by an authorized Kia dealer
as soon as possible.
ALL WHEEL DRIVE (AWD) (IF EQUIPPED)
OUMA054049
OUMA054010
■Type A
■Type B
WARNING- Off road
driving
Do not attempt to operate your
vehicle under extreme or chal-
lenging off road driving condi-
tions. Although this vehicle has
off-road capabilities, it was not
designed to be driven off road.

Driving your vehicle
22
5
All Wheel Drive (AWD) transfer mode selection
When the AWD LOCK mode is deactivated, a shock may be felt as the drive power is delivered entirely to the front
wheels. This shock is not a mechanical failure.
Transfer modeSelection buttonIndicator lightDescription
AWD AUTO
(AWD LOCK is deactivated) AWD Auto is used when driving on roads in normal conditions, roads in
urban areas, and on highways.
All wheels are in operation when a vehicle travels at a constant speed. Required tractions applying on front and rear wheels vary depending on
road driving conditions and driving conditions, which will be automatically
controlled by the computing system.
When the cluster's AWD Auto display mode is selected, the cluster displays the status of how four wheels’ traction forces are distributed.
AWD LOCK
The main goal of AWD Lock mode is to allow a driver to maximize the vehi- cle’s traction under extreme driving conditions such as unpaved off-road,
sandy roads, and muddy roads.
AWD Lock mode is in operation only when a vehicle travels at 40km/h or less. When travelling at 40km/h or faster, the mode will switch to AWD Auto.
When travelling at 30 km/h or less, the mode will switch back to AWD Lock.
When AWD Lock mode illuminates, the cluster does not display the front/rear wheel traction force distribution status.
Press the AWD Lock mode switch again to switch back to AWD Auto.
(Indicator light is not illuminated)
(Indicator light is illuminated)
✽ ✽NOTICE - Normal road conditions
• Maintain AWD Auto mode when driving on roads in normal conditions.
• When driving under normal road conditions (especially when cornering) in AWD Lock mode, a driver may find
minor mechanical vibration or noise, which is extremely normal phenomenon, not a malfunction. When AWD
Lock mode is released, such noise or vibration will be immediately gone.

523
Driving your vehicle
For safe all wheel drive opera-
tion
Do not try to drive in deep standingwater or mud since such conditions
can stall your engine and clog your
exhaust pipes. Do not drive down
steep hills since it requires extreme
skill to maintain control of the vehi-
cle.
When you are driving up or downhills; drive as straight as possible.
Use extreme caution going up or
down steep hills, the grade, terrain
and water/mud conditions may
cause the vehicle to flip.
HILL1HILL2
WARNING- Hills
Proceed with extreme caution
when driving down steep hills.
A slight change in the wheel
angle can destabilize the vehi-
cle. This can cause your vehicle
to suddenly roll without warn-
ing and without time for you to
regain control of your vehicle.

Driving your vehicle
24
5
You must consciously take the
effort to learn how to corner in a
AWD vehicle. Do not rely on your
experience in conventional FWD
vehicles in choosing a safe corner-
ing speed in AWD mode. For
starters, you must drive more slow-
ly in AWD.
Drive carefully off-road because your vehicle may be damaged by
rocks or roots of trees. Become
familiar with the off-road conditions
where you are going to drive
before you begin driving. Always hold the steering wheel
firmly when you are driving off-
road.
Make sure all passengers are wearing seat belts.
If you need to drive in the water, stop your vehicle, set your transfer
to the AWD LOCK mode and drive
at less than 5 mph (8 km/h).
WARNING- Steering
wheel
Do not grab the inside of the
steering wheel when you are
driving off-road. You may hurt
your arm by a sudden steering
maneuver or from steering
wheel rebound due to impact
with objects on the ground.
WARNING- Wind danger
Drive slowly in heavy winds.
The vehicle's higher center of
gravity decreases your steering
control capacity.
OUM058053L
WARNING- AWD
Reduce speed when you turn
corners. The center of gravity of
AWD vehicles is higher than
that of conventional FWD vehi-
cles, making them more likely to
roll over when you turn corners
too fast.

525
Driving your vehicle
✽ ✽NOTICE
• 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 section
7). Always wash your vehicle thor-
oughly after off-road use, especial-
ly cleaning the bottom of the vehi-
cle.
• A full time all wheel drive vehicle cannot be towed by an ordinary
tow truck. Make sure that the
vehicle is placed on a flat bed
truck for moving.
Do not use a tire and wheel package
with a different size and type from
the one originally installed on your
vehicle. It can affect the safety and
performance of your vehicle, which
could lead to steering failure or
rollover causing serious injury.
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. If
you equip your vehicle with any
tire/wheel combination not recom-
mended by Kia for off-road driving,
ou should not use thesetires for high
way driving.
CAUTION- Mud or snow
Do not run the engine continu-
ously at high RPMs to free thevehicle from snow or mud. Doingso could damage the AWD sys-tem in your vehicle.
WARNING- AWD driving
Do not attempt quick steering
maneuvers or sharp turns in
AWD mode. Such maneuvers
increase the risk of rollover
accidents. Rollover accidents
are extremely violent and
unpredictable.WARNING- Driving through water
Drive slowly. If you are driving
too fast in water, the water can
get into the engine compartment
and wet the ignition system,
causing your vehicle to sudden-
ly stop. If this happens and your
vehicle is in a tilted position,
your vehicle may roll over.

Driving your vehicle
26
5
Full-time AWD vehicles must be
tested on a special four wheel
chassis dynamometer.
A full-time AWD vehicle should not be tested on a FWD roll tester. If a
FWD roll tester must be used, per-
form the following: 1. Check the tire pressures recom-
mended for your vehicle.
2. Place the front wheels on the roll tester for a speedometer test as
shown in the illustration.
3. Release the parking brake.
4. Place the rear wheels on the tem- porary free roller as shown in the
illustration.
WARNING- Jacked
vehicle
While the full-time AWD vehicle
is being raised on a jack, never
start the engine or cause the
tires to rotate.
There is the danger that rotating
tires touching the ground could
cause the vehicle to go off the
jack and to jump forward.
OUM054011Roll tester (speedometer)
Temporary free roller
WARNING- Replacement Tires
When replacing tires and
wheels, be sure all four tires are
the same size, type, tread and
have the same load-carrying
capacity as the original equip-
ment tires. Installing replace-
ment tires that vary from the
original equipment tires can
negatively effect vehicle han-
dling and can increase the risk
of an accident.

527
Driving your vehicle
Power brakes
Your vehicle has power-assisted
brakes that adjust automatically
through normal usage.
In the event that the power-assisted
brakes lose power because of a
stalled engine or some other reason,
you can still stop your vehicle by
applying greater force to the brake
pedal than you normally would. The
stopping distance, however, will be
longer.
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.Wet brakes may impair the vehicle’s
ability to safely slow down; the vehi-
cle 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, apply them lightly
while maintaining a safe forward
speed until brake performance
returns to normal.
BRAKE SYSTEM
WARNING- Steep hill
braking
Avoid continuous application of
the brakes when descending a
long or steep hill by shifting to a
lower gear. Continuous brake
application will cause the brakes
to overheat and could result in a
temporary loss of braking per-
formance.
CAUTION- Brake Pedal
Do not drive with your foot rest- ing on the brake pedal. This willcreate abnormally high braketemperatures which can causeexcessive brake lining and padwear.