2019 KIA SOUL Owners Manual

623
Driving your vehicle
In sports mode, the driver mustexecute upshifts in accordance
with road conditions, taking care to
keep the engine speed below the
red zone.
In sports mode, only the 6 forward gears can be selected. To reverse
or park the vehicle, move the shift
lever to the R (Reverse) or P (Park)
position as required.
In sports mode, downshifts are made automatically when the vehi-
cle slows down. When the vehicle
stops, 1st gear is automatically
selected.
In sports mode, when the engine rpm approaches the red zone shift
points are varied to upshift auto-
matically. To maintain the required levels of
vehicle performance and safety,
the system may not execute cer-
tain gearshifts when the shift lever
is operated.
When driving on a slippery road, push the shift lever forward into the
+(up) position. This causes the
transaxle to shift into the 2nd gear
which is better for smooth driving
on a slippery road. Push the shift
lever to the -(down) side to shift
back to the 1st gear.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 engine or turn the ignitionswitch 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 chat-
tering noise near the shift lever may
be heard. It is a normal condition.

Driving your vehicle
24
6
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.Carefully remove the cap covering
the shift-lock access hole (1).
2.Insert a screwdriver into the access hole and press down on
the screwdriver.
3.Move the shift lever.
4.Have your vehicle inspected by an authorized Kia dealer immediately.
Ignition key interlock system
The ignition key cannot be removed
unless the shift lever is in the P
(Park) position. Even if the ignition
switch is in the LOCK position, the
key also cannot be removed.
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.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.
OPS053010

625
Driving your vehicle
Good driving practices
Never move the gear shift leverfrom 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.
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.

Driving your vehicle
26
6
Dual clutch transmission oper-
ation
The dual clutch transmission has
seven forward speeds and one
reverse speed.
The individual speeds are selected
automatically in the D (Drive) posi-
tion.
DUAL CLUTCH TRANSMISSION (DCT) (IF EQUIPPED)
OPS058008N
+ +
+ +


( (
( (
U U
U U
P P
P P
) )
) )
- -
- -


( (
( (
D D
D D
O O
O O
W W
W W
N N
N N
) )
) )
The shift lever can freely operate. Press the shift button while moving the shift lever. Depress the brake pedal and press the shift button while moving the shift lever.
❈ To move the shift lever from/to P (Parking) or between R (Reverse) and D (Drive), you must
depress the brake pedal for the vehicle to stand still.

627
Driving your vehicle
The dual clutch transmission canbe thought of as an automatically
shifting manual transaxle. It gives
the driving feel of a manual
transaxle, yet provides the ease of
a fully automatic transaxle.
When D (Drive) is selected, the transmission will automatically shift
through the gears similar to a con-
ventional automatic transaxle.
Unlike a traditional automatic
transaxle, the gear shifting can
sometimes be felt and heard as the
actuators engage the clutches and
the gears are selected.
The dual clutch transmission adopts a dry-type dual clutch,
which is different from the torque
converter of the automatic
transaxle. It shows better accelera-
tion performance and increased
fuel efficiency while driving but ini-
tial launch might be little bit slower
than the automatic transaxle.
WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious
injury or death:
ALWAYS check the surround-ing areas near your vehicle for
people, especially children,
before shifting a vehicle into
D (Drive) or R (Reverse).
Before leaving the driver’s seat, always make sure the
shift lever is in the P (Park)
position, then set the parking
brake, and place the ignition
switch in the LOCK/OFF posi-
tion. Unexpected and sudden
vehicle movement can occur
if this procedure is not fol-
lowed.
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.
CAUTION
To avoid damage to yourtransaxle, do not try to acceler-ate in R (Reverse) or any for-ward gear position with thebrakes on.

Driving your vehicle
28
6
As a result, gear shifts are some-
times more noticeable than a con-
ventional automatic transmission
and a light vibration during launch-
ing can be felt as the transmission
speed is matched with the engine
speed. This is a normal condition of
the dual clutch transmission.
The dry-type clutch transfers torque more directly and provides
a direct drive feeling which may
feel different from a conventional
automatic transaxle with a torque
converter. This may be more
noticeable when launching the
vehicle from a stop or when travel-
ing at low, stop-and-go vehicle
speeds.
When rapidly accelerating at low speeds, the engine could rev at a
high rpm depending on the driving
conditions.
For smooth launch uphill, press down the accelerator pedal
smoothly depending on the current
conditions. If you release your foot from the
accelerator pedal at low vehicle
speed, you may feel strong engine
braking, which is similar to manual
transaxle.
When driving downhill, you may use Sports Mode or press the pad-
dle shifters (if equipped) to down-
shift to a lower gear in order to con-
trol your speed without using the
brake pedal excessively.
When you turn the engine on and off, you may hear clicking sounds
as the system goes through a self-
test. This is a normal sound for the
Dual Clutch Transmission.
During the first 1,500 km (1,000 miles), you may feel that the vehi-
cle may not be smooth when accel-
erating at low speed. During this
break-in period, the shift quality
and performance of your new vehi-
cle is continuously optimized.✽ ✽ NOTICE
If your transmission should fail,
your gear shift lever may not move
and the position indicator (D, R, N,
etc.) will blink on the cluster. If this
occurs, have the system checked by
an authorized Kia dealership.

629
Driving your vehicle
DCT warning messages
This warning message is displayed
when vehicle is driven slowly on a
grade and the vehicle detects that
the brake pedal is not applied.Steep grade
Driving up hills or on steep grades:
To hold the vehicle on an incline
use the foot brake or the parking
brake.
When in stop-and-go traffic on an incline, keep some distance ahead
before moving the vehicle forward.
Then hold the vehicle on the incline
with the foot brake.
If the vehicle is held on a hill by applying the accelerator pedal or
by creeping with brake pedal dis-
engaged, the clutch and transmis-
sion may overheat which can result
in damage. At this time, a warning
message will appear on the LCD
display.
If the LCD warning is active, the foot brake must be applied.
Ignoring the warnings can lead to damage to the transmission. Transmission high temperature
Under certain conditions, such as
repeated stop-and-go launches on
steep grades, sudden take off or
acceleration, or other harsh driving
conditions, the transmission clutch
temperatures will increase exces-
sively. Finally the clutch in trans-
mission could be overheated.
OJF055111L
OJF058450L

Driving your vehicle
30
6
When the clutch is overheated, the
safe protection mode engages and
the gear position indicator on the
cluster blinks with a chime. At this
time, “Transmission temp. is high!
Stop safely” warning message will
appear on the LCD display and
driving may not be smooth.
If this occurs, pull over to a safe location, stop the vehicle with the
engine running, apply the brakes
and shift the vehicle to P (Park),
and allow the transmission to cool.
If you ignore this warning, the driv- ing condition may become worse.
You may experience abrupt shifts,
frequent shifts, or jerkiness. To
return to the normal driving condi-
tion, stop the vehicle and apply the
foot brake or shift into P (Park).
Then allow the transmission to cool
for a few minutes with engine on,
before driving off.
When possible, drive the vehicle smoothly.
Transmission overheated If the vehicle continues to be driv-
en and the clutch temperatures
reach the maximum temperature
limit, the " Transmission Hot! Park
with engine on" warning will be dis-
played. When this occurs the clutch
is disabled until the clutch cools to
normal temperatures.
The warning will display a time to wait for the transmission to cool.
If this occurs, pull over to a safe location, stop the vehicle with the
engine running, apply the brakes
and shift the vehicle to P (Park),
and allow the transmission to cool.
When the message "Trans cooled. Resume driving.“ appears you can
continue to drive your vehicle.
When possible, drive the vehicle smoothly.
If any of the warning messages in
the LCD display continue to blink, for
your safety, have the system
checked by a professional workshop.
Kia recommends to visit an author-
ized Kia dealer/service partner.
OJF055117L
OJF055115L
OJF055119L