
Driving your vehicle
48
6
Vehicle stability management
(VSM)
This system provides further
enhancements to vehicle stability
and steering responses when a vehi-
cle is driving on a slippery road or a
vehicle detects changes in coeffi-
cient of friction between right wheels
and left wheels when braking.
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 a
gradient 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.
WARNING- Tire/
Wheel size
When replacing tires and wheels,
make sure they are the same size
as the original tires and wheels
installed. Driving with varying
tire or wheel sizes may diminish
any supplemental safety benefits
of the VSM system.

649
Driving your vehicle
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.
The Vehicle Stability Management
system is not a substitute for safe
driving practices but a supplemen-
tary function only. It is the respon-
sibility 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.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
For maximum protection, always
wear your seat belt. No system, no
matter how advanced, can compen-
sate for all driver error and/or driv-
ing conditions. Always drive respon-
sibly.
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.
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.

Driving your vehicle
50
6
Good braking practices
Check to be sure the parking brake
is 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. 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 an Automatic Transaxle, 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 (auto-
matic transaxle). 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 (automatic
transaxle) 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
52
6
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, we recommend you to have
the system checked 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:
selected, the initial
Forward Collision Warning
is activated earlier than
normal. This setting maxi-
mizes the amount of dis-
tance between the vehicle
or pedestrian ahead before
the initial warning occurs.
Even though FCW is set in
early mode, if the vehicle in
front stops abruptly, the
FCW warning may be dis-
played later than anticipat-
ed.
selected, the initial
Forward Collision
Warning is activated nor-
mally. This setting allows
for a nominal amount of
distance between the
vehicle or pedestrian
ahead before the initial
warning occurs.
OQLA055136
OQLE045236

Driving your vehicle
56
6
Sensor to detect the distance
from the vehicle in front
(front radar)
The sensor is to maintain a certain
distance from the vehicle in front.
However, the smudged sensor or
sensor cover with foreign sub-
stances, such as snow and rain,
adversely affects the sensing per-
formance. It may even temporarily cancel the
AEB. Always keep the sensor clean.
Warning message and warning
light
When the sensor is covered or the
sensor is dirty with foreign sub-
stances, such as snow or rain, the
AEB operation may temporarily stop.
In this case, a warning message will
appear to notify the driver.
OQLE045237
OQLE055147
■Type A
■Type BOQLA055021
OQL055021
AWD
2WD

657
Driving your vehicle
This is not a malfunction with the
AEB. To operate the AEB again,
remove the foreign substances.
✽ ✽NOTICE
• Do not install any accessories, such
as a license plate bracket or
bumper sticker near the sensor
area. Do not replace the bumper
by yourself. Doing so may adverse-
ly affect the sensing performance.
• Always keep the sensor/bumper area clean.
• Use only a soft cloth to wash the vehicle. Also, do not spray highly
pressurized water on the sensor
installed on the bumper.
• Be careful not to apply unneces- sary force on the frontal sensor
area. When the sensor moves out
of the correct position due to
external force, the system may not
operate correctly even without the
warning light or message. In this
case, we recommend you to have
the vehicle inspected by an
authorized Kia dealer.
• Use only the genuine Kia sensor cover. Do not arbitrarily apply
paint on the sensor cover.
System malfunction
When the AEB is not working prop-
erly, the AEB warning light ( ) will
illuminate and the warning mes-
sage will appear for a few seconds.
After the message disappears, the
master warning light ( ) will illu-
minate. In this case, we recommend
you to have the vehicle inspected by
an authorized Kia dealer. The AEB warning message may
appear along with the illumination
of the ESC warning light.
OQLE045228
OQLE055158
■Type A
■Type B

659
Driving your vehicle
Recognizing vehicles
- The radar or the camera is con-taminated with foreign substances.
- It heavily rains or snows.
- There is electromagnetic interfer- ence.
- Something in the path of travel deflects the radar waves.
- The vehicle is in a construction area or near a rail road and certain
metal objects are on the road.
- The vehicle passes a bumpy, unpaved, or steep incline road.
- The vehicle drives into an under- ground or indoor parking lot.
- The vehicle in front has a narrow body. (i.e. motorcycles and bicy-
cles)
- The driver’s view is degraded by driving towards sunlight, reflected
light, or darkness.
- The camera cannot see the full profile of the vehicle in front.
- The vehicle in front is a special vehicle, such as a heavily-loaded
truck or a trailer. The vehicle in front does not turn
ON the rear lights, does not have
rear lights, has asymmetric rear
lights, or has rear lights out of
angle.
- The outside brightness is greatly changed, such as entering/exiting
the tunnel.
- The vehicle driving is unstable.
- The radar/camera sensor recogni- tion is limited.
- Driving on a curve
The AEB performance decreases
while driving on a curve. The AEB
may not recognize the vehicle in front
even in the same lane. It may unnec-
essarily produce the warning mes-
sage and the warning alarm, or it
may not produce the warning mes-
sage and the warning alarm at all.
While driving on a curve, exercise
caution, and, if necessary, depress
the brake pedal.
OQL055053

663
Driving your vehicle
It slows down the vehicle under 5
mph (8 km/h) (for automatic
transaxle) or 5 mph (8 km/h) (for
manual transaxle vehicles) and lets
the driver concentrate on steering
the vehicle.
✽ ✽NOTICE
• The DBC defaults to the OFF posi-
tion whenever the ignition switch
is placed in the ON position.
• Noise or vibration may occur from the brakes when the DBC is acti-
vated.
• The rear stop light comes on when DBC is activated.
DBC operation
WARNING
Always turn off the DBC on nor-
mal roads. The DBC might acti-
vate inadvertently from the
standby mode when driving
through speed bumps or mak-
ing sharp curves increasing the
risk of a crash.
Standby
Press the DBC button when vehicle speed is under 25
mph (40 km/h). The DBC system will turn ON and enter
the standby mode.
The system does not turn ON if vehicle speed is over 25
mph (40 km/h).
In the standby mode, if vehicle speed is under 22 mph
(35 km/h) while driving down a steep hill, the DBC will
activate automatically.
In the activated mode, the DBC will temporarily deacti-
vate under the following conditions:
The brake pedal or accelerator pedal is depressed.
If the above conditions are gone, the DBC will automat-
ically activate again.
The DBC will turn OFF under the following conditions:
Activated
Temporarily deactivated
OFF
Mode Indicator light
Description
blinks
illuminated
not
illuminated
illuminated