625
Driving your vehicle
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).✽ ✽ NOTICE
• Do not drive in water if the level is
higher than the bottom of the vehi-
cle.
• Check your brake condition once you are out of mud or water. Press
the brake pedal several times as
you move slowly until you feel nor-
mal braking forces return.
• 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
8). Always wash your vehicle thor-
oughly after off-road use, especially
cleaning the bottom of the vehicle.
• Since the driving torque is always applied to the 4 wheels the per-
formance of the AWD vehicle is
greatly affected by the condition of
the tires. Be sure to equip the vehi-
cle with four tires of the same size
and type.
• 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.
WARNING - Driving
through water
Drive slowly. If you are driving
too fast in water, the water can
get into the engine compart-
ment and wet the ignition sys-
tem, causing your vehicle to
suddenly stop. If this happens
and your vehicle is in a tilted
position, your vehicle may roll
over.
WARNING - AWD driving
Avoid high cornering speed.
Do not make quick steering wheel movements, such as
sharp lane changes or fast,
sharp turns.
The risk of rollover is greatly increased if you lose control
of your vehicle at high speed.
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off
the roadway and the driver
over-steers to re-enter the
roadway. In the event your
vehicle leaves the roadway, do
not steer sharply. Instead,
slow down before pulling
back into the travel lanes.
Driving your vehicle
26
6
Reducing the risk of a rollover
This multi-purpose passenger vehi-
cle is defined as a Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV). SUV’s have higher
ground clearance and a narrower
track to make them capable of per-
forming in a wide variety of off-road
applications. Specific design charac-
teristics give them a higher center of
gravity than ordinary vehicles. An
advantage of the higher ground
clearance is a better view of the
road, which allows you to anticipate
problems. They are not designed for
cornering at the same speeds as
conventional passenger vehicles,
any more than low-slung sports vehi-
cles are designed to perform satis-
factorily in off-road conditions. There
are steps that a driver can
make to reduce the risk of a rollover.
If at all possible, avoid sharp turns or
abrupt maneuvers, do not load your
roof rack with heavy cargo, and
never modify your vehicle in any way.CAUTION - Mud or snow
If one of the front or rear wheels
begins to spin in mud, snow,etc. the vehicle can sometimesbe driven out by depressing theaccelerator pedal further; how-ever, do not run the engine con-tinuously at high rpms to freethe vehicle from snow or mudbecause doing so could dam-age the AWD system
WARNING- Replacement
tires
Always use the size and type of
tires recommended in the tire
section of the manual.
Installation of variant tires can
affect the safety and perform-
ance of your vehicle.
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.
687
Driving your vehicle
If at all possible, avoid sharp turns or
abrupt maneuvers, do not load your
roof rack with heavy cargo, and
never modify your vehicle in any way.
WARNING
Your vehicle is equipped with
tires designed to provide safe
ride and handling capability. Do
not use a size and type of tire
and wheel that is different from
the one that is originally
installed on your vehicle. It can
affect the safety and perform-
ance of your vehicle, which
could lead to steering failure or
rollover and 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
nevertheless decide to equip
your vehicle with any tire/wheel
combination not recommended
by Kia for off road driving, you
should not use these tires for
highway driving.
WARNING- Rollover
As with other Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV), failure to operate
this vehicle correctly may result
in loss of control, an accident or
vehicle rollover.
Utility vehicles have a signifi- cantly higher rollover rate
than other types of vehicles.
Specific design characteris- tics (higher ground clearance,
narrower track, etc.) give this
vehicle a higher center of
gravity than ordinary vehicles.
A SUV is not designed for cor- nering at the same speeds as
conventional vehicles.
Avoid sharp turns or abrupt maneuvers.
(Continued)
(Continued)
In a rollover crash, an unbelt-ed person is significantly
more likely to die than a per-
son wearing a seat belt. Make
sure everyone in the vehicle is
properly buckled up.
Driving your vehicle
92
6
Severe weather conditions in the
winter result in greater wear and
other problems. To minimize the
problems of winter driving, you
should follow these suggestions:Snowy or icy conditions
To drive your vehicle in deep snow, it
may be necessary to use snow tires
or to install tire chains on your tires.
If snow tires are needed, it is neces-
sary to select tires equivalent in size
and type of the original equipment
tires. Failure to do so may adversely
affect the safety and handling of your
vehicle. Furthermore, speeding,
rapid acceleration, sudden brake
applications, and sharp turns are
potentially very hazardous practices.
During deceleration, use engine
braking to the fullest extent. Sudden
brake applications on snowy or icy
roads may cause skids to occur. You
need to keep sufficient distance
between the vehicle in operation in
front of your vehicle. Also, apply the
brake gently. It should be noted that
installing tire chains on the tire will
provide a greater driving force, but
will not prevent side skids.
Tire chains are not legal in all states.
Check state laws before fitting tire
chains.
Snow tires
If you mount snow tires on your vehi-
cle, make sure they are radial tires of
the same size and load range as the
original tires. Mount snow tires on all
four wheels to balance your vehicle’s
handling in all weather conditions.
Keep in mind that the traction provid-
ed by snow tires on dry roads may
not be as high as your vehicle's orig-
inal equipment tires. You should drive
cautiously even when the roads are
clear. Check with the tire dealer for
maximum speed recommendations.
Do not install studded tires without
first checking local, state and munic-ipal regulations for possible restric-tions against their use.
WINTER DRIVING
WARNING - Snow tire size
Snow tires should be equivalent
in size and type to the vehicle's
standard tires. Otherwise, the
safety and handling of your vehi-
cle may be adversely affected.
693
Driving your vehicle
Tire chains
Since the sidewalls of radial tires are
thinner, they can be damaged by
mounting some types of snow chains
on them. Therefore, the use of snow
tires is recommended instead of
snow chains. Do not mount tire
chains on vehicles equipped with
aluminum wheels; snow chains may
cause damage to the wheels. If snow
chains must be used, use wire-type
chains with a thickness of less than
0.59 in (15mm). Damage to your
vehicle caused by improper snow
chain use is not covered by your
vehicle manufacturers warranty.When using tire chains, install tire
chains only on the front tires.
The snow chain connecting hooks
may be damaged from contacting
vehicle components causing the
snow chains to come loose from the
tire. Make sure the snow chains are
SAE class “S” certified.
Always check chain installation for
proper mounting after driving
approximately 0.3 to 0.6 miles (0.5 to
1 km) to ensure safe mounting.
Retighten or remount the chains if
they are loose.
Chain installation
When installing chains, follow the
manufacturer's instructions and
mount them as tightly as you can.
Drive slowly with chains installed. If
you hear the chains contacting the
body or chassis, stop and tighten
them. If they still make contact, slow
down until it stops. Remove the
chains as soon as you begin driving
on cleared roads.
When mounting snow chains, park
the vehicle on level ground away
from traffic. Turn on the vehicle
Hazard Warning flashers and place a
triangular emergency warning device
behind the vehicle if available.
Always place the vehicle in P (Park),
apply the parking brake and turn off
the engine before installing snow
chains.
CAUTION- Snow chains
Make sure the snow chains are
the correct size and type foryour tires. Incorrect snowchains can cause damage to thevehicle body and suspensionand may not be covered by yourvehicle manufacturer warranty.
OQL055046
Driving your vehicle
96
6
If you are considering towing with
your vehicle, you should first check
with your country's Department of
Motor Vehicles to determine their
legal requirements.
Since laws vary the requirements for
towing trailers, cars, or other types of
vehicles or apparatus may differ. Ask
an authorized Kia dealer for further
details before towing.
You may require an additional wiring
harness connector to install a trailer
hitch. Please contact an authorized
Kia dealer for more details. Your vehicle can tow a trailer. To
identify what the vehicle trailering
capacity is for your vehicle, you
should read the information in
“Weight of the trailer” that appears
later in this section.Remember that trailering is different
than just driving your vehicle by itself.
Trailering means changes in han-
dling, durability, and fuel economy.
Successful, safe trailering requires
correct equipment, and it has to be
used properly.
This section contains many time-
tested, important trailering tips and
safety rules. Many of these are
important for your safety and that of
your passengers. Please read this
section carefully before you pull a
trailer.
Load-pulling components such as
the engine, transaxle, wheel assem-
blies, and tires are forced to work
harder against the load of the added
weight. The engine is required to
operate at relatively higher speeds
and under greater loads. This addi-
tional burden generates extra heat.
The trailer also adds considerably to
wind resistance, increasing the
pulling requirements.
TRAILER TOWING
CAUTION - Trailer
installation
Follow instructions in this sec-tion when pulling a trailer.Pulling a trailer improperly candamage your vehicle and resultin costly repairs not covered byyour warranty.
WARNING- Towing a
trailer
Always check your towing
equipment to confirm correct
equipment size and installation
before use. Using incompatible
or incorrectly installed trailer
equipment can affect the vehi-
cle operation and endanger you
and your passengers.
WARNING- Weight
limits
Before towing, make sure the
total trailer weight, GCW (gross
combination weight), GVW
(gross vehicle weight), GAW
(gross axle weight) and trailer
tongue load are all within the
limits.
Driving your vehicle
104
6
VEHICLE LOAD LIMIT
OQLA055174/OQLA055173/OQLA055172/OQLA055171/OQLA055170
Tire and loading information label
The label located on the driver's door sill gives the original tire size, cold tire pressures recom-
mended for your vehicle, the number of people that can be in your vehicle and vehicle capacity
weight.