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Driving your vehicle
5
Information
The ESC system must be turned OFF
before rocking the vehicle.
If you are still stuck after rocking
the vehicle a few times, have the
vehicle pulled out by a tow vehicle
to avoid engine overheating, pos-
sible damage to the transmission,
and tire damage. See "Towing" in
chapter 6.
Smooth Cornering
Avoid braking or gear changing in
corners, especially when roads are
wet. Ideally, corners should always
be taken under gentle acceleration.
Driving at Night
Night driving presents more hazards
than driving in the daylight. Here are
some important tips to remember:
Slow down and keep more dis-tance between you and other vehi-
cles, as it may be more difficult to
see at night, especially in areas
where there may not be any street
lights.
Adjust your mirrors to reduce the glare from other driver's head-
lamps.
Keep your headlamps clean and properly aimed. Dirty or improperly
aimed headlamps will make it
much more difficult to see at night.
Avoid staring directly at the head- lamps of oncoming vehicles. You
could be temporarily blinded, and it
will take several seconds for your
eyes to readjust to the darkness.
Driving in the Rain
Rain and wet roads can make driving
dangerous. Here are a few things to
consider when driving in the rain or
on slick pavement:
Slow down and allow extra follow-ing distance. A heavy rainfall
makes it harder to see and increas-
es the distance needed to stop
your vehicle.
Turn OFF your Cruise Control.
Replace your windshield wiper blades when they show signs of
streaking or missing areas on the
windshield.
Tires should be properly main- tained with at least 2/32nds of an
inch of tread depth. If your tires do
not have enough tread, making a
quick stop on wet pavement can
cause a skid and possibly lead to
an accident. See "Tire
Replacement" in chapter 7 .
Turn on your headlamps to make it easier for others to see you.
NOTICE
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Driving your vehicle
Driving too fast through large pud- dles can affect your brakes. If you
must go through puddles, try to
drive through them slowly.
If you believe your brakes may be wet, apply them lightly while driv-
ing until normal braking operation
returns.
Hydroplaning
If the road is wet enough and you are
going fast enough, your vehicle may
have little or no contact with the road
surface and actually ride on the
water. The best advice is SLOW
DOWN when the road is wet.
The risk of hydroplaning increas-
es as the depth of tire tread
decreases, refer to "Tire
Replacement" in chapter 7.
Driving in Flooded Areas
Avoid driving through flooded areas
unless you are sure the water is no
higher than the bottom of the wheel
hub. Drive through any water slowly.
Allow adequate stopping distance
because brake performance may be
reduced.
After driving through water, dry the
brakes by gently applying them sev-
eral times while the vehicle is moving
slowly.
Highway Driving
Tires
Adjust the tire inflation, as specified.
Under-inflation may overheat or
damage the tires.
Do not install worn-out or damaged
tires, which may reduce traction or
adversely affect vehicle handling.
This could lead to sudden tire failure
that may cause loss of vehicle con-
trol resulting in an accident.
Information
Never over-inflate your tires above the
maximum inflation pressure, as speci-
fied on your tires.
Fuel, engine coolant and engineoil
Driving at higher speeds on the high-
way consumes more fuel and is less
efficient than driving at a slower,
more moderate speed. Maintain a
moderate speed in order to conserve
fuel when driving on the highway.
Be sure to check both the engine
coolant level and the engine oil
before driving.
Drive belt
A loose or damaged drive belt may
overheat the engine.
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Driving your vehicle
5
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The severe weather conditions of
winter quickly wear out tires and
cause other problems. To minimize
winter driving problems, you should
take the following suggestions:
Snow or Icy Conditions
You need to keep sufficient distance
between your vehicle and the vehicle
in front of you.
Apply the brakes gently. 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 the vehicle to skid.
To drive your vehicle in deep snow, it
may be necessary to use snow tires
or to install tire chains on your tires.
Always carry emergency equipment.
Some of the items you may want to
carry include tire chains, tow straps
or chains, a flashlight, emergency
flares, sand, a shovel, jumper cables,
a window scraper, gloves, ground
cloth, coveralls, a blanket, etc.
Snow tires
Standard tire Recommended snow tire
Front Rear Front Rear
Tire size Wheel
size Tire size Wheel
size Tire size
Wheel
size Tire size Wheel
size
225/45R18 8.0Jx18 225/45R18 8.0Jx18 225/45R18
8.0Jx18 225/45R18 8.0Jx18
225/40ZR198.0Jx19255/35ZR198.5Jx19 225/40R198.0Jx19 255/35R19 8.5Jx19
225/40R198.0Jx19255/35R198.5Jx19 225/40R198.0Jx19 255/35R19 8.5Jx19
We recommend you use snow tires when road temperature is below 45°F
(7°C). Refer to the below chart, and mount the recommended snow tire for
your vehicle.
If you mount snow tires on your vehicle, make sure to use the same inflation
pressure as the original tires. Mount snow tires on all four wheels to balance
your vehicle's handling in all weather conditions. The traction provided by
snow tires on dry road may not be as high as your vehicle's original equip-
ment tires. Check with the tire dealer for maximum speed recommendations.
Information
Do not install studded tires without first checking local, state and municipal reg-
ulations for possible restrictions against their use.
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Driving your vehicle
Summer tires
Summer tires are used to maxi-mize the driving performance on
dry roads.
If the temperature is below 44°F (7°C) or you are driving on snowy
or icy roads, the summer tires lose
their brake performance and trac-
tion as the tire grip weakens signif-
icantly.
If the temperature is below 44°F (7°C) or you are driving on snowy
or icy roads, mount snow tires or
all-season tires of the same size
with your vehicle's standard tire for
safe driving. Both snow and all-
season tires have M+S markings.
When using the M+S tires, use tires with the same tread produced
by the same manufacturer for safe
driving.
When driving with the M+S tires with the lower maximum allowable
speed than that of the vehicle's
standard summer tire, be careful
not to exceed the speed allowed
for the M+S tires.
Tire chains
Since the sidewalls on some radial
tires are thinner than other types of
tires, they may be damaged by
mounting certain types of tire chains
on them. Do not mount tire chains on
vehicles equipped with aluminum
wheels; if unavoidable use
AutoSock
®(fabric snow chain or sim-
ilar). Install the tire chain after review-
ing the instructions provided with the
tire chains. Damage to your vehicle
caused by improper tire chain use is
not covered by your vehicle manu-
facturer’s warranty. AutoSock
®is a Registered trade-
mark of AutoSock. The use of AutoSock
®(fabric
snow chain) may adversely
affect vehicle handling:
Drive less than 20 mph (30
km/h) or the chain manufac-
turer's recommended speed
limit, whichever is lower.
Drive carefully and avoid
bumps, holes, sharp turns,
and other road hazards, which
may cause the vehicle to
bounce.
Avoid sharp turns or locked
wheel braking.
WARNING
OIK057144
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Driving your vehicle
5
Information
• Install AutoSock®(fabric snow
chain) on the rear tires. It should be
noted that installing AutoSock
®
(fabric snow chain) on the tires will
provide a greater driving force, but
will not prevent side skids.
• Do not install studded tires without first checking local, state and
municipal regulations for possible
restrictions against their use.
Chain Installation
When installing AutoSock®(fabric
snow chain), follow the manufactur-
er's instructions and mount them as
tightly as possible. Drive slowly (less
than 20 mph (30 km/h)) with chains
installed. If you hear the chains con-
tacting the body or chassis, stop and
tighten them. If they still make con-
tact, slow down until the noise stops.
Remove the AutoSock
®(fabric snow
chain) as soon as you begin driving
on cleared roads.
When mounting AutoSock
®(fabric
snow chain), park the vehicle on
level ground away from traffic.
Turn on the vehicle Hazard Warning
Flasher and place a triangular emer-
gency 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 tire
chains. When using AutoSock
®(fabric
snow chain):
Wrong size chains or improperly installed chains can damage
your vehicle's brake lines, sus-
pension, body and wheels.
If you hear noise caused by chains contacting the body,
retighten the chain to prevent
contact with the vehicle body.
To prevent body damage, retighten the chains after driving
0.3~0.6 miles (0.5~1.0 km).
AutoSock
®is a Registered trade-
mark of AutoSock.
NOTICEi
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Driving your vehicle
Winter Precautions
Use high quality ethylene glycolcoolant
Your vehicle is delivered with high
quality ethylene glycol coolant in the
cooling system. It is the only type of
coolant that should be used because
it helps prevent corrosion in the cool-
ing system, lubricates the water
pump and prevents freezing. Be sure
to replace or replenish your coolant
in accordance with the maintenance
schedule in chapter 7. Before winter,
have your coolant tested to assure
that its freezing point is sufficient for
the temperatures anticipated during
the winter.
Change to "winter weight" oil ifnecessary
In some climates it is recommended
that a lower viscosity "winter weight"
oil be used during cold weather. See
chapter 8 for recommendations. If
you aren't sure what weight oil you
should use, consult an authorized
retailer of Genesis Branded prod-
ucts.
Check battery and cables
Winter puts additional burdens on
the battery system. Visually inspect
the battery and cables as described
in chapter 7. The level of charge in
your battery can be checked by an
authorized retailer of Genesis
Branded products or a service sta-
tion.
Check spark plugs and ignitionsystem
Inspect your spark plugs as
described in chapter 7 and replace
them if necessary. Also check all
ignition wiring and components to be
sure they are not cracked, worn or
damaged in any way.
Use approved window washeranti-freeze in system
To keep the water in the window
washer system from freezing, add an
approved window washer anti-freeze
solution in accordance with instruc-
tions on the container. Window wash-
er anti-freeze is available from an
authorized retailer of Genesis
Branded products and most auto
parts outlets. Do not use engine
coolant or other types of anti-freeze
as these may damage the paint fin-
ish.
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Driving your vehicle
5
Do not let your parking brakefreeze
Under some conditions your parking
brake can freeze in the engaged
position. This is most likely 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 the parking brake may
freeze, apply it only temporarily while
you put the gear selector lever in P
and block the rear wheels so the car
cannot roll. Then release the parking
brake.
Do not let ice and snow accu-mulate underneath
Under some conditions, snow and
ice can build up under the fenders
and interfere with the steering. When
driving in severe winter conditions
where this may happen, you should
periodically check underneath the
car to be sure the movement of the
front wheels and the steering com-
ponents is not obstructed.
Don't place foreign objects ormaterials in the engine com-partment
Placement of foreign object or mate-
rials which prevent cooling of the
engine, in the engine compartment,
may cause a failure or combustion.
The manufacturer is not responsible
for the damage caused by such
placement.
To keep locks from freezing
To keep the locks from freezing,
squirt an approved de-icer fluid or
glycerine into the key opening. If a
lock is covered with ice, squirt it with
an approved de-icing fluid to remove
the ice. If the lock is frozen internally,
you may be able to thaw it out by
using a heated key. Handle the heat-
ed key with care to avoid injury.
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Driving your vehicle
Two labels on your driver's door sill
show how much weight your vehicle
was designed to carry: the Tire and
Loading Information Label and the
Certification Label.
Before loading your vehicle, familiar-
ize yourself with the following terms
for determining your vehicle’s weight
ratings, from the vehicle's specifica-
tions and the Certification Label:
Base Curb Weight
This is the weight of the vehicle
including a full tank of fuel and all
standard equipment. It does not
include passengers, cargo, or option-
al equipment.
Vehicle Curb Weight
This is the weight of your new vehicle
when you picked it up from your deal-
er plus any aftermarket equipment. Cargo Weight
This figure includes all weight added
to the Base Curb Weight, including
cargo and optional equipment.
GAW (Gross Axle Weight)
This is the total weight placed on
each axle (front and rear) - including
vehicle curb weight and all payload.
GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating)
This is the maximum allowable
weight that can be carried by a single
axle (front or rear). These numbers
are shown on the Certification Label.
The total load on each axle must
never exceed its GAWR.
GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight)
This is the Base Curb Weight plus
actual Cargo Weight plus passen-
gers.
GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating)
This is the maximum allowable
weight of the fully loaded vehicle
(including all options, equipment,
passengers and cargo). The GVWR
is shown on the Certification Label
located on the driver’s door sill.
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