
Driving your vehicle
20
5
Using the clutch
The clutch should be pressed all the
way to the floor before shifting, then
released slowly. The clutch pedal
should always be fully released while
driving. Do not rest your foot on the
clutch pedal while driving. This can
cause unnecessary wear. Do not par-
tially engage the clutch to hold the
vehicle on an incline. This causes
unnecessary wear. Use the foot brake
or parking brake to hold the vehicle on
an incline. Do not operate the clutch
pedal rapidly and repeatedly.
Downshifting
When you must slow down in heavy
traffic or while driving up steep hills,
downshift before the engine starts to
labor. Downshifting reduces the
chance of stalling and gives better
acceleration when you again need to
increase your speed. When the vehi-
cle is traveling down steep hills,
downshifting helps maintain safe
speed and prolongs brake life.
CAUTION
When operating the clutch
pedal, press the clutch pedaldown fully. If you don’t press theclutch pedal fully, the clutchmay be damaged or noise mayoccur.
WARNING
- Using the clutch
Depress the clutch pedal as far
as possible. Be aware not to
apply the pedal again before it
returns to the normal position. If
the pedal is repeatedly
depressed before returning to
its normal position, the clutch
system might be damaged.
Do not overload the vehicle.
Starting or driving a vehicle in
this situation generates too
much frictional heat to the
clutch disk which might cause
damage to the clutch cover and
disk.
When starting the vehicle or
driving backwards, releasing
the clutch pedal too soon after
shifting the lever might turn off
the engine and lead to an acci-
dent.

Driving your vehicle
22
5
Dual clutch transmission oper-
ation
The dual clutch transmission has 7
forward speeds and one reverse
speed.
The individual speeds are selected
automatically in the D (Drive) posi-
tion.
DUAL CLUTCH TRANSMISSION (DCT) (IF EQUIPPED)
OBD058005
The shift lever can be shifted freely. Press the lock release button when shifting. Depress the brake pedal and the lock release button when shifting.
❈ 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.

523
Driving your vehicle
The Dual Clutch Transmissiongives the driving feel of a manual
transmission, yet provides the
ease of a fully automatic transmis-
sion. Unlike a traditional automatic
transmission, the gear shifting can
be felt (and heard) on the dual
clutch transmission
- Think of it as an automaticallyshifting manual transmission.
- Shift into Drive mode and get fully automatic shifting, similar to a con-
ventional automatic transmission.
Dual clutch transmission adopts a dry-type dual clutch, which is dif-
ferent from the torque converter of
a automatic transmission, and
shows better acceleration perform-
ance during driving, but the initial
launch might be little bit slower
than an Automatic Transmission.
The dry-type clutch transfers torque and provides a direct driving feeling
which may feel different from a con-
ventional automatic transmission
with a torque converter. This may be
more noticeable when starting from
a stop or low vehicle speed. When rapidly accelerating at low
vehicle speed, the engine may rev
at a higher rpm depending on vehi-
cle drive condition.
For a smooth launching 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 a man-
ual transmission.
When driving downhill, you may use Sports Mode to downshift to a
lower gear in order to control 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.
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 these precautions are not
followed.
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.

527
Driving your vehicle
The DCT warning alarm sounds,
the warning message is displayed
on the cluster and the temperature
gauge disappears from the cluster.
Follow the displayed warning
message.
To check the temperature status of the dual clutch when overheated,
move to the temperature gauge
screen by selecting the trip com-
puter mode. Then, you can check
the temperature status of the dual
clutch.DCT warning messages
This warning message is displayed
when the 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 the brake pedal
dis-engaged, the clutch and trans-
mission may overheat which can
result in damage. In this situation, 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.
OBDM059149L
OBDM059150L
■ Type A
■Type B

529
Driving your vehicle
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,
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, we recommend having
the system checked by an authorized
Kia dealer.Transmission ranges
The indicator in the instrument clus-
ter displays the shift lever position
when the ignition switch is in the ON
position.
P (Park)
Always come to a complete stop
before shifting into P (Park).
To shift from P (Park), you must
depress firmly on the brake pedal
and make sure your foot is off the
accelerator pedal.
If you have done all of the above
and still cannot shift the lever out
of P (Park), see “Shift-Lock
Release” in this chapter.
The shift lever must be in P (Park)
before turning the engine off.WARNING
Shifting into P (Park) while the vehicle is in motion may
cause you to lose control of
the vehicle.
After the vehicle has stopped, always make sure the shift
lever is in P (Park), apply the
parking brake, and turn the
engine off.
When parking on an incline, chock the wheels to prevent
the vehicle from rolling down.
For safety, always engage the parking brake with the shift
lever in the P (Park) position
except for the case of emer-
gency parking.
Do not use the P (Park) position in place of the parking brake.

531
Driving your vehicle
- Parking in N (Neutral) gear
Follow the steps below when parking
and you want the vehicle to move
when pushed.
1.After parking your vehicle, step onthe brake pedal and move the shift
lever to [P] with the engine
start/stop button in [ON] or while the
engine is running.
2.If the parking brake is applied, unlock the parking brake.
- For EPB (Electronic ParkingBrake) equipped vehicles, push
the brake pedal with the engine
start/stop button in [ON] or while
the engine is running to disen-
gage the parking brake. If [AUTO
HOLD] function is used while
driving (If [AUTO HOLD] indicator
is on in the cluster), press [AUTO
HOLD] switch and [AUTO HOLD]
function should turn off.
3.While pressing the brake pedal, turn the engine start/stop button
[OFF].
- For smart key equipped vehicles,the ignition switch can be moved
to [OFF] only when the shift lever
is in [P]. 4.Change the gear shift lever to [N]
(Neutral) while pressing the brake
pedal and pushing [SHIFT LOCK
RELEASE] button or inserting,
pressing down a tool (e.g. flathead
screw-driver) into the [SHIFT LOCK
RELEASE] access hole at the same
time. Then, the vehicle will move
when external force is applied.CAUTION
With the exception of parking in neutral gear, always park thevehicle in [P] (Park) for safetyand engage the parking brake.
Before parking in [N] (Neutral) gear, first make sure the park-ing ground is level and flat. Donot park in [N] gear on anyslopes or gradients.
If parked and left in [N], thevehicle may move and causeserious damage and injury.
After the ignition switch has been turned off, the electronicparking brake cannot be dis-engaged.
For EPB (Electronic Parking Brake) equipped vehicles with[AUTO HOLD] function usedwhile driving, if the enginestart/stop button has beenturned [OFF], the electronicparking brake will be engagedautomatically. Therefore,[AUTO HOLD] function shouldbe turned off before the enginestart/stop button is turned off.
![KIA FORTE 2020 Owners Manual 533
Driving your vehicle
With the shift lever in the D position
The paddle shifter will operate when
the vehicle speed is more than 10
km/h (6.2 mph).
Pull the [+] or [-] paddle shifter once
to shift KIA FORTE 2020 Owners Manual 533
Driving your vehicle
With the shift lever in the D position
The paddle shifter will operate when
the vehicle speed is more than 10
km/h (6.2 mph).
Pull the [+] or [-] paddle shifter once
to shift](/manual-img/2/40395/w960_40395-278.png)
533
Driving your vehicle
With the shift lever in the D position
The paddle shifter will operate when
the vehicle speed is more than 10
km/h (6.2 mph).
Pull the [+] or [-] paddle shifter once
to shift up or down one gear and the
system changes from automatic
mode to manual mode.
When the vehicle speed is lower than
10 km/h (6.2 mph), if you depress the
accelerator pedal for more than 5
seconds or if you move the shift lever
from D (Drive) to manual Mode and
move it from manual Mode to D
(Drive) again, the system changes
from manual mode to automatic
mode.
With the shift lever in the sports mode
Pull the [+] or [-] paddle shifter once
to shift up or down one gear.
✽ ✽NOTICE
If the [+] and [-] paddle shifters are
pulled at the same time, gear shift
may not occur.
Shift-lock override
If the shift lever cannot be moved
from the P (Park) position into the R
(Reverse) position with the brake
pedal depressed, continue depress-
ing the brake, then do the following: 1. Place the ignition switch in the
LOCK/OFF position.
2. Apply the parking brake.
3. Carefully remove the cap (1) cov- ering the shift-lock release access
hole.
4. Insert a tool (e.g. flathead screw- driver) into the access hole and
press down on the tool.
5. Move the shift lever.
6. Remove the tool from the shiftlock override access hole then install
the cap.
7. Have the system inspected by a professional workshop. Kia recom-
mends to visit an authorized Kia
dealer/service partner.
Ignition key interlock system
(if equipped)
The ignition key cannot be removed
unless the shift lever is in the P
(Park) position.
OBDM059006
■Type A
■Type B
OBDM059157

Driving your vehicle
36
5
For smooth operation, depress the
brake pedal when shifting from N(Neutral) to a forward or reverse gear. Transmission ranges
The indicator in the instrument clus-
ter displays the shift lever position
when the ignition switch is in the ON
position.
P (Park)
Always come to a complete stop
before shifting into P (Park). This
position locks the transmission and
prevents the front wheels from rotat-
ing.
WARNING
- Intelligent Variable
Transmission (IVT)
Always check the surrounding areas near your vehicle for
people, especially children,
before shifting a car 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 fully and shut the engine
off. Unexpected and sudden
vehicle movement can occur if
these precautions are not fol-
lowed in the order identified.
Do not use the engine brake (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 your transmission, do not acceler-ate the engine in R (Reverse)or any forward gear positionwith the brakes on.
When stopped on an incline, do not hold the vehicle sta-tionary with engine power.Use the service brake or theparking brake.
Do not shift from N (Neutral) or P (Park) into D (Drive), or R(Reverse) when the engine isabove idle speed.
WARNING
Shifting into P (Park) while the vehicle is in motion will cause
the drive wheels to lock which
may cause you to lose control
of the vehicle.
Do not use the P (Park) posi- tion in place of the parking
brake. Always make sure the
shift lever is latched in the P
(Park) position and set the
parking brake fully.
Never leave a child unattend- ed in a vehicle.