2020 KIA FORTE Owners Manual

519
Driving your vehicle
During cold weather, shifting maybe difficult until the transmission
lubricant is warmed up. This is nor-
mal and not harmful to the trans-
mission.
If you've come to a complete stop and it's hard to shift into the 1st or
R (Reverse), leave the shift lever at
the N (Neutral) position and
release the clutch. Press the clutch
pedal back down, and then shift
into the 1st or R (Reverse) gear
position.
WARNING
Before leaving the driver’sseat, always set the parking
brake fully and shut the
engine off. Then make sure the
transmission is shifted into
1st gear when the vehicle is
parked on a level or uphill
grade, and shifted into R
(Reverse) on a downhill grade.
Unexpected and sudden vehi-
cle 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 premature clutch wear and damage, do notdrive with your foot resting onthe clutch pedal. Also, don’tuse the clutch to hold thevehicle stopped on an uphillgrade, while waiting for a traf-fic light, etc.
Do not use the shift lever as a handrest during driving, asthis can result in prematurewear of the transmission shiftforks.
To prevent possible damage to the clutch system, do notstart with the 2nd (second)gear engaged except whenyou start on a slippery road.

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.

521
Driving your vehicle
Good driving practices
Never take the vehicle out of gearand coast down a hill. This is
extremely hazardous. Always leave
the vehicle in gear.
Don't "ride" the brakes. This can cause them to overheat and mal-
function. Instead, when you are driv-
ing down a long hill, shift to a lower
gear. When you do this, engine brak-
ing will help slow down the vehicle.
Slow down before shifting to a lower gear. This will help avoid
over-revving the engine, which can
cause damage.
Slow down when you encounter cross winds. This gives you much
better control of your vehicle.
Be sure the vehicle is completely stopped before you attempt to shift
into reverse. The transmission can
be damaged if you do not.WARNING
Always buckle-up! In a colli-sion, an unbelted occupant is
significantly more likely to be
seriously injured or killed than
a properly belted occupant.
Avoid high speeds when cor- nering or turning.
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 highway
speeds.
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off the
roadway and the driver over-
steers to reenter the roadway.
In the event your vehicle leaves the roadway, do not
steer sharply. Instead, slow
down before pulling back into
the travel lanes.
Never exceed posted speed limits.
WARNING
Exercise extreme caution when
driving on a slippery surface.
Be especially careful when
braking, accelerating or shifting
gears. On a slippery surface, an
abrupt change in vehicle speed
can cause the drive wheels to
lose traction and the vehicle to
lose control.

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.

Driving your vehicle
24
5
LCD display for transmission
temperature and warning mes-
sage
Transmission temperature Gauge
Select trip computer mode on the
LCD display and move to the trans-
mission temperature screen to see
the temperature of the dual clutch
transmission.
WARNING
In the case of a transmission
failure, the vehicle may not
move and the position indicator
(D, R) will blink on the cluster. In
this situation, have the system
checked by a professional
workshop. Kia recommends to
visit an authorized Kia
dealer/service partner.
OBDM059141L
OBDM059142L
■ Type A
■Type B
OBDM059147L
OBDM059148L
■Type A
■Type B

525
Driving your vehicle
Try to drive so that the temperaturegauge does not indicate a high
temperature/overheating. When
the transmission is overheated, the
warning message will display on
the LCD. Follow the displayed mes-
sage.
The transmission temperature is displayed in three colors (white,
orange and red) as the tempera-
ture increases (if equipped with the
color type cluster). The tempera-
ture gauge is displayed in one
color (white) if equipped with the
mono type cluster.
An orange temperature gauge is dis-played right before the warning
message appears on the LCD dis-
play. (if equipped)
Normal (below marking 10)
In order to maintain the optimalgear shift performance, drive so that
the temperature gauge is below the
point (below marking10) .✽ ✽
NOTICE
The transmission temperature may
increase rapidly if clutch slip occurs
excessively due to repeated stop-
and-go driving on steep grades and
when Hill Hold is maintained for a
long time. In order to prevent exces-
sive temperature increase, use the
brake during low speed driving or
when stopping the vehicle on a hill.
CAUTION
An increased or high tempera-
ture on the transmission tem-perature gauge can appearwhen the vehicle is on an inclineand stopped for a long timeusing the accelerator pedal andwithout depressing the brakepedal.
OBDM059141L
OBDM059142L
■ Type A
■Type B

Driving your vehicle
26
5
Before entering High/Overheat (from
marking 10 to 14) This zone shows what the dual
clutch temperature of the DCT is
close to entering the high/overheat
zone. When the clutch temperature
is within this zone (from marking 10
to 14), drive with minimal clutch slip
so that that the temperature goes
below marking 10.
If the dual clutch temperature con- tinues to increase and reaches
marking 14, the warning alarm
sounds and the temperature gauge
pops up on the cluster. The DCT
warning message is not displayed.
High/Overheat (from marking 15 to 16)
This zone shows that the dualclutch temperature of the DCT has
entered the high/overheat zone.
OBDM059143L
OBDM059144L
■ Type A
■Type BOBDM059145L
OBDM059146L
■Type A
■Type B