5-46
Driving your vehicle
Driving with wheels and tires with
different sizes may cause the ESC
system to malfunction. Before
replacing tires, make sure all four
tires and wheels are the same
size. Never drive the vehicle with
different sized wheels and tires
installed.
ESC OFF usage
When Driving
The ESC OFF mode should only be
used briefly to help free the vehicle if
stuck in snow or mud by temporarily
stopping operation of the ESC to
maintain wheel torque.
To turn ESC off while driving, press
the ESC OFF button while driving on
a flat road surface.To prevent damage to the trans-
mission:
• Do not allow wheel(s) of one
axle to spin excessively while
the ESC, ABS, and parking brake
warning lights are displayed.
The repairs would not be cov-
ered by the vehicle warranty.
Reduce engine power and do
not spin the wheel(s) excessive-
ly while these lights are dis-
played.
• When operating the vehicle on a
dynamometer, make sure the
ESC is turned off (ESC OFF light
illuminated).
Information
Turning the ESC off does not affect ABS
or standard brake system operation.
i
NOTICE
NOTICE
When the ESC is blinking, this
indicates the ESC is active:
Drive slowly and NEVER attempt
to accelerate. NEVER turn the
ESC off while the ESC indicator
light is blinking or you may lose
control of the vehicle resulting in
an accident.
WARNING
5-47
Driving your vehicle
5
Vehicle Stability Management
(VSM)
The Vehicle Stability Management
(VSM) is a function of the Electronic
Stability Control (ESC) system. It
helps ensure the vehicle stays stable
when accelerating or braking sud-
denly on wet, slippery and rough
roads where traction over the four
tires can suddenly become uneven.
VSM operation
VSM ON condition
The VSM operates when:
• The Electronic Stability Control
(ESC) is on.
• Vehicle speed is approximately
above 9 mph (15 km/h) on curve
roads.
• Vehicle speed is approximately
above 12 mph (20 km/h) when the
vehicle is braking on rough roads.
When operating
When you apply your brakes under
conditions which may activate the
ESC, you may hear sounds from the
brakes, or feel a corresponding sen-
sation in the brake pedal. This is nor-
mal and it means your VSM is active.The VSM does not operate when:
• Driving on a banked road such
as gradient or incline.
• Driving rearward.
• ESC OFF indicator light is on.
• EPS (Electric Power Steering)
warning light ( ) is on or
blinks.
Driving with wheels and tires with dif-
ferent sizes may cause the ESC sys-
tem to malfunction. Before replacing
tires, make sure all four tires and
wheels are the same size. Never
drive the vehicle with different sized
tires and wheels installed.
NOTICE
If ESC indicator light ( ) or
EPS warning light ( ) stays on
or blinks, your vehicle may have
a malfunction with the VSM sys-
tem. When the warning light illu-
minates, have your vehicle
checked by an authorized retail-
er of Genesis Branded products
as soon as possible.
WARNING
Take the following precautions
when using the Vehicle Stability
Management (VSM):
•ALWAYS check the speed and
the distance to the vehicle
ahead. The VSM is not a sub-
stitute for safe driving prac-
tices.
•Never drive too fast for the
road conditions. The VSM sys-
tem will not prevent acci-
dents. Excessive speed in bad
weather, slippery and uneven
roads can result in severe
accidents.
WARNING
5-48
Driving your vehicle
Hill-Start Assist Control (HAC)
The Hill-Start Assist Control (HAC)
helps prevent the vehicle from rolling
backwards when starting a vehicle
from a stop on a hill. The system
operates the brakes automatically for
approximately 2 seconds and releas-
es the brake after 2 seconds or when
the accelerator pedal is depressed.
• The HAC does not operate when
the vehicle is shifted to P (Park)
or N (Neutral)
• The HAC activates even though
the ESC (Electronic Stability
Control) is off but does not acti-
vate when the ESC has malfunc-
tioned.
Good Braking Practices
Wet brakes can be dangerous! The
brakes may get wet if the vehicle is
driven through standing water or if it
is washed. 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 authorized retailer
of Genesis Branded products for
assistance.
DO NOT drive with your foot resting
on the brake pedal. Even light, but
constant pedal pressure can result in
the brakes overheating, brake wear,
and possibly even brake failure.
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 location.
Keep your foot firmly on the brake
pedal when the vehicle is stopped to
prevent the vehicle from rolling for-
ward.
NOTICE
Whenever leaving the vehicle or
parking, always come to a com-
plete stop and continue to
depress the brake pedal. Shift
the vehicle to neutral (for manu-
al transmission vehicle) or P
(Park, for automatic transmis-
sion vehicle), apply the parking
brake, and press the Engine
Start/Stop button to the OFF
position.
Vehicles parked with the park-
ing brake not applied or not
fully engaged may roll inadver-
tently and may cause injury to
the driver and others. ALWAYS
apply the parking brake before
exiting the vehicle.
WARNING
Always be ready to depress the
accelerator pedal when starting
off on a incline. The HAC activates
only for approximately 2 seconds.
WARNING
5-49
Driving your vehicle
5
Using All Wheel Drive (AWD)
The All Wheel Drive (AWD) system
delivers engine power to front and
rear wheels for maximum traction.
AWD is useful when extra traction is
required, such as when driving on
slippery, muddy, wet, or snow-cov-
ered roads.
If the system determines there is a
need for four wheel drive, the
engine's driving power is distributed
to all four wheels automatically.
ALL WHEEL DRIVE (AWD) (IF EQUIPPED)
If the AWD warning light ( )
stays on the instrument cluster,
your vehicle may have a mal-
function with the AWD system.
When the AWD warning light
( ) illuminates have your
vehicle checked by an author-
ized retailer of Genesis Branded
products as soon as possible.
WARNING
To reduce the risk of SERIOUS
INJURY or DEATH:
•Do not drive in conditions that
exceed the vehicles intended
design such as challenging
off-road conditions.
•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 a rollover is great-
ly increased if you lose con-
trol 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.
•Always drive safely and use
caution when driving an AWD
vehicle.
WARNING
5-51
Driving your vehicle
5
Information
• When using Snow Tires, mount
them on all four wheels.
• When using tire chains, install them
on the rear tires.
• If tire chains must be used, use
AutoSock (fabric snow chain) and
install the tire chain after reviewing
the instructions provided with the
tire chains.
For more information on Snow Tires
and Tire Chains, refer to "Winter
Driving" in this chapter.
Driving up or down hills
• Driving uphill
- Before starting off, check if it is
possible to drive uphill.
- Drive as straight as possible.
• Driving downhill
- Do not change gear while driving
downhill. Select gear before driv-
ing downhill.
- Drive slowly and select Manual
Shift Mode to provide engine
braking while driving downhill.
- Drive straight as possible.
Emergency precautions
Tires
When replacing the tires, be sure to
equip all four tires with the same
size, type, tread, brand and load-car-
rying capacity.
In an emergency situation, a com-
pact spare tire may be used. But, do
not use the compact spare tire con-
tinuously. Repair or replace the origi-
nal tire as soon as possible to avoid
failure of the differential or AWD sys-
tem.
i
Exercise extreme caution driv-
ing up or down steep hills. The
vehicle may flip depending on
the grade, terrain and water/
mud conditions.
WARNING
Do not use tire and wheel with
different size and type from the
one originally installed on your
vehicle. It can affect the safety
and performance of your vehi-
cle, which could lead to steering
failure or rollover causing seri-
ous injury.
WARNING
5-52
Driving your vehicle
Tire size mismatch. Check all tire
sizes.
If your vehicle is equipped with differ-
ent tires (size, type, etc.) on the front
and rear, the message will appear. To
use the AWD system, equip the vehi-
cle with the same tires on the front
and rear.
Towing
AWD vehicles must be towed with all
wheels off the ground, either on a
flatbed tow truck or using doilies.
For more details, refer to "Towing"
in chapter 6.
Vehicle inspection
• If the vehicle needs to be operated
on a vehicle lift do not attempt to
stop any of the four wheels for turn-
ing. This could damage the sys-
tem.
• Never engage the parking brake
while running the engine on a car
lift. This may damage the AWD
system.
Dynamometer testing
An AWD vehicle must be tested on a
special four wheel chassis dynamome-
ter. Never start or run the engine
while an AWD vehicle is raised
on a jack. The vehicle can slip or
roll off of a jack causing serious
injury or death to you or those
nearby.
WARNING
OIK057056N
OIK057034
5-53
Driving your vehicle
5
An AWD vehicle should not be tested
on a 2WD roll tester. If a 2WD roll
tester must be used, perform the fol-
lowing procedure:
1. Check the tire pressures recom-
mended for your vehicle.
2. Place the rear wheels on the roll
tester for a speedometer test as
shown in the illustration.
3. Release the parking brake.
4. Place the front wheels on the tem-
porary free roller as shown in the
illustration.Limited Slip Differential refers to a
feature equipped with a mechanism
that controls the differential functions
of the wheels in the rear differential.
The Limited Slip Differential helps
improve handling performance when
circling at high speed. Keep away from the front of the
vehicle while the vehicle is in
gear on the dynamometer. The
vehicle can jump forward and
cause serious injury or death.
WARNING
OIK057035
Roll Tester (Speedometer)
Temporary Free Roller
LIMITED SLIP DIFFERENTIAL
(IF EQUIPPED)
Never run wheels with one of
them lifted by the jack. It is
extremely dangerous for a vehi-
cle equipped with Limited Slip
Differential.
WARNING
5-54
Driving your vehicle
Information
• When the LSD equipped vehicle is
circling, a slight operating sound of
the LSD's inner friction plate may
be generated. This is a normal oper-
ating sound of the LSD.
If the sound gets louder, we recom-
mend that you change the oil.
• Be sure to inject oil for exclusive use
of LSD when replacing Rear
Differential (for LSD) Oil. Refer to
"Recommended lubricants and
capacities" in chapter 8.The Electronic Control Suspension
(ECS) controls the vehicle suspen-
sion automatically to maximize driv-
ing comfort by taking into account
the driving conditions such as speed,
surface of the road, cornering, stop-
ping requirements and acceleration.
System malfunction
Check Electronic Suspension
If the ECS warning message comes
on, you may have a problem with the
ECS system.
We recommend that the system be
checked by an authorized retailer of
Genesis Branded products.
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OIK057057N
ELECTRONIC CONTROL SUSPENSION (ECS) (IF EQUIPPED)