
06
6-31
Press and hold the OK button on the 
steering wheel to stay in Neutral 
The warning message appears on 
the LCD display, when pushing the 
N(Neutral) button. If you want to stay 
N(Neutral) after turning off the engine, 
press and hold the “OK” button on the 
steering wheel more than 1 second.
Vehicle will stay in (N). Change gear 
to cancel
The warning message appears on the 
LCD display, when pushing the “OK” 
button on the steering wheel after the 
message (“Press and hold OK button 
to stay in Neutral when vehicle is Off”) 
appears on the cluster LCD display. The 
gear stays in N(Neutral) position after 
turning off the engine.
NEUTRAL engaged
The message appears on the LCD 
display, when the N (Neutral) position is 
engaged.
Gear already selected
The message appears on the LCD 
display, when pushing the current shift 
button again.
Shift button held down
The warning message appears on the 
LCD display, when the shift button is 
pressed continuously or the shift button 
does not properly operate. Clean the 
surroundings of gear shift button.
If this message appears again, we 
recommend you to have the vehicle 
inspected by an authorized HYUNDAI 
dealer.
Shifter system malfunction! Service 
immediately
The warning message appears on the 
LCD display, when the transmission 
or the shift button does not properly 
operate in the P (Park) position.
In this case, we recommend you to 
immediately have the vehicle inspected 
by an authorized HYUNDAI dealer.
Check shift controls
The warning message appears on the 
LCD display, when there is a malfunction 
with transmission shift button.
In this case, we recommend you to 
immediately have the vehicle inspected 
by an authorized HYUNDAI dealer.   

06
6-33
Good driving practices 
•	Never move the shift lever/button 
from P (Park) or N (Neutral) to any 
other position with the accelerator 
pedal depressed.
•	 Never move the shift lever/button into 
P (Park) when the vehicle is in motion. 
Be sure the vehicle is completely 
stopped before you attempt to shift 
into R (Reverse) or D (Drive).
•	 Do not move the shift lever/button 
to N (Neutral) when driving. Doing 
so may result in an accident because 
of a loss of engine braking and the 
transmission could be damaged.
•	 Do not drive with your foot resting 
on the brake pedal. Even light, but 
consistent pedal pressure can result 
in the brakes overheating, brake wear 
and possibly even brake failure.
•	 Always apply the parking brake when 
leaving the vehicle. Do not depend on 
placing the transmission in P (Park) to 
keep the vehicle from moving.
•	 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 may cause 
loss of vehicle control resulting in an 
accident.
•	 Optimum vehicle performance and 
economy is obtained by smoothly 
depressing and releasing the 
accelerator. WARNING
To reduce the risk of SERIOUS INJURY 
or DEATH:
•	ALWAYS wear your seatbelt. In a 
collision, an unbelted occupant 
is significantly more likely to be 
seriously injured or killed than a 
properly belted occupant.
•	 Avoid high speeds when cornering 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.
•	 HYUNDAI recommends you follow all 
posted speed limits.   

Driving your vehicle
6-46
Indicator lights
■ ESC indicator light (blinks)
■ ESC OFF indicator light (comes on)
When the Engine Start/Stop button is 
pressed to the ON position, the ESC 
indicator light illuminates, then goes off 
if the ESC system is operating normally.
The ESC indicator light blinks whenever 
ESC is operating.
If the ESC indicator light stays on, your 
vehicle may have a malfunction with 
the ESC system. When this warning light 
illuminates we recommend that the 
vehicle be checked by an authorized 
HYUNDAI dealer as soon as possible.
The ESC OFF indicator light comes on 
when ESC is turned off.
 WARNING
When ESC is blinking, this indicates ESC 
is active:
Drive slowly and NEVER attempt to 
accelerate. NEVER turn ESC off while 
the ESC indicator light is blinking or you 
may lose control of the vehicle resulting 
in an accident.
NOTICE
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 ESC, to maintain wheel 
torque.
To turn ESC off while driving, press the 
ESC OFF button while driving on a flat 
road surface.
NOTICE
To prevent damage to the transmission:
•	 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 covered by the vehicle warranty. 
Reduce engine power and do not 
spin the wheel(s) excessively while 
these lights are displayed.
•	 When operating the vehicle 
on a dynamometer, make sure 
ESC is turned off (ESC OFF light 
illuminated).
 Information
Turning ESC off does not affect ABS or 
standard brake system operation.    

Driving your vehicle
6-56
For safe 4WD operation
Before driving
•	Make sure all passengers are wearing 
seat belts.
•	 Sit upright and closer to the steering 
wheel than usual. Adjust the steering 
wheel to a position comfortable for 
you to drive.
Driving on snow-covered or icy roads
•	 Start off slowly by applying the 
accelerator pedal gently.
•	 Use snow tires or tire chains.
•	 Keep sufficient distance between your 
vehicle and the vehicle in front of you.
•	 Apply engine braking during 
deceleration by using the paddle 
shifter (manual shift mode) and 
manually selecting a lower gear.
•	 Avoid speeding, rapid acceleration, 
sudden brake applications, and sharp 
turns to prevent skids.
 Information
When using Snow Tires, mount them on 
all four wheels.
If a full set of chains is not available for 
an 4WD vehicle when using tire chains, 
chains may be installed on the front wheels 
only.
For more details on Snow Tires and Tire 
Chains, refer to "Winter Driving" section 
later in this chapter.
 CAUTION
Mud or snow
If one of the front or rear wheels 
begins to spin in mud, snow, etc. the 
vehicle can sometimes be driven out by 
engaging the accelerator pedal further; 
however avoid running the engine 
continuously at high rpm because doing 
so could damage the AWD system.
Driving in sand or mud
•	Maintain slow and constant speed. 
Operate the accelerator pedal slowly 
to ensure safe driving (wheel-slip 
prevention).
•	 Keep sufficient distance between your 
vehicle and the vehicle in front of you.
•	 Reduce vehicle speed and always 
check the road condition.
•	 Avoid speeding, rapid acceleration, 
sudden brake applications, and sharp 
turns to prevent getting stuck.
•	 When the vehicle is stuck in snow, 
sand or mud, the tires may not 
operate.
•	 This is to protect the transmission and 
not a malfunction.
NOTICE
Moving the vehicle forcibly to get out 
of mud or sand can cause damage/
overheat of the engine or damage/
breakdown of the transmission, 
differential or 4WD system as well as 
damage to tires. If excessive wheel slip 
occurs after entering a sandy/muddy 
road, the vehicle may fall into the sand/
mud. When it happens, put a stone or 
a tree branch under the tire, and then 
try to pull out the vehicle, or try to get it 
unstuck by repeatedly moving forwards 
and backwards.    

06
6-57
OTMA060009
OTMA060010
Transmission overheated
•	When driving on muddy and sandy 
roads under the severe condition, the 
transmission could be overheated.
•	 When the transmission is overheated,  
the safe protection mode engages 
and the “Transmission Hot! Park with 
engine on: warning message will 
appear on the LCD display with a 
chime.
•	 If this occurs, pull over to a safe 
location, stop the vehicle with the 
engine running, apply the brakes and 
shift the vehicle to P (Park), and allow 
the transmission to cool.
•	 If you ignore this warning, the driving 
condition may become worse. 
You may experience abrupt shifts, 
frequent shifts, or jerkiness. To return 
to the normal driving condition, stop 
the vehicle and apply the foot brake 
or shift into P (Park). Then allow the 
transmission to cool for a few minutes 
with engine on, before driving off. •	
When the message “Trans cooled. 
Resume driving” appears you can 
continue to drive your vehicle.
•	 If the warning messages in the LCD 
display continue to blink, for your 
safety, have the system checked 
by a professional workshop. We 
recommends to visit an authorized 
HYUNDAI dealer.
Driving up or down hills
•	 Driving uphill
 - Bef
 ore starting off, check if it is 
possible to drive uphill.
 - Drive as s
 traight as possible.
•	 Driving downhill
 - Do not change gear while driving 
do
 wnhill. Select gear before driving 
downhill.
 - Drive slo
 wly using engine braking 
while driving downhill. - Drive s traight as possible.
 WARNING
Exercise extreme caution driving up or 
down steep hills. The vehicle may flip 
over depending on the grade, terrain, 
water and mud conditions.
 WARNING
Do not drive across the contour of steep 
hills. A slight change in the wheel angle 
can destabilize the vehicle, or a stable 
vehicle may lose stability if the vehicle 
stops its forward motion. Your vehicle 
may roll over and lead to a serious injury 
or death.   

Driving your vehicle
6-68
•	The driving mode automatically 
changes to SMART SPORT mode 
only in harsh driving situations. In 
most of the normal driving situations, 
the driving mode sets to be either 
in SMART ECO mode or in SMART 
COMFORT mode.
Limitation of SMART mode
The SMART mode may be limited in 
following situations. (The OFF indicator 
illuminates in those situations.)
•	 The driver manually moves the shift 
lever : It deactivates SMART mode. 
The vehicle drives, as the driver 
manually moves the shift lever.
•	 The cruise control is activated : The 
cruise system may deactivate the 
SMART mode. When a higher system 
is set by the cruise system, it starts to 
control vehicle speed and deactivates 
SMART mode. (SMART mode is not 
deactivated just by activing the cruise 
system.)
•	 The transmission oil temperature is either 
extremely low or extremely high : The 
SMART mode can be active in most of 
the normal driving situations. However, 
an extremely high/ low transmission oil 
temperature may temporarily deactivate 
the SMART mode, because the 
transmission condition is out of normal 
operation condition.   

06
6-71
Limitation of SMART mode
The SMART mode may be limited in 
following situations. (The OFF indicator 
illuminates in those situations.)
•	The driver manually moves the shift 
lever : It deactivates SMART mode. 
The vehicle drives, as the driver 
manually moves the shift lever.
•	 The cruise control is activated : The 
cruise system may deactivate the 
SMART mode. When a higher system 
is set by the cruise system, it starts to 
control vehicle speed and deactivates 
SMART mode. (SMART mode is not 
deactivated just by activing the cruise 
system.)
•	 The transmission oil temperature is either 
extremely low or extremely high : The 
SMART mode can be active in most of 
the normal driving situations. However, 
an extremely high/ low transmission oil 
temperature may temporarily deactivate 
the SMART mode, because the 
transmission condition is out of normal 
operation condition.   

Driving your vehicle
6-72
SPECIAL DRIVING CONDITIONS
Hazardous driving conditions
When hazardous driving elements 
are encountered such as water, snow, 
ice, mud and sand, take the following 
precautions:
•	Drive cautiously and maintain a longer 
braking distance.
•	 Avoid abrupt braking or steering.
•	 When your vehicle is stuck in 
snow, mud, or sand, use second 
gear. Accelerate slowly to avoid 
unnecessary wheel spin.
•	 Put sand, rock salt, tire chains or other 
non-slip materials under the wheels to 
provide additional traction while the 
vehicle becomes stuck in ice, snow, 
or mud.
 WARNING
Downshifting with an automatic 
transmission while driving on slippery 
surfaces can cause an accident. The 
sudden change in tire speed could 
cause the tires to skid. Be careful when 
downshifting on slippery surfaces.
Rocking the vehicle
If it is necessary to rock the vehicle to 
free it from snow, sand, or mud, first turn 
the steering wheel right and left to clear 
the area around your front wheels. Then, 
shift back and forth between R (Reverse) 
and a forward gear.
Try to avoid spinning the wheels, and do 
not race the engine.
To prevent transmission wear, wait until 
the wheels stop spinning before shifting 
gears. Release the accelerator pedal 
while shifting, and press lightly on the 
accelerator pedal while the transmission 
is in gear. Slowly spinning the wheels in 
forward and reverse directions causes a 
rocking motion that may free the vehicle.
 WARNING
If the vehicle is stuck and excessive 
wheel spin occurs, the temperature 
in the tires can increase very quickly. 
If the tires become damaged, a tire 
blow out or tire explosion can occur. 
This condition is dangerous - you and 
others may be injured. Do not attempt 
this procedure if people or objects are 
anywhere near the vehicle.
If you attempt to free the vehicle, the 
vehicle can overheat quickly, possibly 
causing an engine compartment fire 
or other damage. Try to avoid spinning 
the wheels as much as possible to 
prevent overheating of either the tires 
or the engine. DO NOT allow the vehicle 
to spin the wheels above 35 mph (56 
km/h).
 Information
The ESC system must be turned OFF 
before rocking the vehicle.