2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE LIMITED transmission

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.