2021 KIA NIRO HYBRID EV parking brake

Driving your vehicle
8 5
ON
The warning lights can be checked
before the engine is started. This is
the normal running position after the
engine is started.
Do not leave the ignition switch ON if
the engine is not running to prevent
battery discharge.START
Turn the ignition switch to the START
position to start the engine. The
engine will crank until you release
the key; then it returns to the ON
position. The brake warning light can
be checked in this position.
The anti-theft steering column lock (if
equipped) is not a substitute for the
parking brake. Before leaving the dri-
ver’s seat, always make sure the shift
lever is engaged in P (Park) for dual
clutch transmission, set the parking
brake fully and shut the engine off.
Unexpected and sudden vehicle
movement may occur if these pre-
cautions are not taken.
WARNING- Key holder
Do not place small purses, mul-
tiple keys, or other heavy acces-
sories on your vehicle key ring.
The driver can accidently push
these objects causing the ACC
position to change while in
motion and disrupt the proper
operation of some of the vehi-
cle's safety features.
WARNING- Ignition switch
Never turn the ignition switch to
LOCK or ACC while the vehicle
is moving. This would result in
loss of directional control and
braking function, which could
cause an accident.

59
Driving your vehicle
Starting the hybrid system
1.Make sure the parking brake is
applied.
2.Place the transaxle shift lever in P
(Park). Depress the brake pedal
fully.3. Turn the ignition switch to START.
If the hybrid system starts, the
“ ” indicator will come on.
WARNING- Leaving the
Vehicle
To avoid unexpected or sudden
vehicle movement, never leave
your vehicle if the transmission
is not locked in the P (Park)
position and the parking brake
is fully engaged. Before leaving
the driver's seat, always make
sure the shift lever is engaged in
P (Park), set the parking brake
fully and shut the engine off.
WARNING- Proper
footwear
Always wear appropriate shoes
when operating your vehicle.
Unsuitable shoes (high heels,
ski boots, sandals, etc.) may
interfere with your ability to use
the brake and accelerator pedal.
WARNING- Steering
wheel
Never reach for any controls
through the steering wheel
while the vehicle is in motion.
The presence of your hand or
arm in this area could cause a
loss of vehicle control.

Driving your vehicle
14 5
1. Always carry the smart key with
you.
2. Make sure the parking brake is
applied.
3. Make sure the shift lever is in P
(Park).
4. Depress the brake pedal.
5. Press the Engine Start/Stop but-
ton. If the hybrid system starts, the
“ ” indicator will come on.✽ ✽
NOTICE
• Do not wait for the engine to warm
up while the vehicle remains sta-
tionary.
Start driving at moderate engine
speeds. (Steep accelerating and
decelerating should be avoided.)
• Always start the vehicle with your
foot on the brake pedal. Do not
depress the accelerator while
starting the vehicle. Do not race
the engine while warming it up.
• If ambient temperature is low, the
“ ” indicator may remain illu-
minated longer than the normal
amount of time.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
To prevent damage to the vehicle:
• If the “ ” indicator turns off
while you are in motion, do not
attempt to move the shift lever to
the P (Park) position.
If traffic and road conditions per-
mit, you may put the shift lever in
the N (Neutral) position while the
vehicle is still moving and press
the Engine Start/Stop button in an
attempt to restart the hybrid sys-
tem.
• Do not push or tow your vehicle to
start the hybrid system.

Driving your vehicle
16 5
Dual clutch transmission oper-
ation
The dual clutch transmission has six
forward speeds and one reverse
speed.
The individual speeds are selected
automatically in the D (Drive) posi-
tion.
DUAL CLUTCH TRANSMISSION (DCT)
ODE056010
The shift lever can freely operate. Press the shift button while moving the shift lever. Depress the brake pedal and press the shift button while moving the shift lever.
❈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.

517
Driving your vehicle
The dual Clutch Transmission
gives 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 automatically
shifting manual transmission.
- Shift into Drive range and get fully
automatic shifting, similar to a con-
ventional automatic transmission.
Dual clutch transmission adopts
dry-type dual clutch, which is dif-
ferent from torque converter of
automatic transmission, and
shows better acceleration perform-
ance during driving. But, initial
launch might be little bit slower
than 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, engine could rev at
high rpm depending on vehicle
drive condition.
For smooth launch 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
brake, which is similar to manual
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 or ENGINE START/
STOP button in the 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
18 5
To hold the vehicle on a hill use the
foot brake or the parking brake. If
the vehicle is held by applying the
accelerator pedal on a hill the
clutch and transmission will be
overheated resulting in damage.
At this time, a warning message
(“Steep grade! Press brake pedal”)
will appear on the LCD display.
If the clutch becomes overheated
by excessive use of the clutch to
hold on a hill, you may notice a
shudder feeling and a blinking dis-
play on the instrument cluster.
When this occurs, the clutch is dis-
abled until the clutch cools to nor-
mal temperatures. If this occurs,
pull over to a safe location, shift
into P (Park) and apply the foot
brake for a certain time on the LCD
warning until it disappears.
If the LCD warning is active, the
foot brake must be applied.
Ignoring the warnings can lead to
damage to the transmission. If the display continues to blink, for
your safety, we recommend that you
contact an authorized Kia dealer.
Under certain conditions such as
repeated launch on steep grades,
the clutch in the transmission could
overheat.
When the clutch is overheated, the
safe protection mode engages. If
the safe protection mode engages,
the gear position indicator on the
cluster blinks with a chime sound.
At this time, one of these warning
messages (“Transmission temp. is
high! Stop safely”, “Trans hot! Park
with engine on”, “Trans Cooling.
Remain parked for 00 min.”, “Trans
Cooled. Resume driving”) will
appear on the LCD display and driv-
ing may not be smooth.
If you ignore this warning, the driv-
ing condition may become worse.
To return the normal driving condi-
tion, stop the vehicle and apply the
foot brake for a few minutes before
driving off. Gear shifts may be more notice-
able than a conventional automatic
transmission. This is a normal
characteristic of this type of dual
clutch transmission.
During the first 1,500 km (1,000
miles), you may feel that the vehi-
cle may not be smooth when accel-
erating at low speed. During this
break-in period, the shift quality
and performance of your new vehi-
cle is continuously optimized.
Always come to a complete stop
before shifting into D (Drive) or R
(Reverse).
Do not put the shift lever in N
(Neutral) while driving.

519
Driving your vehicle
The indicator in the instrument clus-
ter displays the shift lever position
when the ignition switch or ENGINE
START/STOP button 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.
The shift lever must be in P (Park)
before turning the engine off.R (Reverse)
Use this position to drive the vehicle
backward.
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.
Do not use the P (Park) position
in place of the parking brake.
CAUTION
Always come to a complete stop
before shifting into or out of R
(Reverse); you may damage the
transmission if you shift into R
(Reverse) while the vehicle is in
motion.
CAUTION
To avoid damage to your
transaxle, do not try to accel-
erate in R (Reverse) or any for-
ward gear position with the
brakes on.
When stopped on slope, do
not hold the vehicle with
accelerator pedal. Use the
service brake or the parking
brake.

Driving your vehicle
20 5
N (Neutral)
The wheels and transmission are not
engaged.- Parking in N (Neutral) gear
Follow below steps when parking
and you want the vehicle to move
when pushed.
1.After parking your vehicle, step on
the brake pedal and move the shift
lever to [P] with the ignition switch or
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 Parking
Brake) equipped vehicles, push
the brake pedal with the ignition
switch or ENGINE START/STOP
button in [ON] or while the engine
is running to disengage the park-
ing brake. If [AUTO HOLD] func-
tion is used while driving (If
[AUTO HOLD] indicator is on in
the cluster), press [AUTO HOLD]
switch and [AUTO HOLD] func-
tion should be turn off.3.While pressing the brake pedal,
turn the ignition switch or ENGINE
START/STOP button [OFF].
- For smart key equipped vehicles,
the ignition switch or ENGINE
START/STOP button 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.
WARNING
Do not shift into gear unless
your foot is firmly on the brake
pedal. Shifting into gear when
the engine is running at high
speed can cause the vehicle to
move very rapidly. You could
lose control of the vehicle and
hit people or objects.
WARNING
Do not drive with the shift lever
in N (Neutral).
The engine brake may not work
and lead to an accident.