2021 KIA NIRO warning light

549
Driving your vehicle
ESC operation off
ESC OFF state
This car has 2 kinds of ESC
off states.
If the engine stops when
ESC is off, ESC remains off.
Upon restarting the engine,
the ESC will automatically
turn on again.“Traction Control disabled”
ESC off state 1
To cancel ESC operation, press the
ESC OFF button (ESC OFF ) for
less than 3 seconds and the ESC
OFF indicator light (ESC OFF ) will
illuminate. At this state, the engine
control function does not operate. It
means the traction control function
does not operate. Only the brake con-
trol function will operate.
“Traction & Stability Control disabled”

To cancel ESC operation, press the
ESC OFF button (ESC OFF ) for
more than 3 seconds. ESC OFF indi-
cator light (ESC OFF ) will illumi-
nate and ESC OFF warning chime
will sound. At this state, the engine
control function and brake control
function do not operate. It means the
car stability control function will not
operate any more.
Indicator light
When ignition switch or the ENGINE
START/STOP button is turned to ON,
the indicator light illuminates, then
goes off if the ESC system is operat-
ing normally.
The ESC indicator light blinks when-
ever ESC is operating or illuminates
when ESC fails to operate.
The ESC OFF indicator light comes
on when the ESC is turned off with
the button.
■ESC indicator light
■ ESC OFF indicator light

Driving your vehicle
50 5
ESC OFF usage
When driving
ESC should be turned on for daily
driving whenever possible.
To turn ESC off while driving, press
the ESC OFF button while driving
on a flat road surface.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
• When operating the vehicle on a
dynamometer, ensure that the
ESC is turned off (ESC OFF light
illuminated). If the ESC is left on,
it may prevent the vehicle speed
from increasing, and result in false
diagnosis.
• Turning the ESC off does not
affect ABS or brake system opera-
tion.WARNING- Electronic sta-
bility control
Drive carefully even though your
vehicle has Electronic Stability
Control. It can only assist you in
maintaining control under cer-
tain circumstances.
WARNING- Operating
ESC
Never press the ESC OFF but-
ton while ESC is operating (ESC
indicator light blinks).
If ESC is turned off while ESC is
operating, the vehicle may slip
out of control.

551
Driving your vehicle
Vehicle Stability Management
(VSM)
This system provides further
enhancements to vehicle stability
and steering responses when a vehi-
cle is driving on a slippery road or a
vehicle detects changes in coeffi-
cient of friction between right wheels
and left wheels when braking.
VSM operation
When the VSM is in operation, ESC
indicator light ( ) blinks.
When the vehicle stability manage-
ment is operating properly, you can
feel a slight pulsation in the vehicle
and/or abnormal steering responses
(EPS- Electronic Power Steering).
This is only the effect of brake and
EPS control and indicates nothing
unusual.
The VSM does not operate when:
Driving on a sloping road such as a
gradient or incline
Driving in reverse
ESC OFF indicator light ( )
remains on the instrument cluster
EPS indicator light remains on the
instrument cluster
VSM operation off
If you press the ESC OFF button to
turn off the ESC, the VSM will also
cancel and the ESC OFF indicator
light ( ) illuminates.
To turn on the VSM, press the button
again. The ESC OFF indicator light
goes out.
WARNING- Tire/
Wheel size
When replacing tires and wheels,
make sure they are the same size
as the original tires and wheels
installed. Driving with varying
tire or wheel sizes may diminish
any supplemental safety benefits
of the VSM system.
WARNING
- Vehicle stability manage-
ment
Drive carefully even though your
vehicle has vehicle stability
management. It can only assist
you in maintaining control of the
vehicle under certain circum-
stances.

Driving your vehicle
52
5
Malfunction indicator
The VSM can be deactivated even if
you don’t cancel the VSM operation
by pressing the ESC OFF button. It
indicates that a malfunction has
been detected somewhere in the
Electric Power Steering system or
VSM system. If the ESC indicator
light ( ) or EPS warning light
remains on, take your vehicle to an
authorized Kia dealer and have the
system checked. The Vehicle Stability Management
system is not a substitute for safe
driving practices but a supplemen-
tary function only. It is the responsi-
bility of the driver to always check
the speed and the distance to the
vehicle ahead. Always hold the
steering wheel firmly while driving.
Your vehicle is designed to activate according to the driver’s intention,
even with installed VSM. Always fol-
low all the normal precautions for
driving at safe speeds for the condi-
tions – including driving in inclement
weather and on a slippery road.
Hill-start Assist Control (HAC)
A vehicle has the tendency to roll
back on a steep hill when it starts to
go after stopping. The Hill-start
Assist Control (HAC) prevents the
vehicle from rolling back by applying
the brakes automatically for about 2
seconds. The brakes are released
when the accelerator pedal is
depressed or after about 2 seconds.
The HAC is activated only for about 2
seconds, so when the vehicle is
starting off always depress the accel-
erator pedal.
WARNING
For maximum protection,
always wear your seat belt. No
system, no matter how
advanced, can compensate for
all driver error and/or driving
conditions. Always drive
responsibly.
WARNING- Maintaining
Brake Pressure on Incline
HAC does not replace the need
to apply brakes while stopped on
an incline. While stopped, make
sure you maintain brake pres-
sure sufficient to prevent your
vehicle from rolling backward
and causing an accident. Don’t
release the brake pedal until you
are ready to accelerate forward.

555
Driving your vehicle
The warning light illumi-
nates on the LCD display,
when you cancel FCA.
The driver can monitor FCA ON/OFF
status on the LCD display. Also, the
warning light illuminates when the
ESC (Electronic Stability Control) is
turned off. When the warning light
remains ON with FCA activated, have
your vehicle inspected by an author-
ized Kia dealer.Warning Timing
The driver can select the initial warn-
ing activation time on the LCD dis-
play.
Go to the “User Settings Driver
Assistance Warning Timing 
Normal/Later”The options for the initial Forward
Collision Warning includes the fol-
lowing:
- Normal:
When this condition is selected, the
initial Forward Collision Warning is
activated normally. This setting
allows for a nominal amount of dis-
tance between the vehicle ahead
before the initial warning occurs.
- Later:
When this condition is selected, the
initial Forward Collision Warning is
activated later than normal. This set-
ting reduces the amount of distance
between the vehicle or pedestrian
before the initial warning occurs.
Select 'Later' when traffic is light and
when driving speed is slow.
OYG059344L

Driving your vehicle
56 5
✽
✽
NOTICE
If you change the warning timing,
the warning timing of other systems
may change. Always be aware of
warning timing before changing the
warning timing.
Prerequisite for activation
FCA gets ready to be activated,
when the “Active Assist”, or “Warning
Only”, under the Forward Safety is
selected on the LCD display, and
when the following prerequisites are
satisfied.
- The ESC is activated.
- The driving speed is over 5 mph (8
km/h). (However, FCA is activated
within certain driving speed.)
- The function detects a vehicle or a
pedestrian in front, which may col-
lide with your vehicle. (FCA may
not be activated or may sound a
warning alarm in accordance with
the driving situation or vehicle con-
dition.)
❈FCA may not operate properly
according to the frontal situation,
the direction and speed of pedes-
trian.WARNING
Completely stop the vehicle
on a safe location before oper-
ating the switch on the steer-
ing wheel to activate/deacti-
vate FCA.
FCA automatically activates
upon placing the ignition
switch to the ON position. The
driver can deactivate FCA by
canceling the function setting
on the LCD display or
Infotainment System screen.
FCA automatically deacti-
vates upon canceling the
ESC. When the ESC is can-
celed, FCA cannot be activat-
ed on the LCD display or
Infotainment System screen.
FCA warning light will illumi-
nate, which is normal.

557
Driving your vehicle
FCA warning message and
function control
FCA produces warning messages
and warning alarms in accordance
with the collision risk levels, such as
abrupt stopping of the vehicle in
front, insufficient braking distance,
pedestrian detection. Also, it controls
the brakes in accordance with the
collision risk levels.
The driver can select the initial warn-
ing activation time in the ‘Settings’ on
the LCD display or Infotainment
System screen. The options for the
initial Forward Collision Warning
include Normal or Late initial warning
time.
Collision Warning (1st warning)
The warning message appears on
the LCD display with the warning
alarms.
The Vehicle may slow down slightly
- It will operate if the vehicle speed
is greater than 5 mph (8 km/h)
and less than or equal to 40 mph
(60 km/h) on a forward vehicle.
(Depending on the condition of
the vehicle ahead and the envi-
ronment surrounding it, the possi-
ble maximum operating speed
may be reduced.)- For pedestrian, the vehicle speed
is greater than or equal to 5 mph
(8 km/h) and less than 40 mph (60
km/h). (Depending on the condi-
tion of pedestrian and the sur-
rounding environment the possi-
ble maximum operating speed
may be reduced.)
FCA controls the brakes within cer-
tain limit to release shock from the
collision.
- If you select “Warning Only”, FCA
activates and produces only
warning alarms in accordance
with the collision risk levels. You
should control the brake directly
because FCA do not control the
brake.
OJF058389L

Driving your vehicle
60 5
✽
✽
NOTICE
• Be careful not to apply unneces-
sary force on the frontal sensor
area. When the sensor moves out
of the correct position due to
external force, FCA may not nor-
mally operate even without the
warning light or message. In this
case, have your vehicle inspected
by an authorized Kia dealer.
• Keep the sensor and sensor area
clean.
• Be careful not to force to shock on
sensor or area. If the sensor is out
of the position by the shock, FCA
may not normally operate even
without the warning light ON or
message. In this case, have your
vehicle inspected by an authorized
Kia dealer.
• Do not tint the window or install
stickers, accessories around the
inside mirror where the front view
camera is installed.
• Make sure the front view camera
installation point does not get wet.
(Continued)(Continued)
• Do not impact or arbitrarily
remove any front view camera
components.
• Do not place reflective
objects(white paper or mirror etc.)
on the crash pad.
FCA may activate unnecessarily
due to reflect of the sunlight.
• For more cautions for the camera
sensor, refer to Lane Keeping
Assist (LKA) in this chapter.
Warning message and warning
light
If the front view camera is covered by
bad weather or foreign objects, dust,
etc., FCA operation may stop tem-
porarily. If this occurs, a warning mes-
sage will appear on the LCD display.
FCA will operate normally when
debris is removed.
OBDM058129N