2021 KIA SPORTAGE four wheel drive

Driving your vehicle
245
Tight corner brake effect
✽NOTICE- AWD
When turning sharply on a paved
road at low speed while in all wheel
drive, steering control will be difficult.
Tight corner brake effect is a unique
characteristic of all wheel drive vehi-
cles caused by the difference in tire
rotation at the four wheels and the
zero-degree alignment of the front
wheels and suspension.
Sharp turns at low speeds should be
carried out with caution.

5 25
Driving your vehicle
• This mode is used for climbing or descending sharp grades,off-road driving, driving on sandy and muddy roads, etc., to
maximize traction.
• This mode automatically begins to deactivate at speeds above 38 mph (60 km/h) and is shifted to AWD AUTO mode
at speed above 38 mph (60 km/h). If the vehicle decelerates
to speeds below 38 mph (60 km/h), however, the transfer
mode is shifted into AWD LOCK mode again.
AWD AUTO
(AWD LOCK is deactivated)
(Indicator light isnot illuminated)
✽NOTICE
• When driving on normal roads, deactivate the AWD LOCK mode by pushing the AWD LOCK button (the indi- cator light goes off). Driving on normal roads with AWD LOCK mode(especially, when cornering) may cause
mechanical noise or vibration. The noise and vibration will disappear when the AWD LOCK mode is deactivat-
ed. Some parts of the power train may be damaged by prolonged driving with the noise and vibration.
• When the AWD LOCK mode is deactivated, a shock may be felt as the drive power is delivered entirely to the front wheels. This shock is not a mechanical failure.
All Wheel Drive (AWD) transfer mode selection
Transfer mode Selection button Indicator light Description
• When driving in AWD AUTO mode, the vehicle operates sim-
ilar to conventional FWD vehicles under normal operating
conditions. However, if the system determines that there is a
need for the AWD mode, the engine’s driving power is distrib-
uted to all four wheels automatically without driver interven-
tion.
• When driving on normal roads and pavement, the vehicle moves similar to conventional FWD vehicles.
AWD LOCK
(Indicator light is illuminated)

Driving your vehicle
285
• If you need to drive in the water,stop your vehicle, set your transfer
to the AWD LOCK mode and drive
at less than 5 mph (8 km/h).✽NOTICE
• Do not drive in water if the level ishigher than the bottom of the vehi-
cle.
• Check your brake condition once you are out of mud or water. Press
the brake pedal several times as
you move slowly until you feel nor-
mal braking forces return.
• Shorten your scheduled mainte- nance interval if you drive in off-
road conditions such as sand, mud
or water (see “Maintenance under
severe usage conditions” in section
8). Always wash your vehicle thor-
oughly after off-road use, especially
cleaning the bottom of the vehicle.
• Since the driving torque is always applied to the 4 wheels the per-
formance of the AWD vehicle is
greatly affected by the condition of
the tires. Be sure to equip the vehi-
cle with four tires of the same size
and type.
• A full time all wheel drive vehicle cannot be towed by an ordinary
tow truck. Make sure that the
vehicle is placed on a flat bed
truck for moving.
WARNING - Driving
through water
Drive slowly. If you are driving
too fast in water, the water can
get into the engine compart-
ment and wet the ignition sys-
tem, causing your vehicle to
suddenly stop. If this happens
and your vehicle is in a tilted
position, your vehicle may roll
over.
WARNING - AWD driving
• Avoid high cornering speed.
• 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 high speed.
• Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off
the roadway and the driver
over-steers to re-enter the
roadway. In the event your
vehicle leaves the roadway, do
not steer sharply. Instead,
slow down before pulling
back into the travel lanes.

Driving your vehicle
1565
Severe weather conditions in the
winter result in greater wear and
other problems. To minimize the
problems of winter driving, you
should follow these suggestions:Snowy or icy conditions
To drive your vehicle in deep snow, it
may be necessary to use snow tires
or to install tire chains on your tires.
If snow tires are needed, it is neces-
sary to select tires equivalent in size
and type of the original equipment
tires. Failure to do so may adversely
affect the safety and handling of your
vehicle. Furthermore, speeding,
rapid acceleration, sudden brake
applications, and sharp turns are
potentially very hazardous practices.
During deceleration, use engine
braking to the fullest extent. Sudden
brake applications on snowy or icy
roads may cause skids to occur. You
need to keep sufficient distance
between the vehicle in operation in
front of your vehicle. Also, apply the
brake gently. It should be noted that
installing tire chains on the tire will
provide a greater driving force, but
will not prevent side skids.
Tire chains are not legal in all states.
Check state laws before fitting tire
chains.
Snow tires
If you mount snow tires on your vehi-
cle, make sure they are radial tires of
the same size and load range as the
original tires. Mount snow tires on all
four wheels to balance your vehicle’s
handling in all weather conditions.
Keep in mind that the traction provid-
ed by snow tires on dry roads may
not be as high as your vehicle's orig-
inal equipment tires. You should drive
cautiously even when the roads are
clear. Check with the tire dealer for
maximum speed recommendations.
Do not install studded tires withoutfirst checking local, state and munic-ipal regulations for possible restric-tions against their use.
WINTER DRIVING
WARNING - Snow tire size
Snow tires should be equivalent
in size and type to the vehicle's
standard tires. Otherwise, the
safety and handling of your vehi-
cle may be adversely affected.

5 157
Driving your vehicle
Tire chains
Since the sidewalls of radial tires are
thinner, they can be damaged by
mounting some types of snow chains
on them. Therefore, the use of snow
tires is recommended instead of
snow chains. Do not mount tire
chains on vehicles equipped with
aluminum wheels; snow chains may
cause damage to the wheels. If snow
chains must be used, use wire-type
chains with a thickness of less than
0.59 in (15mm). Damage to your
vehicle caused by improper snow
chain use is not covered by your
vehicle manufacturers warranty.When using tire chains, attach them
to the drive wheels as follows.
2WD : Front wheels
4WD : All four wheels
If a full set of chains is not available
for an 4WD vehicle, chains may be
installed on the front wheels only.
The snow chain connecting hooks
may be damaged from contacting
vehicle components causing the
snow chains to come loose from the
tire. Make sure the snow chains are
SAE class “S” certified.
Always check chain installation for
proper mounting after driving
approximately 0.3 to 0.6 miles (0.5 to
1 km) to ensure safe mounting.
Retighten or remount the chains if
they are loose.
CAUTION- Snow chains
Make sure the snow chains are
the correct size and type foryour tires. Incorrect snowchains can cause damage to thevehicle body and suspensionand may not be covered by yourvehicle manufacturer warranty.
OQL058046L

6 37
What to do in an emergency
• Use a towing strap less than 16feet (5 m) long. Attach a white or
red cloth (about 12 inches (30 cm)
wide) in the middle of the strap for
easy visibility.
• Drive carefully so that the towing strap is not loosened during tow-
ing.
• The driver must be in the vehicle for steering and braking operations
when the vehicle is towed and pas-
sengers other than the driver must
not be allowed to be on board.
Emergency towing precautions
• Turn the ignition switch to ACC sothe steering wheel isn’t locked.
• Place the transmission shift lever in N (Neutral).
• Release the parking brake.
• Press the brake pedal with more force than normal since you will
have reduced brake performance.
• More steering effort will be required because the power steer-
ing system will be disabled.
• If you are driving down a long hill, the brakes may overheat and brake
performance will be reduced. Stop
often and let the brakes cool off.
• The vehicle should be towed at a speed of 25 km/h or less within the
distance of 20 km. • If the car is being towed with all
four wheels on the ground, it can
be towed only from the front. Be
sure that the transmission is in
neutral. Be sure the steering is
unlocked by placing the ignition
switch in the ACC position. A driver
must be in the towed vehicle to
operate the steering and brakes.
CAUTION - Automatic
transmission
• To avoid serious damage to the automatic transmission, limitthe vehicle speed to 10 mph(15 km/h) and drive less than 1mile (1.5 km) when towing.
• Before towing, check the auto- matic transmission for fluidleaks under your vehicle. If theautomatic transmission fluid isleaking, flatbed equipment or atowing dolly must be used.
OQL065021

Maintenance
587
All season tires
Kia specifies all season tires on
some models to provide good per-
formance for use all year round,
including snowy and icy road condi-
tions. All season tires are identified
by ALL SEASON and/or M+S (Mud
and Snow) on the tire sidewall. Snow
tires have better snow traction than
all season tires and may be more
appropriate in some areas.
Summer tires
Kia specifies summer tires on some
models to provide superior perform-
ance on dry roads. Summer tire per-
formance is substantially reduced in
snow and ice. Summer tires do not
have the tire traction rating M+S
(Mud and Snow) on the tire side wall.
If you plan to operate your vehicle in
snowy or icy conditions, Kia recom-
mends the use of snow tires or all
season tires on all four wheels.
Snow tires
If you equip your car with snow tires,
they should be the same size and
have the same load capacity as the
original tires. Snow tires should be
installed on all four wheels; other-
wise, poor handling may result.
Snow tires should carry 4 psi (28
kPa) more air pressure than the
pressure recommended for the stan-
dard tires on the tire label on the dri-
ver's side of the center pillar, or up to
the maximum pressure shown on the
tire sidewall, whichever is less.
Do not drive faster than 75 mph (120
km/h) when your vehicle is equipped
with snow tires.
Tire chains
Tire chains, if necessary, should be
installed on the front wheels.
Be sure that the chains are installed
in accordance with the manufactur-
er's instructions.
To minimize tire and chain wear, do
not continue to use tire chains when
they are no longer needed.
• When driving on roads coveredwith snow or ice, drive at less than
20 mph (30 km/h).
• Use the SAE “S” class or wire chains.
• If you hear noise caused by chains contacting the body, retighten the
chain to avoid contact with the
vehicle body.
• To prevent body damage, retighten the chains after driving 0.3~0.6
miles (0.5~1.0 km).
• Do not use tire chains on vehicles equipped with aluminum wheels.
In unavoidable circumstances, use
a wire type chain.
• Use wire chains less than 0.47 inches (12 mm) to prevent damage
to the chain’s connection.