2023 HYUNDAI KONA Gear shift

Driving your vehicle6-12
WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury or
death:

[ ALWAYS check the surrounding
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
Engine Start/Stop button to the OFF
position. Unexpected and sudden
vehicle movement can occur if these
precautions are not followed.

[ Do not use aggressive engine braking
(shifting from a higher gear to a
lower gear) on slippery roads. This
could cause the tires to slip and may
result in an accident.
NOTICE

[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.
WARNING
Due to transmission failure, you may
not continue to drive and the position
indicator and the position indicator (D,
P) on the instrument cluster will blink.
Contact authorized HYUNDAI dealer
and have the system checked.
DCT warning messages
This warning message is displayed when
vehicle is driven slowly on a grade and
the vehicle detects that the brake pedal
is not applied.
OCN7N061226L
Steep grade! Press brake pedal
Driving up hills or on steep grades:

[T

o hold the vehicle on an incline use
the foot brake or the parking brake.

[ When in stop-and-go traffic on an
incline, allow a gap to form ahead
of you before moving the vehicle
forward. Then hold the vehicle on the
incline with the foot brake.

[ If the vehicle is held or creeping
forward on an incline by applying
the accelerator pedal, the clutch and
transmission may overheat which
can result in damage. At this time, a
warning message will appear on the
LCD display.

[ If the LCD warning is active, the foot
brake must be applied.

[ Ignoring the warnings can lead to
damage to the transmission.

06
6-13
OOSN061017L
Transmission high temperature

[Under certain conditions, such as
r

epeated stop-and-go launches
on steep grades, sudden take off
or acceleration, or other harsh
driving conditions, the transmission
clutch temperatures will increase
excessively. Finally the clutch in
transmission could be overheated.

[ When the clutch is overheated, the
safe protection mode engages and
the gear position indicator on the
cluster blinks with a chime. At this
time, “Transmission temp. is high!
Stop safely” warning message will
appear on the LCD display and driving
may not be smooth.

[ 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, 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 possible, drive the vehicle
smoothly.
„Type A „Type B
OCN7N061225LOTMA060010
Transmission overheated

[If the v
ehicle continues to be driven
and the clutch temperatures reach
the maximum temperature limit, the
“Transmission Hot! Park with engine
on” warning will be displayed. When
this occurs the clutch is disabled
until the clutch cools to normal
temperatures.

[ The warning will display a time to wait
for the transmission to cool.

[ 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.

[ When the message “Trans cooled.
Resume driving” appears you can
continue to drive your vehicle.

[ When possible, drive the vehicle
smoothly.
If any of the warning messages in the
LCD display continue to blink, for your
safety, contact an authorized HYUNDAI
dealer and have the system checked.

Driving your vehicle6-14
Transmission ranges
The indicator in the instrument cluster
displays the shift lever position when the
Engine Start/Stop button is in the ON
position.
P (Park)
Always come to a complete stop before
shifting in
to 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.
If you have done all of the above and
still cannot shift the lever out of P
(Park), see “Shift-Lock Release” in this
chapter.
The shift lever must be in P (Park) before
turning the engine off.
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.

[ When parking on an incline, place
the shift lever in P (Park) and apply
the parking brake to prevent the
vehicle from rolling downhill.

[ For safety, always engage the
parking brake with the shift lever in
the P (Park) position except for the
case of emergency parking.
R (Reverse)
Use this position to drive the vehicle
backw

ard.
NOTICE
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.
N (Neutral)
The wheels and transmission are not
engaged.
U

se N (Neutral) if you need to restart a
stalled engine, or if it is necessary to stop
with the engine ON. Shift into P (Park)
if you need to leave your vehicle for any
reason.
Always depress the brake pedal when
you are shifting from N (Neutral) to
another gear.
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.

06
6-15
D (Drive)
This is the normal driving position. The
tr
ansmission will automatically shift
through a 8-gear sequence, providing
the best fuel economy and power.
For extra power when passing another
vehicle or driving uphill, depress the
accelerator fully. The transmission will
automatically downshift to the next
lower gear (or gears, as appropriate).
OOSN061002L
Manual shift mode
Whether the vehicle is stationary or in
mo
tion, manual shift mode is selected by
pushing the shift lever from the D (Drive)
position into the manual gate. To return
to D (Drive) range operation, push the
shift lever back into the main gate.
In Manual Shift mode, moving the shift
lever backwards (B) and forwards (A) will
allow you to select the desired range of
gears for the current driving conditions.
+ (Up) : Pull the lever backwards(B) once to shift up one gear.
- (Down) : Push the lever forward(A) once to shift down one gear.
Information

[Only the eight forward gears can be
selected in Manual Shift Mode. To
reverse or park the vehicle, move the
shift lever to the R (Reverse) or P
(Park) position as required.

[ Downshifts are made automatically
when the vehicle slows down. When the
vehicle stops, 1st gear is automatically
selected.

[ When the engine RPM approaches the
red zone the transmission will upshift
automatically.

[ If the driver presses the lever to
+ (Up) or - (Down) position, the
transmission may not make the
requested gear change if the next gear
is outside of the allowable engine RPM
range. The driver must execute upshifts
in accordance with road conditions,
taking care to keep the engine RPMs
below the red zone.

Driving your vehicle6-16
Paddle shifter
OOSN061031L
The paddle shifter is functional when the
shift lever is in the D (Drive) position or
the manual shift mode.
With the shift lever in the D position
The paddle shifter will operate when the
v
ehicle speed is more than 3km/h.
Pull the [+] or [-] paddle shifter once
to shift up or down one gear and the
system changes from automatic mode to
manual mode.
When the vehicle speed is lower than
2 km/h, if you depress the accelerator
pedal for more than 6 seconds (in the
Normal mode) or if you move the shift
lever from D (Drive) to manual shift mode
and move it from manual shift mode to D
(Drive) again, the system changes from
manual mode to automatic mode.
When releasing the paddle shifter, pull it
for more than 1 second.
With the shift lever in the manual shift
mode
Pull the [+] or [-] paddle shifter once to
shift up or do
wn one gear.
Information
If the [+] and [-] paddle shifters are pulled
at the same time, gear shift may not occur.
Shift-lock system
For your safety, the dual clutch
transmission has a shift-lock system
which prevents shifting the transmission
from P (Park) to R (Reverse) unless the
brake pedal is depressed.
To shift the transmission from P (Park)
into R (Reverse):
1. Depress and hold the brake pedal.
2. Start the engine.
3. Move the shift lever to R (Reverse).

Driving your vehicle6-18
Good Driving Practices

[ Never move the shift lever from P
(Park) or N (Neutral) to any other
position with the accelerator pedal
depressed.

[ Never move the shift lever 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 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.

[ Driving uphill or downhill, always shift
to D (Drive) when driving forward or to
R (Reverse) when driving backwards,
and check the gear position indicated
on the cluster before driving. If you
drive in the opposite direction of the
selected gear, the engine will turn
off and a serious accident might be
occurred due to the degraded brake
performance.

[ 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.

[ Depressing both accelerator
and brake pedals at the same
time can trigger logic for engine
power reduction to assure vehicle
deceleration. Vehicle acceleration
will resume after the brake pedal is
released.

[ When driving in Manual Shift mode,
slow down before shifting to a lower
gear. Otherwise, the lower gear may
not be engaged if the engine RPMs
are outside of the allowable range.

[ When driving with shifter paddles,
slow down before shifting to a lower
gear. Otherwise, the lower gear may
not be engaged if the engine RPMs
are outside of the allowable range.
[
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 t ravel lanes.

[ HYUNDAI recommends you follow all
posted speed limits.

06
6-19
BRAKING SYSTEM
Power-Assist Brakes
Your vehicle has power-assisted brakes
that adjust automatically through normal
usage.
If the engine is not running or is turned
off while driving, the power assist for
the brakes will not work. You can still
stop your vehicle by applying greater
force to the brake pedal than typical.
The stopping distance, however, will be
longer than with power brakes.
When the engine is not running, the
reserve brake power is partially depleted
each time the brake pedal is applied.
Do not pump the brake pedal when the
power assist has been interrupted.
WARNING
Take the following precautions:

[Do not drive with your foot resting
on the brake pedal. This will create
abnormal high brake temperatures,
excessive brake lining and pad wear,
and increased stopping distances.

[ When descending down a long or
steep hill, use the paddle shifter
and manually downshift to a
lower gear in order to control your
speed without using the brake
pedal excessively. Applying the
brakes continuously will cause
the brakes to overheat and could
result in a temporary loss of braking
performance.

[Wet brakes may impair the vehicle's
ability to safely slow down; the
vehicle may also pull to one side
when the brakes are applied.
Applying the brakes lightly will
indicate whether they have been
affected in this way. Always test your
brakes in this fashion after driving
through deep water. To dry the
brakes, lightly tap the brake pedal to
heat up the brakes while maintaining
a safe forward speed until brake
performance returns to normal.
Avoid driving at high speeds until the
brakes function correctly.
Disc Brakes Wear Indicator
When your brake pads are worn and new
pads are required, you will hear a high
pitched warning sound from your front
or rear brakes. You may hear this sound
come and go or it may occur whenever
you depress the brake pedal.
Note that some driving conditions or
climates may cause a brake squeal
when you first apply (or lightly apply)
the brakes. This is normal and does not
indicate a problem with your brakes.
NOTICE
To avoid costly brake repairs, do not
continue to drive with worn brake pads.
Information
Always replace brake pads as complete
front or rear axle sets.

Driving your vehicle6-30
Hill-Start Assist Control (HAC)
Hill-Start Assist Control helps prevent
the vehicle from rolling backwards
when starting a vehicle from a stop on
a hill. The system operates the brakes
automatically for approximately 2
seconds and releases the brake after 2
seconds or when the accelerator pedal is
depressed.
WARNING
Always be ready to depress the
accelerator pedal when starting off
an incline. The HAC activates only for
approximately 2 seconds.
Information

[ The HAC does not operate when
the gear is shifted to P (Park) or N
(Neutral).

[ The HAC activates even when the ESC
(Electronic Stability Control) is off.
However, it does not activate, when
ESC does not operate normally.
Downhill Brake Control (DBC)
OOSN061006L
The Downhill Brake Control (DBC) feature
assists the driver to descend down a
steep hill without having to depress the
brake pedal. The system automatically
applies the brakes to maintain the
vehicle speed below 5 mph (8 km/h)
and allows the driver to concentrate on
steering the vehicle down hill.
WARNING
Always turn off the DBC on normal
roads. The DBC might activate
inadvertently from the standby mode
when driving through speed bumps or
making sharp curves.
NOTICE

[The DBC defaults to the OFF position
whenever the Engine Start/Stop
button is placed in the ON position.

[ Noise or vibration may occur
from the brakes when the DBC is
activated.

[ The rear stop light comes on when
DBC is activated.