HYUNDAI SANTA FE HYBRID 2023 Owners Manual

Driving Your Vehicle6-42
OTMA060009
OTMA060010
Transmission overheated

[ When driving on muddy and sandy
r

oads 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 cluster 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 cluster
display continue to blink, for your
safety, have the system checked by an
authorized HYUNDAI dealer.
Driving up or down hills

[ Driving uphill
-
Before starting off, check if it is
possible to drive uphill.

- Drive as straight as possible.

[ Driving downhill
- Do not change gear while driving downhill. Select gear before driving
downhill.
- Drive slowly using engine braking while driving downhill.
- Drive straight 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.

06
6-43
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 through water

[T
ry to avoid driving in deep standing
water. It may stall your engine and
clog your exhaust pipes.

[ If you need to drive in water, stop
your vehicle, set the vehicle in Multi
Terrain mode and drive under 5 mph
(8 km/h).

[ Do not change gear while driving in
water.
CAUTION
Always drive slowly in water. If you
drive too fast, water may get into the
engine compartment and wet the
ignition system causing your vehicle to
suddenly stop.
Additional driving conditions

[Become f
amiliar with the off-road
conditions before driving.

[ Always pay attention when driving off-
road and avoid dangerous areas.

[ Drive slowly when driving in heavy
wind.

[ Reduce vehicle speed when
cornering. The center of gravity
of AWD vehicles is higher than
conventional 2WD vehicles, making
them more likely to roll over when you
rapidly turn corners.

[ Always hold the steering wheel firmly
when you are driving off-road.
WARNING
Do hold the steering wheel tightly
when you are driving off-road. You may
hurt your arm by a sudden steering
maneuver or from steering wheel
rebound due to an impact with objects
on the ground. You could lose control
of the steering wheel which may lead to
serious injury or death.
Emergency Precautions
Tires
When replacing tires, be sure to equip
all four tires with the same size, type,
tread patterns, brand and load-carrying
capacity.
WARNING
Do not use tire and wheel with different
size and type from the one originally
installed on your vehicle. It can affect
the safety and performance of your
vehicle, which could lead to steering
failure or rollover causing serious injury.
In an emergency situation, a compact
spare tire (if equipped) or Tire Mobility
Kit (if equipped) may be used. But,
do not use the compact spare tire
continuously. Repair or replace the
original tire as soon as possible to avoid
failure of the differential or AWD system.

Driving Your Vehicle6-44
WARNING
Never start or run the engine while
an AWD vehicle is raised on a jack.
The vehicle can slip or roll off of a jack
causing serious injury or death to you or
those nearby.
Towing
AWD vehicles must be towed with
a wheel lift and dollies or flatbed
equipment with all the wheels off the
ground. For more details, refer to
"Towing" section in chapter 8.
Vehicle inspection

[ If the vehicle needs to be operated on
a vehicle lift do not attempt to stop
any of the four wheels from turning.
This could damage the AWD system.

[ Never engage the parking brake while
running the engine on a car lift. This
may damage the AWD system.
Dynamometer testing
A AWD vehicle must be tested on a
special four wheel chassis dynamometer.
OTMH060001[A] : Roll tester (Speedometer),
[B] : Temporary free roller
A AWD vehicle should not be tested on
a 2WD roll tester. If a 2WD roll tester
must be used, perform the following
procedure:
1. Check the tire pressures
recommended for your vehicle.
2. Place the rear wheels on the roll tester for a speedometer test as shown in
the illustration.
3. Release the parking brake.
4. Place the front wheels on the temporary free roller as shown in the
illustration.
WARNING
Keep away from the front of the vehicle
while the vehicle is in gear on the
dynamometer. The vehicle can jump
forward and cause serious injury or
death.

06
6-45
Reducing the Risk of a Rollover
Your multi-purpose passenger vehicle is
defined as a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).
SUV’s have higher ground clearance
and a narrower track to make them
capable of performing in a wide variety
of off-road applications. The specific
design characteristics give them a higher
center of gravity than ordinary vehicles
making them more likely to roll over if
you make abrupt turns. Utility vehicles
have a significantly higher rollover rate
than other types of vehicles. Due to this
risk, driver and passengers are strongly
recommended to buckle their seat belts.
In a rollover crash, an unbelted person
is significantly more likely to die than a
person wearing a seat belt.
WARNING
Rollover
As with other Sports Utility Vehicle
(SUV), failure to operate this vehicle
correctly may result in loss of control,
an accident or vehicle rollover.

[Utility vehicles have a significantly
higher rollover rate than other types
of vehicles.

[ Specific design characteristics
(higher ground clearance, narrower
track, etc.) give this vehicle a higher
center of gravity than ordinary
vehicles.

[ A SUV is not designed for cornering
at the same speeds as conventional
vehicles.

[ Avoid sharp turns or abrupt
maneuvers.

[ In a rollover crash, an unbelted
person is significantly more likely to
die than a person wearing a seat belt.
Make sure everyone in the vehicle is
properly buckled up.
WARNING
Your vehicle is equipped with tires
designed to provide safe ride and
handling capability. Do not use a size
and type of tire and wheel that is
different from the one that is originally
installed on your vehicle. It can affect
the safety and performance of your
vehicle, which could lead to steering
failure or rollover and serious injury.
When replacing the tires, be sure to
equip all four tires with the tire and
wheel of the same size, type, tread,
brand and load-carrying capacity.
If you nevertheless decide to equip
your vehicle with any tire/wheel
combination not recommended by
HYUNDAI for off road driving, you
should not use these tires for highway
driving.
WARNING
Jacked vehicle
While a full-time AWD vehicle is being
raised on a jack, never start the engine
or cause the tires to rotate.
There is a danger that rotating tires
touching the ground could cause the
vehicle to fall off the jack and to jump
forward or rearward.

Driving Your Vehicle6-46
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06
6-47
Limitations of ECO mode
If the following conditions occur while
E
CO mode is operating, the system
operation is limited even though there is
no change in the ECO indicator.

[ When coolant temperature is low:
The system will be limited until engine
performance becomes normal.

[ When driving up a hill:
The system will be limited to gain
power when driving uphill because
engine torque is restricted.

[ When driving the vehicle in manual
shift mode using the paddle shifter.
The system will be limited according to
the shift location.
SPORT mode
SPORT mode provides sporty
but firm riding.
In SPORT mode, the fuel
efficiency may decrease.

[ When SPORT mode is selected, the
SPORT indicator will illuminate on the
instrument cluster.

[ Whenever the engine is restarted, the
drive mode will revert back to ECO
mode. If SPORT mode is desired, re-
select SPORT mode.

[ When SPORT mode is activated:
- The engine rpm will tend to remain raised over a certain length of time
even after releasing the accelerator
- Upshifts are delayed when accelerating
SMART mode
SMART mode selects the
proper driving mode among
ECO, COMFORT and SPORT
by judging the driver's
driving habits (i.e. mild or
dynamic) from the brake pedal
depression or the steering
wheel operation.

[ Press the DRIVE MODE button to
activate SMART mode. When SMART
mode is activated, the indicator
illuminates on the instrument cluster.

[ The vehicle starts in SMART mode,
when the engine was turned OFF in
SMART mode.

[ SMART mode automatically controls
gear shifting patterns, engine torque,
in accordance with the driver's driving
habits.
Information

[When you mildly drive the vehicle
in SMART mode, the driving mode
changes to ECO mode to improve fuel
efficiency. However, the actual fuel
efficiency may differ in accordance
with your driving situations (for
example, upward/downward slope,
vehicle deceleration/acceleration).

[ When you dynamically drive the
vehicle in SMART mode by abruptly
decelerating or sharply curving, the
driving mode changes to SPORT mode.
However, it may adversely affect fuel
economy.

Driving Your Vehicle6-48
Various driving situations, which you may
encounter in SMART mode

[ The driving mode aut
omatically
changes to ECO mode after a certain
period of time, when you gently
depress the accelerator pedal (Your
driving is categorized to be mild.).

[ The driving mode automatically
changes from SMART ECO mode to
SMART SPORT mode after a certain
period of time, when you sharply or
repetitively depress the accelerator
pedal.

[ The driving mode automatically
changes to SMART SPORT mode with
the same driving patterns, when the
vehicle starts to drive on an upward
slope of a certain angle. The driving
mode automatically returns to SMART
ECO mode, when the vehicle enters a
leveled road.

[ The driving mode automatically
changes to SMART SPORT, when
you abruptly accelerate the vehicle
or repetitively operate the steering
wheel (Your driving is categorized
to be sporty.). In this mode, your
vehicle drives in a lower gear for
abrupt accelerating/decelerating
and increases the engine brake
performance.

[ You may still sense the engine brake
performance, even when you release
the accelerator pedal in SMART
SPORT mode. It is because your
vehicle remains to be in a lower gear
over a certain period of time for next
acceleration. Thus, it is a normal
driving situation, not indicating any
malfunction.

[ 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. Active Snow Mode (ASM) (if equipment)
When the vehicle recognizes frequent
wheel slips on lo
w friction roads, Active
Snow Mode improves driving stability by
minimizing these wheel slips.
Operating conditions
ASM is activated when all of the
following conditions are met:

[ Low outside ambient temperature

[ Frequent Electronic Stability Control
(ESC) activation due to wheel slip
When operating
The vehicle's acceleration response is
reduced, which is similar to depressing
the accelerator pedal slowly.
Non-operating conditions
ASM is deactivated when one of the
following conditions or more are met:

[ Increase of outside ambient
temperature

[ The accelerator pedal is hardly
depressed

[ Driving in high speed (for example,
highway driving)

06
6-49
Limitation of SMART mode
The SMART mode may be limited in
f
ollowing situations. (The OFF indicator
illuminates in those situations.)

[ The vehicle is driven using the paddle
shifter (manual shift mode) : SMART
mode is deactivated determining that
the driver wants to drive the vehicle
manually.

[ Smart Cruise Control is activated :
Smart Cruise Control may deactivate
SMART mode when the vehicle is
controlled by the set speed of Smart
Cruise Control. (SMART mode is not
deactivated just by turning on Smart
Cruise Control)

[ 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 Vehicle6-50
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.
NOTICE
If you are still stuck after rocking the
vehicle a few times, have the vehicle
pulled out by a tow vehicle to avoid
engine overheating, possible damage to
the transmission, and tire damage. See
“Towing” section in chapter 8.
Smooth Cornering
Avoid braking or gear changing in
corners, especially when roads are wet.
Ideally, corners should always be taken
under gentle acceleration.
63(&,$/'5,9,1*&21',7,216

06
6-51
Driving at Night
Night driving presents more hazards than
driving in the daylight. Here are some
important tips to remember:

[Slow down and keep more distance
between you and other vehicles, as it
may be more difficult to see at night,
especially in areas where there may
not be any street lights.

[ Adjust your mirrors to reduce the glare
from other drivers’ headlamps.

[ Keep your headlamps clean and
properly aimed. Dirty or improperly
aimed headlamps will make it much
more difficult to see at night.

[ Avoid staring directly at the
headlamps of oncoming vehicles. You
could be temporarily blinded, and it
will take several seconds for your eyes
to readjust to the darkness.
Driving in the Rain
Rain and wet roads can make driving
dangerous. Here are a few things to
consider when driving in the rain or on
slick pavement:

[Slow down and allow extra following
distance. A heavy rainfall makes
it harder to see and increases the
distance needed to stop your vehicle.

[ Turn OFF your Cruise Control. (if
equipped)

[ Replace your windshield wiper blades
when they show signs of streaking or
missing areas on the windshield.

[ Be sure your tires have enough tread.
If your tires do not have enough tread,
making a quick stop on wet pavement
can cause a skid and possibly lead to
an accident. See “Tire Tread” section
in chapter 9.

[ Turn on your headlamps to make it
easier for others to see you.

[ Driving too fast through large puddles
can affect your brakes. If you must go
through puddles, try to drive through
them slowly.

[ If you believe your brakes may be wet,
apply them lightly while driving until
normal braking operation returns.
Hydroplaning
If the road is wet enough and you are
going fast enough, your vehicle may
have little or no contact with the road
surface and actually ride on the water.
The best advice is SLOW DOWN when
the road is wet.
The risk of hydroplaning increases as
the depth of tire tread decreases, refer
to “Tire Tread” section in chapter 9.