KIA Optima 2007 2.G Owner's Manual

413
Driving your vehicle
To release the parking brake, pull the
handle up slightly and push the release
button, then lower the handle to the
released position while holding the but-
ton in.Check the brake warning light by turning
the ignition switch ON (do not start the
engine). This light will be illuminated
when the parking brake is applied with
the ignition switch in the START or ON
position.
Before driving, be sure the parking brake
is fully released and the brake warning
light is off.
If the brake warning light remains on
after the parking brake is released, there
may be a malfunction in the brake sys-
tem. Immediate attention is necessary.
If at all possible, cease driving the vehi-
cle immediately. If that is not possible,
use extreme caution while operating the
vehicle and only continue to drive the
vehicle until you can reach a safe loca-
tion or repair shop.
WARNING
- Parking brake
 To prevent unintentional move-
ment when stopped and leaving
the vehicle, do not use the
gearshift lever in place of the
parking brake. Set the parking
brake AND make sure the
gearshift lever is securely posi-
tioned in 1st (First) gear or R
(Reverse) for manual transaxle
equipped vehicles and in P (Park)
for automatic transaxle equipped
vehicles.
 Never allow a person who is unfa- miliar with the vehicle or children
to touch the parking brake. If the
parking brake is released unin-
tentionally, serious injury may
occur.
W-75
OMG045007

Driving your vehicle14
4Parking on curbed streets  When parking your vehicle on an uphill
grade, park as close to the curb as
possible and turn the front wheels
away from the curb so that the front
wheels will contact the curb if the vehi-
cle moves backward.
 When parking your vehicle on a down- hill grade, park as close to the curb as
possible and turn the front wheels
toward the curb so that the front
wheels will contact the curb if the vehi-
cle moves forward.
Anti-lock brake system (ABS)
(if equipped)
The ABS continuously senses the speed
of the wheels. If the wheels are going to
lock, the ABS repeatedly modulates the
hydraulic brake pressure to the wheels.
When you apply your brakes under con-
ditions which may lock the wheels, you
may hear a “tik-tik’’ sound from the
brakes, or feel a corresponding sensation
in the brake pedal. This is normal and it
means your ABS is active.
In order to obtain the maximum benefit
from your ABS in an emergency situation,
do not attempt to modulate your brake
pressure and do not try to pump your
brakes. Press your brake pedal as hard
as possible or as hard as the situation
warrants and allow the ABS to control the
force being delivered to the brakes.
 Even with the anti-lock brake system,your vehicle still requires sufficient
stopping distance. Always maintain a
safe distance from the vehicle in front
of you.
 Always slow down when cornering. The anti-lock brake system cannot pre-
vent accidents resulting from exces-
sive speeds.
 On loose or uneven road surfaces, operation of the anti-lock brake system
may result in a longer stopping dis-
tance than for vehicles equipped with a
conventional brake system.
WARNING
- ABS Brakes
Your ABS is not a substitute for
good driving judgement. You can
still have an accident. In fact, your
ABS will probably not be able to
prevent an accident in the following
driving conditions:
 Dangerous driving, such asneglecting safety precautions,
speeding, or driving too close to
the vehicle in front of you.
 Driving at high speed in situa- tions providing considerably less
traction, such as wet conditions
where hydroplaning could occur.
 Driving too fast on poor road sur- faces. The ABS is designed to
improve maximum braking effec-
tiveness on typical highways and
roads in good condition. On poor
road surfaces, the ABS may actu-
ally reduce braking effectiveness.

415
Driving your vehicle
✽
✽NOTICE• If the ABS warning light is on and
stays on, you may have a problem
with the ABS. In this case, however,
your regular brakes will work nor-
mally.
• The ABS warning light will stay on for approximately 3 seconds after the
ignition switch is ON. During that
time, the ABS will go through self-
diagnosis and the light will go off if
everything is normal. If the light stays
on, you may have a problem with your
ABS. Contact an authorized Kia deal-
er as soon as possible.
✽ ✽ NOTICE• When you drive on a road having
poor traction, such as an icy road, and
operate your brakes continuously, the
ABS will be active continuously and
the ABS warning light may illuminate.
Pull your car over to a safe place and
stop the engine.
• Restart the engine. If the ABS warn- ing light is off, then your ABS is nor-
mal. Otherwise, you may have a prob-
lem with the ABS. Contact an author-
ized Kia dealer as soon as possible.✽ ✽ NOTICEWhen you jump start your vehicle
because of a drained battery, the engine
may not run as smoothly and the ABS
warning light may turn on at the same
time. This happens because of the low
battery voltage. It does not mean your
ABS is malfunctioning.
• Do not pump your brakes!
• Have the battery recharged before
driving the vehicle.
ABS
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Driving your vehicle16
4Power steering (if equipped)Power steering uses energy from the
engine to assist you in steering the vehi-
cle. If the engine is off or if the power
steering system becomes inoperative,
the vehicle may still be steered, but it will
require increased steering effort.
Should you notice any change in the
effort required to steer during normal
vehicle operation, have the power steer-
ing checked by an authorized Kia dealer.✽ ✽
NOTICE• Never hold the steering wheel against
a stop (extreme right or left turn) for
more than 5 seconds with the engine
running. Holding the steering wheel
for more than 5 seconds in either posi-
tion may cause damage to the power
steering pump.
• If the power steering drive belt breaks or if the power steering pump mal-
functions, the steering effort will
greatly increase.
✽ ✽ NOTICEIf the vehicle is parked for extended
periods outside in cold weather (below -
10 °C/14 °F), the power steering may
require increased effort when the engine
is first started. This is caused by
increased fluid viscosity due to the cold
weather and does not indicate a mal-
function.
When this happens, increase the engine
RPM by depressing the accelerator until
the RPM reaches 1,500 rpm then release
or let the engine idle for two or three
minutes to warm up the fluid.
Tilt and telescopic steering
(if equipped)A tilt and telescopic steering wheel
allows you to adjust the steering wheel
before you drive. You can also raise it to
the highest level to give your legs more
room when you exit and enter the vehi-
cle.
The steering wheel should be positioned
so that it is comfortable for you to drive,
while permitting you to see the instru-
ment panel warning lights and gauges.
STEERING WHEEL
WARNING -
Steering wheel
Never adjust the angle of steering
wheel while driving. You may lose
your steering control and cause
severe personal injury or acci-
dents.
 After adjusting, push the steering
wheel both up and down to be
certain it is locked in position.

417
Driving your vehicle
To change the steering wheel angle, pull
down (1) the lock release lever, adjust
the steering wheel to the desired angle
( 2 ), then pull up the lock-release lever to
lock the steering wheel in place.
Be sure to adjust the steering wheel to
the desired position before driving.
HornTo sound the horn, press the horn sym-
bol on your steering wheel.
Check the horn regularly to be sure it
operates properly.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
- Horn
• To sound the horn, press the area indi-
cated by the horn symbol on your
steering wheel (see illustration). The
horn will operate only when this area
is pressed.
• Do not strike the horn severely to operate it, or hit it with your fist. Do
not press on the horn with a sharp-
pointed object.
OMG045008
(if equipped)
OMG045009

Driving your vehicle18
4The cruise control system allows you to
program the vehicle to maintain a con-
stant speed without resting your foot on
the accelerator pedal.
With cruise control, you can set and
automatically maintain any speed of
between 40 km/h (24 mph) and
160 km/h (96 mph).
To set cruise control speed:1. Pull the CRUISE ON/OFF button on
the steering wheel, to turn the system
on. The CRUISE indicator light in the
instrument cluster will illuminate.
2. Accelerate to the desired speed, which must be more than 40 km/h (24 mph)
and less than 160 km/h (96 mph). 3. Press the COAST/SET switch, located
on the steering wheel, and release it at
the speed you want. Release the accel-
erator at the same time. The desired
speed will automatically be maintained.
The SET function cannot be activateduntil approximately 2 seconds after theCRUISE ON/OFF button has been engaged.
On a steep grade, the vehicle maymomentarily slow down while goingdownhill.
CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM (IF EQUIPPED)
WARNING
- Cruise control
Do not use the cruise control fea-
ture under the following conditions:
 Heavy or unsteady traffic
 Slippery or winding roads
 Situations that involve varying
speeds
WARNING
- Cruise control
If the cruise control is left on,
(CRUISE indicator light in the
instrument cluster illuminated) the
cruise control can be switched on
accidentally. Keep the cruise con-
trol system off (CRUISE indicator
light OFF) when cruise control is
not in use.
WARNING
- Cruise control
Do not exceed posted speed limits.
Do not set the cruise control at a
speed that is unsafe for the current
driving conditions.
OMG045010N
OMG045011

419
Driving your vehicle
To cancel cruise control, do one
of the following: Press the brake pedal.
 Press the clutch pedal with a manualtransaxle or shift into N (Neutral) with an
automatic transaxle.
 Press the CANCEL switch located on the steering wheel.
 Press the COAST/SET and RES/ACCEL switches at the same
time.Each of these actions will cancel cruisecontrol operation (the “SET” indicatorlight in the instrument cluster will goOFF), but it will not turn the system off. Ifyou wish to resume cruise control opera- tion, press the RES/ACCEL switch locat-ed on your steering wheel. You will return to your previously preset speed.
To turn cruise control off, do one
of the following: Push the CRUISE ON/OFF button on the steering wheel (the CRUISE indi-
cator light in the instrument cluster will
go OFF).
 Turn the ignition off.Both of these actions cancel cruise con- trol operation. If you want to resumecruise control operation, repeat the steps provided in “To Set Cruise ControlSpeed” on the previous page.
To increase cruise control set
speed:Follow either of these procedures:
 Press the RES/ACCEL switch and hold it. Your vehicle will accelerate. Release
the switch at the speed you want.
 Briefly press and release the RES/ACCEL switch. The cruising
speed will increase by 1.6 km/h (1
mph).
OMG045012

Driving your vehicle20
4To temporarily accelerate with the
cruise control onIf you want to speed up temporarily when
the cruise control is on, press the accel-
erator pedal. Increased speed will not
interfere with cruise control operation or
change the set speed.
To return to the set speed, take your foot
off the accelerator.
To decrease the cruising speed:Follow either of these procedures:
 Press the COAST/SET switch and hold
it. Your vehicle will gradually slow
down. Release the switch at the speed
you want to maintain.
 Briefly press and release the COAST/SET switch. The cruising
speed will decrease by 1.6 km/h (1
mph).
To resume cruising speed at
more than 40 km/h (24 mph):If something besides the CRUISE
ON/OFF switch was used to cancel cruis-
ing speed and the system is still activat-
ed, the most recent set speed will auto-
matically resume when the RES/ACCEL
switch is pressed.
It will not resume, however, if the vehicle
speed has dropped below 40 km/h (24
mph).
OMG045011
OMG045012

421
Driving your vehicle
The Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
monitors information from various vehicle
sensors and then compares the driver's
commands with the actual behavior of the
vehicle. If an unstable condition occurs - a
sudden evasive movement for example -
ESC intervenes within fractions of a
second via the engine computer and
brake system and attempts to stabilize
the vehicle.
ESC operationESC ON condition
 When the ignition is turnedON, ESC and ESC OFF indi-
cator lights illuminate for
approximately 3 seconds,
then ESC is turned on.
 Press the ESC OFF button for at least half a second after
turning the ignition ON to turn
ESC off. (ESC OFF indicator
will illuminate). To turn the
ESC on, press the ESC OFF
button (ESC OFF indicator
light will go off).
 When starting the engine, you may hear a slight ticking
sound. This is the ESC per-
forming an automatic system
self-check and does not indi-
cate a problem.
When operating
When the ESC is in operation,
ESC indicator light blinks.
 When the Electronic StabilityControl is operating properly,
you can feel a slight pulsation
in the vehicle. This is only the
effect of brake control and
indicates nothing unusual.
 When moving out of the mud or slippery road, pressing the
accelerator pedal may not
cause the engine rpm (revo-
lutions per minute) to
increase.
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (IF EQUIPPED)
OMG045013N
-
ESC

Driving your vehicle22
4ESC operation offESC OFF state
 To cancel ESC operation,
press the ESC OFF button
(ESC OFF indicator light illu-
minates).
 If the ignition switch is turned to LOCK position when ESC is
off, ESC remains off. Upon
restarting the engine, the ESC
will automatically turn on
again.
Indicator lightWhen ignition switch is turned to ON, the
indicator light illuminates, then goes off if
ESC system is operating normally.
The ESC indicator light blinks whenever
ESC is operating.
ESC OFF indicator light comes on when
either the ESC is turned off with the but-
ton, or ESC fails to operate when turned
on.
ESC
ESCOFF
 ESC indicator light (blinks)
 ESC OFF indicator light (comes on)
WARNING
- ESC
The Electronic Stability Control sys-
tem is only a driving aid; use pre-
cautions for safe driving by slowing
down on curved, snowy, or icy
roads.
ESC
OFF