KIA OPTIMA PHEV 2019 Owners Manual

639
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 agradient 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 stabili-
ty management
Drive carefully even though
your vehicle has vehicle stabili-
ty management. It can only
assist you in maintaining con-
trol of the vehicle under certain
circumstances.

Driving your vehicle
40
6
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.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
• The VSM is designed to function
above approximately 13 mph (22
km/h) on curves.
• The VSM is designed to function above approximately 6 mph (10
km/h) when a vehicle is braking on
a split-mu surface. A split-mu sur-
face is made of two surfaces which
have different friction forces.
The Vehicle Stability Management
system is not a substitute for safe
driving practices but a supplemen-
tary function only. It is the respon-
sibility 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.

641
Driving your vehicle
Good braking practices
Check to be sure the parking brakeis not engaged and the parking
brake indicator light is out before
driving away.
Driving through water may get the brakes wet. They can also get wet
when the vehicle is washed. Wet
brakes can be dangerous! Your
vehicle will not stop as quickly if the
brakes are wet. Wet brakes may
cause the vehicle to pull to one side.
To dry the brakes, apply the brakes
lightly until the braking action
returns to normal, taking care to
keep the vehicle under control at all
times. If the braking action does not
return to normal, stop as soon as it
is safe to do so and call an author-
ized Kia dealer for assistance.
Don't coast down hills with the vehicle out of gear. This is extreme-
ly hazardous. Keep the vehicle in
gear at all times, use the brakes to
slow down, then shift to a lower
gear so that engine braking will
help you maintain a safe speed. Don't "ride" the brake pedal.
Resting your foot on the brake
pedal while driving can be danger-
ous because the brakes might
overheat and lose their effective-
ness. It also increases the wear of
the brake components.
If a tire goes flat while you are driv- ing, apply the brakes gently and
keep the vehicle pointed straight
ahead while you slow down. When
you are moving slowly enough for it
to be safe to do so, pull off the road
and stop in a safe place.
If your vehicle is equipped with an Automatic Transaxle, don't let your
vehicle creep forward. To avoid
creeping forward, keep your foot
firmly on the brake pedal when the
vehicle is stopped.
Be cautious when parking on a hill. Firmly engage the parking brake
and place the shift lever in P (auto-
matic transaxle). If your vehicle is
facing downhill, turn the front
wheels into the curb to help keep
the vehicle from rolling.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.

Driving your vehicle
42
6
If your vehicle is facing uphill, turn
the front wheels away from the
curb to help keep the vehicle from
rolling. If there is no curb or if it is
required by other conditions to
keep the vehicle from rolling, block
the wheels.
Under some conditions your park- ing brake can freeze in the
engaged position. This is most like-
ly to happen when there is an
accumulation of snow or ice
around or near the rear brakes or if
the brakes are wet. If there is a risk
that the parking brake may freeze,
apply it only temporarily while you
put the shift lever in P (automatic
transaxle) and block the rear
wheels so the vehicle cannot roll.
Then release the parking brake.
Do not hold the vehicle on an incline with the accelerator pedal.
This can cause the transaxle to
overheat. Always use the brake
pedal or parking brake.

643
Driving your vehicle
The FCA system is designed to
detect and monitor the vehicle ahead
or detect a pedestrian (if equipped)
in the roadway through radar signals
and camera recognition to warn the
driver that a collision is imminent,
and if necessary, apply emergency
braking.System setting and activation
System setting
The driver can activate the FCA by
placing the ignition switch to the ON
position and by selecting 'User
Settings', 'Driver Assistance', and
'Forward Collision-avoidance Assist'.
The FCA deactivates, when the driv-
er cancels the system setting.
FORWARD COLLISION-AVOIDANCE ASSIST (FCA) (IF EQUIPPED)
WARNING
Take the following precautions
when using the Forward
Collision-avoidance Assist
(FCA) system:
This system is only a supple-mental system and it is not
intended to, nor does it replace
the need for extreme care and
attention of the driver. The
sensing range and objects
detectable by the sensors are
limited. Pay attention to the
road conditions at all times.
NEVER drive too fast in accor- dance with the road condi-
tions or while cornering.
Always drive cautiously to prevent unexpected and sud-
den situations from occur-
ring. FCA does not stop the
vehicle completely and does
not avoid collisions.

Driving your vehicle
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6
The warning light illumi-
nates on the LCD display
when you cancel the FCA
system. The driver can
monitor the FCA ON/OFF status on
the LCD display. Also, the warning
light illuminates when the ESC
(Electronic Stability Control) is
turned off (Traction & Stability control
disabled.).
When the warning light remains ON
with the FCA activated, take your
vehicle to an authorized Kia dealer
and have the system checked.
The driver can select the initial warn-
ing activation time in the User
Settings in the instrument cluster
LCD display. The options for the ini-
tial Forward Collision Warning
include the following:
selected, the initial
Forward Collision Warning
is activated earlier than
normal. This setting maxi-
mizes the amount of dis-
tance between the vehicle
or pedestrian ahead before
the initial warning occurs. If
the ‘EARLY’ condition feels
too sensitive, change it into
‘NORMAL’. When the vehi-
cle ahead suddenly stops,
the warning may seem to
activate later even if the
‘EARLY’ condition was
selected.
selected, the initial
Forward Collision
Warning is activated nor-
mally. This setting allows
for a nominal amount of
distance between the
vehicle or pedestrian
ahead before the initial
warning occurs.
selected, the initial Forward
Collision Warning is activat-
ed later than normal. This
setting reduces the amount
of distance between the
vehicle or pedestrian ahead
before the initial warning
occurs. Select this condition
only when traffic is light,
and you are driving slowly.

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Driving your vehicle
Prerequisite for activation
The FCA will activate when the FCA
is selected on the LCD display, and
when the following prerequisites are
satisfied:
- The ESC (Electronic StabilityControl) is activated.
- The driving speed is over 6 mph (10 km/h). (The FCA only works
within a certain range of vehicle
speeds)
- When the FCA recognizes a vehi- cle or the pedestrian in front. (The
FCA may not recognize every
obstacle or provide warnings and
braking in every situation, so do
not rely on the FCA to stop the
vehicle in instances where the driv-
er sees an obstacle and has the
ability to apply the brakes)
FCA warning message and
system control
The FCA system produces warning
messages, warning alarms, and
emergency braking based on the level
of risk of a frontal collision, such as
when a vehicle ahead suddenly
brakes, or when the system detects
that a collision with a pedestrian is
imminent.
The driver can select the initial warn-
ing activation time in the User
Settings in the LCD display. The
options for the initial Forward
Collision Warning include Early,
Normal or Late initial warning time.
WARNING
The FCA automatically acti-vates upon placing the igni-
tion switch to the ON position.
The driver can deactivate the
FCA by canceling the system
setting on the LCD display.
The FCA automatically deacti- vates upon canceling the
ESC. When the ESC is can-
celed, the FCA cannot be acti-
vated on the LCD display.
The FCA warning light will
illuminate.
Set or cancel FCA after stop- ping the vehicle in the safe
place for your safety.

Driving your vehicle
46
6
Collision Warning (1st warning)
The warning message appears on
the LCD display with the warning
alarms.
The FCA system limitedly controls the brakes to preemptively mitigate
impact in a collision.
Emergency braking (2nd warning)
The warning message appears onthe LCD display with the warning
alarms.
The FCA system limitedly controls the brakes to preemptively mitigate
impact in a collision.
The brake control is maximized
just before a collision.
Brake operation
In an urgent situation, the brakingsystem enters into the ready status
for prompt reaction to assist the
driver in depressing the brake
pedal.
The FCA system provides addi- tional braking power for potentially
improved braking performance
when the driver depresses the
brake pedal.
The braking control is automatical- ly deactivated when the driver
sharply depresses the accelerator
pedal, or when the driver abruptly
operates the steering wheel.
The braking control is automatical- ly canceled when risk factors dis-
appear.
The driver should always pay great
caution to vehicle operation, even
though there is no warning message
or warning alarm.
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Driving your vehicle
✽ ✽NOTICE
The FCA system assesses the risk of
a collision by monitoring several
variables such as the distance to the
vehicle/pedestrian ahead, the speed
of the vehicle/pedestrian ahead, and
the driver's operation of the vehicle.
Certain conditions such as
inclement weather and road condi-
tions may affect the operation of the
FCA system.
For the system operation, do not
attempt risky driving.
FCA front radar / camera sensor
In order for the FCA system to oper-
ate properly, always make sure the
sensor or sensor cover is clean and
free of dirt, snow, and debris. Dirt,
snow, or foreign substances on the
lens may adversely affect the sens-
ing performance of the sensor.
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WARNING
The FCA cannot avoid all colli-
sions. The FCA might not com-
pletely stop the vehicle before
collision, due to ambient,
weather and road conditions.
The driver has the responsibili-
ty to drive safely and control the
vehicle.
WARNING
The FCA is a supplemental sys-
tem and cannot completely stop
the vehicle in all situations or
avoid all collisions. It is the
responsibility of the driver to
safely drive and control the
vehicle.
WARNING
Never deliberately drive danger-
ously to activate the system as
such conduct increases the risk
of an accident.

Driving your vehicle
48
6
✽ ✽
NOTICE
• Do not apply foreign objects such
as a bumper sticker or a bumper
guard near the radar sensor.
Doing so may adversely affect the
sensing performance of the radar.
• Always keep the radar sensor and cover clean and free of dirt and
debris.
• Use only soft cloth to wash the vehicle. Do not spray pressurized
water directly on the sensor or
sensor cover.
• Be careful not to apply unneces- sary force on the radar sensor or
sensor cover. If the sensor is
forcibly moved out of proper
alignment, the FCA system may
not operate correctly. In this case,
a warning message may not be dis-
played. Have the vehicle inspected
by an authorized Kia dealer
• If the front bumper becomes dam- aged in the area around the radar
sensor, the FCA system may not
operate properly. In this case,
have your vehicle inspected by an
authorized Kia dealer. (Continued)(Continued)
• Use only genuine parts to repair or
replace a damaged sensor or sen-
sor cover. Do not apply paint to
the sensor cover.
• Do not tint the window or install stickers or accessories around the
inside mirror where the camera is
installed.
• Make sure the frontal camera installation point does not get wet.
• Do not impact or remove any radar/camera components.
• Do not place reflective objects(white paper or mirror etc.)
on the dashboard.
The system may activate unneces-
sarily due to reflect of the sunlight.
• Excessive audio system volume may prevent occupants from hear-
ing the FCA system warning
alarm.
Warning message and warning
light
When the sensor is covered or the
sensor lens is dirty with foreign sub-
stances, such as snow, rain, or
debris, the FCA system may not be
able to detect vehicles or pedestri-
ans. In this case, a warning message
will appear on the LCD display to
notify the driver. Remove the foreign
substances to allow the FCA system
to function. The system will operate
normally when such dirt, snow or
debris is removed. The FCA may not
properly operate in areas where no
objects are detected (e.g., open ter-
rain) after turning ON the engine.
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