snow chains KIA PICANTO 2006 Owners Manual

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57
Driving tips
SPECIAL DRIVING CONDITIONS
Hazardous driving conditions
When hazardous driving conditions
are encountered such as water,
snow, ice, mud, sand, or similar haz-
ards, follow these suggestions:
 Drive cautiously and allow extra distance for braking.
 Avoid sudden movements in brak- ing or steering.
 When braking, pump the brake pedal with a light up-and-down
motion until the vehicle is stopped.
✽✽ NOTICE
Do not pump the brake pedal on a
vehicle equipped with ABS.
 If stalled in snow, mud, or sand, use second gear. Accelerate slow-
ly to avoid spinning the drive
wheels.
 Use sand, rock salt, tire chains, or other non-slip material under the
drive wheels to provide traction
when stalled in ice, snow, or mud. 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 1 (First) and R
(Reverse) in vehicles equipped with
a manual transaxle or R (Reverse)
and any forward gear in vehiclesequipped with an automatic
transaxle. Do not race the engine,and spin the wheels as little as pos-
sible. If you are still stuck after a few
tries, have the vehicle pulled out by a
tow vehicle to avoid engine overheat-
ing and possible damage to the
transaxle.
✽✽
NOTICE
Prolonged rocking may cause engine
over-heating, transaxle damage or
failure, and tire damage.
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WARNING - Downshifting
Downshifting with an automatic
transaxle, while driving on slip-
pery surfaces can cause an
accident. The sudden change intire speed could cause the tires
to skid. Be careful when down-
shifting on slippery surfaces.

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Driving tips
10
5
Snow tires
If you mount snow tires on your Kia,
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 without
first checking local, state and munic-ipal regulations for possible restric-tions against their use.
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 snowtires 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
15 mm (0.59 in). Damage to your
vehicle caused by improper snow
chain use is not covered by your
vehicle manufacturers warranty.
Install them only on the front tires.
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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
vehicle may be adversely affect-ed.
1SAA3010

Page 198 of 281

In case of an emergency
20
6
The compact spare should be inflat-
ed to 60 psi (420 kPa).
✽✽
NOTICE
Check the inflation pressure after
installing the spare tire. Adjust it to
the specified pressure, as necessary.
When using a compact spare tire,
observe the following precautions:
 Under no circumstances should you exceed 50 mph (80 km/h); a higher speed could damage the
tire.
 Ensure that you drive slowly enough for the road conditions to
avoid all hazards. Any road hazard,
such as a pothole or debris, could
seriously damage the compact
spare.
 Any continuous road use of this tire could result in tire failure, loss of
vehicle control, and possible per-
sonal injury.
 Do not exceed the vehicle’s maxi- mum load rating or the load-carry-
ing capacity shown on the sidewall
of the compact spare tire.
 Avoid driving over obstacles. The compact spare tire diameter issmaller than the diameter of a con-
ventional tire and reduces the
ground clearance approximately 1inch (25 mm), which could result in
damage to the vehicle.  Do not take this vehicle through an
automatic car wash.
 Do not use tire chains on this tire. Because of the smaller size, a tire
chain will not fit properly. This could
damage the vehicle and result inloss of the chain.
 This tire should not be installed on the front axle if the vehicle must be
driven in snow or on ice.
 Do not use the compact spare tire on any other vehicle because thistire has been designed especially
for your vehicle.
 The compact spare tire’s tread life is shorter than a regular tire.
Inspect your compact spare tire
regularly and replace worn com-
pact spare tires with the same sizeand design, mounted on the samewheel.
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CAUTION
This spare tire should be used
only for VERY short distances.Compact spares should NEVER be used for long drives orextended distances.