KIA RIO 2021 Owners Manual
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What to do in an emergency
32
6
Use a towing strap less than 16
feet (5 m) long. Attach a white or
red cloth (about 12 inches (30 cm)
wide) in the middle of the strap for
easy visibility.
Drive carefully so that the towing strap is not loosened during tow-
ing.
The driver must be in the vehicle for steering and braking operations
when the vehicle is towed and pas-
sengers other than the driver must
not be allowed to be on board.
OYB066023
WARNING- Emergency
Towing Precautions
Use extreme caution when tow-
ing the vehicle.
Avoid sudden starts or erratic driving maneuvers which
would place excessive stress
on the emergency towing hook
and towing cable or chain. The
hook and towing cable or
chain may break and cause
serious injury or damage.
If the disabled vehicle is unable to be moved, do not
forcibly continue the towing.
In this case, contact an
authorized Kia dealer or a
commercial tow truck service
for assistance.
Tow the vehicle as straight ahead as possible.
Keep away from the vehicle during towing.CAUTION
Using a portion of the vehicleother than the tow hooks fortowing may damage the body ofyour vehicle.
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633
What to do in an emergency
Emergency towing precautions
Turn the ignition switch to ACC sothe steering wheel isn’t locked.
Place the transmission shift lever in N (Neutral).
Release the parking brake.
Press the brake pedal with more force than normal since you will
have reduced brake performance.
More steering effort will be required because the power steer-
ing system will be disabled.
If you are driving down a long hill, the brakes may overheat and brake
performance will be reduced. Stop
often and let the brakes cool off.
The vehicle should be towed at a speed of 15 mph (25 km/h) or less
within the distance of 12 miles (20
km).
If the car is being towed with all four
wheels on the ground, it can be
towed only from the front. Be sure
that the transmission is in neutral. Be
sure the steering is unlocked by plac-
ing the ignition switch in the ACC
position. A driver must be in the
towed vehicle to operate the steering
and brakes.CAUTION- Intelligent vari-
able transmission
To avoid serious damage to the intelligent variable trans-mission, limit the vehiclespeed to 10 mph (15 km/h) anddrive less than 1 mile (1.5km/h) when towing.
Before towing, check for an intelligent variable transmis-sion fluid leak under yourvehicle. If the intelligent vari-able transmission fluid is leak-ing, a flatbed equipment ortowing dolly must be used.
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Maintenance
Engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
Maintenance services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5
• Owner’s responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5
• Owner maintenance precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
Owner maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7
• Owner maintenance schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7
Scheduled maintenance service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
• Scheduled maintenance service precaution . . . . . . . . 7-9
Explanation of scheduled maintenance items . . . 7-15
Checking fluid levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20
Engine oil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-21
• Checking the engine oil level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-21
• Changing the engine oil and filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-22
Engine coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-24
• Checking the coolant level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-24
• Changing the coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-26
Brake/clutch fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-27
• Checking the brake/clutch fluid level . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-27
Washer fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-29
• Checking the washer fluid level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-29
Parking brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-30
• Checking the parking brake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-30
Air cleaner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-31
• Filter replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-31
Climate control air filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-33
• Filter inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-33
Wiper blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-35
• Blade inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-35
• Blade replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-35
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-\
39
• For best battery service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-39
• Recharging the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-40
• Reset items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-41\
Tires and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-42
• Tire care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-\
42
• Recommended cold tire inflation pressures . . . . . . 7-42
• Tire pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-43
• Checking tire inflation pressure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-43
• Tire rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-44
• Wheel alignment and tire balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-45
• Tire replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-46
• Wheel replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
• Tire traction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
• Tire maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
• Tire sidewall labeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
• All season tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-54
• Summer tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-54
• Snow tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-\
54
• Tire chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-55\
7
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• Radial-ply tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-55
• Low aspect ratio tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-56
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
7-57
• Inner panel fuse replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-59
• Memory fuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-60
• Engine compartment fuse replacement. . . . . . . . . . . 7-61
• Fuse/relay panel description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-63
Light bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-72
• Bulb replacement precaution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-72
• Light bulb position (Front). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-74
• Light bulb position (Rear)(5 Door) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-75
• Light bulb position (Rear) (4 Door) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-76
• Light bulb position (Side) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-77
• Headlamp (Low/High beam) (Bulb type)bulb replacement (Headlamp Type A) . . . . . . . . . . 7-77
• Headlamp (Low/High beam) (Bulb type) bulb replacement (Headlamp Type B) . . . . . . . . . . 7-78
• Front turn signal lamp bulb replacement (Headlamp Type A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-80
• Front turn signal lamp bulb replacement (Headlamp Type B, C) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-80
• Position lamp bulb replacement (Headlamp Type A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-81
• Side marker (front) (Bulb type) bulb replacement (Headlamp Type A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-82 • Static bending light replacement
(Headlamp Type B,C) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-82
• Front fog lamp (Bulb type) bulb replacement . . . . . 7-83
• Headlamp (Low/High beam) (LED type) bulb replacement (Headlamp Type C) . . . . . . . . . . 7-84
• Position lamp + DRL (LED type) bulb replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-84
• Side marker (front) (LED type) bulb replacement (Headlamp Type B, C) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-84
• Side repeater lamp (LED type) bulb Replacement . 7-85
• Side repeater lamp (bulb type) bulb Replacement . 7-85
• Rear turn signal lamp bulb replacement (for 5 door) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-86
• Back-up lamp bulb replacement (for 5 door) . . . . . . 7-87
• Stop and tail lamp bulb replacement (for 5 door) . . 7-88
• Tail lamp (inside) bulb replacement (for 5 door) . . . 7-89
• Side marker (rear) (Bulb type) bulb replacement (Rear combination lamp Type A) (for 5 door) . . . . 7-90
• Stop and tail lamp (LED type) bulb replacement (for 5 door) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-91
• Side marker (rear) (LED type) bulb replacement (Rear combination lamp Type B) (for 5 door) . . . . 7-91
• License plate lamp bulb replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-92
• High mounted stop lamp bulb replacement (for 5 door) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-92
• Rear turn signal lamp bulb replacement
7
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(for 4 door) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-93
• Back-up lamp bulb replacement (for 4 door) . . . . . . 7-94
• Stop and tail lamp / Side marker (Bulb type) replacement (for 4 door) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-94
• Tail lamp (Bulb type) bulb replacement (for 4 door) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-95
• Stop and tail lamp (LED type) bulb replacement (for 4 door) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-96
• Side marker (rear) (LED type) bulb replacement (Rear combination lamp Type B) (for 4 door) . . . . 7-97
• High mounted stop lamp bulb replacement (for 4 door) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-97
• Trunk lamp bulb replacement (for 4 door) . . . . . . . 7-98
• Map lamp bulb replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-98
• Vanity mirror lamp bulb replacement . . . . . . . . . . . 7-99
• Room lamp bulb replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-100
• Glove box lamp bulb replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-100
• Liftgate room lamp bulb replacement (for 5 door) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-101
Appearance care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-102
• Exterior care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-102
• Interior care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-108
Emission control system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-111
• Crankcase emission control system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-111
• Evaporative emission control (including ORVR: Onboard Refueling Vapor Recovery) system . . . . 7-111
• Exhaust emission control system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-112
California perchlorate notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-114
7
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Maintenance
47
ENGINE COMPARTMENT
OSC078047N
■ ■Smartstream G1.6❈ The actual engine compartment in the vehicle may differ from the illustration. 1. Engine coolant reservoir
2. Engine oil filler cap
3. Brake / clutch fluid reservoir
4. Air cleaner
5. Fuse box
6. Negative battery terminal
7. Positive battery terminal
8. Engine oil dipstick
9. Radiator cap
10. Windshield washer fluid reservoir
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75
Maintenance
MAINTENANCE SERVICES
You should exercise the utmost care
to prevent damage to your vehicle
and injury to yourself whenever per-
forming any maintenance or inspec-
tion procedures.
Should you have any doubts con-
cerning the inspection or servicing of
your vehicle, we strongly recom-
mend that you have an authorized
Kia dealer perform this work.
An authorized Kia dealer has factory-
trained technicians and genuine Kia
parts to service your vehicle proper-
ly. For expert advice and quality serv-
ice, see an authorized Kia dealer.
Inadequate, incomplete or insuffi-
cient servicing may result in opera-
tional problems with your vehicle that
could lead to vehicle damage, an
accident, or personal injury.Owner’s responsibility
✽ ✽NOTICE
Maintenance Service and Record
Retention are the owner's responsi-
bility.
You should retain documents that
show proper maintenance has been
performed on your vehicle in accor-
dance with the scheduled mainte-
nance service charts shown on the
following pages. You need this infor-
mation to establish your compliance
with the servicing and maintenance
requirements of your vehicle war-
ranties.
Detailed warranty information is
provided in your Warranty &
Consumer Information manual.
Repairs and adjustments required as
a result of improper maintenance or
a lack of required maintenance are
not covered.
We recommend you have your vehi-
cle maintained and repaired by an
authorized Kia dealer. An authorized
Kia dealer meets Kia’s high service
quality standards and receives tech-
nical support from Kia in order to pro-
vide you with a high level of service
satisfaction.
✽ ✽NOTICE - NHTSA Safety
Corrosion Alert
The National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) has
issued a general warning to all vehi-
cle owners of all brands regarding
the risks associated with vehicle
underbody corrosion. From your
initial purchase, take the following
steps to prevent unsafe corrosion
damage to your vehicle:
(Continued)
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Maintenance
67
(Continued)
• Wash the undercarriage of yourvehicle regularly during the win-
ter and whenever your vehicle has
been exposed to such salts or
chemicals.
• Do a thorough washing of the undercarriage at the end of the
winter.
• Use professional service techni- cians or governmental inspection
stations to annually inspect for
corrosion.
• Immediately seek an inspection of your vehicle if you become visual-
ly aware of corrosion flaking or
scaling or if you become aware of
a change in vehicle performance,
such as soft or spongy brakes, flu-
ids leaking, impairment of direc-
tional control, suspension noises
or rattling metal straps.
NHTSA further advises that after
a vehicle is 7 years old, it is essen-
tial that you take these indicated
maintenance steps to ensure that
you protect yourself from unsafe
corrosion conditions.Owner maintenance precau-
tions
Improper or incomplete service may
result in problems. This section gives
instructions only for the maintenance
items that are easy to perform.
As explained earlier in this section,
several procedures can be done only
by an authorized Kia dealer with spe-
cial tools.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
Improper owner maintenance dur-
ing the warranty period may affect
warranty coverage. For details, read
the separate Warranty & Consumer
Information manual provided with
the vehicle. If you're unsure about
any servicing or maintenance proce-
dure, have it done by an authorized
Kia dealer.
WARNING- Maintenance
work
Do not wear jewelry or loose
clothing while working under
the hood of your vehicle with
the engine running. These can
become entangled in moving
parts, if you must run the
engine while working under the
hood, make certain that you
remove all jewelry (especially
rings, bracelets, watches, and
necklaces) and all neckties,
scarves, and similar loose
clothing before getting near the
engine or cooling fans.
WARNING- Touching metal parts
Do not touch metal parts
(including strut bars) while the
engine is operating or hot.
Doing so could result in serious
personal injury. Turn the engine
off and wait until the metal parts
cool down to perform mainte-
nance work on the vehicle.
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77
Maintenance
OWNER MAINTENANCE
The following lists are vehicle checks
and inspections that should be per-
formed by the owner or an author-
ized Kia dealer at the frequencies
indicated to help ensure safe,
dependable operation of your vehi-
cle.
Any adverse conditions should be
brought to the attention of your deal-
er as soon as possible.
These Owner Maintenance Checks
are generally not covered by war-
ranties and you may be charged for
labor, parts and lubricants used.Owner maintenance schedule
When you stop for fuel:
Check the engine oil level.
Check the coolant level in coolantreservoir.
Check the windshield washer fluid level.
Look for low or under-inflated tires.
While operating your vehicle:
Note any changes in the sound of the exhaust or any smell of
exhaust fumes in the vehicle.
Check for vibrations in the steering wheel. Notice any increased steer-
ing effort or looseness in the steer-
ing wheel, or change in its straight-
ahead position.
Notice if your vehicle constantly turns slightly or “pulls” to one side
when traveling on smooth, level
road.
When stopping, listen and check for unusual sounds, pulling to one
side, increased brake pedal travel
or “hard-to-push” brake pedal.
If any slipping or changes in the operation of your transmission
occurs, check the transmission
fluid level.
Check manual transmission opera- tion, including clutch operation.
Check the intelligent variable trans- mission P (Park) function.
WARNING- Hot coolant
Be careful when checking your
engine coolant level when the
engine is hot. Scalding hot
coolant and steam may blow
out under pressure.
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Maintenance
87
Check the parking brake.
Check for fluid leaks under yourvehicle (water dripping from the air
conditioning system during or after
use is normal).
At least monthly:
Check the coolant level in theengine coolant reservoir.
Check the operation of all exterior lights, including the stoplights, turn
signals and hazard warning flash-
ers.
Check the inflation pressures of all tires including the spare for tires
that are worn, show uneven wear,
or are damaged.
Check for loose wheel lug nuts.
At least twice a year (i.e., every Spring and Fall) :
Check the radiator, heater and air conditioning hoses for leaks or
damage.
Check the windshield washer spray and wiper operation. Clean
the wiper blades with a clean cloth
dampened with washer fluid.
Check the headlight alignment.
Check the muffler, exhaust pipes, shields and clamps.
Check the lap/shoulder belts for wear and function.
At least once a year :
Clean the body and door drainholes.
Lubricate the door hinges and check the hood hinges.
Lubricate the door and hood locks and latches.
Lubricate the door rubber weather- strips.
Check the air conditioning system.
Inspect and lubricate intelligent variable transmission linkage and
controls.
Clean the battery and terminals.
Check the brake/clutch fluid level.
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