KIA Sportage 2010 SL / 3.G Owner's Manual

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Scanning the terrain
Off-road driving can take you over
many different kinds of terrain. You
need to be familiar with the terrain
and its many different features. Here
are some things to consider.
Surface conditions
Off-roading can take you over hard-
packed dirt, gravel, rocks, grass,
sand, mud, snow or ice. Each of
these surfaces affects the steering,
acceleration, and braking of your
vehicle in different ways.
Depending upon the kind of surface
you are on, you may experience slip-
ping, sliding, wheel spinning,
delayed acceleration, poor traction,
and longer braking distances.
Surface obstacles
Unseen or hidden obstacles can be
hazardous. A rock, log, hole, rut, or
bump can startle you if you’re not
prepared. Often these obstacles are
hidden by grass, bushes, snow or
even the rise and fall of the terrain
itself. Here are some things to con-
stantly evaluate:
Is the path ahead clear?
Will the surface texture changeahead?
Does the path take you uphill or downhill?
Might you have to stop suddenly or change direction quickly?
When you drive over obstacles or
rough terrain, it is critical that you
keep a firm grip on the steering
wheel. Ruts, troughs, or other sur-
face features can force the wheel out
of your hands if you’re not prepared. When you drive over bumps, rocks,
or other obstacles, your wheels can
leave the ground. If this happens,
even with one or two wheels, you
can’t control the vehicle as well or
perhaps at all. Because you will be
on an unpaved surface, it’s especial-
ly important to avoid sudden acceler-
ation, sudden turns, or sudden brak-
ing. Any of these actions could cause
the center of gravity of the vehicle to
shift and destabilize the vehicle,
leading to a collision or rollover acci-
dent.
Off-road driving requires a different
kind of alertness from driving on
paved roads and highways. There
are no road signs, posted speed lim-
its or signal lights. You have to use
your own judgment about what is
safe and what isn’t. Bad judgment in
this uncontrolled environment can be
fatal.

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Driving on off-road hills
Off-road driving often takes you up,
down, or across a hill. Driving safely
on hills requires excellent judgment
and an understanding of what your
vehicle can and can’t do. There are
some hills that simply should not be
driven.WARNING - Drinking &
driving
Drinking and driving, or drug
use and driving can be very
dangerous on any road. This
certainly remains true for off-
road driving. At the very time
you need special alertness and
driving skills, your reflexes, per-
ceptions and judgement can be
affected by even a small amount
of alcohol or drugs. You could
have a serious - or even fatal -
accident if you drink or take
drugs and drive or ride with a
driver who has been drinking or
taking drugs.WARNING - Driving on
hills
Many hills are simply too steep
for any vehicle. If you drive up
them, you will stall. If you drive
down them, you can’t control
your speed. In either case, you
could flip over. If you drive
across them, you will roll over.
You could be seriously or fatally
injured. If you have any doubt
about the steepness, don’t drive
up or down the hill, even if it
means that you have to turn
around and find another route.
Re-tracking is a normal part of
safe off-roading.

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Approaching a hill
When you approach a hill, you need
to decide if it’s one of those hills
that’s just too steep to climb,
descend, or cross. Steepness can be
difficult to judge. On a very small hill,
for example, there may be a smooth,
constant incline with only a small
change in elevation where you can
easily see all the way to the top. On
a large hill, the incline may get steep-
er as you near the top, but you may
not see this because the crest of the
hill is hidden by bushes, grass, or
shrubs.Here are some other things to con-
sider as you approach a hill:
Is there a constant incline, or does
the hill get sharply steeper in
places?
Is there good traction on the hill- side, or will the surface cause tire
slipping?
Is there a straight path up or down the hill so you won’t have to make
turning maneuvers?
Are there obstructions on the hill that can block your path (boulders,
trees, logs or ruts)?
What’s beyond the hill? Is there a cliff, an embankment, a drop-off, or
a fence? Get out of the vehicle and
walk the hill if you are unsure. It’s
the smart way to find out. Is the hill simply too rough? Steep
hills often have ruts, gullies,
troughs, and exposed rocks
because they are more susceptible
to the effects of erosion.
How have weather conditions affected the terrain? Is there likely
to be mud, snow or ice on the hill?
What time of day is it? Are temper- atures dropping so that wet sur-
faces will start to freeze?

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Driving uphill
Once you decide you can safely
drive up the hill, you need to take
some special steps.
Use a low gear and get a firm grip
on the steering wheel.
Get a smooth start up the hill and try to maintain your speed. Don’t
use more power than you need,
because you don’t want your
wheels to start spinning or sliding.
Try to drive straight up the hill, if at all possible. If the path twists and
turns, you may have to find anoth-
er route. Slow down as you approach the
top of the hill.
Attach a flag to the vehicle to make you more visible to approaching
traffic on trails or hills.
Sound the horn as you approach the top of the hill to let opposing
traffic know you’re there.
Use your headlights even during the day. They make you more visi-
ble to other drivers.WARNING - Driving
across hills
Turning or driving across steep
hills can be dangerous. You
could lose traction, slide side-
ways, or just reach an area too
steep to traverse. In any case, it
could cause you to roll over. You
could be seriously or fatally
injured. When driving up hills,
always try to go as straight up
as possible.WARNING- Driving over hills
Driving to the top (crest) of a hill
at full speed can cause an acci-
dent and result in serious or
fatal injury. There could be a
drop-off, embankment, cliff,
another vehicle or people sitting
on the ground. As you near the
top of a hill, slow down and stay
alert.

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Stalling while driving uphillWhat should I do if my vehicle stalls,or is about to stall, and I can’t makeit up the hill?
If your vehicle stalls, or is about to
stall while driving uphill, there are
some things you should do, and
there are some things you must not
do. First, here’s what you should do:
Push the brake pedal to stop the vehicle and keep it from rolling
backwards. Also, apply the parking
brake.
If your engine is still running, shift the transaxle into reverse, release
the parking brake, and slowly back
down the hill in reverse. If your engine has stopped run-
ning, you’ll need to restart it. With
the brake pedal depressed and the
parking brake still applied, shift a
manual transaxle to N (Neutral), or
an automatic transaxle to P (Park)
and restart the engine. Then, shift
to reverse, release the parking
brake, and slowly back down the
hill in reverse.
As you are backing down the hill, put your left hand on the steering
wheel at the 12 o’clock position.
This way, you’ll be able to tell if
your wheels are straight or turned
to the left or right as you back
down. Here are some things you must not
do if you stall, or are about to stall,
when going up a hill.
Never attempt to prevent a stall by
depressing the clutch or shifting to
N (Neutral) to “rev-up” the engine
and regain forward momentum.
This won’t work. Your vehicle will
roll backwards very quickly and
you could go out of control or roll
over.
Instead, apply the brake to stop the
vehicle. Then apply the parking
brake. Shift into reverse, release the
parking brake, and slowly back
down.

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Stalled on a steep uphill
If your vehicle stalls and you can’t
back down the hill, try this: Set the
parking brake, put your transaxle in 1
(First) gear or P (Park), and turn the
engine off. Leave the vehicle and get
some help. If your vehicle is at an
angle to the slope of the hill, exit the
vehicle on the uphill side and stay
clear of the path the vehicle would
take if it rolled downhill. Leave it in 1
(First) gear for manual transaxle or P
(Park) for automatic transaxle.CAUTION - Stalling
Never attempt to turn around if
you are about to stall whengoing up a hill. If the hill is steepenough to stall your vehicle, it’ssteep enough to cause you toroll over if you turn around. Ifyou can’t make it up, you mustback down the hill.
WARNING- Exiting vehicle
Getting out on the downhill
(low) side of a vehicle stopped
across an incline is dangerous.
If the vehicle rolls over, you
could be crushed or fatally
injured. Always get out on the
uphill (high) side of the vehicle
and stay well clear of the
rollover path.

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Driving downhill
Going downhill can be considerably
more dangerous than driving uphill.
When off-roading takes you downhill,
you’ll want to consider many of the
same things you thought about
before you went uphill. As a brief
reminder, those include:
How steep is the downhill? Will I beable to maintain vehicle control?
What’s the surface like? Smooth? Rough? Slippery? Hard-packed
dirt? Gravel?
Are there hidden surface obsta- cles? Ruts? Logs? Boulders?
What’s at the bottom of the hill? Is there a hidden creek bank or even
a river bottom with large rocks?
Have changes in the weather con- ditions and their effect on the ter-
rain since you went uphill made
your task more difficult? Once you have decided that you can
go down a hill safely, try to keep your
vehicle headed straight down, and
use a low gear. This way, engine
braking can help your brakes so they
won’t have to do all the work.
Descend slowly, keeping your vehi-
cle under control at all times.WARNING- Leaving vehi-
cle
If you are going to leave your
vehicle, set the parking brake
and shift a manual transaxle to
1(First), or an automatic
transaxle to P (Park).

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Avoid turns that take you across the
incline of the hill. A hill that’s not too
steep to drive down may be too
steep to drive across. You could roll
over if you don’t drive straight down.
Never go downhill with the clutch
pedal depressed. This is called “free-
wheeling.” Your brakes will have to do
all the work and could overheat and
fade. If your wheels lock up during down-
hill braking, you may feel the vehicle
starting to slide sideways. To regain
your direction, just ease off the
brakes and steer to keep the front of
the vehicle pointing straight downhill.CAUTION - Downhill
Before beginning to go down-
hill, it is critical that you ensurethat no cargo can shift forwardwhile you are heading downhill.Such shifting could eitherendanger you and your occu-pants, or interfere with yourability to control the vehicle.
WARNING- Braking
Heavy braking when going
down a hill can cause your
brakes to overheat and fade.
This could cause loss of control
and a serious accident. Apply
the brakes lightly when
descending a hill and use a low
gear to keep vehicle speed
under control.CAUTION - Wheel locking
Avoid braking so hard that you lock the wheels when goingdownhill. If your front wheelsare locked, you can’t steer yourvehicle.

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Stalling downhill
Stalling is much more likely to hap-
pen going uphill. But if it happens
going downhill, here’s what to do.
Stop your vehicle by applying thebrakes. Then apply the parking
brake.
Move the shift lever to P (Park) in automatic transaxle or shift to N
(Neutral) in manual transaxle and,
while still braking, restart the
engine.
Shift back to a low gear, release the parking brake, and drive
straight down.
If the engine won’t start, get out and seek help. Exit on the uphill
side of the vehicle and stay clear of
the path the vehicle would take if it
rolled downhill.
Driving across an incline
Sooner or later, an off-road trail will
probably go across the incline of a
hill. If this happens, you have to
decide whether or not to try to drive
across the incline. Here are some
things to consider:
A hill that can be driven straight upor down may be too steep to drive
across. When you go straight up or
down a hill, the length of the wheel
base (the distance from the front
wheels to the rear wheels) reduces
the likelihood the vehicle will tum-
ble end over end. But when you
drive across an incline, the much
narrower track width (the distance
between the left and right wheels)
may not prevent the vehicle from
tilting and rolling over. Also, driving
across an incline puts more weight
on the downhill wheels. This could
cause a downhill slide or a rollover. Surface conditions can be a prob-
lem when you drive across a hill.
Loose gravel, muddy spots, or
even wet grass can cause your
tires to slip sideways. If the vehicle
slips sideways, it can hit something
that will tip it (a rock, a rut, etc.) and
cause it to roll over.
Hidden obstacles can make the steepness of the incline even
worse. If you drive across a rock
with the uphill wheels, or if the
downhill wheels drop into a rut or
depression, your vehicle can tilt
even more.
For reasons like these, you need to
decide carefully whether or not to try
to drive across an incline. Just
because the trail goes across the
incline doesn’t mean you have to
drive it.

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If your vehicle slides downhill
If you feel your vehicle starting to
slide sideways, turn downhill immedi-
ately. This should help straighten out
the vehicle and prevent the side slip-
ping. However, a much better way to
prevent this is to get out and “walk
the course” first so you know what
the surface is like before you drive it.
Stalling while crossing an incline
If your vehicle stalls when you’re
crossing an incline, be sure you (and
your passengers) get out on the
uphill side, even if that door is harder
to open. If you get out on the down-
hill side and the vehicle starts to roll
over, you’ll be in its path.
If you have to walk down the slope,
stay out of the path the vehicle will
take if it does roll over.WARNING- Roll over
Driving across an incline that’s
too steep will make your vehicle
roll over. You could be seriously
or fatally injured. If you have any
doubt about the steepness of
the incline, don’t drive across it.
Find another route instead.