ground clearance KIA Sportage 2014 SL / 3.G Owner's Manual

Introduction
61
A090000AEN
As with other vehicles of this type,
failure to operate this vehicle correct-
ly may result in loss of control, an
accident or vehicle rollover.
Specific design characteristics (high-
er ground clearance, track, etc.) give
this vehicle a higher center of gravity
than other types of vehicles. In other
words they are not designed for cor-
nering at the same speeds as con-
ventional 2-wheel drive vehicles.
Avoid sharp turns or abrupt maneu-
vers. Again, failure to operate this
vehicle correctly may result in loss of
control, an accident or vehicle
rollover.Be sure to read the
“Reducing the risk of a rollover”
driving guidelines, in section 5 of
this manual.
A030000AUN
No special break-in period is need-
ed. By following a few simple precau-
tions for the first 1,000 km (600
miles) you may add to the perform-
ance, economy and life of your vehi-
cle.
Do not race the engine.
While driving, keep your engine speed (rpm, or revolutions per
minute) between 2,000 rpm and
4,000 rpm.
Do not maintain a single speed for long periods of time, either fast or
slow. Varying engine speed is
needed to properly break-in the
engine.
Avoid hard stops, except in emer- gencies, to allow the brakes to seat
properly.
Don't tow a trailer during the first 2,000 km (1,200 miles) of opera-
tion.
VEHICLE BREAK-IN
PROCESS
VEHICLE HANDLING
INSTRUCTIONS

Safety features of your vehicle
74
3
Just before impact, drivers often
brake heavily. Such heavy braking
lowers the front portion of the vehi-
cle causing it to “ride” under a vehi-
cle with a higher ground clearance.
Air bags may not inflate in this
"under-ride" situation because
deceleration forces that are detect-
ed by sensors may be significantly
reduced by such “under-ride” colli-
sions. Front air bags may not inflate in
rollover accidents because front air
bag deployment would not provide
additional occupant protection.
However, if equipped with side
impact and curtain air bags, the air
bags may inflate in a rollover, when
it is detected by the rollover sensor. Air bags may not inflate if the vehi-
cle collides with objects such as
utility poles or trees, where the
point of impact is concentrated to
one area and the full force of the
impact is not delivered to the sen-
sors.
1VQA20901VQA20911VQA2092

553
Driving your vehicle
E110100AHM
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 extradistance for braking.
Avoid sudden braking or steering.
When braking with non-ABS brakes pump the brake pedal with
a light up-and-down motion until
the vehicle is stopped. If stalled in snow, mud, or sand,
use second gear. Accelerate slow-
ly to avoid spinning the drive
wheels.
Use sand, rock salt, or other non- slip material under the drive
wheels to provide traction when
stalled in ice, snow, or mud.
E170800AHM
Reducing the risk of a rollover
This multi-purpose passenger vehi-
cle is defined as a Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV). SUV’s have higher
ground clearance and a narrower
track to make them capable of per-
forming in a wide variety of off-road
applications. Specific design charac-
teristics give them a higher center of
gravity than ordinary vehicles. An
advantage of the higher ground
clearance is a better view of the
road, which allows you to anticipate
problems. They are not designed for
cornering at the same speeds as
conventional passenger vehicles,
any more than low-slung sports vehi-
cles are designed to perform satis-
factorily in off-road conditions. Due to
this risk, driver and passengers are
strongly recommended to buckle
their seat belts. In a rollover crash,
an unbelted person is more likely to
die than a person wearing a seat
belt. There are steps that a driver can
make to reduce the risk of a rollover.
If at all possible, avoid sharp turns or
abrupt maneuvers, do not load your
roof rack with heavy cargo, and
never modify your vehicle in any way.
SPECIAL DRIVING CONDITIONS
WARNING - ABS
Do not pump the brake pedal on
a vehicle equipped with ABS.
WARNING -
Downshifting
Downshifting with an automatic
transaxle, while driving on slip-
pery surfaces can cause an
accident. The sudden change in
tire speed could cause the tires
to skid. Be careful when down-
shifting on slippery surfaces.

Driving your vehicle
54
5
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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 1st (First) and R
(Reverse) in vehicles equipped with
a manual transaxle or R (Reverse)
and any forward gear in vehicles
equipped 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.
CAUTION
Prolonged rocking may cause
engine overheating, transaxledamage or failure, and tire dam-age.
WARNING
Your vehicle is equipped with
tires designed to provide safe
ride and handling capability. Do
not use a size and type of tire
and wheel that is different from
the one that is originally
installed on your vehicle. It can
affect the safety and perform-
ance of your vehicle, which
could lead to steering failure or
rollover and serious injury.
When replacing the tires, be
sure to equip all four tires with
the tire and wheel of the same
size, type, tread, brand and
load-carrying capacity. If you
nevertheless decide to equip
your vehicle with any tire/wheel
combination not recommended
by Kia for off road driving, you
should not use these tires for
highway driving.
WARNING - Rollover
As with other Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV), failure to operate
this vehicle correctly may result
in loss of control, an accident or
vehicle rollover.
Utility vehicles have a signifi- cantly higher rollover rate
than other types of vehicles.
Specific design characteris- tics (higher ground clearance,
narrower track, etc.) give this
vehicle a higher center of
gravity than ordinary vehicles.
A SUV is not designed for cor- nering at the same speeds as
conventional vehicles.
Avoid sharp turns or abrupt maneuvers.
In a rollover crash, an unbelt- ed person is significantly
more likely to die than a per-
son wearing a seat belt. Make
sure everyone in the vehicle is
properly buckled up.

613
What to do in an emergency
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Important - use of compact sparetire (if equipped)
Your vehicle is equipped with a com-
pact spare tire. This compact spare
tire takes up less space than a regu-
lar-size tire. This tire is smaller than a
conventional tire and is designed for
temporary use only.
The compact spare should be inflat-
ed to 420 kPa (60 psi).
✽ ✽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 80 km/h (50 mph); 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 is
smaller than the diameter of a con-
ventional tire and reduces the
ground clearance approximately
25 mm (1 inch), which could result
in damage to the vehicle.
CAUTION
You should drive carefully when the compact spare is inuse. The compact spareshould be replaced by theproper conventional tire andrim at the first opportunity.
The operation of this vehicle is not recommended withmore than one compact sparetire in use at the same time.
WARNING
The compact spare tire is for
emergency use only. Do not
operate your vehicle on this
compact spare at speeds over
80 km/h (50 mph). The original
tire should be repaired or
replaced as soon as is possible
to avoid failure of the spare
possibly leading to personal
injury or death.

Maintenance
38
7
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Compact spare tire replacement
A compact spare tire has a shorter
tread life than a regular size tire.
Replace it when you can see the
tread wear indicator bars on the tire.
The replacement compact spare tire
should be the same size and design
tire as the one provided with your
new vehicle and should be mounted
on the same compact spare tire
wheel. The compact spare tire is not
designed to be mounted on a regular
size wheel, and the compact spare
tire wheel is not designed for mount-
ing a regular size tire.
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Wheel replacement
When replacing the metal wheels for
any reason, make sure the new
wheels are equivalent to the original
factory units in diameter, rim width
and offset.
G200800AHM
Tire traction
Tire traction can be reduced if you
drive on worn tires, tires that are
improperly inflated or on slippery
road surfaces. Tires should be
replaced when tread wear indicators
appear. Slow down whenever there
is rain, snow or ice on the road to
reduce the possibility of losing con-
trol of the vehicle.
G200900AUN
Tire maintenance
In addition to proper inflation, correct
wheel alignment helps to decrease
tire wear. If you find a tire is worn
unevenly, have your dealer check the
wheel alignment.
When you have new tires installed,
make sure they are balanced. This
will increase vehicle ride comfort and
tire life. Additionally, a tire should
always be rebalanced if it is removed
from the wheel.
WARNING
A wheel that is not the correct
size may adversely affect wheel
and bearing life, braking and
stopping abilities, handling
characteristics, ground clear-
ance, body-to-tire clearance,
snow chain clearance,
speedometer and odometer cal-
ibration, headlight aim and
bumper height.