ground clearance Hyundai Santa Fe 2012 Owner's Manual

Introduction
41
A020105BUN
Do not use methanol
Fuels containing methanol (wood alco-
hol) should not be used in your vehicle.
This type of fuel can reduce vehicle per-
formance and damage components of
the fuel system.
Fuel Additives
HYUNDAI recommends that you use
good quality gasolines treated with deter-
gent additives such as TOP TIER
Detergent Gasoline, which help prevent
deposit formation in the engine. These
gasolines will help the engine run clean-
er and enhance performance of the
Emission Control System. For more infor-
mation on TOP TIER Detergent
Gasoline, please go to the website
(www.toptiergas.com)For customers who do not use TOP Tier
Detergent Gasoline regularly, and have
problems starting or the engine does not
run smoothly, additives that you can buy
separately may be added to the gasoline.
If TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline is not
available, one bottle of additive added to
the fuel tank at every 7,500mile or every
engine oil change is recommended.
Additives are available from your author-
ized HYUNDAI dealer along with infor-
mation on how to use them. Do not mix
other additives.
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Operation in foreign countries
If you are going to drive your vehicle in
another country, be sure to:
Observe all regulations regarding reg-
istration and insurance.
Determine that acceptable fuel is avail- able. As with other vehicles of this type, failure
to operate this vehicle correctly may
result in loss of control, an accident or
vehicle rollover.
Specific design characteristics (higher
ground clearance, track, etc.) give this
vehicle a higher center of gravity than
other types of vehicles. It is not designed
for cornering at the same speeds as con-
ventional 2-wheel drive vehicles. Avoid
sharp turns or abrupt maneuvers. 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” driv-
ing guidelines, in section 5 of this
manual.
CAUTION
Your New Vehicle Limited Warranty may not cover damage to the fuel system and any performance prob-lems that are caused by the use offuels containing methanol.
VEHICLE HANDLING
INSTRUCTIONS

Safety systems of your vehicle
56
3
Just before impact, drivers often brake
heavily. Such heavy braking lowers the
front portion of the vehicle causing it to
“ride” under a vehicle with a higher
ground clearance. Air bags may not
inflate in this "under-ride" situation
because deceleration forces that are
detected by sensors may be signifi-
cantly reduced by such “under-ride”
collisions. 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.
Also, side and curtain air bags may
inflate when the vehicle is rolled over
by a side impact collision. Air bags may not inflate if the vehicle
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 deliv-
ered to the sensors.
1VQA20901VQA20911VQA2092

Driving your vehicle
20
5
✽
✽
NOTICE
• Do not drive in water if the level is
higher than the bottom of the vehicle.
• Check your brake condition once you are out of mud or water. Press the
brake pedal several times as you move
slowly until you feel normal braking
forces return.
• Shorten your scheduled maintenance interval if you drive in off-road condi-
tions such as sand, mud or water (see
“Maintenance under severe usage
conditions” in section 7). Always wash
your vehicle thoroughly after off road
use, especially cleaning the bottom of
the vehicle.
• Since the driving torque is always applied to the 4 wheels the perform-
ance of the AWD vehicle is greatly
affected by the condition of the tires.
Be sure to equip the vehicle with four
tires of the same size and type.
• A full time all wheel drive vehicle can- not be towed by an ordinary tow
truck. Make sure that the vehicle is
placed on a flat bed truck for moving.
Reducing the risk of a rollover
This multi-purpose passenger vehicle is
defined as a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).
SUV’s have higher ground clearance and
a narrower track to make them capable
of performing in a wide variety of off-road
applications. Specific design characteris-
tics 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 vehi-
cles, any more than low-slung sports
cars are designed to perform satisfactori-
ly in off-road conditions. Due to this risk,
driver and passengers are strongly rec-
ommended 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.
CAUTION - Mud or snow
If one of the front or rear wheels
begins to spin in mud, snow, etc.the vehicle can sometimes be driv-en out by depressing the accelera-tor pedal further; however avoidrunning the engine continuously athigh rpm because doing so coulddamage the AWD system.
WARNING - AWD driving
Avoid high cornering speed.
Do not make quick steering wheel movements, such as sharp
lane changes or fast, sharp turns.
The risk of rollover is greatly increased if you lose control of
your vehicle at high speed.
In a collision, an unbelted person is significantly more likely to die
compared to a person wearing a
seat belt.
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off the
roadway and the driver over
steers to re-enter the roadway. In
the event your vehicle leaves the
roadway, do not steer sharply.
Instead, slow down before pulling
back into the travel lanes.

521
Driving your vehicle
WARNING - Jacked vehicle
While a full-time AWD vehicle is
raised on a jack, never start the
engine or cause the tires to rotate.
There is a danger that rotating tires
touching the ground could cause
the vehicle to fall off the jack and to
jump forward or rearward.
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 never-
theless decide to equip your vehi-
cle with any tire/wheel combination
not recommended by HYUNDAI 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 vehi-
cle correctly may result in loss of
control, an accident or vehicle
rollover.
Utility vehicles have a significant-ly higher rollover rate than other
types of vehicles.
Specific design characteristics (higher ground clearance, nar-
rower track, etc.) give this vehicle
a higher center of gravity than
ordinary vehicles.
A SUV is not designed for corner- ing at the same speeds as con-
ventional vehicles.
Avoid sharp turns or abrupt maneuvers.
In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly more like-
ly to die than a person wearing a
seat belt. Make sure everyone in
the vehicle is properly buckled
up.

621
What to do in an emergency
When using a compact spare tire,
observe the following precautions:
Under no circumstances shouldyou 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 is
smaller than the diameter of a con-
ventional tire and reduces the
ground clearance approximately
1 in. (25 mm), which could result in
damage to the vehicle. Do not take this vehicle through an
automatic car wash while the com-
pact spare tire is installed.
Do not use tire chains on the com- pact spare tire. Because of the
smaller size, a tire chain will not fit
properly. This could damage the
vehicle and result in loss of the
chain.
The compact spare 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 this
tire 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 size
and design, mounted on the same
wheel. The compact spare tire should not
be used on any other wheels, nor
should standard tires, snow tires,
wheel covers or trim rings be used
with the compact spare wheel. If
such use is attempted, damage to
these items or other car compo-
nents may occur.
Do not use more than one tempo- rary spare tire at a time.
Do not tow a trailer while the tem- porary spare tire is installed.

737
Maintenance
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Compact spare tire replacement (if equipped)
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.(Continued)
The use of any other tire size or type may seriously affect
ride, handling, ground clear-
ance, stopping distance, body
to tire clearance, snow tire
clearance, and speedometer
reliability.
It is best to replace all four tires at the same time. If that
is not possible, or necessary,
then replace the two front or
two rear tires as a pair.
Replacing just one tire can
seriously affect your vehicle’s
handling.
The ABS works by comparing the speed of the wheels. Tire
size can affect wheel speed.
When replacing tires, all 4 tires
must use the same size origi-
nally supplied with the vehicle.
Using tires of a different size
can cause the ABS (Anti-lock
Brake System) and ESC
(Electronic Stability Control), to
work irregularly.
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.