KIA AMANTI 2009 Owners Manual

415
Driving your vehicle
Anti-lock brake system (ABS)
The ABS system continuously senses
the speed of the wheels. If the wheels are
going to lock, the ABS system repeated-
ly modulates the hydraulic brake pres-
sure to the wheels.
When you apply your brakes under con-
ditions which may lock the wheels, you
may hear a “tik-tik’’ sound from the
brakes, or feel a corresponding sensation
in the brake pedal. This is normal and it
means your ABS system is active.
In order to obtain the maximum benefit
from your ABS system in an emergency
situation, do not attempt to modulate
your brake pressure and do not try to
pump your brakes. Press your brake
pedal as hard as possible or as hard as
the situation warrants and allow the ABS
system to control the force being deliv-
ered to the brakes. Even with the anti-lock brake system,
your vehicle still requires sufficient
stopping distance. Always maintain a
safe distance from the vehicle in front
of you.
Always slow down when cornering. The anti-lock brake system cannot pre-
vent accidents resulting from exces-
sive speeds.
On loose or uneven road surfaces, operation of the anti-lock brake system
may result in a longer stopping dis-
tance than for vehicles equipped with a
conventional brake system.
WARNING
- ABS Brakes
Your ABS is not a substitute for
good driving judgement. You can
still have an accident. In fact, your
ABS system will probably not be
able to prevent an accident in the
following driving conditions:
Dangerous driving, such asneglecting safety precautions,
speeding, or driving too close to
the vehicle in front of you.
Driving at high speed in situa- tions providing considerably less
traction, such as wet conditions
where hydroplaning could occur.
Driving too fast on poor road sur- faces. The ABS is designed to
improve maximum braking effec-
tiveness on typical highways and
roads in good condition. On poor
road surfaces in poor condition,
the ABS may actually reduce
braking effectiveness.

Driving your vehicle16
4✽
✽
NOTICE• If the ABS warning light is on and
stays on, you may have a problem
with the ABS system. In this case,
however, your regular brakes will
work normally.
• The ABS warning light will stay on for approximately 3 seconds after the
ignition switch is ON. During that
time, the ABS will go through self-
diagnosis and the light will go off if
everything is normal. If the light stays
on, you may have a problem with your
ABS system. Contact an authorized
Kia dealer as soon as possible.
✽ ✽ NOTICE• When you drive on a road having
poor traction, such as an icy road, and
operate your brakes continuously, the
ABS will be active continuously and
the ABS warning light may illuminate.
Pull your car over to a safe place and
stop the engine.
• Restart the engine. If the ABS warn- ing light is off, then your ABS system
is normal. Otherwise, you may have a
problem with the ABS. Contact an
authorized Kia dealer as soon as pos-
sible.
✽ ✽ NOTICEWhen you jump start your vehicle
because of a drained battery, the engine
may not run as smoothly and the ABS
warning light may turn on at the same
time. This happens because of the low
battery voltage. It does not mean your
ABS is malfunctioning.
• Do not pump your brakes!
• Have the battery recharged before
driving the vehicle.
ABS
W-78

417
Driving your vehicle
Power steeringPower Steering uses energy from the
engine to assist you in steering the vehi-
cle. If the engine is off or if the power
steering system becomes inoperative,
the vehicle may still be steered, but it will
require increased steering effort.
Should you notice any change in the
effort required to steer during normal
vehicle operation, have the power steer-
ing checked by an Authorized Kia Dealer.
✽ ✽NOTICE• Never hold the steering wheel against
a stop (extreme right or left turn) for
more than 5 seconds with the engine
running. Holding the steering wheel
for more than 5 seconds in either posi-
tion may cause damage to the power
steering pump.
• If the power steering drive belt breaks or if the power steering pump mal-
functions, the steering effort will
greatly increase.
✽ ✽ NOTICEIf the vehicle is parked for extended
periods outside in cold weather (below -
10 °C/14 °F), the power steering may
require increased effort when the engine
is first started. This is caused by
increased fluid viscosity due to the cold
weather and does not indicate a mal-
function.
When this happens, increase the engine
RPM by depressing the accelerator until
the RPM reaches 1,500 rpm then release
or let the engine idle for two or three
minutes to warm up the fluid.
STEERING WHEEL

Driving your vehicle18
4Tilt steering (if equipped)A tilt steering wheel allows you to adjust
the steering wheel before you drive.You
can also raise it to the highest level to
give your legs more room when you exit
and enter the vehicle.
The steering wheel should be positioned
so that it is comfortable for you to drive,
while permitting you to see the instru-
ment panel warning lights and gauges.
To change the steering wheel angle, pull
up the lock release lever (
➀), adjust the
steering wheel to the desired angle (
➁),
then release the lock-release lever to
lock the steering wheel in place. Be sure
to adjust the steering wheel to the
desired position before driving.
HornTo sound the horn, press the horn sym-
bol on your steering wheel.
Check the horn regularly to be sure it
operates properly.
WARNING
Never adjust the angle of steering wheel while driving. You may lose
your steering control and cause
severe personal injury or acci-
dents.
After adjusting, push the steering wheel both up and down to be
certain it is locked in position.
OGH026028
OGH026030
CAUTION
To sound the horn, press the area indicated by the horn symbol onyour steering wheel (see illustra-tion). The horn will operate onlywhen this area is pressed.
Do not strike the horn severely to operate it, or hit it with your fist.Do not press on the horn with asharp-pointed object.

419
Driving your vehicle
The cruise control system allows you to
program the vehicle to maintain a con-
stant speed without resting your foot on
the accelerator pedal.
With cruise control, you can set and
automatically maintain any speed of
between 24 mph (40 km/h) and
125 mph (200 km/h).
To set cruise control speed:1. Push the CRUISE ON/OFF button onthe steering wheel, to turn the system
on. The CRUISE indicator light in the
instrument cluster will illuminate.
2. Accelerate to the desired speed, which must be more than 24 mph (40 km/h)
and less than 125 mph (200 km/h). 3. Depress the COAST/SET switch,
located on the steering wheel, and
release it at the speed you want. The
“SET” indicator light in the instrument
cluster will illuminate. Release the
accelerator at the same time. The
desired speed will automatically be
maintained.
The SET function cannot be activateduntil approximately 2 seconds after theCRUISE ON/OFF button has been engaged.
On a steep grade, the vehicle maymomentarily slow down while goingdownhill.
CRUISE CONTROL (IF EQUIPPED)
WARNING
- Cruise control
Do not use the cruise control fea-
ture under the following conditions:
Heavy or unsteady traffic
Slippery or winding roads
Situations that involve varying
speeds
WARNING
If the cruise control is left on,
(CRUISE indicator light in the
instrument cluster illuminated) the
cruise control can be switched on
accidentally. Keep the cruise con-
trol system off (CRUISE indicator
light OFF) when cruise control is
not in use.
OGH046335N
OGH046336N

Driving your vehicle20
4To cancel cruise control, do one
of the following: Depress the brake pedal.
Shift into N (Neutral).
Depress the CANCEL switch located
on the steering wheel.
Depress the COAST/SET and RES/ACCEL switches at the same
time.Each of these actions will cancel cruisecontrol operation (the “SET” indicator light in the instrument cluster will goOFF), but it will not turn the system off. Ifyou wish to resume cruise control opera-tion, depress the RES/ACCEL switch located on your steering wheel. You willreturn to your previously preset speed.
To turn cruise control off, do one
of the following: Push the CRUISE ON/OFF button on the steering wheel (the CRUISE indi-
cator light in the instrument cluster will
go OFF).
Turn the ignition off.Both of these actions cancel cruise con- trol operation. If you want to resumecruise control operation, repeat the stepsprovided in “To Set Cruise ControlSpeed” on the previous page.
To increase cruise control set
speed:Follow either of these procedures:
Depress the RES/ACCEL switch and hold it. Your vehicle will accelerate.
Release the switch at the speed you
want.
Depress the RES/ACCEL switch and release it immediately. The cruising
speed will increase 1 mph (1.6 km/h)
by one touch and will be memorized to
the reset speed.
OGH046337N

421
Driving your vehicle
To temporarily accelerate with the
cruise control onIf you want to speed up temporarily when
the cruise control is on, depress the
accelerator pedal. Increased speed will
not interfere with cruise control operation
or change the set speed.
To return to the set speed, take your foot
off the accelerator.
To decrease the cruising speed:Follow either of these procedures:
Depress the COAST/SET switch andhold it. Your vehicle will gradually slow
down. Release the switch at the speed
you want to maintain.
Depress the COAST/SET switch and release it immediately. The cruising
speed will decrease 1 mph (1.6 km/h)
by one touch and will be memorized to
the reset speed.
To resume cruising speed at
more than 24 mph (40 km/h):If any method other than the CRUISE
ON/OFF switch was used to cancel cruis-
ing speed and the system is still activat-
ed, the most recent set speed will auto-
matically resume when the RES/ACCEL
switch is depressed.
It will not resume, however, if the vehicle
speed has dropped below 24 mph
(40km/h).
OGH046336N
OGH046337N

Driving your vehicle22
4The Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
monitors information from various vehicle
sensors and then compares the driver's
commands with the actual behavior of
the vehicle. If an unstable condition is
created by the driver - a sudden evasive
movement for example - ESC intervenes
within fractions of a second via the
engine computer and brake system and
attempts to stabilize the vehicle.
ESC operationESC ON condition

ON, ESC and ESC OFF indi-
cator lights illuminate for
approximately 3 seconds,
then ESC is turned on.
turn ESC off. (ESC OFF indi-
cator will illuminate). To turn
the ESC on, press the ESC
OFF button (ESC OFF indica-
tor light will go off).
you may hear a slight ticking
sound. This is the ESC per-
forming an automatic system
self-check and does not indi-
cate a problem.
When operating
When the ESC is in operation,
ESC indicator light blinks.
Control is operating properly,
you can feel a slight pulsation
in the vehicle. This is only the
effect of brake control and
indicates nothing unusual.
or slippery road, pressing the
accelerator pedal may not
cause the engine rpm (revo-
lutions per minute) to
increase.
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (IF EQUIPPED)
-
ESC
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423
Driving your vehicle
ESC operation offESC OFF state
press the ESC OFF button
(ESC OFF indicator light illu-
minates).
to LOCK position when ESC is
off, ESC remains off. Upon
restarting the engine, the ESC
will automatically turn on
again.
Indicator lightWhen ignition switch is turned to ON, the
indicator light illuminates, then goes off if
ESC system is operating normally.
The ESC indicator light blinks whenever
ESC is operating.
ESC OFF indicator light comes on when
either the ESC is turned off with the but-
ton, or ESC fails to operate when turned
on.
ESCOFF
ESC
ESCOFF
■ ESC indicator light (blinks)
■ ESC OFF indicator light (comes on)
WARNING
The Electronic Stability Control sys-
tem is only a driving aid; use pre-
cautions for safe driving by slowing
down on curved, snowy, or icy
roads. Drive slowly and don’t
attempt to accelerate whenever the
ESC indicator light is blinking, or
when the road surface is slippery.

Driving your vehicle24
4ESC OFF usageWhen driving It’s a good idea to keep the ESC turned
on for daily driving whenever possible.
To turn ESC off while driving, press the ESC OFF button while driving on a flat
road surface.
Never press ESC OFF button while ESC
is operating (ESC indicator light blinks).
If ESC is turned off while ESC is operat-
ing, the vehicle may slip out of control.
✽ ✽ NOTICE• When measuring the vehicle speed
with a Chassis dynamo-meter, make
sure the ESC is turned off (ESC OFF
light illuminated). If the ESC is left
on, it may prevent the vehicle speed
from increasing, and cause a false
diagnosis of a faulty speedometer.
• Turning the ESC off does not affect ABS or brake system operation.
WARNING
Never press the ESC OFF button
while ESC is operating.
If the ESC is turned off while ESC is
operating, the vehicle may slip out
of control.
To turn ESC off while driving, press
the ESC OFF button while driving
on a flat road surface.