KIA OPTIMA 2020 Owners Manual

Driving your vehicle
38
5
ESC OFF usage
When driving
ESC should be 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.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
• When operating the vehicle on a
dynamometer, ensure that the
ESC is turned off (ESC OFF light
illuminated). If the ESC is left on,
it may prevent the vehicle speed
from increasing, and result in false
diagnosis.
• Turning the ESC off does not affect ABS or brake system opera-
tion.WARNING- Electronic sta-
bility control
Drive carefully even though your
vehicle has Electronic Stability
Control. It can only assist you in
maintaining control under cer-
tain circumstances.
WARNING- Operating ESC
Never press the ESC OFF but-
ton while ESC is operating (ESC
indicator light blinks).
If ESC is turned off while ESC is
operating, the vehicle may slip
out of control.

539
Driving your vehicle
Vehicle stability management
(VSM)
This system provides further
enhancements to vehicle stability
and steering responses when a vehi-
cle is driving on a slippery road or a
vehicle detects changes in coeffi-
cient of friction between right wheels
and left wheels when braking.
VSM operation
When the VSM is in operation, ESC
indicator light ( ) blinks.
When the vehicle stability manage-
ment is operating properly, you can
feel a slight pulsation in the vehicle
and/or abnormal steering responses
(EPS- Electronic Power Steering).
This is only the effect of brake and
EPS control and indicates nothing
unusual.
The VSM does not operate when:
Driving on a sloping road such as agradient or incline
Driving in reverse
ESC OFF indicator light ( ) remains on the instrument cluster
EPS indicator light remains on the instrument cluster
VSM operation off
If you press the ESC OFF button to
turn off the ESC, the VSM will also
cancel and the ESC OFF indicator
light ( ) illuminates.
To turn on the VSM, press the button
again. The ESC OFF indicator light
goes out.
WARNING- Tire/
Wheel size
When replacing tires and wheels,
make sure they are the same size
as the original tires and wheels
installed. Driving with varying
tire or wheel sizes may diminish
any supplemental safety benefits
of the VSM system.WARNING- Vehicle stabili-
ty management
Drive carefully even though
your vehicle has vehicle stabili-
ty management. It can only
assist you in maintaining con-
trol of the vehicle under certain
circumstances.

Driving your vehicle
40
5
Malfunction indicator
The VSM can be deactivated even if
you don’t cancel the VSM operation
by pressing the ESC OFF button. It
indicates that a malfunction has
been detected somewhere in the
Electric Power Steering system or
VSM system. If the ESC indicator
light ( ) or EPS warning light
remains on, take your vehicle to an
authorized Kia dealer and have the
system checked.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
• The VSM is designed to function
above approximately 22 km/h (13
mph) on curves.
• The VSM is designed to function above approximately 10 km/h (6
mph) when a vehicle is braking on
a split-mu surface. A split-mu sur-
face is made of two surfaces which
have different friction forces.
The Vehicle Stability Management
system is not a substitute for safe
driving practices but a supplemen-
tary function only. It is the respon-
sibility of the driver to always check
the speed and the distance to the
vehicle ahead. Always hold the
steering wheel firmly while driving.
Your vehicle is designed to activate according to the driver’s intention,
even with installed VSM. Always fol-
low all the normal precautions for
driving at safe speeds for the condi-
tions – including driving in inclement
weather and on a slippery road.Hill-start assist control (HAC)
A vehicle has the tendency to roll
back on a steep hill when it starts to
go after stopping. The Hill-start
Assist Control (HAC) prevents the
vehicle from rolling back by applying
the brakes automatically for about 2
seconds. The brakes are released
when the accelerator pedal is
depressed or after about 2 seconds.
The HAC is activated only for about 2
seconds, so when the vehicle is
starting off always depress the accel-
erator pedal.
WARNING
For maximum protection, always
wear your seat belt. No system,
no matter how advanced, can
compensate for all driver error
and/or driving conditions.
Always drive responsibly.

541
Driving your vehicle
Good braking practices
Check to be sure the parking brakeis not engaged and the parking
brake indicator light is out before
driving away.
Driving through water may get the brakes wet. They can also get wet
when the vehicle is washed. Wet
brakes can be dangerous! Your
vehicle will not stop as quickly if the
brakes are wet. Wet brakes may
cause the vehicle to pull to one side.
To dry the brakes, apply the brakes
lightly until the braking action
returns to normal, taking care to
keep the vehicle under control at all
times. If the braking action does not
return to normal, stop as soon as it
is safe to do so and call an author-
ized Kia dealer for assistance.
Don't coast down hills with the vehicle out of gear. This is extreme-
ly hazardous. Keep the vehicle in
gear at all times, use the brakes to
slow down, then shift to a lower
gear so that engine braking will
help you maintain a safe speed. Don't "ride" the brake pedal.
Resting your foot on the brake
pedal while driving can be danger-
ous because the brakes might
overheat and lose their effective-
ness. It also increases the wear of
the brake components.
If a tire goes flat while you are driv- ing, apply the brakes gently and
keep the vehicle pointed straight
ahead while you slow down. When
you are moving slowly enough for it
to be safe to do so, pull off the road
and stop in a safe place.
If your vehicle is equipped with an Automatic Transmission, don't let
your vehicle creep forward. To
avoid creeping forward, keep your
foot firmly on the brake pedal when
the vehicle is stopped.
Be cautious when parking on a hill. Firmly engage the parking brake
and place the shift lever in P (auto-
matic transmission). If your vehicle
is facing downhill, turn the front
wheels into the curb to help keep
the vehicle from rolling.WARNING- Maintaining
Brake Pressure on Incline
HAC does not replace the need
to apply brakes while stopped on
an incline. While stopped, make
sure you maintain brake pres-
sure sufficient to prevent your
vehicle from rolling backward
and causing an accident. Don’t
release the brake pedal until you
are ready to accelerate forward.

Driving your vehicle
42
5
If your vehicle is facing uphill, turn
the front wheels away from the
curb to help keep the vehicle from
rolling. If there is no curb or if it is
required by other conditions to
keep the vehicle from rolling, block
the wheels.
Under some conditions your park- ing brake can freeze in the
engaged position. This is most like-
ly to happen when there is an
accumulation of snow or ice
around or near the rear brakes or if
the brakes are wet. If there is a risk
that the parking brake may freeze,
apply it only temporarily while you
put the shift lever in P (automatic
transmission) and block the rear
wheels so the vehicle cannot roll.
Then release the parking brake.
Do not hold the vehicle on an incline with the accelerator pedal.
This can cause the transmission to
overheat. Always use the brake
pedal or parking brake.

543
Driving your vehicle
The Forward Collision-Avoidance
Assist (FCA) system is designed to
help detect and monitor the vehicle
or pedestrians ahead in the roadway
through camera recognition to warn
the driver that a collision is imminent,
and if necessary, apply emergency
braking.System setting and activation
System setting

placing the ignition switch to the ON
position and by selecting:
'User Settings →Driver Assistance
→ Forward Collision-Avoidance
Assist' The FCA system deactivates,
when the driver cancels the system
setting.
FORWARD COLLISION-AVOIDANCE ASSIST (FCA) SYSTEM (IF EQUIPPED)
WARNING
Take the following precaution-
swhen using the Forward
Collision-Avoidance Assist
(FCA) system:
This system is only a supple- mental system and it is not
intended to, nor does it replace
the need for extreme care and
attention of the driver. The
sensing range and objects
detectable by the sensors are
limited. Pay attention to the
road conditions at all times.
Never drive too fast in accor- dance with the road condi-
tions or while cornering.
Always drive cautiously to prevent unexpected and sud-
den situations from occur-
ring. FCA does not stop the
vehicle completely and is not
a collision avoidance system.

Driving your vehicle
44
5
The warning light illumi-
nates on the LCD display,
when you cancel the FCA
system. The driver can
monitor the FCA ON/OFF status on
the LCD display. Also, the warning
light illuminates when the ESC
(Electronic Stability Control) is
turned off. When the warning light
remains ON with the FCA activated,
have the system checked by an
authorized Kia dealer.
warning activation time on the LCD
display. Go to the 'User Settings →
Driver Assistance → Forward
Collision Warning →
Early/Normal/Late'.
The options for the initial Forward Collision Warning includes the fol-
lowing:
selected, the initial
Forward Collision Warning
is activated earlier than
normal. This setting maxi-
mizes the amount of dis-
tance between the vehicle
or pedestrians ahead
before the initial warning
occurs. If the ‘EARLY’ con-
dition feels too sensitive,
change it into ‘NORMAL’.
selected, the initial
Forward Collision
Warning is activated nor-
mally. This setting allows
for a smaller amount of
distance between the
vehicle or pedestrians
ahead before the initial
warning occurs com-
pared to the EARLY
mode.
selected, the initial Forward
Collision Warning is activat-
ed later than normal. This
setting reduces the amount
of distance between the
vehicle or pedestrians
ahead before the initial
warning occurs. Select this
condition only when traffic
is light, and you are driving
slowly.

545
Driving your vehicle
Prerequisite for activation
The FCA gets ready to be activated,
when the FCA is selected on the
LCD display, and when the following
prerequisites are satisfied.
- The ESC (Electronic StabilityControl) is activated.
- Vehicle speed is over 8 km/h (5 mph). (The FCA is only activated
within a certain speed range.)
- The system detects a vehicle or pedestrian in front, which may col-
lide with your vehicle. (The FCA
may not be activated or may sound
a warning alarm in accordance
with the driving situation or vehicle
condition.)
❈ The FCA may not operate properly
according to the frontal situation,
the direction and speed of pedes-
trian.
FCA warning message and
system control
The FCA system produces warning
messages, warning alarms, and
emergency braking based on the
level of risk of a frontal collision, such
as when a vehicle ahead suddenly
brakes.
The driver can select the initial warn-
ing activation time in the User
Settings in the LCD display. The
options for the initial Forward
Collision Warning include Early,
Normal or Late initial warning time.
WARNING
Completely stop the vehicle
on a safe location before
operating the switch on the
steering wheel to activate/
deactivate the FCA system.
The FCA automatically acti- vates upon placing the Engine
Start/Stop button to the ON
position. The driver can deac-
tivate the FCA by canceling
the system setting on the LCD
display. To avoid driver dis-
tractions, do not attempt to
set or cancel the FCA while
driving the vehicle.
The FCA automatically deac- tivates upon canceling the
ESC (Electronic Stability
Control). When the ESC is
canceled, the FCA cannot be
activated on the LCD display.
The FCA warning light will
illuminate, but it does not
indicate a malfunction of the
system.

Driving your vehicle
46
5
Collision Warning (1st warning)
This warning message appears on
the LCD display with a warning
chime. Additionally, some vehicle
system intervention occurs by the
engine management system to help
decelerate the vehicle.
- Your vehicle speed may decelerate
moderately.
- The FCA system limitedly controls the brakes to preemptively mitigate
impact in a collision. - It will operate if the vehicle speed is
greater than 8 km/h (5 mph) and
less than or equal to 60 km/h (38
mph) on a forward vehicle.
(Depending on the condition of the
vehicle ahead and the environment
surrounding it, the possible maxi-
mum operating speed may be
reduced.)
Emergency braking (2nd warning)
This warning message appears on
the LCD display with a warning
chime. Additionally, some vehicle
system intervention occurs by the
engine management system to help
decelerate the vehicle.
- The FCA system limitedly controlsthe brakes to preemptively mitigate
impact in a collision. The brake
control is maximized just before a
collision.
OJF058389LOJF058390L

547
Driving your vehicle
- It will operate if the vehicle speed isgreater than 8 km/h (5 mph) and
less than or equal to 60 km/h (38
mph) on a forward vehicle.
(Depending on the condition of the
vehicle ahead and the environment
surrounding it, the possible maxi-
mum operating speed may be
reduced.)Brake operation
In an urgent situation, the FCAsystem applies the brakes.
The FCA provides additional brak- ing power for optimum braking per-
formance, when the driver
depresses the brake pedal.
The braking control is automatical- ly deactivated, when the driver
sharply depresses the accelerator
pedal, or when the driver abruptly
operates the steering wheel.
The FCA brake control is automat- ically canceled, when risk factors
disappear.
CAUTION
The driver should always paygreat caution to vehicle opera-tion, even though there is nowarning message or warningalarm. The warning of the FCAsystem may not sound whileother system warning sounds.
WARNING
The FCA system logic assesses
the risk of a collision by moni-
toring several variables, such
as the distance from the vehicle
ahead, the speed of the vehicle
ahead, and the driver's vehicle
speed. Certain conditions, such
as inclement weather and road
conditions, may affect the oper-
ation of the FCA system.
WARNING
Never deliberately drive danger-
ously to activate the system.
WARNING
The FCA cannot avoid all colli-
sions. The braking control can-
not completely stop the vehicle.
The driver is responsible to
safely drive and control the
vehicle.