KIA OPTIMA HYBRID 2015 Owners Manual

517
Driving your vehicle
Power brakes
Your vehicle's brake system is
power-assisted by the electric
hydraulic pump.
In the event the brakes lose power
because of a brake control system
malfunction, unstable power supply
or some other reason, you can still
stop your vehicle by applying greater
force to the brake pedal than you
normally would. The stopping dis-
tance, however will be longer. Please
have the system checked as soon as
possible.If the brake pedal does not return to
its normal position when released,
there may be a malfunction in the
brake system. Take your vehicle to
an authorized Kia dealer and have
the system checked.
BRAKE SYSTEM
WARNING - Steep hill
braking
Avoid continuous application of
the brakes when descending a
long or steep hill by shifting to a
lower gear. Continuous brake
application will cause the
brakes to overheat and could
result in a temporary loss of
braking performance.
WARNING - HEV driving down hill
Do not turn off the Hybrid sys-
tem while going down a hill. The
brake booster may not work
sufficiently and the braking dis-
tance may be longer.
CAUTION - Brake pedal
Do not drive with your foot rest- ing on the brake pedal. This willcreate abnormally high braketemperatures which can causeexcessive brake lining and padwear.
CAUTION
Do not depress the brake pedalcontinuously without READYstatus. The battery may be dis-charged.

Driving your vehicle
18
5
Wet brakes may impair the vehicle’s
ability to safely slow down; the vehi-
cle may also pull to one side when
the brakes are applied. Applying the
brakes lightly will indicate whether
they have been affected in this way.
To dry the brakes, apply them lightly
while maintaining a safe forward
speed until brake performance
returns to normal.In the event of brake failure
If service brakes fail to operate while
the vehicle is in motion, you can
make an emergency stop with the
parking brake. The stopping dis-
tance, however, will be much greater
than normal.
Disc brakes wear indicator
When your brake pads are worn and
new pads are required, you will hear
a high-pitched warning sound from
your front brakes or rear brakes (if
equipped). You may hear this sound
come and go or it may occur when-
ever you depress the brake pedal.
Please remember that some driving
conditions or climates may cause a
brake squeal when you first apply (or
lightly apply) the brakes. This is nor-
mal and does not indicate a problem
with your brakes.
Always replace the front or rear
brake pads as pairs.
CAUTION - Replace brake
pads
Do not continue to drive withworn brake pads. Continuing todrive with worn brake pads candamage the braking system andresult in costly brake repairs.
WARNING - Parking brake
Avoid applying the parking
brake to stop the vehicle while it
is moving except in an emer-
gency situation. Applying the
parking brake while the vehicle
is moving at normal speeds can
cause a sudden loss of control
of the vehicle. If you must use
the parking brake to stop the
vehicle, use great caution in
applying the brake.

519
Driving your vehicle
Parking brake
Applying the parking brake
To engage the parking brake, first
apply the foot brake and then
depress the parking brake pedal
down as far as possible.
CAUTION - Parking brake
Driving with the parking brakeapplied will cause excessivebrake pad (or lining) and brakerotor wear.
OTF050015
WARNING - Brake wear
Do not ignore high pitched wear
sounds from your brakes. If you
ignore this audible warning, you
will eventually lose braking per-
formance, which could lead to a
serious accident.

Driving your vehicle
20
5
Releasing the parking brake
To release the parking brake,
depress the parking brake pedal a
second time while applying the foot
brake. The pedal will automatically
extend to the fully released position. Check the brake warning light by
turning the ignition switch ON (do not
start the engine). This light will illumi-
nate when the parking brake is
applied with the ignition switch in the
START or ON position.
Before driving, be sure the parking
brake is fully released and the brake
warning light is off.
If the brake warning light remains on
after the parking brake is released
while the hybrid system is in READY
state, there may be a malfunction in
the brake system. Immediate atten-
tion is necessary.
OTF050017
WARNING - Parking brake
use
All vehicles should always have
the parking brake fully engaged
when parking to avoid inadver-
tent movement of the vehicle
which can injure occupants or
pedestrians.
W-75

521
Driving your vehicle
If at all possible, stop driving the
vehicle immediately. If that is not pos-
sible, use extreme caution while
operating the vehicle and only con-
tinue to drive the vehicle until you
can reach a safe location or repair
shop.Electric parking brake (EPB)
(if equipped)
Applying the parking brake
To apply the EPB (electric parking
brake):
1. Depress the brake pedal.
2. Pull up the EPB switch.
Make sure the warning light comes
on.
Also, the EPB is applied automatical-
ly if the Auto Hold button is on when
the engine is turned off. However, if
you press the EPB switch after the
engine is turned off, the EPB will not
be Applied.
✽ ✽NOTICE
On a steep incline or when pulling a
trailer, if the vehicle does not remain
at a standstill, do as follows:
1. Apply the EPB.
2. Pull up the EPB switch for more
than 3 seconds.
✽ ✽NOTICE
A click or electric brake motor
whine sound may be heard while
operating or releasing the EPB, but
these conditions are normal and
indicate that the EPB is functioning
properly.
OTFS054093
CAUTION
Do not operate the parking
brake /EPB while the vehicle ismoving except in an emergencysituation.

Driving your vehicle
22
5
Releasing the parking brake
To release the EPB (electric parking
brake), press the EPB switch in the
following condition:
Have the ignition switch or engine
start/stop button in the ON posi-
tion.
Depress the brake pedal.
Make sure the brake warning light
goes off. To release EPB (electric parking
brake) automatically:
Shift lever in P (Park)
With the engine running depress
the brake pedal and shift out of P
(Park) to R (Reverse) or D (Drive).
Shift lever in N (Neutral) With the engine running depress
the brake pedal and shift out of N
(Neutral) to R (Reverse) or D
(Drive).
Automatic transaxle vehicle 1. Start the engine.
2. Fasten the driver's seat belt.
3. Close the driver's door, engine hood and trunk.
4. Depress the accelerator pedal while the shift lever is in R
(Rear), D (Drive) or Sports
mode.
Make sure the brake warning light
goes off.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
• You can engage the EPB even
though the ignition switch or
engine stop/start button is in the
OFF position, but you cannot
release it.
• Depress the brake pedal and release the parking brake manual-
ly with the EPB switch when you
drive downhill or when backing
up the vehicle.
Do not follow the above procedure
when driving on a flat level ground.
The vehicle may suddenly move for-
ward.
OTFS054094

523
Driving your vehicle
EPB (electric parking brake) may be
automatically applied when:
The EPB is overheated
Requested by other systems
✽ ✽NOTICE
If the driver turns the engine off by
mistake while Auto Hold is operat-
ing, EPB will be automatically
applied. (Vehicles equipped with
Auto Hold)
System warning
If you try to drive off depressing the
accelerator pedal with the EPB
applied, but the EPB doesn't
release automatically, a warning
will sound and a message will
appear.
If the driver's seat belt is not fas- tened and the engine hood or trunk
is opened, a warning will sound
and a message will appear.
If there is a problem with the vehi- cle, a warning may sound and a
message may appear.
If the above situation occurs, depress
the brake pedal and release EPB by
pressing the EPB switch.
CAUTION
If the parking brake warning light is still on even thoughthe EPB has been released,have the system checked byan authorized Kia dealer.
Do not drive your vehicle with the EPB applied. It may causeexcessive brake pad andbrake rotor wear.
OTFH054102N

Driving your vehicle
24
5
System warning
When the conversion from Auto Hold
to EPB is not working properly a
warning will sound and a message
will appear.
Depress the brake pedal when the
above message appears for the Auto
Hold and EPB may not activate.
WARNING- Parking
Brake Use
Never allow a passenger to touch the parking brake. If the
parking brake is released
unintentionally, serious injury
may occur.
All vehicles should always have the parking brake fully
engaged when parked to
avoid inadvertent movement
of the car which can injure
occupants or pedestrians.CAUTION
A click or electric brake motor whine sound may be heardwhile operating or releasing theEPB, but these conditions arenormal and indicate that theEPB is functioning properly.
When leaving your keys with a parking lot attendant or valet,make sure to inform him/herhow to operate the EPB.
The EPB may malfunction if you drive with the EPBapplied.
When you automatically release EPB by depressingthe accelerator pedal, depressit slowly.
OTFH054100N

525
Driving your vehicle
System warning
If the EPB is applied while Auto Hold
is activated because of ESC
(Electronic Stability Control) signal, a
warning will sound and a message
will appear.
EPB malfunction indicator (if equipped)
This warning light illuminates if the
engine start/stop button is changed
to the ON position and goes off in
approximately 3 seconds if the sys-
tem is operation normally.
If the EPB malfunction indicator
remains on, comes on while driving,
or does not come on when the igni-
tion switch or the engine start/stop
button is changed to the ON position,
this indicates that the EPB may have
malfunctioned. If this occurs, have your vehicle
checked by an authorized Kia dealer
as soon as possible.
The EPB malfunction indicator may
illuminate when the ESC indicator
comes on to indicate that the ESC is
not working properly, but it does not
indicate a malfunction of the EPB.
OTFH054101N
OTFH054079N

Driving your vehicle
26
5
The EPB warning light may illumi-
nate if the EPB switch operates
abnormally. Shut the engine off
and turn it on again after a few min-
utes. The warning light will go off
and the EPB switch will operate
normally. However, if the EPB
warning light is still on, have the
system checked by an authorized
Kia dealer.
If the parking brake warning light does not illuminate or blinks even
though the EPB switch was pulled
up, the EPB is not applied.
If the parking brake warning light blinks when the EPB warning light
is on, press the switch, then pull it
up. Once more press it back to its
original position and pull it back up.
If the EPB warning does not go off,
have the system checked by an
authorized Kia dealer.Emergency braking
If there is a problem with the brake
pedal while driving, emergency brak-
ing is possible by pulling up and
holding the EPB switch. Braking is
possible only while you are holding
the EPB switch.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
During emergency braking by the
EPB, the parking brake warning
light will illuminate to indicate that
the system is operating.
WARNING
Do not operate the electric park-
ing brake while the vehicle is
moving except in an emergency
situation. Applying the electric
parking brake while the vehicle
is moving at normal speeds can
cause a sudden loss of control
of the vehicle. If you must use
the electric parking brake to
stop the vehicle, use great cau-
tion in applying the brake.