overheating KIA OPTIMA PHEV 2018 Owners Manual

Features of your vehicle
42
4
Electric power steering (EPS)
The power steering uses a motor to
assist you in steering the vehicle. If
the engine is off or if the power steer-
ing system becomes inoperative, the
vehicle may still be steered, but it will
require increased steering effort.
The motor driven power steering is
controlled by a power steering con-
trol unit which senses the steering
wheel torque and vehicle speed to
command the motor.
The steering becomes heavier as the
vehicle’s speed increases and
becomes lighter as the vehicle’s
speed decreases for optimum steer-
ing control.
Should you notice any change in the
effort required to steer during normal
vehicle operation, have the power
steering checked by an authorized
Kia dealer. If the Electric Power Steering
System does not operate normally,
the warning light will illuminate on
the instrument cluster. The steering
wheel may require increased
steering effort. Take your vehicle to
an authorized Kia dealer and have
the vehicle checked as soon as
possible.
When you operate the steering wheel in low temperature, noise
may occur. If temperature rises, the
noise will likely disappear. This is a
normal condition.
When the vehicle is stationary, and the steering wheel is turned all the
way to the left or right continuous-
ly, the steering wheel becomes
harder to turn. The power assist is
limited to protect the motor from
overheating.
As time passes, the steering wheel
will return to its normal condition.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
The following symptoms may occur
during normal vehicle operation:
• The EPS warning light does not
illuminate.
• The steering gets heavy immedi- ately after turning the Engine
Start/Stop button is ON position.
This happens as the system per-
forms the EPS system diagnostics.
When the diagnostics are complet-
ed, the steering wheel will return
to its normal condition.
• A click noise may be heard from the EPS relay after turning the
Engine Start/Stop button is ON or
OFF position.
• A motor noise may be heard when the vehicle is at a stop or at a low
driving speed.
• If the Electric Power Steering System does not operate normally,
the warning light will illuminate on
the instrument cluster. The steer-
ing wheel may become difficult to
control or operate abnormally.
Take your vehicle to an authorized
Kia dealer and have the vehicle
checked as soon as possible. (Continued)
STEERING WHEEL

Features of your vehicle
90
4
Engine Coolant
Temperature WarningLight
This warning light illuminates:
When the engine coolant tempera- ture is above 248°F (120°C). This
means that the engine is overheat-
ed and may be damaged.
If your vehicle is overheated, refer
to “Overheating” in chapter 7.
Indicator Lights
Charging Cable
Connection Indicator (Plug-in hybrid)
This indicator illuminates in red when
the charging cable is connected.
Electronic StabilityControl (ESC) IndicatorLight
This indicator light illuminates:
Once you set the Engine Start/Stop Button to the ON posi-
tion.
- It illuminates for approximately 3seconds and then goes off.
When there is a malfunction with the ESC system.
In this case, have your vehicle
inspected by an authorized Kia
dealer.
This indicator light blinks:
While the ESC is operating.
❈ For more details, refer to
“Electronic Stability Control (ESC)”
in chapter 6.
CAUTION - Engine
Overheating
Do not continue driving with the
engine overheated. Otherwiseengine may be damaged.

Features of your vehicle
126
4
Air conditioning system operation tips
If the vehicle has been parked in
direct sunlight during hot weather,
open the windows for a short time
to let the hot air inside the vehicle
escape.
To help reduce moisture inside of the windows on rainy or humid
days, decrease the humidity inside
the vehicle by operating the air
conditioning system.
During air conditioning system operation, you may occasionally
notice a slight change in engine
speed as the air conditioning com-
pressor cycles. This is a normal
system operation characteristic.
Use the air conditioning system every month only for a few minutes
to ensure maximum system per-
formance. When using the air conditioning
system, you may notice clear water
dripping (or even puddling) on the
ground under the passenger side
of the vehicle. This is a normal sys-
tem operation characteristic.
Operating the air conditioning sys- tem in the recirculated air position
provides maximum cooling, how-
ever, continual operation in this
mode may cause the air inside the
vehicle to become stale.
During cooling operation, you may occasionally notice a misty air flow
because of rapid cooling and
humid air intake. This is a normal
system operation characteristic.CAUTION - Excessive A/C
Use
When using the air conditioningsystem, monitor the tempera-ture gauge closely while drivingup hills or in heavy traffic whenoutside temperatures are high.Air conditioning system opera-tion may cause engine over-heating. Continue to use theblower fan but turn the air con-ditioning system off if the tem-perature gauge indicates engineoverheating.
CAUTION
When opening the windows inhumid weather, air conditioningmay create water dropletsinside the vehicle. Since exces-sive water droplets may causedamage to electrical equipment,air conditioning should only beused with the windows closed.

691
Driving your vehicle
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.
Do not pump the brake pedal on a
vehicle equipped with ABS. If stalled in snow, mud, or sand,
use the second gear. Accelerate
slowly 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.
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 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 possible. If you are still
stuck after a few tries, have the vehi-
cle pulled out by a tow vehicle to
avoid engine overheating and possi-
ble damage to the transaxle.
SPECIAL DRIVING CONDITIONS
WARNING- Downshifting
Do not downshift with an auto-
matic transaxle while driving on
slippery surfaces. The sudden
change in tire speed could
cause the tires to skid and
result in an accident.
WARNING- Sudden
Vehicle Movement
Do not attempt to rock the vehi-
cle if people or objects are near-
by. The vehicle may suddenly
move forward or backwards as it
becomes unstuck.

Driving your vehicle
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6
The ESC system should be turned
OFF prior to rocking the vehicle.
Smooth cornering
Avoid braking or gear changing in
corners, especially when roads are
wet. Ideally, corners should always
be taken under gentle acceleration. If
you follow these suggestions, tire
wear will be held to a minimum.
Driving at night
Because night driving presents more
hazards than driving in the daylight,
here are some important tips to
remember:
Slow down and keep more dis-
tance between you and other vehi-
cles, as it may be more difficult to
see at night, especially in areas
where there may not be any street
lights.
CAUTION- Vehicle rocking
Prolonged rocking may causeengine overheating, transaxledamage or failure, and tire dam-age.
CAUTION- Spinning tires
Do not spin the wheels, espe-cially at speeds more than 35mph (56 km/h). Spinning thewheels at high speeds when thevehicle is stationary couldcause a tire to overheat whichcould result in tire damage thatmay injure bystanders.
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Driving your vehicle
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6
Driving in flooded areas
Avoid driving through flooded areas
unless you are sure the water is no
higher than the bottom of the wheel
hub. Drive through any water slowly.
Allow adequate stopping distance
because brake performance may be
affected.
After driving through water, dry the
brakes by gently applying them sev-
eral times while the vehicle is moving
slowly.
Driving off-road
Drive carefully off-road because your
vehicle may be damaged by rocks or
roots of trees. Become familiar with
the off-road conditions where you
are going to drive before you begin
driving.
Highway driving
Tires
Adjust the tire inflation pressures to
specification. Low tire inflation pres-
sures will result in overheating and
possible failure of the tires.
Avoid using worn or damaged tires
which may result in reduced traction
or tire failure.
Never exceed the maximum tire
inflation pressure shown on the tires.
Fuel, engine coolant and engine oil
High speed travel consumes more
fuel than urban motoring. Do not for-
get to check both the engine coolant
and engine oil.
Drive belt
A loose or damaged drive belt may
result in overheating of the engine.
WARNING- Under/over
inflated tires
Always check the tires for proper
inflation before driving.
Underinflated or overinflated
tires can cause poor handling,
loss of vehicle control, and sud-
den tire failure leading to acci-
dents, injuries, and even death.
For proper tire pressures, refer to
“Tires and wheels” in chapter 9.
WARNING- Tire tread
Always check the tire tread
before driving your vehicle.
Worn-out tires can result in loss
of vehicle control. Worn-out tires
should be replaced as soon as
possible. For further information
and tread limits, refer to "Tires
and wheels" in chapter 8.

77
What to do in an emergency
IF THE ENGINE OVERHEATS
If your temperature gauge indicates
overheating, you will experience a
loss of power, or hear loud pinging or
knocking, the engine is probably too
hot. If this happens, you should:
1. Turn on the emergency warningflasher and stop in a safe place.
Move the shift lever to P (Park)
and engage the parking brake.
2. If hot steam does not come out from the engine room, carefully
open the engine room and check
whether the water pump connec-
tor is properly engaged. If the con-
nector is not properly engaged,
stop the engine immediately and
properly engage the connector.
Then, turn the engine on.
3. Turn on the air conditioner. 4. If the “HEV Warning” light turns on
in the driver instrument cluster, or
engine coolant or hot steam emits
from the engine coolant filler, stop
the engine immediately. Then, call
the nearest authorized Kia dealer
for assistance. If the “Engine
Warning” light remains illuminated
or the engine coolant is not flowing
out, keep the engine running.
Open the engine hood for ventila-
tion to help cool down the engine. 5. Check whether the engine coolant
temperature is low enough by
checking its temperature. If the
engine coolant level is low, please
check the connecting parts
between the radiator hose, heater
hose, and water pump for any
signs of leakage. When there is no
sign of leakage, please refill the
engine coolant. If causes and
signs of engine overheating such
as warning light illumination,
engine coolant leakage, or cooling
fan malfunction are found, stop the
vehicle the earliest. Then, call the
nearest authorized Kia dealer for
assistance.
WARNING
While the engine is running,
keep hair, hands and clothing
away from moving parts such
as the fan and drive belts to pre-
vent injury.

What to do in an emergency
87
6. If you cannot find the cause of theoverheating, wait until the engine
temperature has returned to nor-
mal. Then, if coolant has been lost,
carefully add coolant to the reser-
voir to bring the fluid level in the
reservoir up to the halfway mark.
7. Proceed with caution, keeping alert for further signs of overheat-
ing. If over heating happens again,
call the nearest authorized Kia
dealer for assistance.
✽ ✽NOTICE
Serious loss of coolant indicates
there is a leak in the cooling system
and should be checked as soon as
possible by an authorized Kia dealer.
CAUTION
When the engine overheats from
low engine coolant, suddenlyadding engine coolant maycause cracks in the engine. Toprevent damage, add enginecoolant slowly in small quantities
WARNING
Do not remove the
radiator cap when the
engine is hot. This
can allow coolant to
blow out of the open-
ing and cause seri-
ous burns.