wheel KIA PICANTO 2006 Owner's Manual

Driving tips
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SUGGESTIONS FOR ECONOMICAL OPERATION
Your vehicle's fuel economy depends
mainly on your style of driving, where
you drive and when you drive.
Each of these factors affects how
many kilometers (miles) you can get
from a liter (gallon) of fuel. To operate
your vehicle as economically as pos-
sible, use the following driving sug-
gestions to help save money in bothfuel and repairs:
 Avoid lengthy warm-up idling. Once the engine is running
smoothly, begin driving.
Remember, engine warm-up may
take a little longer on cold days.
 Save fuel by accelerating slowly after stopping.
 Keep the engine in tune and follow the recommended periodic mainte-
nance schedule. This will increase
the life of all parts and lower your
operating costs.  Do not use the air conditioner
unnecessarily.
 Slow down when driving on rough roads.
 For longer tire life and better fuel economy, always keep the tiresinflated to the recommended pres-
sures.
 Maintain a safe distance from other vehicles to avoid sudden stops.
This will reduce wear on brake lin-
ings and pads. Driving in such a
way will also save fuel because
extra fuel is required to accelerate
back to driving speed.
 Do not carry unnecessary weight in the vehicle.
 Do not rest your foot on the brake pedal while driving. This can cause
needless wear, possible damage
to the brakes, and poor fuel econo-
my.
 Improper wheel alignment results in faster tire wear and lower fuel
economy.  Open windows at high speeds can
reduce fuel economy.
 Fuel economy is less in crosswinds and headwinds. To help offset
some of this loss, slow down when
driving in these conditions.
Keeping a vehicle in good operating
condition is important both for econ-
omy and safety. Therefore, have an
authorized Kia dealer performscheduled inspections and mainte-
nance.
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WARNING - Engine off
during motion
Never turn the engine off to
coast down hills or anytime the
vehicle is in motion. The power
steering and power brakes willnot function without the engine
running. Instead, keep the
engine on and downshift to an
appropriate gear for engine
braking effect.

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Driving tips
SPECIAL DRIVING CONDITIONS
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 extra distance for braking.
 Avoid sudden movements in brak- ing or steering.
 When braking, pump the brake pedal with a light up-and-down
motion until the vehicle is stopped.
✽✽ NOTICE
Do not pump the brake pedal on a
vehicle equipped with ABS.
 If stalled in snow, mud, or sand, use second gear. Accelerate slow-
ly to avoid spinning the drive
wheels.
 Use sand, rock salt, tire chains, 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 1 (First) and R
(Reverse) in vehicles equipped with
a manual transaxle or R (Reverse)
and any forward gear in vehiclesequipped with an automatic
transaxle. Do not race the engine,and spin the wheels as little as pos-
sible. If you are still stuck after a few
tries, have the vehicle pulled out by a
tow vehicle to avoid engine overheat-
ing and possible damage to the
transaxle.
✽✽
NOTICE
Prolonged rocking may cause engine
over-heating, transaxle damage or
failure, and tire damage.
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WARNING - Downshifting
Downshifting with an automatic
transaxle, while driving on slip-
pery surfaces can cause an
accident. The sudden change intire speed could cause the tires
to skid. Be careful when down-
shifting on slippery surfaces.

Driving tips
8
5
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 tosee at night, especially in areas
where there may not be any street
lights.
 Adjust your mirrors to reduce the glare from other driver's head-
lights.
 Keep your headlights clean and properly aimed on vehicles notequipped with the automatic head-
light aiming feature. Dirty or
improperly aimed headlights will
make it much more difficult to seeat night.
 Avoid staring directly at the head- lights of oncoming vehicles. You
could be temporarily blinded, and it
will take several seconds for your
eyes to readjust to the darkness. Driving in the rain
Rain and wet roads can make driving
dangerous, especially if you’re not
prepared for the slick pavement.
Here are a few things to consider
when driving in the rain:
 A heavy rainfall will make it harder
to see and will increase the dis-
tance needed to stop your vehicle,
so slow down.
 Keep your windshield wiping equipment in good shape. Replace
your windshield wiper blades when
they show signs of streaking ormissing areas on the windshield.
 If your tires are not in good condi- tion, making a quick stop on wet
pavement can cause a skid and
possibly lead to an accident. Be
sure your tires are in good shape.
 Turn on your headlights to make it easier for others to see you.
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WARNING - Spinning tires
Do not spin the wheels, espe-
cially at speeds more than 56
km/h (35 mph). Spinning thewheels at high speeds when the
vehicle is stationary could
cause a tire to overheat, explode
and injure bystanders.

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Driving tips
 Driving too fast through large pud-dles can affect your brakes. If you
must go through puddles, try to
drive through them slowly.
 If you believe you may have gotten your brakes wet, apply them lightly
while driving until normal braking
operation returns. Winter driving
 We recommend that you carry
emergency equipment, including
tire chains, a window scraper,
windshield de-icer, a bag of sand
or salt, flares, a small shovel and
jumper cables.
 Make sure you have sufficient eth- ylene-glycol coolant in the radiator.
 Check the battery condition and cables. Cold temperatures reduce
the capacity of any battery, so it
must be in excellent condition to
provide enough winter starting
power.
 Make sure the engine oil viscosity is suitable for cold weather.
 Check the ignition system for loose connections and damage.  Use antifreeze-formulated wind-
shield washer fluid. (Do not use
engine coolant antifreeze.)
 Do not use the parking brake if it might freeze. When parking, shift
to 1 (First) or R (Reverse) with a
manual transaxle or P (Park) with
an automatic transaxle and block
the rear wheels.
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Driving tips
10
5
Snow tires
If you mount snow tires on your Kia,
make sure they are radial tires of the
same size and load range as the
original tires. Mount snow tires on all
four wheels to balance your vehicle’s
handling in all weather conditions.
Keep in mind that the traction provid-
ed by snow tires on dry roads may
not be as high as your vehicle's orig-
inal equipment tires. You should drive
cautiously even when the roads are
clear. Check with the tire dealer for
maximum speed recommendations.
Do not install studded tires without
first checking local, state and munic-ipal regulations for possible restric-tions against their use.
Tire chains
Since the sidewalls of radial tires are
thinner, they can be damaged by
mounting some types of snow chains
on them. Therefore, the use of snowtires is recommended instead of
snow chains. Do not mount tire
chains on vehicles equipped with
aluminum wheels, snow chains may
cause damage to the wheels. If snow
chains must be used, use wire-type
chains with a thickness of less than
15 mm (0.59 in). Damage to your
vehicle caused by improper snow
chain use is not covered by your
vehicle manufacturers warranty.
Install them only on the front tires.
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WARNING - Snow tire
size
Snow tires should be equivalent
in size and type to the vehicle's
standard tires. Otherwise, the
safety and handling of your
vehicle may be adversely affect-ed.
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Driving tips
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Driving in flooded areas
Avoid driving through flooded areas
unless you are sure the water is nohigher 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.
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Driving tips
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TRAILER TOWING
✽✽NOTICE
Pulling a trailer improperly can
damage your vehicle and result in
costly repairs not covered by your
warranty. To pull a trailer correctly,follow the advice in this section.
WARNING - Towing a
trailer
If you don't use the correct
equipment and drive properly,
you can lose control when you
pull a trailer. For example, if the
trailer is too heavy, the brakes
may not work well - or even at
all. You and your passengers
could be seriously or fatally
injured. Pull a trailer only if you
have followed all the steps inthis section.Engine Gasoline Engine
Manual Automatic Diesel Engine
Item transaxle transaxle
Maximum
Without brake400 (882) 0 (0) 400 (882)
trailer System
weight With brake 700 (1543) 400 (882) 700 (1543)
kg (Ibs.) System
Maximum permissible
static vertical load on 28 (62) 25 (55) 28 (62)
the coupling device
kg (Ibs.)
Recommended distance
from rear wheel center 570 (22.4) 570 (22.4) 570 (22.4)
to coupling point
mm (Inch)

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Driving tips
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Load-pulling components such as
the engine, transaxle, wheel assem-
blies, and tires are forced to workharder against the load of the added
weight. The engine is required to
operate at relatively higher speeds
and under greater loads. This addi-
tional burden generates extra heat.
The trailer also adds considerably to
wind resistance, increasing the
pulling requirements.If you do decide to pull a trailer
Here are some important points if
you decide to pull a trailer:
 Consider using a sway control. You
can ask a hitch dealer about sway control.
 After your odometer indicates 800 km (500 miles) or more, you can
tow a trailer. For the first 800 km
(500 miles) that you tow a trailer,
don’t drive over 80 km/h (50 mph)
and don’t make starts at full throt-
tle. This helps your engine and
other parts of your vehicle “wear” in
at the heavier loads.
 Always drive your vehicle at a mod- erate speed (less than 100 km/h).
 The important considerations have to do with weight: Weight of the trailer
How heavy can a trailer safely be? It
should never weigh more than the
maximum trailer weight
with trailer
brakes. But even that can be too
heavy.
It depends on how you plan to use
your trailer. For example, speed, alti-
tude, road grades, outside tempera-
ture and how much your vehicle is
used to pull a trailer are all important.
The ideal trailer weight can also
depend on any special equipment
that you have on your vehicle.

Driving tips
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Following distance
Stay at least twice as far behind the
vehicle ahead as you would when
driving your vehicle without a trailer.
This can help you avoid situations
that require heavy braking and sud-
den turns.
Passing
You’ll need more passing distance
up ahead when you’re towing a trail-
er. And, because you’re a good deal
longer, you’ll need to go much farther
beyond the passed vehicle before
you can return to your lane.
Backing up
Hold the bottom of the steering
wheel with one hand. Then, to move
the trailer to the left, just move your
hand to the left. To move the trailer to
the right, move your hand to the
right. Always back up slowly and, if
possible, have someone guide you.
Making turns
When you’re turning with a trailer,
make wider turns than normal. Do
this so your trailer won’t strike soft
shoulders, curbs, road signs, trees,
or other objects. Avoid jerky or sud-
den maneuvers. Signal well in
advance.
Turn signals when towing a trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle
has to have a different turn signal
flasher and extra wiring. The green
arrows on your instrument panel will
flash whenever you signal a turn or
lane change. Properly connected,
the trailer lights will also flash to alert
other drivers you’re about to turn,
change lanes, or stop.
When towing a trailer, the green
arrows on your instrument panel will
flash for turns even if the bulbs on
the trailer are burned out. Thus, you
may think drivers behind you are
seeing your signals when, in fact,
they are not. It’s important to check
occasionally to be sure the trailer
bulbs are still working. You must also
check the lights every time you dis-connect and then reconnect the
wires.

Driving tips
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Parking on hills
Generally, you should not park your
vehicle, with a trailer attached, on a
hill. People can be seriously or fatal-
ly injured, and both your vehicle and
the trailer can be damaged if they
begin a downhill trajectory. However, if you ever have to park
your trailer on a hill, here’s how to doit:
1. Apply your brakes, but don’t shift
into gear.
2. Have someone place chocks under the trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place, release the brakes until the
chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply the brakes. Apply your parking brake, and then shift to R
(Reverse) for a manual transaxle
or P (Park) for an automatic
transaxle.
5. Release the brakes.
When you are ready to leave after parking on a hill
1. With the manual transaxle in Neutral or automatic transaxle in P
(Park), apply your brakes and hold
the brake pedal down while you:
 Start your engine;
 Shift into gear; and
 Release the parking brake.
2. Slowly remove your foot from the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear of the chocks.
4. Stop and have someone pick up and store the chocks.
WARNING - Parking brake
It can be dangerous to get out of
your vehicle if the parking brake
is not firmly set.
If you have left the engine run-
ning, the vehicle can move sud-
denly. You or others could be
seriously or fatally injured.
WARNING - Parking on a
hill
Parking your vehicle on a hill
with a trailer attached could
cause serious injury or death,
should the trailer break lose.