ground clearance KIA Sorento 2007 1.G Owner's Manual

13
Introduction
VEHICLE HANDLING
INSTRUCTIONSAs with other vehicles of this type, failure
to operate this vehicle correctly may
result in loss of control, an accident or
vehicle rollover. Specific design charac-
teristics (higher ground clearance, track,
etc.) give this vehicle a higher center of
gravity than ordinary cars. They are not
designed for cornering at the same
speeds as conventional 2-wheel drive
vehicles. Avoid sharp turns or abrupt
maneuvers. Again, failure to operate this
vehicle correctly may result in loss of
control, an accident or vehicle rollover.
Be sure to read the “on-pavement’’
and “off-road’’ driving guidelines,
Section 5 in this manual.
VEHICLE BREAK-IN PROCESSNo special break-in period is needed. By
following a few simple precautions for the
first 1,000 km (600 miles) you may add to
the performance, economy and life of
your vehicle.
 Do not race the engine.
 Do not maintain a single speed for longperiods of time, either fast or slow.
Varying engine speed is needed to
properly break-in the engine.
 Avoid hard stops, except in emergen- cies, to allow the brakes to seat prop-
erly.
 Avoid full-throttle starts.

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Knowing your vehicle
Just before impact, drivers often brakeheavily. Such heavy braking lowers the
front portion of the vehicle causing it to
“ride” under a vehicle with a higher
ground clearance. Air bags may not
inflate in this "under-ride" situation
because deceleration forces that are
detected by sensors may be signifi-
cantly altered by such “under-ride” col-
lisions. Air bags may not inflate in rollover acci-
dents. Air bag deployment would not
provide proper protection to the occu-
pants.
However, curtain air bags may inflate when the vehicle is rolled over by a
side impact collision. Air bags may not inflate if the vehicle
collides with objects such as utility
poles or trees, where the point of
impact is concentrated to one area and
the full force of the impact is not deliv-
ered to the sensors.
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Driving tips10
5Reducing the risk of a rolloverThis multi-purpose passenger vehicle is
defined as a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).
SUV’s have higher ground clearance and
a narrower track to make them capable
of performing in a wide variety of off-road
applications. Specific design characteris-
tics give them a higher center of gravity
than ordinary cars. An advantage of the
higher ground clearance is a better view
of the road, which allows you to antici-
pate problems. They are not designed for
cornering at the same speeds as con-
ventional passenger drive vehicles, any
more than low-slung sports cars are
designed to perform satisfactorily in off-
road conditions. Due to this risk, driver
and passengers are strongly recom-
mended to buckle their seatbelts. In a
rollover crash, an unbelted person is
more likely to die than a person wearing
a seatbelt. There are steps that a driver
can make to reduce the risk of a rollover.
If at all possible, avoid sharp turns or
abrupt maneuvers, do not load your roof
rack with heavy cargo, and never modify
your vehicle in any way.
Rollover warning labelTo remind you of the danger of the
rollover, a rollover warning label which is
now required by the Federal safety regu-
lations is adhered to the driver’s sunvisor.
To remind you of the danger of the
rollover, the rollover warning label is
adhered to the driver’s sunvisor. If you
close the driver’s sunvisor, you can see
the rollover warning label which is locat-
ed at the side of the air bag warning
label.
WARNING
- Rollover
As with other Sports Utility Vehicle
(SUV), failure to operate this vehicle
correctly may result in loss of con-
trol, an accident or vehicle rollover.
 Utility vehicles have a significant-ly higher rollover rate than other
types of vehicles.
 Specific design characteristics (higher ground clearance, nar-
rower track, etc.) give this vehicle
a higher center of gravity than
ordinary cars.
 A SUV is not designed for corner- ing at the same speeds as con-
ventional vehicles.
 Avoid sharp turns or abrupt maneuvers.
 In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly more likely
to die than a person wearing a
safety belt. Make sure everyone in
the vehicle is properly buckled
up.
Avoid Abrupt Maneuversand Excessive Speed.
Always Buckle Up.
See Owner's Manual
For Further Information.

729
Maintenance
Wheel alignment and tire
balance The wheels on your vehicle were
aligned and balanced carefully at the
factory to give you the longest tire life
and best overall performance.
In most cases, you will not need to
have your wheels aligned again.
However, if you notice unusual tire
wear or your vehicle pulling one way
or the other, the alignment may need
to be reset.
If you notice your vehicle vibrating
when driving on a smooth road, your
wheels may need to be rebalanced.
WARNING -
Replacing
tires
Driving on worn-out tires is very hazardous and will
reduce braking effectiveness,
steering accuracy, and trac-
tion.
Your vehicle is equipped with tires designed to provide for
safe ride and handling capa-
bility. Do not use a size and
type of tire and wheel that is
different from the one that is
originally installed on your
vehicle. It can affect the safety
and performance of your vehi-
cle, which could lead to han-
dling failure or rollover and
serious injury. When replacing
the tires, be sure to equip all
four tires with the tire and
wheel of the same size, type,
tread, brand and load-carrying
capacity.
(Continued)
(Continued)If you nevertheless decide to
equip your vehicle with any
tire/wheel combination not
recommended by Kia for off
road driving, you should not
use these tires for highway
driving.
The use of any other tire size or type may seriously affect
ride, handling, ground clear-
ance, stopping distance, body
to tire clearance, snow tire
clearance, and speedometer
reliability.
It is best to replace all four tires at the same time. If that is
not possible, or necessary,
then replace the two front or
two rear tires as a pair.
Replacing just one tire can
seriously affect your vehicle’s
handling.
CAUTION
Improper wheel weights candamage your vehicle's alu-minum wheels. Use onlyapproved wheel weights.

Maintenance30
7Wheel replacement When replacing the metal wheels for
any reason, make sure the new
wheels are equivalent to the original
factory units in diameter, rim width
and offset.
Tire sidewall labelingFederal law requires tire manufactur-
ers to place standardized information
on the sidewall of all tires. This infor-
mation identifies and describes the
fundamental characteristics of the
tire and also provides the tire identifi-
cation number (TIN) for safety stan-
dard certification. The TIN can be
used to identify the tire in case of a
recall.
1. Manufacturer or brand nameManufacturer or Brand name is
shown.2. Tire size designation A tire’s sidewall is marked with a tire
size designation. You will need this
information when selecting replace-
ment tires for your car. The following
explains what the letters and num-
bers in the tire size designation
mean.
WARNING
A wheel that is not the correct
size may adversely affect wheel
and bearing life, braking and
stopping abilities, handling
characteristics, ground clear-
ance, body-to-tire clearance,
snow chain clearance,
speedometer calibration, head-
light aim and bumper height.
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