4WD KIA Sorento 2009 2.G Owner's Manual

4
Ignition switch / 4-2
Starting the engine / 4-4
Automatic transmission / 4-5
Four wheel drive (4WD) / 4-10
Limited slip differential / 4-19
Brake system / 4-20
Steering wheel / 4-25
Cruise control system / 4-27
Electronic stability control / 4-30
Rear parking assist system / 4-33
Instrument cluster / 4-36
Gauges / 4-37
Warnings and indicators / 4-39
Multi-meter / 4-45
Lighting / 4-51
Wipers and washers / 4-54
Defroster / 4-57
Hazard warning flasher / 4-58
Manual climate control system / 4-59
Automatic climate control system / 4-66
Windshield defrosting and defogging / 4-75
Driving your vehicle

Driving your vehicle10
4For safe four-wheel drive opera-
tion Your vehicle allows you to drive in on-
road and off-road conditions.
However, do not try to drive in deep standing water, mud, or over steep
hills.
When you are driving up or down hills drive as close to straight up and down
the hill as possible. Use extreme cau-
tion in going up or down steep hills,
since you may flip your vehicle over
depending on the grade, terrain and
water/mud conditions.
You must learn how to corner in a 4WDvehicle as soon as possible. Do not
rely on your experience in convention-
al 2WD vehicles in choosing safe cor-
nering speed. You must drive more
slowly.
Drive off-road carefully because your vehicle may be damaged by rocks or
roots of trees. Become familiar with the
off-road conditions you are going to
drive before you start.FOUR WHEEL DRIVE (4WD) (IF EQUIPPED)
WARNING -
Four wheel
drive
Driving across the contour of steep
hills can be extremely dangerous.
This danger can come from slight
changes in the wheel angle which
can destabilize the vehicle or, even
if the vehicle is maintaining stabili-
ty under power, it can lose that sta-
bility if the vehicle stops its forward
motion. Your vehicle may roll over
without warning and without time
for you to correct a mistake that
could cause serious injury or death.
WARNING
Reduce speed when you turn cor-
ners. The center of gravity of 4WD
vehicles is higher than that of con-
ventional 2WD vehicles, making
them more likely to roll over when
you turn corners too fast.
WARNING
Do not grab inside of the steering
wheel when you are driving off-
road. Your arm may be hurt by a
sudden steering maneuver or from
steering wheel rebound due to
impact with objects on the ground.
This may cause you to lose steering
wheel control.

411
Driving your vehicle
Always hold the steering wheel firmlywhen you are driving off-road.
Make sure all passengers are wearing seat belts.
Do not drive in water if the level is high- er than the bottom of the vehicle.
Check your brake condition once you are out of mud or water. Press the
brake pedal several times as you move
slowly until you feel normal braking
forces return.
Shorten your scheduled maintenance interval if you drive in off-road condi-
tions such as sand, mud or water (see
“Scheduled Maintenance” in the Index).
Always wash your car thoroughly.
Full-time 4WD operation
(if equipped)When 4WD is selected with the transfer
shift knob, the vehicle will switch to 4WD
operation after a few seconds.
WARNING
If you are driving too fast in water,
the water spray can get into the
engine compartment and wet the
ignition system, causing your vehi-
cle a sudden stop. If this happens
and your vehicle is in a tilted posi-
tion, your vehicle may roll over.
WARNING
If you are driving in heavy wind, the
vehicle's higher center of gravity
decreases your steering control
capacity and requires you to drive
more slowly.
LO WAU TO
E2BLA411B

Driving your vehicle12
4✽
✽
NOTICEWhen the vehicle shifts into 4WD mode,
a slight mechanical sound and vibration
may be felt and does not indicate a prob-
lem with the system. To avoid shift shock, when the vehicle is
stopped and you make a transfer case
shift using the transfer shift knob, wait
until the corresponding indicator light in
the instrument cluster illuminates before
driving.
Knob positionThis is used to set different positions.
AUTO
Full power delivered to front and rear
axle for increased traction. Use this mode
for normal on-road driving.
The 4WD LOW indicator light ( ) will
be turned off after blinking for a few sec-
onds to remind you that you are in the
AUTO mode.
LOW
Full power to both axles, including a
lower gear ratio for low speed applica-
tions that require extra power such as
wet pavement, snow-covered roads
and/or off-road.
LOW Mode is not recommended on dry
pavement.
The 4WD LOW indicator light
( )
will
be turned on after blinking for a few sec-
onds to remind you that you are in the
LOW mode.
Transfer shift knob operationAUTO ↔ ↔
LOW
1. Stop the vehicle.
2. Depress the clutch pedal (Manual transmission) or put the shift lever into
N (Neutral) position (Automatic trans-
mission).
3. AUTO ➝ ➝
LOW
: Turn the transfer shift knob to LOW mode.
LOW ➝
➝
AUTO
: Turn the transfer shift knob to AUTO mode.
4. Before releasing the clutch pedal (Manual transmission) or shifting to
other ranges from N (Automatic trans-
mission), wait for the corresponding
indicator light in the instrument cluster
to go ON or OFF.
4WD
LOW4WD
LOW
CAUTION
If the vehicle moves while the trans-
fer shift is in process, the gearbox may be damaged.

413
Driving your vehicle
Part-time 4WD operation
(if equipped) You can send your engine's driving
power to all front and rear wheels for
maximum power.
Four-wheel drive is useful when you
drive in snow, mud, ice or sand where
good traction is required, or when your
wheels lose traction using two-wheel
drive.When 4WD is selected with the transfer
shift knob, the vehicle will switch to 4WD
operation after a few seconds.
✽ ✽
NOTICEWhen the vehicle shifts into 4WD mode,
a slight mechanical sound and vibration
may be felt and does not indicate a prob-
lem with the system.To avoid shift shock, when the vehicle is
stopped and you make a transfer case
shift using the transfer shift knob, wait
until the corresponding indicator light in
the instrument cluster illuminates before
driving.
✽ ✽NOTICE• Do not select four wheel drive on flat
and normal roads.
• Four-wheel driving on flat roads for a long period causes poor fuel economy
and noise and it also causes tires to
wear faster.
• Four-wheel driving on flat and nor- mal roads can result in a severe bind-
ing and chattering condition when
turning the steering wheel.
• Four-wheel driving on flat roads for a long period can also cause the differ-
ential oil temperature to increase,
resulting in damage to parts in the
power train.
OBL046901N

Driving your vehicle14
4Knob positionThis is used to set different positions.
2HI (Rear-wheel drive)
This mode is used, when driving on nor-
mal roads and highway.
4HI (High-range 4-wheel drive)
This mode is used, when driving off-
roads, wet or snow covered roads with
normal speed.
The 4WD indicator light
()
will be
turned on to remind you that you are in
the 4HI mode.
4LO (Low-range 4-wheel drive)
Use 4LO for climbing or descending hills,
off-roads driving and towing the vehicle,
especially when increased power is
required.
The 4WD LOW indicator light
( )
will
be turned on to remind you that you are
in the 4LO mode.
Transfer shift knob operationBy turning the transfer knob (4HI, 4LO),
both front and rear axles are engaged.
This improves the traction characteristic.
2HI ➝ ➝
4HI
Turn the transfer knob from the 2HI mode
to 4HI mode at speed below 80 km/h (50
mph).
It is not necessary to depress the clutch
pedal or put the shift lever into N
(Neutral) position (Manual transmission)
or put the shift lever into N (Neutral) posi-
tion (Automatic transmission).
Perform this operation when driving
straight. There will be a few seconds of
time delay before come into 4HI mode
when you shift the knob to 4 HI from 2HI. 4HI
➝ ➝
2HI
Turn the transfer knob from the 4HI mode
to the 2HI mode at speed below 80 km/h
(50 mph). It is not necessary to depress
the clutch pedal (Manual transmission) or
put the shift lever into N (Neutral)
(Automatic transmission). Perform this
operation when driving straight.
If the transfer mode does not shift into
2HI mode when you turn the transfer
knob to 2HI, drive straight ahead with
accelerating or decelerating, or drive in
reverse.
4WD
LOW

Driving your vehicle16
4 You must learn how to corner in a 4WD
vehicle as soon as possible. Do not rely
on your experience in conventional
2WD vehicles in choosing a safe cor-
nering speed. You must drive more
slowly.
Always hold the steering wheel firmlywhen you are driving off-road.
Make sure all passengers are wearing seat belts.
WARNING
- Steep hills
Driving across the contour of steep
hills can be extremely dangerous.
This danger can come from slight
changes in the hill angle which can
destabilize the vehicle. Even if the
vehicle is maintaining stability
under power, it can lose that stabil-
ity if the vehicle stops its forward
motion. Your vehicle may roll over
without warning and without time
for you to correct a mistake that
could cause serious injury or death.
WARNING
- Turning cor-ners
Reduce speed when you turn cor-
ners. The center of gravity of 4WD
and 2WD utility vehicles are raised
higher than that of conventional
2WD cars, making them more likely
to roll over when you turn corners
too fast.
WARNING
Do not grab inside of the steering
wheel when you are driving off-road.
Your arm may be hurt by a sudden
steering maneuver or from steering
wheel rebound due to impact with
objects on the ground. You could
lose control of the steering wheel.
OBL046499N

417
Driving your vehicle
If you need to drive in water, stop yourvehicle, set your transfer knob to 4LO
or LOW and drive at less than 8 km/h
(5 mph). Do not drive in water if the level is high-
er than the bottom of the wheel hubs.
Check your brake condition once you are out of mud or water. Press the
brake pedal several times as you move
slowly until you feel normal braking
forces return.
Shorten your scheduled maintenance interval if you drive off-road in condi-
tions such as sand, mud or water (see
“Scheduled Maintenance’’ in the
Index). Always wash your car thor-
oughly.
The full time four wheel drive vehicle cannot be towed by an ordinarily tow
truck. Make sure that the vehicle is
towed with its four wheels raised off the
ground.
Since the driving torque is always applied to the 4 wheels the perform-
ance of the 4WD vehicle is greatly
affected by the condition of the tires.
Be sure to equip them with all four tires
with same size and type.
WARNING
If you are driving in heavy wind, the
vehicle’s higher center of gravity
decreases your steering control.
Drive more slowly than you would
in calm conditions.
WARNING
- Drivingthrough water
If you are driving too fast in water,
the water spray can get into the
engine compartment and wet the
ignition system, causing your vehi-
cle to suddenly stop. If this hap-
pens and your vehicle is in a tilted
position, your vehicle may roll over.
WARNING
Your vehicle is equipped with tires
designed to provide for safe ride
and handling capability.
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 vehicle,
which could lead to handling 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. 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 driv-
ing.

Driving your vehicle18
4 For speedometer test or inspection/
maintenance (I/M) program of full-time
4WD vehicle, use a four wheel chassis
dynamometer. A 4WD vehicle should not be tested on
a 2WD drive roll tester. If a 2WD roll
tester must be used, perform the fol-
lowing:
1. Check the tire pressures recommend- ed for your vehicle.
2. Place the rear wheels on the roll tester for speedometer test as shown in the
illustration.
3. Release the parking brake.
4. Place the front wheels on the tempo- rary free roller as shown in the illustra-
tion.
E5BLA401
Roll tester (speedometer) Temporary free roller
CAUTION
Never engage the parking brake
while performing these tests.
CAUTION
While the full-time 4WD vehicle isbeing raised on a jack, never start the engine or cause the tires torotate.
There is the danger that rotatingtires touching the ground couldcause the vehicle to go off the jack and to jump forward.
If one of the front or rear wheelsbegins to spin in mud, snow, etc.the vehicle can sometimes be driv-en out by depressing the accelera- tor pedal further; however avoidrunning the engine continuously at high rpm because doing so coulddamage the 4WD system.
WARNING
Keep away from the front of the
vehicle while inspecting. This is
very dangerous as the vehicle can
jump forward and cause serious
injury or death.

431
Driving your vehicle
ESC operation offESC OFF state
press the ESC OFF button
(ESC OFF indicator light illu-
minates).
to LOCK position when ESC
is off, ESC remains off. Upon
restarting the engine, the
ESC will automatically turn
on again.
transfer shift knob is turned
from 2WD mode (2HI) to
4WD mode (4HI or 4LO), the
ESC will automatically turn
off, and if it is turned from
4WD mode (4HI or 4LO) to
2WD mode (2HI), the ESC
will automatically turn on
again. (if part time 4WD is
equipped)
Indicator lightWhen ignition switch is turned to ON, the
indicator light illuminates, then goes off if
ESC system is operating normally.
The ESC indicator light blinks whenever
ESC is operating.
ESC OFF indicator light comes on when
either the ESC is turned off with the but-
ton, or ESC malfunctions when turned
on.
ESC
ESC OFF
■ ESC indicator light (blinks)
■ ESC OFF indicator light (comes on)
WARNING
- ESC
The Electronic Stability Control sys-
tem is only a driving aid; use pre-
cautions for safe driving by slowing
down on curved, snowy, or icy
roads. Don’t attempt to accelerate
excessively just because the ESC
indicator light is blinking.
ESC
OFF