KIA Sorento 2017 3.G Owner's Manual

Driving your vehicle
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5
Shift lock system
For your safety, the automatic
transaxle has a shift lock system
which prevents shifting the transaxle
from P (Park) into R (Reverse)
unless the brake pedal is depressed.
To shift the transaxle from P (Park)
into R (Reverse):
1.Depress and hold the brake pedal.
2.Start the engine or turn the ignition
switch to the ON position.
3.Move the shift lever.
If the brake pedal is repeatedly
depressed and released with the shift
lever in the P (Park) position, a chat-
tering noise near the shift lever may
be heard. It is a normal condition. Shift-lock override
If the shift lever cannot be moved
from the P (Park) position into R
(Reverse) position with the brake
pedal depressed, continue depress-
ing the brake, then do the following:
1.Carefully remove the cap covering
the shift-lock access hole (1).
2.Insert a screwdriver into the access hole and press down on
the screwdriver.
3.Move the shift lever.
4.Have your vehicle inspected by an authorized Kia dealer immediately.WARNING- Shifting from
park
Always fully depress the brake
pedal before and while shifting
out of the P (Park) position into
another position to avoid inad-
vertent motion of the vehicle
which could injure persons in
or around the vehicle.
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Driving your vehicle
Ignition key interlock system
The ignition key cannot be removed
unless the shift lever is in the P
(Park) position. Even if the ignition
switch is in the LOCK position, the
key also cannot be removed.
If your vehicle is equipped with
ENGINE START/STOP button, the
button will not change to the OFF
position unless the shift lever is in the
P (Park) position.
Good driving practices
Never move the gear shift leverfrom P (Park) to any other position
with the accelerator pedal
depressed.
Never move the gear shift lever into P (Park) when the vehicle is in
motion.
Slow down before shifting to a lower gear. Otherwise, the lower
gear may not be engaged.
Always use the parking brake. Do not depend on placing the
transaxle in P (Park) to keep the
vehicle from moving.
Optimum vehicle performance and economy is obtained by smoothly
depressing and releasing the
accelerator pedal.
Moving up a steep grade from a
standing start
To move up a steep grade from a
standing start, depress the brake
pedal, shift the shift lever to D
(Drive). Select the appropriate gear
depending on load weight and steep-
ness of the grade, and release the
parking brake. Depress the accelera-
tor gradually while releasing the
service brakes.
When accelerating from a stop on
a steep hill, the vehicle may have a
tendency to roll backwards.
Shifting the shift lever into 2
(Second Gear) will help prevent
the vehicle from rolling back-
wards.

Driving your vehicle
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5
Engine power can be delivered to all
front and rear wheels for maximum
traction. AWD is useful when extra
traction is required, such as, when
driving on slippery, muddy, wet, or
snow-covered roads. These vehicles are not designed for
challenging off-road use. Occasional
off-road use such as established
unpaved roads and trails are OK. It is
always important when traveling off-
highway that the driver carefully
reduces the speed to a level that
does not exceed the safe operating
speed for those conditions. In gener-
al, off-road conditions provide less
traction and braking effectiveness
than normal road conditions.
The driver must be especially alert to
avoid driving on slopes which tilt the
vehicle to either side.
These factors must be carefully con-
sidered when driving off-road.
Keeping the vehicle in contact with
the driving surface and under control
in these conditions is always the dri-
ver's responsibility for the safety of
him/herself and his or her passen-
gers.
* AWD : All Wheel Drive
FWD : Front Wheel Drive
ALL WHEEL DRIVE (AWD) (IF EQUIPPED)
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■Type A
■Type B

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Driving your vehicle
If the AWD system warning light
( ) illuminates, this indicates that
there is a malfunction in the AWD
system.
If this occurs, have your vehicle
checked by an authorized Kia dealer
as soon as possible.
Tight corner brake effect
Tight corner brake effect is a unique
characteristic of all wheel drive vehi-
cles caused by the difference in tire
rotation of the four wheels and the
zero-degree alignment of the front
wheels and suspension.
Sharp turns at low speeds should be
carried out with caution.WARNING - Off roaddriving
Do not attempt to operate your
vehicle under extreme or chal-
lenging off road driving condi-
tions. Although this vehicle has
off-road capabilities, it was not
designed to be driven off road.

Driving your vehicle
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This mode is used for climbing or descending sharp grades,
off-road driving, driving on sandy and muddy roads, etc., to
maximize traction.
This mode automatically begins to deactivate at speeds above 30 km/h (19 mph) and is shifted to AWD AUTO mode
at speeds above 40 km/h (25 mph). If the vehicle decelerates
to speeds below approximate 40 km/h (25 mph), however,
the transfer mode is shifted into AWD LOCK mode again.
AWD AUTO
(AWD LOCK is
deactivated) (Indicator light is
not illuminated)
All Wheel Drive (AWD) transfer mode selection
Transfer mode Selection button Indicator light Description
When driving in AWD AUTO mode, the vehicle operates sim-
ilar to conventional FWD vehicles under normal operating
conditions. However, if the system determines that there is a
need for the AWD mode, the engine’s driving power is dis-
tributed to all four wheels automatically without driver inter-
vention.
When driving on normal roads and pavement, the vehicle moves similar to conventional FWD vehicles.
AWD LOCK (Indicator light isilluminated)
When the AWD LOCK mode is deactivated, a shock may be felt as the drive power is delivered entirely to the front
wheels. This shock is not a mechanical failure.
CAUTION- Normal road conditions
Do not drive on normal roads for prolonged periods of time with your vehicle locked in the AWD mode.Driving on normal road with AWD LOCK Mode (especially, when cornering) may cause mechanical noise orvibration which may damage your power train.

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Driving your vehicle
For safe all wheel drive opera-
tion
Do not try to drive in deep standingwater or mud since such conditions
can stall your engine and clog your
exhaust pipes. Do not drive down
steep hills since it requires extreme
skill to maintain control of the vehi-
cle.
When you are driving up or downhills; drive as straight as possible.
Use extreme caution going up or
down steep hills, the grade, terrain
and water/mud conditions may
cause the vehicle to flip.
HILL1HILL2
WARNING- Hills
Proceed with extreme caution
when driving down steep hills.
A slight change in the wheel
angle can destabilize the vehi-
cle. This can cause your vehicle
to suddenly roll without warn-
ing and without time for you to
regain control of your vehicle.

Driving your vehicle
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5
You must consciously take the
effort to learn how to corner in a
AWD vehicle. Do not rely on your
experience in conventional FWD
vehicles in choosing a safe corner-
ing speed in AWD mode. For
starters, you must drive more slow-
ly in AWD.
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. Always hold the steering wheel
firmly when you are driving off-
road.
Make sure all passengers are wearing seat belts.
If you need to drive in the water, stop your vehicle, set your transfer
to the AWD LOCK mode and drive
at less than 8 km/h (5 mph).
WARNING- Steeringwheel
Do not grab the inside of the
steering wheel when you are
driving off-road. You may hurt
your arm by a sudden steering
maneuver or from steering
wheel rebound due to impact
with objects on the ground.
WARNING- Wind danger
Drive slowly in heavy winds.
The vehicle's higher center of
gravity decreases your steering
control capacity.
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WARNING - AWD
Reduce speed when you turn
corners. The center of gravity of
AWD vehicles is higher than
that of conventional FWD vehi-
cles, making them more likely to
roll over when you turn corners
too fast.

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Driving your vehicle
✽ ✽NOTICE
• Shorten your scheduled mainte-
nance interval if you drive in off-
road conditions such as sand, mud
or water (see “Maintenance under
severe usage conditions” in section
7). Always wash your vehicle thor-
oughly after off-road use, especial-
ly cleaning the bottom of the vehi-
cle.
• A full time all wheel drive vehicle cannot be towed by an ordinary
tow truck. Make sure that the
vehicle is placed on a flat bed
truck for moving.
CAUTION - Mud or snow
Do not run the engine continu-
ously at high RPMs to free thevehicle from snow or mud. Doingso could damage the AWD sys-tem in your vehicle.
WARNING- AWD driving
Do not attempt quick steering
maneuvers or sharp turns in
AWD mode. Such maneuvers
increase the risk of rollover
accidents. Rollover accidents
are extremely violent and
unpredictable.
WARNING - Driving through
water
Drive slowly. If you are driving
too fast in water, the water can
get into the engine compartment
and wet the ignition system,
causing your vehicle to sudden-
ly stop. If this happens and your
vehicle is in a tilted position,
your vehicle may roll over.

Driving your vehicle
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5
Do not use a tire and wheel package
with a different size and type from
the one originally installed on your
vehicle. It can affect the safety and
performance of your vehicle, which
could lead to steering failure or
rollover causing 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 equip your vehicle with any
tire/wheel combination not recom-
mended by Kia for off-road driving,
ou should not use thesetires for high
way driving. Full-time AWD vehicles must be
tested on a special four wheel
chassis dynamometer.
A full-time AWD vehicle should not be tested on a FWD roll tester. If a
FWD roll tester must be used, per-
form the following: 1. Check the tire pressures recom-
mended for your vehicle.
2. Place the front wheels on the roll tester for a speedometer test as
shown in the illustration.
3. Release the parking brake.
4. Place the rear wheels on the tem- porary free roller as shown in the
illustration.
WARNING- Jackedvehicle
While the full-time AWD vehicle
is being raised on a jack, never
start the engine or cause the
tires to rotate.
There is the danger that rotating
tires touching the ground could
cause the vehicle to go off the
jack and to jump forward.
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Temporary free roller

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Driving your vehicle
Power brakes
Your vehicle has power-assisted
brakes that adjust automatically
through normal usage.
In the event that the power-assisted
brakes lose power because of a
stalled engine or some other reason,
you can still stop your vehicle by
applying greater force to the brake
pedal than you normally would. The
stopping distance, however, will be
longer.
When the engine is not running, the
reserve brake power is partially
depleted each time the brake pedal
is applied. Do not pump the brake
pedal when the power assist has
been interrupted.
Pump the brake pedal only when
necessary to maintain steering con-
trol on slippery surfaces.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.
Always test your brakes in this fash-
ion after driving through deep water.
To dry the brakes, apply them lightly
while maintaining a safe forward
speed until brake performance
returns to normal.
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 per-
formance.
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.