warning KIA SOUL 2015 Owners Manual

Driving your vehicle
26
5
Check the brake warning light by
turning the ignition switch ON (do not
start the engine). This light will be
illuminated when the parking brake is
applied with the ignition switch in the
START or ON position.
Before driving, be sure the parking
brake is fully released and the brake
warning light is off.
If the brake warning light remains on
after the parking brake is released
while the engine is running, there
may be a malfunction in the brake
system. Immediate attention is nec-
essary. If at all possible, cease driving the
vehicle immediately. If that is not pos-
sible, use extreme caution while
operating the vehicle and only con-
tinue to drive the vehicle until you
can reach a safe location or repair
shop.
W-75
WARNING- Parking brake
use
All vehicles should always have
the parking brake fully engaged
when parking to avoid inadver-
tent movement of the vehicle
which can injure occupants or
pedestrians.

Driving your vehicle
28
5
The ABS warning light will stay on for
approximately 3 seconds after the
ignition switch is ON. During that
time, the ABS will go through self-
diagnosis and the light will go off if
everything is normal. If the light stays
on, you may have a problem with
your ABS. Contact an authorized Kia
dealer as soon as possible. When you drive on a road having
poor traction, such as an icy road,
and have operated your brakes
continuously, the ABS will be active
continuously and the ABS warning
light may illuminate. Pull your vehi-
cle over to a safe place and stop
the engine.
Restart the engine. If the ABS warning light goes off, then your
ABS system is normal. Otherwise,
you may have a problem with the
ABS. Contact an authorized Kia
dealer as soon as possible.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
When you jump start your vehicle
because of a drained battery, the
engine may not run as smoothly and
the ABS warning light may turn on
at the same time. This happens
because of low battery voltage. It
does not mean your ABS has mal-
functioned.
• Do not pump your brakes!
• Have the battery recharged before
driving the vehicle.
W-78

531
Driving your vehicle
ESC off state 1
To cancel ESC operation, press the
ESC OFF button (ESC OFF )
shortly (ESC OFF indicator light
(ESC OFF ) illuminates). At this
state, the engine control function
does not operate. It means the trac-
tion control function does not oper-
ate. Brake control function only oper-
ates.
If your vehicle is equipped with clus-
ter type B, a message also will
appear on the LCD display.
To cancel ESC operation, press the
ESC OFF button (ESC OFF ) for
more than 3 seconds. ESC OFF indi-
cator light (ESC OFF ) illuminates
and ESC OFF warning chime will
sound. At this state, the engine con-
trol function and brake control func-
tion do not operate. It means the car
stability control function does not
operate any more.
If your vehicle is equipped with clus-
ter type B, a message also will
appear on the LCD display.
Indicator light
When ignition switch is turned to ON,
the indicator light illuminates, then
goes off if the ESC system is operat-
ing normally.
The ESC indicator light blinks when-
ever ESC is operating or illuminates
when ESC fails to operate.
The ESC OFF indicator light comes
on when the ESC is turned off with
the button.
OPS053022OPS053023
■
ESC indicator light
■ ESC OFF indicator light

Driving your vehicle
32
5
ESC OFF usage
When driving
ESC should be turned on for daily
driving whenever possible.
To turn ESC off while driving, press the ESC OFF button while driving
on a flat road surface.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
• When operating the vehicle on a
dynamometer, ensure that the
ESC is turned off (ESC OFF light
illuminated). If the ESC is left on,
it may prevent the vehicle speed
from increasing, and result in false
diagnosis.
• Turning the ESC off does not affect ABS or brake system opera-
tion.CAUTION
Driving with varying tire or
wheel sizes may cause the ESCsystem to malfunction. Whenreplacing tires, make sure theyare the same size as your origi-nal tires.
WARNING- Operating
ESC
Never press the ESC OFF but-
ton while ESC is operating (ESC
indicator light blinks).
If ESC is turned off while ESC is
operating, the vehicle may slip
out of control.WARNING- Electronic sta- bility control
Drive carefully even though
your vehicle has Electronic
Stability Control. It can only
assist you in maintaining con-
trol under certain circum-
stances.

533
Driving your vehicle
Vehicle stability management
(VSM)
This system provides further
enhancements to vehicle stability
and steering responses when a vehi-
cle is driving on a slippery road or a
vehicle detects changes in coeffi-
cient of friction between right wheels
and left wheels when braking.
VSM operation
When the VSM is in operation, ESC
indicator light ( ) blinks.
When the vehicle stability manage-
ment is operating properly, you can
feel a slight pulsation in the vehicle
and/or abnormal steering responses
(EPS). This is only the effect of brake
and EPS control and indicates noth-
ing unusual.The VSM does not operate when:
Driving on bank road such as gra-
dient or incline
Driving in reverse
ESC OFF indicator light ( ) remains on the instrument cluster
EPS indicator light remains on the instrument cluster
VSM operation off
If you press the ESC OFF button to
turn off the ESC, the VSM will also
cancel and the ESC OFF indicator
light ( ) illuminates.
To turn on the VSM, press the button
again. The ESC OFF indicator light
goes out.
Malfunction indicator
The VSM can be deactivated even if
you don’t cancel the VSM operation
by pressing the ESC OFF button. It
indicates that a malfunction has
been detected somewhere in the
Electric Power Steering system or
VSM system. If the ESC indicator
light ( ) or EPS warning light
remains on, take your vehicle to an
authorized Kia dealer and have the
system checked.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
• The VSM is designed to function
above approximately 13 mph (22
km/h) on curves.
• The VSM is designed to function above approximately 6 mph (10
km/h) when a vehicle is braking on
a split-mu road. The split-mu road
is made of surfaces which have dif-
ferent friction forces.

Driving your vehicle
34
5
The Vehicle Stability Management
system is not a substitute for safe
driving practices but a supplemen-
tary function only. It is the respon-
sibility of the driver to always check
the speed and the distance to the
vehicle ahead. Always hold the
steering wheel firmly while driving.
Your vehicle is designed to activate according to the driver’s intention,
even with installed VSM. Always
follow all the normal precautions
for driving at safe speeds for the
conditions – including driving in
clement weather and on a slippery
road.Hill-start assist control (HAC)
A vehicle has the tendency to roll
back on a steep hill when it starts to
go after stopping. The Hill-start
Assist Control (HAC) prevents the
vehicle from rolling back by applying
the brakes automatically for about 2
seconds. The brakes are released
when the accelerator pedal is
depressed or after about 2 seconds.
The HAC is activated only for about 2
seconds, so when the vehicle is
starting off always depress the accel-
erator pedal.WARNING- Maintaining
Brake Pressure on Incline
HAC does not replace the need
to apply brakes while stopped
on an incline. While stopped,
make sure you maintain brake
pressure sufficient to prevent
your vehicle from rolling back-
ward and causing an accident.
Don’t release the brake pedal
until you are ready to accelerate
forward.

537
Driving your vehicle
1. Cruise indicator
2. Cruise set indicator
The cruise control system allows you
to program the vehicle to maintain a
constant speed without pressing the
accelerator pedal.
This system is designed to function
above approximately 20 mph (30
km/h). If the cruise control is left on
(CRUISE indicator light in the
instrument cluster illuminated), the
cruise control can be switched on
accidentally. Keep the cruise con-
trol system off (CRUISE indicator
light OFF) when the cruise control
is not in use, to avoid inadvertently
setting a speed.
Use the cruise control system only when traveling on open highways
in good weather.
Do not use the cruise control driv- ing in heavy or varying traffic, or on
slippery (rainy, icy or snow-cov-
ered) or winding roads or over 6%
up-hill or down-hill roads.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
• During normal cruise control opera-
tion, when the SET switch is activat-
ed or reactivated after applying the
brakes, the cruise control will ener-
gize after approximately 3 seconds.
The delay is normal.
• To activate cruise control, depress the brake pedal at least once after
turning the ignition switch to the ON
position or starting the engine. This
is to check if the brake switch which
is important part to cancel cruise
control is in normal condition.
CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM (IF EQUIPPED)
OPS053015
WARNING- Misuse of
Cruise Control
Do not use cruise control if the
traffic situation does not allow
you to drive safely at a constant
speed and with sufficient dis-
tance to the vehicle in front.

543
Driving your vehicle
Your vehicle may be equipped with
the ISG system, which reduces fuel
consumption by automatically shut-
ting down the engine, when the vehi-
cle is at a standstill. (For example :
red light, stop sign and traffic jam)
The engine starts automatically as
soon as the starting conditions are
met.
The ISG system is ON whenever the
engine is running.
✽ ✽NOTICE
When the engine automatically
starts by the ISG system, some
warning lights (ABS, ESC, ESC
OFF, EPS or Parking brake warn-
ing light) may turn on for a few sec-
onds.
This happens because of low battery
voltage. It does not mean the system
is malfunctioning.
Auto stop
To stop the engine in idle stop
mode
Stop the vehicle completely by
pressing the brake pedal. You must reach a speed of at least
5 mph (8 km/h) since last idle stop.
The engine will stop and the green
AUTO STOP indicator ( ) on the
instrument cluster will illuminate.
ISG (IDLE STOP AND GO) SYSTEM (IF EQUIPPED)
OPS053028
OPS053029
■
Type A
■Type B

547
Driving your vehicle
ISG system malfunction
The system may not operatewhen:
If the ISG related sensors or sys- tem error occurs, the yellow AUTO
STOP indicator ( ) on the instru-
ment cluster will stay on after blink-
ing for 5 seconds and the light on
the ISG OFF button will illuminate. If the ISG OFF button light is not
turned off by pressing the ISG OFF
button again or if the ISG system
continuously does not work cor-
rectly, please contact an author-
ized Kia dealer as soon as possi-
ble.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
If the AGM battery is reconnected
or replaced, ISG function will not
operate immediately.
If you want to use the ISG function,
the battery sensor needs to be cali-
brated for approximately 4 hours
with the ignition off and then, turn
the engine on and off 2 or 3 times.
WARNING - Engine
repair
Turn the ignition switch to the
LOCK (OFF) position or remove
the key from the ignition com-
pletely before performing work
on the vehicle in the engine
area. Failure to do so could
result in serious injuries due to
sudden engine reactivation.
OPS053014

549
Driving your vehicle
Remember, your vehicle does notrequire extended warm-up. After
the engine has started, allow the
engine to run for 10 to 20 seconds
prior to placing the vehicle in gear.
In very cold weather, however, give
your engine a slightly longer warm-
up period.
Don't "lug" or "over-rev" the engine. Lugging is driving too slowly in a
very high gear resulting in engine
bucking. If this happens, shift to a
lower gear. Over-revving is racing
the engine beyond its safe limit.
This can be avoided by shifting at
the recommended speed. Use your air conditioning sparingly.
The air conditioning system is
operated by engine power so your
fuel economy is reduced when you
use it.
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 perform
scheduled inspections and mainte-
nance.
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 will
not function properly without
the engine running. In addition,
turning off the ignition while
driving could engage the steer-
ing wheel lock resulting in loss
of vehicle steering. Keep the
engine on and downshift to an
appropriate gear for engine
braking effect.