KIA SOUL 2017 Owners Manual

Driving your vehicle
42
6
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.

643
Driving your vehicle
The Vehicle Stability Managementsystem 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.
Good braking practices
Check to be sure the parking brakeis not engaged and the parking
brake indicator light is out before
driving away.
Driving through water may get the brakes wet. They can also get wet
when the vehicle is washed. Wet
brakes can be dangerous! Your
vehicle will not stop as quickly if the
brakes are wet. Wet brakes may
cause the vehicle to pull to one
side.
To dry the brakes, apply the brakes
lightly until the braking action
returns to normal, taking care to
keep the vehicle under control at
all times. If the braking action does
not return to normal, stop as soon
as it is safe to do so and call an
authorized Kia dealer for assis-
tance.
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 pres-
sure sufficient to prevent your
vehicle from rolling backward
and causing an accident. Don’t
release the brake pedal until you
are ready to accelerate forward.

Driving your vehicle
44
6
Don't coast down hills with the
vehicle out of gear. This is extreme-
ly hazardous. Keep the vehicle in
gear at all times, use the brakes to
slow down, then shift to a lower
gear so that engine braking will
help you maintain a safe speed.
Don't "ride" the brake pedal. Resting your foot on the brake
pedal while driving can be danger-
ous because the brakes might
overheat and lose their effective-
ness. It also increases the wear of
the brake components.
If a tire goes flat while you are driv- ing, apply the brakes gently and
keep the vehicle pointed straight
ahead while you slow down. When
you are moving slowly enough for it
to be safe to do so, pull off the road
and stop in a safe place. If your vehicle is equipped with an
automatic transaxle, don't let your
vehicle creep forward. To avoid
creeping forward, keep your foot
firmly on the brake pedal when the
vehicle is stopped.
Be cautious when parking on a hill. Firmly engage the parking brake
and place the shift lever in P (auto-
matic transaxle) or in first or
reverse gear (manual transaxle). If
your vehicle is facing downhill, turn
the front wheels into the curb to
help keep the vehicle from rolling. If
your vehicle is facing uphill, turn
the front wheels away from the
curb to help keep the vehicle from
rolling. If there is no curb or if it is
required by other conditions to
keep the vehicle from rolling, block
the wheels. Under some conditions your park-
ing brake can freeze in the
engaged position. This is most like-
ly to happen when there is an
accumulation of snow or ice
around or near the rear brakes or if
the brakes are wet. If there is a risk
that the parking brake may freeze,
apply it only temporarily while you
put the shift lever in P (automatic
transaxle) or in first or reverse gear
(manual transaxle) and block the
rear wheels so the vehicle cannot
roll. Then release the parking
brake.
Do not hold the vehicle on the upgrade with the accelerator
pedal. This can cause the transaxle
to overheat. Always use the brake
pedal or parking brake.

645
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.

Driving your vehicle
46
6
Cruise control switch
CRUISE : Turns cruise control sys-
tem on or off.
CANCEL: Cancels cruise control
operation.
RES+: Resumes or increases cruise control speed.
SET-: Sets or decreases cruise con- trol speed.
To set cruise control speed:
1. Press the CRUISE button on thesteering wheel to turn the system
on. The CRUISE indicator light in
the instrument cluster will illumi-
nate.
2. Accelerate to the desired speed, which must be more than 20 mph
(30 km/h).
✽ ✽NOTICE - Manual transaxle
For manual transaxle vehicles, you
should depress the brake pedal at
least once to set the cruise control
after starting the engine.
3. Push the SET - switch, and
release it at the desired speed.
The SET indicator light in the
instrument cluster will illuminate.
Release the accelerator pedal at
the same time. The desired speed
will automatically be maintained.
On a steep grade, the vehicle mayslow down or speed up slightly whilegoing uphill or downhill.
OPS053016OPS053017
OPS053018

647
Driving your vehicle
To increase cruise control set
speed:
Follow either of these procedures:
Push the RES + switch and hold it.Your vehicle will accelerate.
Release the lever at the speed you
want.
Push the RES + switch and release it immediately.
The cruising speed will increase by
1 mph (or 2km/h) each time you
move the lever up (to RES+) in this
manner.
To decrease the cruising
speed:
Follow either of these procedures:
Push the SET - switch and hold it.Your vehicle will gradually slow
down. Release the lever at the
speed you want to maintain.
Push the SET - switch and release it immediately.
The cruising speed will decrease
by 1 mph (2 km/h) each time you
move the lever down (to SET-) in
this manner.
To temporarily accelerate with
the cruise control on:
If you want to speed up temporarily
when the cruise control is on,
depress the accelerator pedal.
Increased speed will not interfere
with cruise control operation or
change the set speed.
To return to the set speed, take your
foot off the accelerator.
OPS053019OPS053018

Driving your vehicle
48
6
To cancel cruise control, do
one of the following:
Press the brake pedal.
Depress the clutch pedal if
equipped with a manual transaxle.
Shift into N (Neutral) with an auto- matic transaxle.
Push the CANCEL switch located on the steering wheel.
Decrease the vehicle speed lower than the memory speed by approx-
imately 12mph(20km/h).
Decrease the vehicle speed to less than approximately 15 mph (25
km/h).
Each of these actions will cancelcruise control operation (the SETindicator light in the instrument clus-ter will go off), but it will not turn thesystem off. If you wish to resumecruise control operation, push theRES + switch located on your steer-ing wheel. You will return to your pre-viously preset speed.To resume cruising speed at
more than approximately 20
mph (30 km/h):
If any method other than the
CRUISE button was used to cancel
cruising speed and the system is still
activated, the most recent set speed
will automatically resume when the
RES + switch is pushed.
It will not resume, however, if the
vehicle speed has dropped below
approximately 20 mph (30 km/h).
OPS053020
OPS053019

649
Driving your vehicle
To turn cruise control off, do
one of the following:
Press the CRUISE button (theCRUISE indicator light in the
instrument cluster will go off).
Turn the ignition off.
Both of these actions cancel cruise control operation. If you want toresume cruise control operation,repeat the steps provided in “To setcruise control speed” on the previouspage.
OPS053017

Driving your vehicle
50
6
The drive mode may be selected
according to the driver’s preference
or road condition.
The system resets to be in the ECO
mode, when the hybrid system is
restarted.
If there is a problem with the instru-
ment cluster, the drive mode will be
in ECO mode and may not change to
NORMAL mode or SPORT mode. The mode changes whenever the
DRIVE MODE button is pressed.
❈
When normal mode is selected, it
is not displayed on the cluster.
ECO mode (Active ECO)
Active ECO helps improve
fuel efficiency by control-
ling certain engine and
transaxle system operat-
ing parameters. Fuel effi-
ciency depends on the
driver's driving habit and
road condition.

button is pressed and
the ECO mode is select-
ed, the ECO indicator
(green) will illuminate to
show that the Active
ECO is operating.
activated, it does not turn
off even though the
engine is restarted again.
To turn off the system,
press the DRIVE MODE
button again.
DRIVE MODE INTEGRATED CONTROL SYSTEM (IF EQUIPPED)
NORMAL
SPORT ECO
OPS056118
ECO

651
Driving your vehicle
When Active ECO is activated:
The acceleration may slightly bereduced eventhough you depress
the accelerator fully.
The air conditioner performance may be limited
The shift pattern of the automatic transaxle may change.
The engine noise may get louder.
The above situations are normal
conditions when the active eco sys-
tem is activated to improve fuel effi-
ciency. Limitation of Active ECO operation:
If the following conditions occur while
Active ECO is operating, the system
operation is limited even though there
is no change in the ECO indicator.
When the coolant temperature is
low:
The system will be limited until
engine performance becomes nor-
mal.
When driving up a hill: The system will be limited to gain
power when driving uphill because
the engine torque is restricted.
When using manual mode: The system will be limited accord-
ing to the shift location.
When the accelerator pedal is deeply depressed for a few seconds:
The system will be limited, judging
that the driver wants to speed up.SPORT mode
SPORT mode focuses on dynamic
driving by automatically controlling
the steering wheel, engine and
transaxle system.
When the DRIVE MODE button ispressed and the SPORT mode is
selected, the SPROT indicator
(yellow) will illuminate.
Whenever the hybrid system is restarted, the Drive Mode will revert
back to ECO mode. If SPORT mode
is desired, re-select SPORT mode
from the DRIVE MODE button
If the system is activated: - After speeding, it maintains thegear and RPM for some time
even though the accelerator
pedal is not depressed.
- Up-shifting is delayed.
✽ ✽

NOTICE
In Sport drive mode, the fuel effi-
ciency may decrease.