KIA Soul EV 2015 2.G Owner's Manual

Driving your vehicle
12
5
Reduction gear operation
When stopped on an incline, do not
hold the vehicle with the motor
power. Use the service brake or the
parking brake.
Transaxle ranges
The indicator in the instrument clus-
ter displays the shift lever position
when the POWER button is in the
ON position.
P (Park)
Always come to a complete stop
before shifting into P (Park). This
position locks the gear and prevents
the drive wheels from rotating.
Shifting into P (Park) while the vehi-
cle is in motion will cause the drive
wheels to lock which will cause you
to lose control of the vehicle.
WARNING- Leaving the
vehicle
Before leaving the driver’s seat,
always make sure the shift lever
is in the P (Park) position; then
set the parking brake fully and
shut the vehicle off. Do not use
the P position in place of the
parking brake. Always make
sure the shift lever is latched in
the P position and set the park-
ing brake fully. Unexpected and
sudden vehicle movement can
occur if these precautions are
not followed.
CAUTION- Reduction gear
To avoid damage to your reduc-tion gear, do not accelerate thevehicle in R (Reverse) or anyforward gear position with thebrakes on. The reduction gearmay be damaged if you shiftinto P (Park) while the vehicle isin motion.

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Driving your vehicle
R (Reverse)
Use this position to drive the vehicle
backward.N (Neutral)
The wheels and gear are not
engaged. The vehicle will roll freely
even on the slightest incline unless
the parking brake or service brakes
are applied.
D (Drive)
This is the normal forward driving
position. The gear will automatically
shift providing the best energy econ-
omy and power.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
Always come to a complete stop
before shifting into D (Drive).
B (Regenerative brake): maximum
regenerative braking mode
Use it when you desire to use regen-
erative braking.
It is useful when you drive on a long
downhill on a highway, mountain
trails, or a slope.
❈ If you use regenerative braking,
you can achieve the same effect
as engine brake of a combustion
engine.
CAUTION- Shifting
Always come to a complete stop
before shifting into or out of R(Reverse); you may damage thegear if you shift into R (Reverse)while the vehicle is in motion,except when “Rocking the vehi-cle” explained in this section.

Driving your vehicle
14
5
Shift lock system
For your safety, the reduction gear
has a shift lock system which pre-
vents shifting the gear from P (Park)
into R (Reverse) unless the brake
pedal is depressed.
To shift the gear from P (Park) into R
(Reverse):
1. Depress and hold the brake pedal.
2. Start the vehicle or turn the
POWER button to the ON posi-
tion.
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.
While the charging cable is con- nected, you cannot use the shift
lever for safety reasons.WARNING- Shifting from
part
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
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 shift
lever 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.

Driving your vehicle
16
5
Power brakes
Your vehicle's brake system is
power-assisted by the electric
hydraulic pump.
In the event the brakes lose power
because of a brake control system
malfunction, unstable power supply
or some other reason, you can still
stop your vehicle by applying greater
force to the brake pedal than you
normally would. The stopping dis-
tance, however will be longer. Please
have the system checked as soon as
possible.
If the brake pedal does not return to
its normal position when released,
there may be a malfunction in the
brake system. Take your vehicle to
an authorized Kia dealer and have
the system checked. 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- Brake Pedal
Do not drive with your foot resting
on the brake pedal. This will cre-
ate abnormally high brake tem-
peratures which can cause exces-
sive brake lining and pad wear.
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.WARNING
Do not turn off the vehicle while
going down a hill. The brake
booster may not work suffi-
ciently and the braking distance
may be longer.
CAUTION
Do not depress the brake pedal continuously without READY( ) status. The battery may bedischarged.

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Driving your vehicle
In the event of brake failure
If service brakes fail to operate while
the vehicle is in motion, you can
make an emergency stop with the
parking brake. The stopping dis-
tance, however, will be much greater
than normal.
Disc brakes wear indicator
When your brake pads are worn and
new pads are required, you will hear
a high-pitched warning sound from
your front brakes or rear brakes. You
may hear this sound come and go or
it may occur whenever you depress
the brake pedal.
Please remember that some driving
conditions or climates may cause a
brake squeal when you first apply (or
lightly apply) the brakes. This is nor-
mal and does not indicate a problem
with your brakes.
Always replace the front or rear
brake pads as pairs.
WARNING- Parkingbrake
Applying the parking brake
while the vehicle is moving at
normal speeds can cause a
sudden loss of control of the
vehicle. If you must use the
parking brake to stop the vehi-
cle, use great caution in apply-
ing the brake.
WARNING- Brake wear
Avoid applying the parking
brake to stop the vehicle while it
is moving except in an emer-
gency situation. If you ignore
this audible warning, you will
eventually lose braking per-
formance, which could lead to a
serious accident.

Driving your vehicle
18
5
Electric parking brake (EPB)
Applying the parking brake
To apply the EPB (electric parking
brake):
1. Depress the brake pedal.
2. Pull up the EPB switch.
Make sure the warning light
comes on.
✽ ✽
NOTICE
A click or electric brake motor
whine sound may be heard while
operating or releasing the EPB, but
these conditions are normal and
indicate that the EPB is functioning
properly.
Releasing the parking brake
To release the EPB (electric parking
brake), press the EPB switch in the
following condition:
Have the POWER button in the ON
position.
Depress the brake pedal.
Make sure the brake warning light goes off.
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CAUTION
Do not operate the parkingbrake / EPB while the vehicle ismoving except in an emergencysituation.

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Driving your vehicle
To release EPB (electric parking
brake) automatically:
Shift lever in P (Park)With the vehicle is in the ready
( ) mode depress the brake
pedal and shift out of P (Park) to R
(Reverse) or D (Drive).
Shift lever in N (Neutral) With the vehicle is in the ready
( ) mode depress the brake
pedal and shift out of N (Neutral) to
R (Reverse) or D (Drive).
1. The vehicle is in the ready ( ) mode.
2. Fasten the driver's seat belt.
3. Close the driver's door, tailgate.
4. Depress the accelerator pedal while the shift lever is in R(Rear)
with trunk closed, D (Drive).
Make sure the brake warning light goes off.✽ ✽NOTICE
• For your safety, you can engage
the EPB even though the POWER
button is in the OFF position, but
you cannot release it.
• For your safety, depress the brake pedal and release the parking
brake manually with the EPB
switch when you drive downhill or
when backing up the vehicle.
Do not follow the above procedure
when driving on a flat level ground.
The vehicle may suddenly move for-
ward.
EPB (electric parking brake) may be
automatically applied when:
Requested by other systems.
CAUTION
If the parking brake warning light is still on eventhough the EPB has beenreleased, have the systemchecked by an authorized Kiadealer.
Do not drive your vehicle with the EPB applied. It may causeexcessive brake pad andbrake rotor wear.

Driving your vehicle
20
5
System warning
If you try to drive off depressing the
accelerator pedal with the EPB
applied, but the EPB doesn't
release automatically, a warning
will sound and a message will
appear.
If the driver's seat belt is not fas- tened and any door, the tailgate is
opened, a warning will sound and
a message will appear.
If there is a problem with the vehi- cle, a warning may sound and a
message may appear. If the above situation occurs, depress
the brake pedal and release EPB by
pressing the EPB switch.
A click or electric brake motor
whine sound may be heard while
operating or releasing the EPB, but
these conditions are normal and
indicate that the EPB is functioning
properly.
When leaving your keys with a parking lot attendant or valet, make
sure to inform him/her how to oper-
ate the EPB.
When you automatically release EPB by depressing the accelerator
pedal, depress it slowly.
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WARNING- Parking
Brake Use
Never allow a passenger to touch the parking brake. If the
parking brake is released
unintentionally, serious injury
may occur.
All vehicles should always have the parking brake fully
engaged when parked to
avoid inadvertent movement
of the car which can injure
occupants or pedestrians.
CAUTION
The EPB may malfunction if youdrive with the EPB applied.

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Driving your vehicle
EPB malfunction indicator
This warning light illuminates if the
POWER button is changed to the ON
position and goes off in approximate-
ly 3 seconds if the system is opera-
tion normally.
If the EPB malfunction indicator
remains on, comes on while driving,
or does not come on when the
POWER button is changed to the ON
position, this indicates that the EPB
may have malfunctioned.If this occurs, have your vehicle
checked by an authorized Kia dealer
as soon as possible.
The EPB malfunction indicator may
illuminate when the ESC indicator
comes on to indicate that the ESC is
not working properly, but it does not
indicate a malfunction of the EPB.
The EPB warning light may illumi-
nate if the EPB switch operates
abnormally. Shut the vehicle power
off and turn it on again after a few
minutes. The warning light will go
off and the EPB switch will operate
normally. However, if the EPB
warning light is still on, have the
system checked by an authorized
Kia dealer.
If the parking brake warning light does not illuminate or blinks
even though the EPB switch was
pulled up, the EPB is not applied.
If the brake warning light ( ) is blinking while the [EPB] warning
light is on, press the electric park-
ing brake (EPB) switch once to
release the parking brake and turn
off the vehicle.
Turn on the vehicle again and pull
the EPB switch to engage the
parking brake. Check if the [EPB]
warning light turns off. If the [EPB]
warning lamp remains on, contact
an authorized Kia dealer and have
the system checked.
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