KIA Sportage 2014 SL / 3.G Owner's Manual

Driving your vehicle
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5
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 4WD AUTO mode
at speed 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 4WD LOCK mode again.
4WD AUTO
(4WD LOCK is
deactivated) (Indicator light is
not illuminated)
✽ ✽ NOTICE
• When driving on normal roads, deactivate the 4WD LOCK mode by pushing the 4WD LOCK button (the \
indi-
cator light goes off). Driving on normal roads with 4WD LOCK mode (especially, when cornering) may cause
mechanical noise or vibration. The noise and vibration will disappear when the 4WD LOCK mode is deactivated.
Some parts of the power train may be damaged by prolonged driving with the noise and vibration.
• When the 4WD 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.
Four Wheel Drive (4WD) transfer mode selection
Transfer mode Selection button Indicator light Description
When driving in 4WD AUTO mode, the vehicle operates sim-
ilar to conventional 2WD vehicles under normal operating
conditions. However, if the system determines that there is a
need for the 4WD 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 2WD vehicles.
4WD LOCK (Indicator light isilluminated)

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Driving your vehicle
For safe four-wheel drive oper-
ation
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 down
hills drive as straight as possible.
Use extreme caution in going up or
down steep hills, since you may flip
your vehicle over depending on the
grade, terrain and water/mud con-
ditions.
WARNING - Four-wheeldriving
The conditions of on-road or
off-road that demand four-
wheel drive mean all functions
of your vehicle are exposed to
extreme stress than under nor-
mal road conditions. Slow down
and be ready for changes in the
composition and traction of the
surface under your tires. If you
have any doubt about the safety
of the conditions you are fac-
ing, stop and consider the best
way to proceed. Do not exceed
the ability of yourself or your
vehicle to operate safely.
WARNING - Hills
Driving across the contour of
steep hills can be extremely
dangerous. This danger can
come from slight changes in the
wheel angle which can destabi-
lize the vehicle or, even if the
vehicle is maintaining stability
under power, it can lose that
stability if the vehicle stops its
forward motion. Your vehicle
may roll over without warning
and without time for you to cor-
rect a mistake that could cause
serious injury or death.
HILL1HILL2

Driving your vehicle
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5
You must consciously take the
effort to learn how to corner in a
4WD vehicle. Do not rely on your
experience in conventional 2WD
vehicles in choosing safe cornering
speed in 4WD mode. For starters,
you must drive more slowly in
4WD.
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 4WD 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. You
could lose control of the steer-
ing wheel.
WARNING - Wind danger
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.
OXM059027N
WARNING - 4WD
Reduce speed when you turn
corners. The center of gravity of
4WD vehicles is higher than
that of conventional 2WD vehi-
cles, making them more likely to
roll over when you turn corners
too fast.

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Driving your vehicle
✽
✽NOTICE
• Do not drive in water if the level is
higher than the bottom of the vehi-
cle.
• 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 nor-
mal braking forces return.
• 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.
• Since the driving torque is always applied to the 4 wheels the per-
formance of the 4WD vehicle is
greatly affected by the condition of
the tires. Be sure to equip the vehi-
cle with four tires of the same size
and type.
• A full time four wheel drive vehi- cle cannot be towed by an ordi-
nary tow truck. Make sure that
the vehicle is placed on a flat bed
truck for moving.WARNING- 4WD driving
Avoid high cornering speed.
Do not make quick steering
wheel movements, such as
sharp lane changes or fast,
sharp turns.
The risk of rollover is greatly increased if you lose control
of your vehicle at high speed.
In a collision, an unbelted per- son is significantly more like-
ly to die compared to a person
wearing a seat belt.
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off
the roadway and the driver
oversteers to re-enter the
roadway. In the event your
vehicle leaves the roadway, do
not steer sharply. Instead,
slow down before pulling
back into the travel lanes.
WARNING - Drivingthrough
water
Drive slowly. If you are driving
too fast in water, the water can
get into the engine compart-
ment and wet the ignition sys-
tem, causing your vehicle to
suddenly 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
Full-time 4WD vehicles must be
tested on a special four wheel
chassis dynamometer.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
Never engage the parking brake
while performing these tests.
A full-time 4WD vehicle should not
be tested on a 2WD roll tester. If a
2WD 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.
CAUTION - Mud or snow
If one of the front or rear wheelsbegins to spin in mud, snow,etc. the vehicle can sometimesbe driven out by depressing theaccelerator pedal further; how-ever avoid running the enginecontinuously at high rpmbecause doing so could dam-age the 4WD system.
WARNING - Jacked vehicle
While the full-time 4WD 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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Roll tester (speedometer)
Temporary free roller

529
Driving your vehicle
WARNING -
Dynamometer testing
Keep away from the front of the
vehicle while the vehicle is in
gear on the dynamometer. This
is very dangerous as the vehi-
cle can jump forward and cause
serious injury or death.
CAUTION
When lifting up the vehicle, do
not operate front and rearwheel separately. All fourwheels should be operated.
If you need to operate the front wheel and rear wheelwhen lifting up the vehicle,you should release the park-ing brake.

Driving your vehicle
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5
E070100AHM
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.
BRAKE SYSTEM
(Continued)
Wet brakes may impair the
vehicle’s ability to safely slow
down; the vehicle 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.
Always, confirm the position of the brake and accelerator
pedal before driving. If you
don’t check the position of the
accelerator and brake pedal
before driving, you may
depress the accelerator
instead of the brake pedal. It
may cause a serious accident.WARNING - Brakes
Do not drive with your footresting on the brake pedal.
This will create abnormal high
brake temperatures, exces-
sive brake lining and pad
wear, and increased stopping
distances.
When descending a long or steep hill, shift to a lower gear
and avoid continuous applica-
tion of the brakes. Continuous
brake application will cause
the brakes to overheat and
could result in a temporary
loss of braking performance.
(Continued)

531
Driving your vehicle
E070101AUN
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.
E070102AHM
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.
WARNING - Brake wear
This brake wear warning sound
means your vehicle needs serv-
ice. If you ignore this audible
warning, you will eventually
lose braking performance,
which could lead to a serious
accident.
CAUTION
To avoid costly brake repairs,do not continue to drive withworn brake pads.
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.
CAUTION
Do not operate the parking
brake while the vehicle is mov-ing except in an emergency sit-uation. It could damage thevehicle system and makeendanger driving safety.

Driving your vehicle
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5
Parking brake
Applying the parking brake
Foot type
To engage the parking brake, first
apply the foot brake and then
depress the parking brake pedal
down as far as possible.
E070201AFD-SA
Hand type
To engage the parking brake, first
apply the foot brake and then without
pressing the release button in, pull
the parking brake lever up as far as
possible.
In addition it is recommended that
when parking the vehicle on a gradi-
ent, the shift lever should be posi-
tioned in the appropriate low gear on
manual transaxle vehicles.Releasing the parking brake
Foot type
To release the parking brake,
depress the parking brake pedal a
second time while applying the foot
brake. The pedal will automatically
extend to the fully released position.
CAUTION
Driving with the parking brake
applied will cause excessivebrake pad and brake rotor wear.
OLM059014OSL050012OLM059015

533
Driving your vehicle
E070202AFD-U1
Hand type
To release the parking brake, first
apply the foot brake and pull up the
parking brake lever slightly. Secondly
press the release button (1) and
lower the parking brake lever (2)
while holding the button.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.
WARNING
To prevent unintentional
movement when stopped and
leaving the vehicle, do not use
the shift lever instead of the
parking brake. Set the parking
brake AND make sure the shift
lever is securely positioned in
1st (First) gear or R (Reverse)
for manual transaxle
equipped vehicles and in P
(Park) for automatic transaxle
equipped vehicles.
Never allow anyone who is unfamiliar with the vehicle 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 parking to
avoid inadvertent movement
of the vehicle which can injure
occupants or pedestrians.
OSL050014W-75