four wheel drive KIA SPORTAGE 2020 Owners Manual

Driving your vehicle
24
5
Tight corner brake effect
✽ ✽
NOTICE- AWD
When turning sharply on a paved
road at low speed while in all wheel
drive, steering control will be difficult.
Tight corner brake effect is a unique
characteristic of all wheel drive vehi-
cles caused by the difference in tire
rotation at 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.

525
Driving your vehicle
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 60 km/h (38 mph) and is shifted to AWD AUTO mode
at speed above 60 km/h (38 mph). If the vehicle decelerates
to speeds below 60 km/h (38 mph), however, the transfer
mode is shifted into AWD LOCK mode again.
AWD AUTO
(AWD LOCK is deactivated)
(Indicator light isnot illuminated)
✽ ✽ NOTICE
• When driving on normal roads, deactivate the AWD LOCK mode by pushing the AWD LOCK button (the indi-
cator light goes off). Driving on normal roads with AWD LOCK mode(especially, when cornering) may cause
mechanical noise or vibration. The noise and vibration will disappear when the AWD LOCK mode is deactivat-
ed. Some parts of the power train may be damaged by prolonged driving with the noise and vibration.
• 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.
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 is illuminated)

Driving your vehicle
28
5
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).✽ ✽ 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
8). Always wash your vehicle thor-
oughly after off-road use, especially
cleaning the bottom of the vehicle.
• Since the driving torque is always applied to the 4 wheels the per-
formance of the AWD 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 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.
WARNING - Driving
through 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.
WARNING - AWD 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.
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off
the roadway and the driver
over-steers 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.

5149
Driving your vehicle
Severe weather conditions in the
winter result in greater wear and
other problems. To minimize the
problems of winter driving, you
should follow these suggestions:Snowy or icy conditions
To drive your vehicle in deep snow, it
may be necessary to use snow tires
on your tires. If snow tires are need-
ed, it is necessary to select tires
equivalent in size and type of the
original equipment tires. Failure to do
so may adversely affect the safety
and handling of your vehicle.
Furthermore, speeding, rapid accel-
eration, sudden brake applications,
and sharp turns are potentially very
hazardous practices.
During deceleration, use engine
braking to the fullest extent. Sudden
brake applications on snowy or icy
roads may cause skids to occur. You
need to keep sufficient distance
between the vehicle in operation in
front of your vehicle. Also, apply the
brake gently.
Snow tires
If you mount snow tires on your vehi-
cle, make sure they are radial tires of
the same size and load range as the
original tires. Mount snow tires on all
four wheels to balance your vehicle’s
handling in all weather conditions.
Keep in mind that the traction provid-
ed by snow tires on dry roads may
not be as high as your vehicle's orig-
inal equipment tires. You should drive
cautiously even when the roads are
clear. Check with the tire dealer for
maximum speed recommendations.
Do not install studded tires withoutfirst checking local, state and munic-ipal regulations for possible restric-tions against their use.
WINTER DRIVING

637
What to do in an emergency
Use a towing strap less than 5 m(16 feet) long. Attach a white or red
cloth (about 30 cm (12 inches)
wide) in the middle of the strap for
easy visibility.
Drive carefully so that the towing strap is not loosened during tow-
ing.
The driver must be in the vehicle for steering and braking operations
when the vehicle is towed and pas-
sengers other than the driver must
not be allowed to be on board.
Emergency towing precautions
Turn the ignition switch to ACC sothe steering wheel isn’t locked.
Place the transmission shift lever in N (Neutral).
Release the parking brake.
Press the brake pedal with more force than normal since you will
have reduced brake performance.
More steering effort will be required because the power steer-
ing system will be disabled.
If you are driving down a long hill, the brakes may overheat and brake
performance will be reduced. Stop
often and let the brakes cool off.
The vehicle should be towed at a speed of 25 km/h or less within the
distance of 20 km. If the car is being towed with all
four wheels on the ground, it can
be towed only from the front. Be
sure that the transmission is in
neutral. Be sure the steering is
unlocked by placing the ignition
switch in the ACC position. A driver
must be in the towed vehicle to
operate the steering and brakes.
CAUTION - Automatic
transmission
To avoid serious damage to the automatic transmission, limitthe vehicle speed to 15 km/h(10 mph) and drive less than1.5 km (1 mile) when towing.
Before towing, check the auto- matic transmission for fluidleaks under your vehicle. If theautomatic transmission fluid isleaking, flatbed equipment or atowing dolly must be used.
OQL065021

Maintenance
58
7
All season tires
Kia specifies all season tires on
some models to provide good per-
formance for use all year round,
including snowy and icy road condi-
tions. All season tires are identified
by ALL SEASON and/or M+S (Mud
and Snow) on the tire sidewall. Snow
tires have better snow traction than
all season tires and may be more
appropriate in some areas.
Summer tires
Kia specifies summer tires on some
models to provide superior perform-
ance on dry roads. Summer tire per-
formance is substantially reduced in
snow and ice. Summer tires do not
have the tire traction rating M+S
(Mud and Snow) on the tire side wall.
If you plan to operate your vehicle in
snowy or icy conditions, Kia recom-
mends the use of snow tires or all
season tires on all four wheels.
Snow tires
If you equip your car with snow tires,
they should be the same size and
have the same load capacity as the
original tires. Snow tires should be
installed on all four wheels; other-
wise, poor handling may result.
Snow tires should carry 28 kPa (4 psi)
more air pressure than the pressure
recommended for the standard tires
on the tire label on the driv er's side of
the center pillar, or up to the maxi-
mum pressure shown on the tire
sidewall, whichever is less.
Do not drive faster than 120 km/h (75
mph) when your vehicle is equipped
with snow tires.