Get Driving your vehicle -> Automatic transmission Guide for Kia Sorento SUV 2023

Driving your vehicle

Automatic transmission (Shift Lever)

Automatic transmission (Shift

Lever) (if equipped)

CAUTION

Do not turn the engine off immediately

after it has been subjected to a heavy

load. Doing so may cause severe dam

age to the engine or turbocharger unit.

OMQ4050021

Depress the brake pedal and the

lock release button when shifting.

Press the unlock button when

shifting.

The shift lever can be shifted

freely.

Automatic transmission opera

tion

The automatic transmission has 8 for

ward speeds and one reverse speed.

The individual speeds are selected auto

matically, depending on the balance

between the fuel economy and the

power.

NOTICE

The first few shifts on a new vehicle, if

the battery has been disconnected, may

be somewhat abrupt. This is a normal

condition, and the shifting sequence will

adjust after shifts are cycled a few times

by the TCM (Transmission Control Mod

ule) or PCM (Powertrain Control Mod

ule).

Driving your vehicle

Automatic transmission (Shift Lever)

For smooth operation, depress the brake

pedal when shifting from N (Neutral) to

a forward or reverse gear.

P (Park)

Always come to a complete stop before

shifting into P (Park). This position locks

the transmission and prevents the front

wheels from rotating.

WARNING

Automatic transmission

僅 Always check the surrounding areas

WARNING

near your vehicle for people, espe

僅 Shifting into P (Park) while the vehicle

is in motion will cause the drive

wheels to lock which will cause you to

lose control of the vehicle.

cially children, before shifting a vehi

cle into D (Drive) or R (Reverse).

僅 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

engine off. Unexpected and sudden

vehicle movement can occur if these

precautions are not followed in the

order identified.

僅 Do not use the P (Park) position in

place of the parking brake. Always

make sure the shift lever is latched in

the P (Park) position and set the park

ing brake fully.

僅 Never leave a child unattended in a

vehicle.

僅 Do not use the engine brake (shifting

from a high gear to lower gear) rap

CAUTION

The transmission may be damaged if

you shift into P (Park) while the vehicle is

in motion.

idly on slippery roads.

The vehicle may slip causing an acci

dent.

CAUTION

僅 To avoid damage to your transmis

R (Reverse)

Use this position to drive the vehicle

backward.

sion, do not accelerate the engine in R

(Reverse) or any forward gear posi

tion with the brakes on.

CAUTION

僅 When stopped on an incline, do not

hold the vehicle stationary with

engine power. Use the service brake

or the parking brake.

僅 Do not shift from N (Neutral) or P

(Park) into D (Drive), or R (Reverse)

when the engine is above idle speed.

Always come to a complete stop before

shifting into or out of R (Reverse); you

may damage the transmission if you

shift into R while the vehicle is in motion,

except as explained in "Rocking the

vehicle" on page 5-186.

Transmission ranges

N (Neutral)

The wheels and transmission are not

engaged. The vehicle will roll freely even

The indicator in the instrument cluster

displays the shift lever position when the

ignition switch or ENGINE START/STOP

button is in the ON position.

Driving your vehicle

Automatic transmission (Shift Lever)

on the slightest incline unless the park

NOTICE

ing brake or service brakes are applied.

Always come to a complete stop before

shifting into D (Drive).

WARNING

Do not drive with the shift lever in N

(Neutral).

The engine brake will not work and lead

to an accident.

Manual mode

CAUTION

僅 Always park the vehicle in "P" (Park)

for safety and engage the parking

brake. If left in "N" (Neutral), the vehi

cle may move and cause serious dam

age and injury.

僅 After the ignition switch or ENGINE

START/STOP button has been turned

off, the electronic parking brake can

OMQ4050268L

not be disengaged.

Whether the vehicle is stationary or in

motion, manual mode is selected by

pushing the shift lever from the D (Drive)

position into the manual gate. To return

to D (Drive) range operation, push the

shift lever back into the main gate.

In manual mode, moving the shift lever

backwards and forwards will allow you

to make gearshifts rapidly. In contrast to

a manual transmission, manual mode

allows gearshifts with the accelerator

pedal depressed.

僅 For EPB (Electronic Parking Brake)

equipped vehicles with AUTO HOLD

function used while driving, if the igni

tion button has been turned "OFF", the

electronic parking brake will be

engaged automatically. Therefore,

AUTO HOLD function should be

turned off before the ignition button is

turned off.

D (Drive)

This is the normal forward driving posi

僅 Up (+): Push the lever forward once to

shift up one gear.

僅 Down (-): Pull the lever backwards

once to shift down one gear.

tion. The transmission will automatically

shift through 8 gear sequence, providing

the best fuel economy and power.

NOTICE

僅 The driver must execute upshifts in

accordance with road conditions, tak

ing care to keep the engine speed

below the red zone.

For extra power when passing another

vehicle or climbing grades, depress the

accelerator fully, at which time the trans

mission will automatically downshift to

the next lower gear.

僅 Only the 8 forward gears can be

selected. To reverse or park the vehi

Driving your vehicle

Automatic transmission (Shift Lever)

cle, move the shift lever to the R

(Reverse) or P (Park) position as

required.

僅 Downshifts are made automatically

when the vehicle slows down. When

the vehicle stops, 1st gear is automati

cally selected.

僅 When the engine rpm approaches the

red zone shift points are varied to

upshift automatically.

僅 To maintain the required levels of

vehicle performance and safety, the

system may not execute certain gear

shifts when the shift lever is operated.

僅 When driving on a slippery road, push

the shift lever forward into the +(up)

position. This causes the transmission

to shift into the 2nd gear which is bet

ter for smooth driving on a slippery

road. Push the shift lever to the -

(down) side to shift back to the 1st

gear.

With the shift lever in the D posi

tion

The paddle shift function will operate

when the vehicle speed is more than 10

km/h (6 mph).

Pull the [+] or [-] paddle shifter once to

shift up or down one gear and the sys

tem changes from automatic mode to

manual mode.

To change back to automatic shift mode

from manual shift mode, do one of the

followings:

僅 Pull the [+] paddle shifter for more

than one second

僅 Move the shift lever from D (Drive) to

manual gate and return it to D posi

tion again

The manual shift mode also changes

back to automatic shift mode in one of

following situations

僅 When the accelerator pedal is gently

depressed for more than 6 seconds

while driving

Paddle shifter (if equipped)

The paddle shift function is available

when the shift lever is in the D (Drive)

position or the manual mode.

僅 When the vehicle stops

With the shift lever in the manual

mode

Pull the [+] or [-] paddle shifter once to

shift up or down one gear.

NOTICE

If you pull the [+] and [-] paddle shifters

at the same time, you cannot shift the

gear.

Shift lock system

For your safety, the automatic transmis

OMQ4051042

sion has a shift lock system which pre

vents shifting the transmission from P

(Park) into R (Reverse) unless the brake

pedal is depressed.

Driving your vehicle

Automatic transmission (Shift Lever)

To shift the transmission from P (Park)

into R (Reverse):

2. Apply the parking brake.

3. Carefully remove the cap (1) covering

the shift-lock release access hole.

4. Insert a tool (e.g., flathead screw

driver) into the access hole and press

down on the tool.

1. Depress and hold the brake pedal.

2. Start the engine or turn the ignition

switch or ENGINE START/STOP but

ton to the ON position.

3. Move the shift lever.

5. Move the shift lever.

If the brake pedal is repeatedly

6. Remove the tool from the shiftlock

override access hole then install the

cap.

If the shift lever does not move even

after performing this procedure, have

the system checked by a professional

workshop. Kia recommends to visit an

authorized Kia dealer/service partner.

depressed and released with the shift

lever in the P (Park) position, a chatter

ing noise near the shift lever may be

heard. This is a normal condition.

WARNING

Always fully depress the brake pedal

before and while shifting out of the P

(Park) position into another position to

avoid inadvertent motion of the vehicle

which could injure persons in or around

the vehicle.

Good driving practices

僅 Never move the shift lever from P

(Park) or N (Neutral) to any other

position with the accelerator pedal

depressed.

僅 Never move the shift lever into P

(Park) when the vehicle is in motion.

Shift-lock override

僅 Be sure the vehicle is completely

stopped before you attempt to shift

into R (Reverse) or D (Drive).

僅 Never take the vehicle out of gear and

coast down a hill. This may be

extremely hazardous. Always leave

the vehicle in gear when moving.

僅 Do not "ride" the brakes. This can

cause them to overheat and malfunc

tion. Instead, when you are driving

down a long hill, slow down and shift

to a lower gear. When you do this,

engine braking will help slow down

the vehicle.

OMQ4A050033

If the shift lever cannot be moved from

the P (Park) position into R (Reverse)

position with the brake pedal depressed,

continue depressing the brake, then do

the following:

僅 Slow down before shifting to a lower

gear. Otherwise, the lower gear may

not be engaged.

僅 Always use the parking brake. Do not

depend on placing the transmission in

1. Place the ignition switch or ENGINE

START/STOP button in the LOCK/OFF

position.

Driving your vehicle

Automatic transmission (Shift Lever)

P (Park) to keep the vehicle from

moving.

僅 In the event your vehicle leaves the

roadway, do not steer sharply.

Instead, slow down before pulling

back into the travel lanes.

僅 Exercise extreme caution when driv

ing on a slippery surface. Be espe

cially careful when braking,

僅 Never exceed posted speed limits.

accelerating or shifting gears. On a

slippery surface, an abrupt change in

vehicle speed can cause the drive

wheels to lose traction and the vehicle

to go out of control.

WARNING

If your vehicle becomes stuck in snow,

mud, sand, etc., then you may attempt

to rock the vehicle free by moving it for

ward and backward. Do not attempt this

procedure if people or objects are any

where near the vehicle. During the rock

ing operation the vehicle may suddenly

move forward or backward as it

僅 Optimum vehicle performance and

economy is obtained by smoothly

depressing and releasing the acceler

ator pedal.

WARNING

becomes unstuck, causing injury or

damage to nearby people or objects.

僅 When driving uphill or downhill,

always shift to D (Drive) for driving

forward or shift to R (Reverse) for

driving backwards, and check the

gear position indicated on the cluster

before driving. Driving in the opposite

direction of the selected gear can lead

to a dangerous situation by shutting

Moving up a steep grade from a

standing start

To move up a steep grade from a stand

ing start:

僅 Depress the brake pedal, shift the

shift lever to D (Drive).

Select the appropriate gear depend

off the engine and affecting the brak

ing performance.

僅 Always buckle-up! In a collision, an

unbelted occupant is significantly

more likely to be seriously injured or

ing on load weight and steepness of

the grade, and release the parking

brake. Depress the accelerator gradu

killed than a properly belted occu

ally after releasing the service brakes.

pant.

僅 Avoid high speeds when cornering or

turning.

僅 Do not make quick steering wheel

movements, such as sharp lane

changes or fast, sharp turns.

僅 The risk of a rollover is greatly

increased if you lose control of your

vehicle at highway speeds.

僅 Losing control often occurs if two or

more wheels drop off the roadway

and the driver oversteers to reenter

the roadway.

Driving your vehicle -> Automatic transmission for Your Kia Sorento SUV 2023

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