Get Driving your vehicle -> Special driving conditions Guide for Kia Sorento SUV 2023

Driving your vehicle

Special driving conditions

slung sports vehicles are designed to

Special driving conditions

perform satisfactorily in off-road condi

If driving conditions deteriorate due to

poor weather or road conditions, you

should pay even more attention than

usual to your driving.

tions. Due to this risk, driver and passen

gers are strongly recommended to

buckle their seat belts.

In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is

significantly more likely to die than a

person wearing a seat belt. There are

steps that a driver can make to reduce

the risk of a rollover.

If at all possible, avoid sharp turns or

abrupt maneuvers, do not load your roof

rack with heavy cargo, and never modify

your vehicle in any way.

Hazardous driving conditions

When hazardous driving conditions are

encountered such as water, snow, ice,

mud, sand, or similar hazards, follow

these suggestions:

僅 Drive cautiously and allow extra dis

tance for braking.

僅 Avoid sudden braking or steering.

僅 Do not pump the brake pedal on a

vehicle equipped with ABS.

僅 If stalled in snow, mud, or sand, use

the second gear. Accelerate slowly to

avoid spinning the drive wheels.

僅 Use sand, rock salt, or other nonslip

material under the drive wheels to

provide traction when stalled in ice,

snow, or mud.

WARNING

Rollover

As with other Sports Utility Vehicle

(SUV), failure to operate this vehicle cor

rectly may result in loss of control, an

accident or vehicle rollover.

僅 Utility vehicles have a significantly

higher rollover rate than other types

of vehicles.

僅 Specific design characteristics (higher

ground clearance, narrower track,

etc.) give this vehicle a higher center

of gravity than ordinary vehicles.

僅 A SUV is not designed for cornering at

the same speeds as conventional

vehicles.

Reducing the risk of a rollover

This multi-purpose passenger vehicle is

defined as a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).

Utility vehicles have a significantly

higher rollover rate than other types of

vehicles. SUVs have higher ground

clearance and a narrower track to make

them capable of performing in a wide

variety of offroad applications.

僅 Avoid sharp turns or abrupt maneu

vers.

僅 In a rollover crash, an unbelted person

is significantly more likely to die than

a person wearing a seat belt. Make

Specific design characteristics give them

a higher center of gravity than ordinary

vehicles. An advantage of the higher

ground clearance is a better view of the

road, which allows you to anticipate

problems.

sure everyone in the vehicle is prop

erly buckled up.

WARNING

They are not designed for cornering at

Your vehicle is equipped with tires

designed to provide safe ride and han

the same speeds as conventional pas

senger vehicles, any more than low-

185

Driving your vehicle

Special driving conditions

dling capability. Do not use tires and

wheels that are different in size and type

from the originally installed ones. It can

affect the safety and performance of

Do not spin the wheels, especially at

speeds more than 56 km/h (35 mph).

Spinning the wheels at high speeds

when the vehicle is stationary could

overheat and damage tires, and the

rotating wheels may fly away and injure

bystanders.

your vehicle, which could lead to steer

ing failure or rollover and serious injury.

When replacing the tires, be sure to

equip all four tires with the tire and

wheel of the same size, type, tread,

brand and load-carrying capacity.

NOTICE

The Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

should be turned OFF prior to rocking

the vehicle.

Rocking the vehicle

If it is necessary to rock the vehicle to

free it from snow, sand, or mud, first

turn the steering wheel right and left to

clear the area around your front wheels.

Then, shift back and forth between R

(Reverse) and any forward gear.

Smooth cornering

Do not race the engine, and spin the

wheels as little as possible. If you are still

stuck after a few tries, have the vehicle

pulled out by a tow vehicle to avoid

engine overheating and possible dam

age to the transmission.

WARNING

Sudden vehicle movement

OMQ4051198L

Do not attempt to rock the vehicle if

Avoid braking or gear changing in cor

people or objects are nearby. The vehi

cle may suddenly move forward or

backwards as it becomes unstuck.

ners, especially when roads are wet. Ide

ally, corners should always be taken

under gentle acceleration. If you follow

these suggestions, tire wear will be held

to a minimum.

CAUTION

Vehicle rocking

Prolonged rocking may cause vehicle

overheating, transmission damage or

failure, and tire damage.

CAUTION

Spinning tires

186

Driving your vehicle

Special driving conditions

Driving at night

Driving in the rain

OMQ4051199

OMQ4A061016

Because night driving presents more

hazards than driving in the daylight,

here are some important tips to remem

ber:

Rain and wet roads can make driving

dangerous, especially if you're not pre

pared for the slick pavement.

Here are a few things to consider when

driving in the rain:

僅 Slow down and keep more distance

between you and other vehicles, as it

may be more difficult to see at night,

especially in areas where there may

not be any street lights.

僅 A heavy rainfall will make it harder to

see and will increase the distance

needed to stop your vehicle, so slow

down.

僅 Adjust your mirrors to reduce the

glare from other driver's headlamps.

僅 Keep your headlamps clean and prop

erly aimed. (On vehicles not equipped

with the automatic headlamp aiming

feature.) Dirty or improperly aimed

headlamps will make it much more

difficult to see at night.

僅 Keep your windshield wiping equip

ment in good shape. Replace your

windshield wiper blades when they

show signs of streaking or missing

areas on the windshield.

僅 If your tires are not in good condition,

making a quick stop on wet pavement

can cause a skid and possibly lead to

an accident. Be sure your tires are in

good shape.

僅 Avoid staring directly at the head

lamps of oncoming vehicles. You

could be temporarily blinded, and it

will take several seconds for your eyes

to readjust to the darkness.

僅 Turn on your headlamps to make it

easier for others to see you.

僅 Driving too fast through large puddles

can affect your brakes. If you must go

through puddles, try to drive through

them slowly.

僅 If you believe you may have gotten

your brakes wet, apply them lightly

while driving until normal braking

operation returns.

187

Driving your vehicle

Special driving conditions

Avoid using worn or damaged tires

which may result in reduced traction or

tire failure.

Never exceed the maximum tire inflation

pressure shown on the tires.

Hydroplaning

If the road is wet enough and you are

going fast enough, your vehicle may

have little or no contact with the road

surface and actually ride on the water.

The best advice is SLOW DOWN when

the road is wet.

WARNING

Under/over inflated tires

The risk of hydroplaning increases as

the depth of tire tread decreases,

refer to"Tires and wheels" on page 8-6.

Always check the tires for proper infla

tion before driving. Under inflated or

overinflated tires can cause poor han

dling, loss of vehicle control, and sudden

tire failure, leading to accidents, injuries,

and even death. For proper tire pres

sures, refer to "Tires and wheels" on

page 8-6.

Driving in flooded areas

Avoid driving through flooded areas

unless you are sure the water is no

higher than the bottom of the wheel

hub. Drive through any water slowly.

Allow adequate stopping distance

because brake performance may be

affected.

WARNING

Tire tread

Always check the tire tread before driv

After driving through water, dry the

brakes by gently applying them several

times while the vehicle is moving slowly.

ing your vehicle. Worn-out tires can

result in loss of vehicle control. Worn-out

tires should be replaced as soon as pos

sible. For further information and tread

limits, refer to "Tires and wheels" on

page 8-6.

Highway driving

Fuel, engine coolant and engine

oil

High speed travel consumes more fuel

than urban motoring. Do not forget to

check both the engine coolant and

engine oil.

Drive belt

OMQ4051203

A loose or damaged drive belt may

result in overheating of the engine.

Tires

Adjust the tire inflation pressures to

specification. Low tire inflation pressures

will result in overheating and possible

failure of the tires.

188

Driving your vehicle

Winter driving

Do not install studded tires without first

Winter driving

checking local, state and municipal reg

Severe weather conditions in the winter

ulations for possible restrictions against

their use.

result in greater wear and other prob

lems.

To minimize the problems of winter driv

ing, you should follow these sugges

tions:

WARNING

Snow tire size

Snow tires should be equivalent in size

and type to the vehicle's standard tires.

Otherwise, the safety and handling of

your vehicle may be adversely affected.

Snowy or icy conditions

To drive your vehicle in deep snow, it

may be necessary to use snow tires on

your tires.

Use high quality ethylene glycol

coolant

If snow tires are needed, 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

Your vehicle is delivered with high qual

ity ethylene glycol coolant in the cooling

system. It is the only type of coolant that

should be used because it helps prevent

and handling of your vehicle. Further

more, speeding, rapid acceleration, sud

den brake applications, and sharp turns

are potentially very hazardous practices.

corrosion in the cooling system, lubri

cates the water pump and prevents

During deceleration, use vehicle braking

freezing. Be sure to replace or replenish

your coolant in accordance with the

maintenance schedule in section 8.

to the fullest extent. Sudden brake appli

cations on snowy or icy roads may cause

skids to occur. You need to keep suffi

Before winter, have your coolant tested

cient distance between the vehicle in

to assure that its freezing point is suffi

cient for the temperatures anticipated

during the winter.

operation in front of your vehicle. Also,

apply the brake gently.

Snow tires

Check battery and cables

If you mount snow tires on your vehicle,

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 provided by snow tires on

dry roads may not be as high as your

vehicle's original equipment tires. You

should drive cautiously even when the

roads are clear. Check with the tire

Winter puts additional burdens on the

battery system. Visually inspect the bat

tery and cables as described in section

8. Have the level of charge in your bat

tery checked by an authorized Kia

dealer.

Change to "winter weight" oil if

necessary

In some climates it is recommended that

a lower viscosity "winter weight" oil be

used during cold weather. See "Recom

dealer for maximum speed recommen

dations.

189

Driving your vehicle -> Special driving conditions for Your Kia Sorento SUV 2023

Popular Manuals