Get Driving your vehicle -> All Wheel Drive Guide for Kia Sportage SUV 2020

Driving your vehicle

ALL WHEEL DRIVE (AWD) (IF EQUIPPED)

■ Type A

These vehicles are not designed for The driver must be especially alert to

challenging off-road use.

avoid driving on slopes which tilt the

vehicle to either side.

It is always important when traveling

on unpaved roads that the driver

carefully reduces the speed to a level

that does not exceed the safe oper-

ating speed for those conditions. In

general, unpaved roads provide less

traction and braking effectiveness

than normal road conditions.

WARNING - Off road

driving

Do not attempt to operate your

vehicle under extreme or chal-

lenging off road driving condi-

tions. This vehicle was not

designed to be driven off road.

OQL055060L

■ Type B

* AWD : All Wheel Drive

FWD : Front Wheel Drive

✽

NOTICE

If the AWD system warning light

(

) illuminates, this indicates that

there is a malfunction in the AWD

system.

If this occurs, we recommend that

the system be checked by an author-

ized Kia dealer.

OQL055060

The All Wheel Drive (AWD) system

delivers engine power to the front

and rear wheels for maximum trac-

tion. AWD is useful when extra trac-

tion is required on road, such as,

when driving on slippery, muddy

such as wet, or snow-covered roads.

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Driving your vehicle

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.

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Driving your vehicle

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.

AWD AUTO

(AWD LOCK is

deactivated)

(Indicator light is

not illuminated)

• When driving on normal roads and pavement, the vehicle

moves similar to conventional FWD vehicles.

• 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 LOCK

(Indicator light is

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.

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Driving your vehicle

For safe all wheel drive opera-

tion

✽

NOTICE - All wheel drive

The road conditions that demand all

wheel drive mean all functions of

your vehicle are exposed to extreme

stress than under normal road con-

ditions. Slow down and be ready for

changes in the composition and trac-

tion 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.

HILL1

HILL2

• 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 - 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.

• Do not try to drive in deep standing

water 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 vehicle.

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Driving your vehicle

• You must consciously take the

effort to learn how to corner in a

AWD vehicle. Do not rely on your

experience in conventional FWD

vehicles in choosing safe cornering

speed in AWD mode. For starters,

you must drive more slowly in

AWD.

• Drive carefully when driving on

unpaved roads because your vehi-

cle may be damaged by rocks or

roots of trees.

• Always hold the steering wheel firm-

ly when you are driving off-road.

• Make sure all passengers are

wearing seat belts.

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.

OQL058127L

WARNING - AWD

WARNING - Steering

wheel

Reduce speed when you turn

corners.The center of gravity of

AWD vehicles is higher than

that of conventional FWD vehi-

cles, making them more likely to

roll over when you turn corners

too fast.

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 also lose control of your

steering wheel while driving on

rough terrain.

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Driving your vehicle

• 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

WARNING - AWD driving

• Avoid high cornering speed.

• Do not drive in water if the level is

higher than the bottom of the vehi-

cle.

• 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.

• 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.

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.

• 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.

5 28

Driving your vehicle

Reducing the risk of a rollover

CAUTION - Mud or snow

WARNING - Replacement

tires

This multi-purpose passenger vehi-

cle is defined as a Sports Utility

Vehicle (SUV). SUV’s have higher

ground clearance and a narrower

track to make them capable of per-

forming in a wide variety of off-road

applications. Specific design charac-

teristics 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. They are not designed for

cornering at the same speeds as

conventional passenger vehicles,

any more than low-slung sports vehi-

cles are designed to perform satis-

factorily in off-road conditions. There

are steps that a driver can

If one of the front or rear wheels

begins to spin in mud, snow,

etc. the vehicle can sometimes

be driven out by depressing the

accelerator pedal further; how-

ever, do not run the engine con-

tinuously at high rpms to free

the vehicle from snow or mud

because doing so could dam-

age the AWD system

Always use the size and type of

tires recommended in the tire

section

the

manual.

Installation of variant tires can

affect the safety and perform-

ance of your vehicle.

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.

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Driving your vehicle

WARNING - Jacked

vehicle

WARNING - Dynamometer

testing

While the full-time AWD 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.

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.

OQL055051

✽

NOTICE

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.

When lifting up the vehicle, do not

operate front and rear wheel sepa-

rately. All four wheels should be

operated.

• Full-time AWD vehicles must be

tested on a special four wheel

chassis dynamometer.

✽

NOTICE

✽

NOTICE

3. Release the parking brake.

If you need to operate the front

wheel and rear wheel when lifting

up the vehicle, you should release

the parking brake.

Never engage the parking brake

4. Place the rear wheels on the tem-

porary free roller as shown in the

illustration.

while performing these tests.

• A full-time AWD vehicle should not

be tested on a FWD roll tester. If a

FWD roll tester must be used, per-

form the following:

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Driving your vehicle -> All Wheel Drive for Your Kia Sportage SUV 2020

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