KIA Sorento (2009) User Manual

Page 228

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Driving tips

22

5

If your vehicle slides downhill

If you feel your vehicle starting to slide
sideways, turn downhill immediately. This
should help straighten out the vehicle
and prevent the side slipping. However, a
much better way to prevent this is to get
out and “walk the course” first so you
know what the surface is like before you
drive it.

Stalling while crossing an incline

If your vehicle stalls when you’re crossing
an incline, be sure you (and your pas-
sengers) get out on the uphill side, even
if that door is harder to open. If you get
out on the downhill side and the vehicle
starts to roll over, you’ll be in its path.
If you have to walk down the slope, stay
out of the path the vehicle will take if it
does roll over.

Driving in mud, sand, snow, or ice

When you drive in mud, sand, snow, or
ice, your wheels won’t get good traction.
You can’t accelerate as quickly, turning is
more difficult, and you’ll need longer
braking distances.
It’s best to use a low gear when you’re in
mud, the deeper the mud, the lower the
gear. In extremely deep mud, the idea is
to keep your vehicle moving so you don’t
get stuck.
When you drive on sand, you’ll sense a
change in wheel traction. But it will
depend upon how loosely packed the
sand is. On loosely packed sand (as on
beaches or sand dunes) your tires will
tend to sink into the sand. This has an
effect on steering, accelerating, and
braking. You may want to reduce the air
pressure in your tires slightly when driv-
ing on sand. This will improve traction.
Remember to re-inflate them the first
chance that you have after you leave the
loosely packed sand.

WARNING

- Exiting vehicle

Getting out on the downhill (low)
side of a vehicle stopped across an
incline is dangerous. If the vehicle
rolls over, you could be crushed or
fatally injured. Always get out on
the uphill (high) side of the vehicle
and stay well clear of the rollover
path.

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