KIA Soul 2012 - Manual (Page 245)

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Driving your vehicle
• In sports mode, the driver must
execute upshifts in accordance
with road conditions, taking care to
keep the engine speed below the
red zone.
• In sports mode, only the 6 forward
gears can be selected. To reverse
or park the vehicle, move the shift
lever to the R (Reverse) or P (Park)
position as required.
• In sports mode, downshifts are
made automatically when the vehi-
cle slows down. When the vehicle
stops, 1st gear is automatically
selected.
• In sports mode, when the engine
rpm approaches the red zone shift
points are varied to upshift auto-
matically.
• To maintain the required levels of
vehicle performance and safety,
the system may not execute cer-
tain gearshifts when the shift lever
is operated.
• When driving on a slippery road,
push the shift lever forward into the
+(up) position. This causes the
transaxle to shift into the 2nd (or
third) gear which is better for
smooth driving on a slippery road.
Push the shift lever to the -(down)
side to shift back to the 1st gear.
Shift lock system
For your safety, the automatic
transaxle has a shift lock system
which prevents shifting the transaxle
out of P (Park) unless the brake
pedal is depressed.
To shift the transaxle from P (Park)
into R (Reverse):
1. Depress and hold the brake pedal.
2. Start the engine or turn the ignition
switch to the ON position.
3. Move the shift lever.
If the brake pedal is repeatedly
depressed and released with the
shift lever in the P (Park) position, a
chattering noise near the shift lever
may be heard. This is a normal con-
dition.
WARNING - Shifting
from park
Always fully depress the brake
pedal before and while shifting
out of the P (Park) position into
another position to avoid inad-
vertent motion of the vehicle.