Kia Sportage 2023 Manual page 217

Driving your vehicle
Downshifting
When you must slow down in heavy traf-
fic or whilst driving up steep hills, down-
shift before the engine starts to labour.
Downshifting reduces the chance of
stalling and gives better acceleration
when you again need to increase your
speed. When the vehicle is travelling
down steep hills, downshifting helps
maintain safe speed and prolongs brake
life.
INFORMATION
僅 If your vehicle is equipped with an
ignition lock switch, the engine will not
start when starting the engine without
depressing the clutch pedal.
僅 The shift lever must be returned to
the neutral position before shifting
into R (Reverse).
Push the button located immediately
below the shift knob and pull the
gearshift lever to the left sufficiently,
and then shift into reverse (R) gear
position.
僅 Make sure the vehicle is completely
stopped before shifting into R
(Reverse).
僅 Never operate the engine with the
tachometer (rpm) in the red zone.
僅 During cold weather, shifting may be
difficult until the transmission lubri-
cant is warmed up. This is normal and
not harmful to the transmission.
僅 If you've come to a complete stop and
it's hard to shift into 1st or R (Reverse),
leave the shift lever at N (Neutral)
position and release the clutch. Press
the clutch pedal back down, and then
shift into 1st or R (Reverse) gear posi-
tion.
WARNING
僅 Before leaving the driver's seat,
always set the parking brake fully and
shut the engine off. Then make sure
the transmission is shifted into 1st
gear when the vehicle is parked on a
level or uphill grade, and shifted into R
(Reverse) on a downhill grade. Unex-
pected and sudden vehicle movement
can occur if these precautions are not
followed in the order identified.
僅 Do not use the engine brake (shifting
from a high gear to lower gear) rap-
idly on slippery roads. The vehicle
may slip causing an accident.
僅 Depress the clutch pedal as far as
possible. Be aware not to apply the
pedal again before it returns to the
normal position. If the pedal is repeat-
edly depressed before returning to its
normal position, the clutch system
might be damaged.
僅 Do not overload the vehicle. Starting
or driving a vehicle in this situation
generates too much frictional heat to
the clutch disk which might cause
damage to the clutch cover and disk.
僅 When starting the vehicle or driving
backwards, releasing the clutch pedal
too soon after shifting the lever might
turn off the engine and lead to an
accident.
CAUTION
僅 When downshifting from 5th gear to
4th gear, caution should be taken not
to inadvertently press the shift lever
sideways in such a manner that the
second gear is engaged. Such a dras-
tic downshift may cause the engine
speed to increase to the point that the
tachometer will enter the red-zone.
Transmission
6
6 11