If The Engine Overheats - Kia Niro Owner's Manual

What to do in an emergency

IF THE ENGINE OVERHEATS

If your temperature gauge indicates
overheating, you will experience a
loss of power, or hear loud pinging or
knocking, the engine is probably too
hot. If this happens, you should:
1.Pull off the road and stop as soon
as it is safe to do so.
2.Place the shift lever in P (dual
clutch transmission) and set the
parking brake. If the air condition-
ing is on, turn it off.
3.If engine coolant is running out
under the vehicle or steam is com-
ing out from the hood, stop the
engine. Do not open the hood until
the coolant has stopped running
or the steaming has stopped. If
there is no visible loss of engine
coolant and no steam, leave the
engine running and check to be
sure the engine cooling fan is oper-
ating. If the fan is not running, turn
the engine off.
4.Check to see if the water pump
drive belt is missing. If it is not miss-
ing, check to see that it is tight.
7 8
If the drive belt seems to be satis-
factory, check for coolant leaking
from the radiator, hoses or under
the vehicle. (If the air conditioning
had been in use, it is normal for
cold water to be draining from it
when you stop).
WARNING
While the engine is running,
keep hair, hands and clothing
away from moving parts such
as the fan and drive belts to pre-
vent injury.
5.If the water pump drive belt is bro-
ken or engine coolant is leaking
out, stop the engine immediately
and we recommend that you call
an authorized Kia dealer.
WARNING
Do not remove the radiator cap
when the engine is hot. This can
allow coolant to blow out of the
opening and cause serious
burns.
6.If you cannot find the cause of the
overheating, wait until the engine
temperature has returned to nor-
mal. Then, if coolant has been lost,
carefully add coolant to the reser-
voir to bring the fluid level in the
reservoir up to the halfway mark.
7.Proceed with caution, keeping
alert for further signs of overheat-
ing. If overheating happens again,
we recommend that you call an
authorized Kia dealer.
CAUTION
• Serious loss of coolant indi-
cates there is a leak in the
cooling system and we recom-
mend that the system be
checked by an authorized Kia
dealer.
• When the engine overheats
from low engine coolant, sud-
denly adding engine coolant
may cause cracks in the
engine. To prevent damage,
add engine coolant slowly in
small quantities.