Kia Sorento Owner's Manual page 458

Driving your vehicle
• During cold weather, shifting may
be difficult until the transaxle lubri-
cant has warmed up. This is nor-
mal and not harmful to the
transaxle.
• If you've come to a complete stop
and it's hard to shift into 1st or R
(Reverse), put the shift lever in N
(Neutral) position and release the
clutch. Press the clutch pedal back
down, and then shift into 1st or R
(Reverse) gear position.
CAUTION
• To avoid premature clutch
wear and damage, do not
drive with your foot resting on
the clutch pedal. Also, don't
use the clutch to hold the
vehicle stopped on an uphill
grade, whilst waiting for a traf-
fic light, etc.
• Do not use the shift lever as a
handrest during driving, as
this can result in premature
wear of the transaxle shift
forks.
5 18
WARNING
• Before leaving the driver's
seat, always set the parking
brake fully and shut the
engine off. Then make sure
the transaxle 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. Unexpected and sud-
den vehicle movement can
occur if these precautions are
not followed in the order iden-
tified.
• If your vehicle has a manual
transaxle not equipped with a
ignition lock switch, it may
move and cause a serious
accident when starting the
engine without depressing
the clutch pedal whilst the
parking brake is released and
the shift lever not in the N
(Neutral) position.
Using the clutch
The clutch should be pressed all the
way to the floor before shifting, then
released slowly. The clutch pedal
should always be fully released
whilst driving. Do not rest your foot
on the clutch pedal whilst driving.
This can cause unnecessary wear.
Do not partially engage the clutch to
hold the car on an incline. This caus-
es unnecessary wear. Use the foot
brake or parking brake to hold the
car on an incline. Do not operate the
clutch pedal rapidly and repeatedly.
Downshifting
When you must slow down in heavy
traffic or whilst driving up steep hills,
downshift 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 vehi-
cle is travelling down steep hills,
downshifting helps maintain safe
speed and prolongs brake life.