Kia Soul: Good driving practices - Manual Transaxle - Driving your vehicleKia Soul: Good driving practices

Kia Soul 2009-2013 AM Owner's Manual / Driving your vehicle / Manual Transaxle / Good driving practices

  • Never take the vehicle out of gear and coast down a hill. This is extremely hazardous. Always leave the vehicle in gear.
  • Don't "ride" the brakes. This can cause them to overheat and malfunction. Instead, when you are driving down a long hill, slow down and shift to a lower gear. When you do this, engine braking will help slow down the vehicle.
  • Slow down before shifting to a lower gear. This will help avoid over-revving the engine, which can cause damage.
  • Slow down when you encounter cross winds. This gives you much better control of your vehicle.
  • Be sure the vehicle is completely stopped before you attempt to shift into reverse. The transaxle can be damaged if you do not.
  • Exercise extreme caution when driving on a slippery surface. Be especially careful when braking, accelerating or shifting gears. On a slippery surface, an abrupt change in vehicle speed can cause the drive wheels to lose traction and the vehicle to go out of control.
  • Always buckle-up! In a collision, an unbelted occupant is significantly more likely to be seriously injured or killed than a properly belted occupant.
  • Never exceed posted speed limits.

WARNING - Vehicle handling

Avoid high speeds when cornering or turning. High speed cornering and turning increases the risk of vehicle rollover due to loss of vehicle control. Rollover accidents are extremely violent and unpredictable.

    Manual transaxle operation
    The manual transaxle has 6 forward gears. This shift pattern is imprinted on the shift knob. The transaxle is fully synchronized in all forward gears so shifting to either a higher or a lower gea ...

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