Reduction gear operation

Select gear positions by turning the shifter dial.

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WARNING

To reduce the risk of serious injury or death:

  • ALWAYS check the surrounding areas near your vehicle for people, especially children, before shifting a vehicle into D (Drive) or R (Reverse).

  • Before leaving the driver's seat, always make sure the gear is in the P (Park) position, then set the parking brake, and place the Power button in the OFF position. Unexpected and sudden vehicle movement can occur if these precautions are not followed.

For your safety, always depress the brake pedal while shifting to another gear.

Gear position

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The indicator in the instrument cluster displays the gear position when the EV button is in the ON position.

P (Park)

Always come to a complete stop before shifting into P (Park).

To shift the gear from R (Reverse), N (Neutral) or D (Drive) to P (Park), press the [P] button.

If you turn off the vehicle while it is stopped, the gear automatically shifts to P (Park).

With the vehicle on, the gear automatically shifts to P (Park) if you open the driver's door when the gear is in N (Neutral), R (Reverse) or D (Drive) and the following conditions are met:

  • The vehicle speed is below 1 mph (2 km/h).

When the vehicle is over a certain speed, the gear does not shift to P (Park) when the [P] button is pressed.

WARNING

  • Shifting into P (Park) while the vehicle is in motion may cause you to lose control of the vehicle.

  • After the vehicle has stopped, always make sure the gear is in P (Park), apply the parking brake, and turn the vehicle off.

  • Do not use the P (Park) position in place of the parking brake.

R (Reverse)

Use this position to drive the vehicle backward.

To shift to R (Reverse), turn the shifter dial to R (Reverse) position while depressing the brake pedal.

CAUTION

Shifting

Always come to a complete stop before shifting into or out of R (Reverse); you may damage the reduction gear if you shift into R (Reverse) while the vehicle is in motion, except on Special driving conditions.

N (Neutral)

To shift to N (Neutral) from P (Park), turn the shifter dial to N (Neutral) position while depressing the brake pedal.

If the Electronic Parking Brake is applied, release the Electronic Parking Brake manually while depressing the brake pedal.

If equipped with Electronic Parking Brake, it is not released automatically when you turn the shift dial to N (Neutral).

To turn off the vehicle from the ACC position, press the [P] button within 3 minutes. The vehicle will shift to P (Park) and turn off.

When the driver's door is opened within 3 minutes with the EV button in the ACC position and the gear in N (Neutral), the vehicle is automatically turned OFF and shifted to the P (Park) position.

To stay in N (Neutral) when vehicle is OFF

If you want to stay in N (Neutral) after the vehicle is OFF (in the ACC state), do the following.

  1. Turn off AUTO HOLD and release Electronic Parking Brake when the vehicle is running.

  2. Rotate the shift dial to N (Neutral) while depressing the brake pedal.

  3. When you take your foot off the brake pedal, the message 'Press and hold OK button on the steering wheel to stay in Neutral' will appear on the cluster LCD display.

  4. Press and hold the OK button on the steering wheel for more than 1 second.

    If the Electronic Parking Brake is applied, release the Electronic Parking Brake manually while depressing the brake pedal. If equipped with Electronic Parking Brake, it is not released automatically when you turn the shift dial to N (Neutral).

  5. When the message 'Vehicle will stay in (N). Change gear to cancel' (or 'N will stay engaged when the vehicle is Off') will appear on the cluster LCD display, press the EV button while depressing the brake pedal.

    However, if you open the driver's door within 3 minutes in the ACC state, the gear will automatically shift to P (Park) and the EV button will change to the OFF position.

CAUTION

Do not open the driver's door when going through an automatic car wash tunnel machine. Failure to follow this instruction can damage your vehicle or the car wash machine.

For vehicles equipped with Electronic Parking Brake (EPB), the parking brake is automatically applied.

NOTE

With the gear in N (Neutral) the EV button will be in the ACC position. Note that the doors cannot be locked in the ACC position or the 12V battery may discharge if left in the ACC position for a long period.

D (Drive)

This is the normal driving position.

To shift to D (Drive), turn the shifter dial to D (Drive) position while depressing the brake pedal.

Shift-lock system

For your safety, your vehicle has a shift-lock system which prevents shifting the gear from P (Park) or N (Neutral) into R (Reverse) or D (Drive) unless the brake pedal is depressed.

To shift from P (Park) or N (Neutral) into R (Reverse) or D (Drive), from R (Reverse) into D (Drive) or from D (Drive) into R (Reverse):

  1. Depress and hold the brake pedal.

  2. Start the vehicle or place the EV button in the ON position.

  3. Press the R (Reverse) or D (Drive) button.

NOTE

You cannot shift the gear while the charging cable is connected.

When the battery (12V) is discharged

You cannot shift the gear when the battery is discharged.

Jump start your vehicle (refer to Jump starting (12V battery)) or contact an authorized Kia dealer.