Dual clutch transmission operation

Select transmission positions by turning the dial SBW.

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 shift lever is in the P (Park) position, then set the parking brake, and place the ignition switch in the LOCK/OFF position. Unexpected and sudden vehicle movement can occur if these precautions are not followed.
Do not use engine braking (shifting from a high gear to lower gear) rapidly on slippery roads. The vehicle may slip causing an accident.

The Dual Clutch Transmission gives the driving feel of a manual transmission, yet provides the ease of a fully automatic transmission. Unlike a traditional automatic transmission, the gear shifting can be felt (and heard) on the dual clutch transmission
- Think of it as an automatically shifting manual transmission.
- Shift into Drive range and get fully automatic shifting, similar to a conventional automatic transmission.
Dual clutch transmission adopts dry-type dual clutch, which is different from torque converter of automatic transmission, and shows better acceleration performance during driving. But, initial launch might be little bit slower than Automatic Transmission.
The dry-type clutch transfers torque and provides a direct driving feeling which may feel different from a conventional automatic transmission with a torque converter. This may be more noticeable when starting from a stop or low vehicle speed.
When rapidly accelerating at low vehicle speed, engine could rev at high rpm depending on vehicle drive condition.
For smooth launch uphill, press down the accelerator pedal smoothly depending on the current conditions.
If you release your foot from the accelerator pedal at low vehicle speed, you may feel strong engine brake, which is similar to manual transmission.
When driving downhill, you may use Sports Mode to downshift to a lower gear in order to control your speed without using the brake pedal excessively.
When you turn the engine on and off, you may hear clicking sounds as the system goes through a self test. This is a normal sound for the Dual Clutch Transmission.

DCT warning messages

This warning message is displayed when vehicle is driven slowly on a grade and the vehicle detects that the brake pedal is not applied.

Steep grade

Driving up hills or on steep grades:

To hold the vehicle on an incline use the foot brake or the parking brake.
When in stop-and-go traffic on an incline, keep some distance ahead before moving the vehicle forward. Then hold the vehicle on the incline with the foot brake.
If the vehicle is held on a hill by applying the accelerator pedal or by creeping with brake pedal disengaged, the clutch and transmission may overheat which can result in damage. At this time, a warning message will appear on the LCD display.
If the LCD warning is active, the foot brake must be applied.
Ignoring the warnings can lead to damage to the transmission.

Transmission high temperature

Under certain conditions, such as repeated stop-and-go launches on steep grades, sudden take off or acceleration, or other harsh driving conditions, the transmission clutch temperatures will increase excessively. Finally the clutch in transmission could be overheated.
When the clutch is overheated, the safe protection mode engages and the gear position indicator on the cluster blinks with a chime. At this time, "Transmission temp. is high! Stop safely" warning message will appear on the LCD display and driving may not be smooth.
If this occurs, pull over to a safe location, stop the vehicle with the engine running, apply the brakes and shift the vehicle to P (Park), and allow the transmission to cool.
If you ignore this warning, the driving condition may become worse. You may experience abrupt shifts, frequent shifts, or jerkiness. To return to the normal driving condition, stop the vehicle and apply the foot brake or shift into P (Park).

Then allow the transmission to cool for a few minutes with engine on, before driving off.
When possible, drive the vehicle smoothly.

Transmission overheated

If the vehicle continues to be driven and the clutch temperatures reach the maximum temperature limit, the "Transmission Hot! Park with engine on" warning will be displayed. When this occurs the clutch is disabled until the clutch cools to normal temperatures.
The warning will display a time to wait for the transmission to cool.
If this occurs, pull over to a safe location, stop the vehicle with the engine running, apply the brakes and shift the vehicle to P (Park), and allow the transmission to cool.
When the message "Trans cooled. Resume driving." appears you can continue to drive your vehicle.
When possible, drive the vehicle smoothly.

If any of the warning messages in the LCD display continue to blink, for your safety, Have the system checked by an authorized Kia dealer.

Transmission position

Type A

Type B

The indicator in the instrument cluster displays the transmission position when the ENGINE START/STOP 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 in D (Drive), N (Neutral) or R (Reverse), 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 brake/accelerator pedal is not depressed.
The seat belt is unfastened.
The vehicle speed is below 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 dial SBW to the [R] 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 transmission if you shift into R (Reverse) while the vehicle is in motion, except on "Rocking the vehicle" ( More Details).

N (Neutral)

The wheels and gear are not engaged.

To shift to N (Neutral), turn the dial SBW to the [N] position while depressing the brake pedal.

Always depress the brake pedal when you are shifting from N (Neutral) to another gear.

In N (Neutral), if the driver attempts to turn off the vehicle, the vehicle is turned OFF and shifted to the P (Park) position automatically.

D (Drive)

This is the normal driving position.

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

In D (Drive), if the driver attempts to turn off the vehicle, the vehicle is turned OFF and shifted to the P (Park) position automatically.

Stay in N (Neutral) position when vehicle is Off

If you want to keep the N (Neutral) position after the vehicle is OFF, do the following.

Deactivate the AUTO HOLD and release the parking brake when the ENGINE START/STOP button is ON.
Turn the dial SBW to the N (Neutral) position by depressing the brake pedal. The message ("Press and hold OK button to stay in Neutral when vehicle is Off") appears on the cluster LCD display when the foot comes off from the brake pedal. Press and hold the OK button on the steering wheel for more than 1 second. After the message is disappeared, the vehicle cannot keep the N position when the vehicle is off.
Turn off the engine after the message ("Vehicle will stay in (N). Change gear to cancel") appears on the cluster LCD display.

In this situation, if you unfasten the driver's seat belt and open the driver's door within 3 minutes, the gear shifts to P (Park) position and the ENGINE START/STOP button is turned off.

When the battery is discharged:

You cannot shift the shift dial, when the battery is discharged.

In emergencies, do the following to move the shift dial to N (Neutral) on a level ground.

Connect the battery cables from another vehicle or from a another battery to the jump-starting terminals inside the engine compartment. For more details, refer to More Details.
Release the parking brake with the ENGINE START/STOP button in the ON position.
Shift the gear to the N (Neutral) position. If you want to keep the N position after the vehicle is off, disconnect the battery from vehicle or refer to More Details.

CAUTION

Always park the vehicle in "P"(Park) for safety and engage the parking brake. If left in "N", the vehicle may move and cause serious damage and injury.
After the ENGINE START/STOP button has been turned off, the electronic parking brake cannot be disengaged.
For EPB (Electronic Parking Brake) equipped vehicles with AUTO HOLD function used while driving, if the ignition button has been turned "OFF", the electronic parking brake will be engaged automatically. Therefore, AUTO HOLD function should be turned off before the ignition button is turned off.

Paddle shifter

The paddle shift function is available when the dial SBW is in the D (Drive) position.

With the dial SBW in the D position

The paddle shifter will operate when the vehicle speed is more than 9km/h.

Pull the [+] or [-] paddle shifter once to shift up or down one gear and the system changes from automatic mode to manual mode.

To change back to automatic mode from manual mode, do one of the following:

Pull the [+] paddle shifter for more than 1 second.
Gently depress the accelerator pedal for more than 7 seconds.
Shift to D (Drive) position.
When the vehicle speed is lower than 10km/h

NOTICE

If you pull the [+] and [-] paddle shifters at the same time, you cannot shift the gear.

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):

Depress and hold the brake pedal.
Start the vehicle or place the ENGINE START/STOP button in the ON position.
Turn the dial SBW to the R (Reverse) or D (Drive) position.

When the battery (12 V) is discharged

You cannot shift the gear when the battery is discharged.

Jump start your vehicle (refer to More Details) or contact an authorized Kia dealer.