2023 Kia Sportage PHEV Engine Overheats and Tire Pressure Monitoring Guidelines

Kia Sportage 2023 PHEV If The Engine Overheats and Tire Pressure Monitoring System 

Engine overheating and the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) are essential for the Kia Sportage PHEV’s performance and safety in 2023. To keep the engine healthy and avoid any harm, engine overheating must be managed and prevented. While lowering the possibility of underinflated tires, which can compromise safety and fuel efficiency, the TPMS continuously checks tire pressures to ensure they are within safe ranges for effective operation. Owners of Kia Sportage PHEV vehicles can maximize safety and extend the life of their vehicle’s engine by learning and adhering to the instructions and safety precautions detailed in the owner’s manual.

2023 KIA SPORTAGE Specs, Price, Features and Mileage (Brochure)

Before jump-starting (for hybrid vehicles Jump starting

This vehicle does not have a regular 12V battery that needs periodic replacement. It is a lithium-ion polymer type integrated into the HEV high-voltage battery. The vehicle has a 12V battery protection system that cuts 12V battery from the vehicle draw to prevent full discharge.

Using the 12V battery reset button

1.  Press the 12V Battery Reset button to reconnect the 12V battery.
2. Start the vehicle within 15 seconds of pressing the 12V Battery Reset button.
3.  After starting the vehicle (READY indicator on), operate the vehicle safely outdoors in ready mode stopped and/or drive it for 30 minutes total to charge the 12V battery fully.

If you do not start the vehicle immediately after pressing the 12V Battery Reset button, the power of 12V battery is automatically disconnected after few seconds to save the 12V battery from additional discharge. If the 12V battery is disconnected prior to starting the vehicle, press the 12V Battery Reset button again and then immediately start the vehicle as explained. Repeated use of the 12V Battery Reset button without a sufficient engine ON cycle (30 Min+) may cause over-discharge of the 12V battery, which will prevent the vehicle from starting. If the 12V battery is over-discharged to the point that the reset does not work, try to jumpstart the vehicle.

NOTICE
After starting the vehicle (READY indicator on), the 12V battery is being charged whether the engine is running or not. Although there is no engine sound, it is unnecessary to depress the accelerator pedal.

The following items may need to be reset after the battery has been discharged or the battery has been disconnected.
See chapters 4 and 5 for:

• Power Windows
• Trip Computer
•  Climate Control System
• Audio System
•  Panoramic sunroof

NOTICE
External power source using 12V battery
The use of external power accessories may reduce the performance and function of the vehicle. Especially, the use of dash cameras may shut off the power of the vehicle prior to the dash camera’s automatic shut-down. If the power of the vehicle is shut off, start the vehicle as explained.

Jump starting
In the event the vehicle still does not have a functional 12V battery (check if interior lights do not turn on) then you can try a jump start to the engine compartment jumper terminals using a 12V booster pack or jumper cables from another vehicle’s 12V battery according to the following instructions.

CAUTION
Jump starting can be dangerous if done incorrectly. Follow the jump-starting procedure in this section to avoid serious injury or damage to your vehicle. If in doubt about how to properly jump-start your vehicle, we strongly recommend that you have a service technician or towing service do it for you.

1. Position the vehicles close enough that the jumper cables will reach, but do not allow the vehicles to touch. Avoid fans or any moving parts in the engine compartment at all times, even when the vehicles are turned off.
2. Turn off all electrical devices such as radios, lights, air conditioning, etc. Put the vehicles in P (Park) and set the parking brake. Turn both vehicles OFF.
3. Connect the jumper cables in the exact sequence shown in the illustration. First connect one jumper cable to the red, positive (+) jumper terminal of your vehicle (1).
   
4. Connect the other end of the jumper cable to the red, positive (+) battery/jumper terminal of the assisting vehicle (2).
5. Connect the second jumper cable to the black, negative (-) battery/chassis ground of the assisting vehicle (3).
6.  Connect the other end of the second jumper cable to the black, negative (-) chassis ground of your vehicle (4). Do not allow the jumper cables to contact anything except the correct battery or jumper terminals or the correct ground. Do not lean over the battery when making connections.
7. Press the 12V Battery Reset button.
   
8. Start the engine of the assisting vehicle and let it run for a few minutes.
9.  Start your vehicle as soon as possible. After starting the vehicle (READY indicator on), operate the vehicle safely outdoors in ready mode stopped and/or drive it for 30 minutes total to charge the 12V battery fully.

If your vehicle will not start after a few attempts, it probably requires servicing. In this event please seek qualified assistance. If the cause of your battery dis-charging is not apparent, we recommend that you have your vehicle checked by an authorized Kia dealer. Disconnect the jumper cables in the exact reverse order you connected them:

1. Disconnect the jumper cable from the black, negative (-) chassis ground of your vehicle (4).
2.  Disconnect the other end of the jumper cable from the black, negative (-) battery/chassis ground of the assisting vehicle (3).
3.  Disconnect the second jumper cable from the red, positive (+) battery/jumper terminal of the assisting vehicle (2).
4. Disconnect the other end of the jumper cable from the red, positive (+) jumper terminal of your vehicle (1).

NOTICE
The voltage range of the charger should be 13.3~14V and its current range should be less than 60A. (13.8V is recommended).

CAUTION

•  The use of an improper charger with a  voltage and current range higher than specified may cause overheating and damage to the 12V battery.
• The use of an incorrect charger will lead to a power shut-off to save the 12V battery. Stop using the incorrect charger once the power of the vehicle is shut off.

NOTICE
An inappropriately disposed battery can be harmful to the environment and human health. Dispose of the battery according to your local law(s) or regulation.

NOTICE
To prevent damage to your vehicle:

• Only use a 12-volt power supply (battery or jumper system) to jump-start your vehicle.
•  Do not attempt to jump-start your vehicle by push-starting.

Push-starting
Vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions cannot be push-started, and only jump-starting can be applied.

WARNING
Tow starting vehicle
Never tow a vehicle to start it. When the engine starts, the vehicle can suddenly surge forward and could cause a collision with the tow vehicle.

If the engine overheats

If your temperature gauge indicates overheating, you experience a loss of power, or hear a loud pinging or knocking, the engine will probably be too hot.
If this happens, you should:

1. Pull off the road and stop as soon as it is safe to do so.
2. Shift the gear to P (Park) and set the parking brake.
3.  If the air conditioning is on, turn it off.
4. If engine coolant is running out under the vehicle or steam is coming out from underneath the hood, stop the engine. Do not open the hood until the coolant has stopped running or the steaming has stopped.
5.  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 operating.
   1.  If the fan is not running, turn the engine off.
6. Check to see if the water pump drive belt is missing.
   1. If it is not missing, check to see that it is tight.
   2. If the drive belt seems to be satisfactory, 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
      Under the hood
      While the engine is running, keep hair, hands and clothing away from moving parts, such as the fan and drive belts, to prevent injury.
7. If the water pump drive belt is broken or engine coolant is leaking out, stop the engine immediately and call the nearest professional workshop for assistance. Call an authorized Kia dealer.
8. If you cannot find the cause of the overheating, wait until the engine temperature has returned to normal. If the coolant has been lost, carefully add coolant to the reservoir to bring the fluid level in the reservoir up to the halfway mark.
9.  Proceed with caution, keeping alert for further signs of overheating. If overheating happens again, call a professional workshop for assistance. Call an authorized Kia dealer.

WARNING
Coolant reservoir cap
Do not remove the engine coolant reservoir cap when the engine is hot. This may result in coolant being blown out of the opening and cause serious burns.
If the inverter coolant is running out, call the nearest professional workshop for assistance. Have the vehicle inspected by an authorized Kia dealer. Use of other coolant type or water may damage the inverter.

CAUTION

•  Serious loss of coolant indicates there is a leak in the cooling system and this should be checked as soon as possible. Have your vehicle checked by an authorized Kia dealer.
•  When the engine overheats from low engine coolant, suddenly adding engine coolant may cause cracks in the engine. To prevent damage, add engine coolant slowly in small quantities.

2023 KIA SPORTAGE Specs, Price, Features and Mileage (Brochure)

Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)

The Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) detects the pressure of the vehicle’s tires and displays it on the LCD display.

1. Low tire pressure telltale/TPMS malfunction indicator
2. Low tire pressure position telltale (Shown on the LCD display)

Tire Pressure Indicator

• You can check the tire pressure in the assist mode on the cluster.
•  Tire pressure is displayed 1 ~ 2 minutes later after driving.
•  If tire pressure is not displayed when the vehicle is stopped, “Drive to display” message displays. After driving, check the tire pressure.
•  You can change the tire pressure unit in the user settings mode on the cluster.

NOTICE

• The tire pressure may change due to factors such as parking conditions, driving style, and altitude above sea level.
•  The tire pressure shown on the dashboard may differ from the tire pressure measured by tire pressure gauge.
•  Low tire pressure warning may sound when a tire’s pressure unit is equal or lower than nearby tires. This is a normal occurrence, which is due to the change in tire pressure along with tire temperature.

Effective use of TPMS

WARNING
Over-inflation or under-inflation can reduce tire life, adversely affect vehicle handling, and lead to sudden tire failure that may cause loss of vehicle control resulting in an accident Each tire, including the spare (if pro-vided), should be checked monthly when cold and inflated to the inflation pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacturer on the vehicle placard or tire inflation pressure label. (If your vehicle has tires of a different size than the size indicated on the vehicle placard or tire inflation pressure label, you should determine the proper tire inflation pressure for those tires.) As an added safety feature, your vehicle has been equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) that illuminates a low tire pressure telltale when one or more of your tires is significantly under-inflated. Accordingly, when the low tire pressure telltale illuminates, you should stop and check your tires as soon as possible, and inflate them to the proper pressure. Driving on a significantly under-inflated tire causes the tire to overheat and can lead to tire failure. Under-inflation also reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life, and may affect the vehicle’s handling and stopping ability. Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute for proper tire maintenance, and it is the driver’s responsibility to maintain correct tire pressure, even if under-inflation has not reached the level to trigger illumination of the TPMS low tire pressure telltale.
Your vehicle has also been equipped with a TPMS malfunction indicator to indicate when the system is not operating properly. The TPMS malfunction indicator is combined with the low tire pressure telltale. When the system detects a malfunction, the telltale will flash for approximately one minute and then remain continuously illuminated. This sequence will continue upon subsequent vehicle start-ups as long as the malfunction exists. When the malfunction indicator is illuminated, the system may not be able to detect or signal low tire pressure as intended. TPMS malfunctions may occur for a variety of reasons, including the installation of replacement or alternate tires or wheels on the vehicle that prevents the TPMS from functioning properly. Always check the TPMS malfunction tell-tale after replacing one or more tires or wheels on your vehicle to ensure that the replacement or alternate tires and wheels allow the TPMS to continue to function properly.

NOTICE
If any of the below happens, have the system checked by an authorized Kia dealer.

1.  The low tire pressure telltale/TPMS malfunction indicator does not appear for 3 seconds when the ENGINE START/STOP button is turned to the ON position or the engine is running.
2. The TPMS malfunction indicator remains illuminated after blinking for approximately 1 minute.
3.  The Low tire pressure position telltale remains illuminated.

Low tire pressure position telltale

When the TPMS warning indicators appear, one or more of your tires is significantly under-inflated.

A: Low tire pressure
If the telltale appears, immediately reduce your speed, avoid hard cornering and anticipate increased stopping distances. You should stop and check your tires as soon as possible.
Inflate the tires to the proper pressure as indicated on the vehicle’s placard or tire inflation pressure label located on the driver’s side centre pillar outer panel. If you cannot reach a service station or if the tire cannot hold the newly added air, replace the low-pressure tire with the spare tire. Then the TPMS malfunction indicator and the Low Tire Pressure telltale may turn on and appear after restarting and about 20 minutes of continuous driving before you have the low-pressure tire repaired and replaced on the vehicle.
In winter or cold weather, the low tire pressure telltale may appear if the tire pressure was adjusted to the recommended tire inflation pressure in warm weather. It does not mean your TPMS is malfunctioning because the decreased temperature leads to a proportional lowering of tire pressure.
You should check the tire inflation pres-sure and adjust the tires to the recommended tire inflation pressure when driving your vehicle in the following conditions.

• from a warm area to a cold area
•  from a cold area to a warm area
•  the outside temperature is extremely high or low
  When filling tires with more air, conditions to turn off the low tire pressure tell-tale may not be met. This is because a tire inflator has a margin of error in performance. The low tire pressure telltale will be turned off if the tire pressure is above the recommended tire inflation pressure.

WARNING
Low-pressure damage
Do not drive on low-pressure tires. Significantly low tire pressure can cause the tires to overheat and fail, making the vehicle unstable, and resulting in increased braking distances and a loss of vehicle control.

Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) malfunction indicator

The low tire pressure telltale will appear after it blinks for approximately one minute when there is a problem with the TPMS.
If the system is able to correctly detect an underinflation warning at the same time as system failure, it will appear both the TPMS malfunction and the low tire pressure position telltales. For example, if the Front Left sensor fails, the TPMS malfunction indicator appears, but if the Front Right, Rear Left, or Rear Right tire is underinflated, the low tire pressure position telltales may appear together with the TPMS malfunction indicator. Have the system checked by an authorized Kia dealer as soon as possible to determine the cause of the problem.

• The TPMS malfunction indicator may appear if the vehicle is moving around electric power supply cables or radios transmitters such as at police stations, government and public offices, broadcasting stations, military installations, airports, or transmitting towers, etc. This can interfere with normal operation of the TPMS.
• The TPMS malfunction indicator may appear if the vehicle is equipped with snow chains or some personal electronic devices (such as a laptop computer, mobile charger, remote starter or navigation) are being used in the vehicle. This can interfere with the normal operation of the TPMS.

Tire replacement with TPMS

If you have a flat tire, the Low Tire Pressure telltale will come on. Have the flat tire repaired by an authorized Kia dealer as soon as possible or replace the flat tire with a spare tire.

CAUTION
Repair Agents
Never use a puncture-repairing agent not approved by Kia to repair and/or inflate a low-pressure tire. The sealant that is not approved by Kia may damage the tire pressure sensor.
Each wheel is equipped with a tire pressure sensor mounted inside the tire behind the valve stem. You must use TPMS-specific wheels. Always have your tires serviced by an authorized Kia dealer.
Even if you replace the low-pressure tire with the spare tire, the Low Tire Pressure telltale will remain on until the low pressure tire is repaired and placed on the vehicle.
After you replace the low-pressure tire with the spare tire, the TPMS malfunction indicator may appear after a few minutes. This is because the TPMS sensor mounted on the spare wheel is not yet activated. Once the low-pressure tire is inflated again to the recommended pressure and installed on the vehicle or the TPMS sensor mounted on the replaced spare wheel is initiated by a professional work-shop, the TPMS malfunction indicator and the low tire pressure telltale will turn off within a few minutes of driving. If the indicator has not disappeared after a few minutes of driving, please visit an authorized Kia dealer.
If an original mounted tire is replaced with the spare tire, the TPMS sensor on the replaced spare wheel should be initiated and the TPMS sensor on the original mounted wheel should be deactivated. If the TPMS sensor on the original mounted wheel located in the spare tire carrier still activates, the Tire Pressure Monitoring System may not operate properly. Have the tire with TPMS serviced or replaced by an authorized Kia dealer?
You may not be able to identify a low tire by simply looking at it. Always use a good quality tire pressure gauge to measure the tire’s inflation pressure. Please note that a tire that is hot (from being driven) will have a higher pressure measurement than a tire that is cold (from sitting stationary for at least 3 hours and driving less than 1 mile (1.6 km) during that 3 hour period).
Allow the tire to cool before measuring the inflation pressure. Always be sure the tire is cold before inflating to the recommended pressure.
A cold tire means the vehicle has been sitting for 3 hours and driven for less than 1 mile (1.6 km) in that 3-hour period.
Never use tire sealant if your vehicle is equipped with a TPMS. The liquid sealant can damage the tire pressure sensors.

• The TPMS cannot alert you to severe and sudden tire damage caused by external factors such as nails or road debris.
•  If you feel any vehicle instability, immediately take your foot off the accelerator, apply the brakes gradually and with light force, and slowly move to a safe position off the road.

NOTICE
Protecting TPMS
Tampering with, modifying, or disabling the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) components may interfere with the system’s ability to warn the driver of low tire pressure conditions and/or TPMS malfunctions. Tampering with, modifying, or disabling the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) components may void the warranty for that portion of the vehicle.

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules.

Operation is subject to the following three conditions:

1. This device may not cause harmful interference.
2. This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
3. Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the device.

FAQ