Tag: brake hold

Another owner’s manual fail, this time from Kia

Kia owner’s manual fail

Well, we’ve found another. A few weeks ago we reported on the discovery that Mazda had begun leaving instrument panel indicators out of the list found in the owner’s manual.

Now we find that Kia has done the same thing, this time in my Niro EV! I’ve found two sets of indicators that are in the manual, but not in the list! This requires that a driver already know what the symbol represents. This is easy for one pair, not so much for the other.

Brake hold

Auto Hold indicatorAuto Hold greenThe first is quite straight forward. For the vehicle’s Auto Brake Hold system, a button on the center console must be pushed. This activates a white indicator on the instrument panel which, of course, says the system is active and ready. When the vehicle is brought to a stop, the indicator turns green. Both symbols are to the right.

Yes, it is relatively obvious what these indicators mean, but its just plain sloppy to leave out of the manual’s list.

Regenerative braking

These next two sets are far more complicated and are not the least bit obvious to the uninitiated. They are a part of the Regenerative Braking system. There are two sets of these.

Regenerative brake indicatorRegenerative brake indicator blueThe first indicate the level of Regenerative Braking that has been set. This is shown by the number of arrows in the image; 1, 2 or 3. Three arrow images are shown to the right. The light remains white while the vehicle is in motion, but turns blue when braking is sending power back to the battery! The image has the arrows wrapped in a battery.

Auto regenerative brake indicatorAuto regenerative brake indicator blueAuto regenerative brake indicator redThe next set adds the word AUTO to image, beneath the original image. They are connected to Kia’s Smart Regenerative System. Here again the number of arrows point to the amount of regenerative braking. However, in this case, that amount is a start point and will change depending on road gradient, the distance to a vehicle ahead and the speed of the vehicle ahead.

Here, there are three possible colors: White, blue and red. When the system is turned on but no vehicle is recognized ahead, the light remains white. When a vehicle is spotted, it goes to blue. If the driver steps on the brake pedal, the indicator goes to red.

None of these 5 indicators are found in the list of warning lights and indicators in the manual, and a driver must have an idea what to look for to decipher their meanings. It is clear, however, that the last set of three would not be seen unless some effort is put into activating the system in the first place.

Our now increased set of Kia indicators, approaching 100 can be seen here.

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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.

These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.

Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2024/11/another-owners-manual-fail-this-time-from-kia/

Got the car wash blues

Kia LogoCar wash

So I took the Kia EV for its second car wash since becoming its owner and ended up stuck with the Park Brake warning light on. So the question is why?

I slid into the car wash’s track and placed the car in neutral, as one should. But, I had forgotten that I had activated the Brake Hold system when I’d left home. So, the brake was on when the car wash mechanism attempted to move the car forward.

Brake force dist indicatorAuto Hold indicatorI deactivated Brake Hold (right), but was left with the warning light (far right), obscured by the steering wheel. I slipped the car into drive for a moment and back to neutral, which resolved the problem.

I ran through some scenarios after the wash, but without the car wash. I drove forward with Brake Hold on, stopped, which activated the hold, slipped into neutral, turned off Brake Hold, and got the message that I needed to step on the brake to deactivate the Hold.

This is what I missed at the car wash, and evidently the mechanism that slid under the wheel attempting to move the car forward set off the warning light.

Cars are changing, and among those changes is the growing number of symbols and indicators that will invariably show up on your dashboard or instrument panel. Every year, new features are added to vehicles, each of which is accompanied by a new symbol or symbols and likely a new acronym.

At DashboardSymbols.com, our aim is to help you understand what is happening to your vehicle at the first sign of trouble – a new warning light illuminated on your instrument panel. Its all here on this website. Our first intention is to bring the latest technologies down to earth and understandable for everyday drivers.

I have added this notation to the Brake Hold page, which is here, and the Park Brake page, which is here.

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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.

These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.

Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2024/10/got-the-car-wash-blues/

Brake Press Indicators

Brake Press

Depress Brake PedalThese are Brake Press Indicators symbols. They is similar to other symbols asking for the brake pedal to pressed, for shifting for instance. However, here the symbols are used for Electric Park Brake and Automatic Brake Hold systems, where the brake pedal must be stepped on before either system can be engaged.

  • Before continuing, are you sure this is your symbol?? If yes, then read on below.
  • Otherwise, you can return to our main Picture Symbols page and scan again!

The first symbol shows an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal with an arrow pointing to the brake pedal. A similar symbol with three pedals is used in vehicles with manual transmissions. The third pedal is the clutch.

The second symbol is simply a foot or shoe shown above a pedal.

If the symbol is flashing, it indicates an issue with the systems and neither the Electric Park Brake or Automatic Brake Hold can be engaged, or will be disengaged.

Similar Symbols

Use Brake IndicatorShift Lock IndicatorDon’t confuse this image with the similar ones to the right. For more, click here.

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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the  use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.

These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.

Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2018/06/electric-park-brake-press-indicator/