KIA's Secret Hidden Mirror Function
This hidden feature allows the KIA's wing mirrors to tilt down to the road when you put the car into reverse.
This is exceptionally handy if you want to make sure you are close; however, not too close to the curb where you will damage your alloy wheels when parking - or if there are any hidden obstacles near the car at ground level that you may not visually be able to see. For instance, such as an old concrete fence post that has not been fully taken out, an old tree trunk, or child's toys that aren't obvious from your current driving position. If there are, you may want to be careful when reversing into the space to avoid causing damage to the car.
Not all KIA's have this setting; but, let's dive deep into your controls to see if it's a setting that your KIA car comes with - and we'll walk you through how to enable it if it does.
On your door controls, you should see a L & R with a switch that is normally in the centre. This is normally at the top of the door controls. These are your mirror controls, and by moving the switch to the L - it will then allow you to manually adjust the left mirror using the D-pad control below it. To manually adjust the Right mirror, simply move the switch to the R. Then when you use the D-Pad underneath this section this will manually adjust the right hand mirror.
These mirror controls normally allow you to adjust your mirrors manually; however, if your car has the automatic mirror tilt functionality; but, the switch is in between the 2, the mirrors won't automatically tilt downwards when you reverse. To enable this, simply move the switch to either side. If your car then has this ability, the mirrors will automatically tilt for you when you reverse.
How to locate the physical key and the keyhole on your Kia?
Firstly, we know what you are thinking, why would I when I have a smart key with door touch locking, and unlocking, controls on the handle, or a button on the fob to automatically unlock and lock the doors?
Well this is more suited for those times when either the car battery has gone flat, not allowing the central locking system to unlock via the fob. Or, alternatively, your key fob battery has gone flat, and you need to gain access to your car with a flat fob battery.
So if you are in these situations, you may have noticed the new KIA models no longer have a keyhole on the door handle - or a physical key on the fob. So how do you gain entry to your car without smashing a window?
Well your key will still come with a physical key, just hidden inside the fob itself. In this section we'll answer how to get access to the physical key, and more importantly where does this physical key go to give you access to your KIA, once you have it.
So if you are looking at your key, you first need to understand how to remove the physical key from the fob. To do this you need to rotate the key fob on its side, or look for a small button that can sometimes be near the main buttons or on the back of the fob. You will now see a little button near the keyring end of the fob if it is on the side. If it is not on the side of the fob, this button is normally located toward the key fob's end that has the keyring on it.
Once located you will need to press this in and pull the top of the key fob away from the fob itself. A physical key will now appear - or detach - from inside the fob, with the top of the fob normally attached to it.
Fantastic, I have the physical key; but, where does it go as the KIA doesn’t have a visual entry spot to put it in?
So the next thing you want to do is look underneath your KIA's door handle. On the fixed handle section to the car you will see a hidden black port. You want to insert the key into this. Next you need to pull the door handle towards you. Now for the final step you want to press the key a bit further into the slot you have it inserted into.
What should now happen is the cover to the fixed section of the door handle should pop right off. This will then give you access to the physical key port. If you take the key out of the black port, you can then insert it into the physical key lock on the door handle that is now visible, and gain access to your KIA Car.
To clip the door handle cap back on, make sure you lift the door handle up first. As the lip of the cap that comes off sits behind the handle to secure it in place. Once done, then just press it back into position and you should hear a click when it reattaches the cover back over the physical key port.
The last thing to now do is to put the physical key back in the fob so you don’t lose either end. To do this, just reinsert the physical key back into the top of the fob and press down. You will then hear a click which indicates the physical key is securely back inside the fob, ready for next time.
What can the KIA Smart key do?
The KIA Smart key fob has a few visual buttons such as:
Lock button
This lock button will automatically lock all your windows and doors.
Unlock button
This unlock button will do the reverse and unlock your doors allowing you to get in.
Boot hold button
The boot hold button, if pressed down, will unlock just the boot. Allowing you to put your shopping - or other items away - without needing to unlock the car fully.
Red horn button on the key fob
What does the red button on the key fob do?
This is one most people tend to ignore; but, if you are curious about this button, it allows you to get the immediate attention of other people or motorists really quickly. Holding this down for instance will sound the horn really loudly. This is more useful if you feel you are in danger, and want to create a loud noise, or to grab attention and assistance.
Little grey physical key unlock button
This button allows you to get access to a physical key hidden inside the smart key fob. Please see the section above, if you need to get access to this to unlock the car manually.
More advanced features
Okay, now most of those come as standard and are also not that smart, we know, so let's dive deep into the other hidden features of the KIA key fobs you may not know about.
Start and Go functionality
If you are in the situation where your key fob has died, you may be thinking about how do I start my car?
This is because Start and Go technology needs the key fob to be present in the car to be able to start the engine. If your fob’s battery has died the car simply can not detect the key fob is present and, consequently, won't start when pressed.
However, do not worry there is an even simpler solution. Try pressing the key fob (you may need to rotate the section a few times to find the right spot) against the start and stop button. This will then allow you to start the engine without it needing a working battery inside; however, you should get your key fob battery replaced ASAP in this situation.
Welcome lighting and mirrors
As you approach the car with the KIA smart key in your pocket, you will notice that the door mirrors extend outwards, and if the door mirrors and door handles have a light this will turn on.
This is really useful at night to give you a clear lightning of what is around the base of your car to allow you to get into your KIA without needing to stand in muddy puddles or fall over a unforeseen trip hazard, that wasn’t easy to see in the dark.
Unlock the driver's door and all the passenger doors
So with the smart key in hand, or just on your person, if you press the lined area on the door handle the driver's door then unlocks. However, if you double tap this lined area, then all the doors including the passenger doors will also unlock - all without needing to touch the key at all. This is extra handy to allow your passengers to get in, without waiting for you to get the key fob out to press the button to unlock all doors, or the unlock button inside the car’s cabin.
The same can then be done to lock the car when you are getting out.
Without needing to touch your key, you just press the lined area on the door handle once, and all the doors will automatically lock themselves - again without needing to touch the key itself.
Smart boot unlocking ability
This ability only works with the KIA car models that have the power assisted tailgate feature installed.
If you have the automatic tailgate feature, and walk up really close to the rear of the car with the smart key fob on your person the boot can automatically open itself with no need for you to press a button on the fob itself.
It can do this if you then stand close to the boot for a few seconds, the car's indicator lights will start blinking, and the car will give you a beeping sound. After 5 seconds the tailgate will then automatically open, giving you access to the boot.
This is especially useful if you are ladened up with shopping, a child, or a pet in arms, and you don't want to put everything down as you dig around looking for your key fob to unlock and open the boot.
This feature can also be turned off as well if you don't require it.