[Joefitz]

I've loved that all my previous cars (hyundai elantras) had an option to turn off any noise when locking/unlocking with the remote. I pretty much forgot entirely about it until I took delivery of my niro and had to unlock the door. i asked the salesperson if there was any way to turn it off, and he said no.

That didn't deter me - i figured it out.

Looking at the component locations in the service manual, the "Door lock / unlock buzzer" is located under the hood near the drivers side headlight. It's a small green box about 1"x1"x2" with a two wire connector clipped in the bottom.

Unclip the wire, and no more chirps. I've observed no other effects. The theft horn is a different part and still attached. Lights still flash so you get visual confirmation it locks. My motorized mirrors turn in when locked too, so there's a tiny audible response too.

location in service manual (item #4)
Kia Niro : Components and components location : Keyless Entry And Burglar Alarm

 

[myronbg]

My pet peeve is the door unlocking process. When I lock the car, the rear view mirrors fold, lights flash & a beep. When I return, & get close to the door, the rear view mirrors unfold and lights flash. Even tho the car recognizes me I still need to push the door handle button. Is there a way to eliminate the need to do this second step? Or is there a good reason to require the button push?

 

[Joefitz]

I think the button push is there for the same reason people choose to have only the driver door unlock on one click and all doors with two. For security, unlocking the car should be a deliberate, not passive action. Poor analogy, but what if the ATM authenticated you via proximity?
If you're trying to get into the safety of your car, you don't want anyone near your car being able to get into your car. If you're loading the trunk, you don't want someone walking up and hopping in your car.
Most of us with time to argue about electric cars on the internet don't have to worry, but ask someone who lives or works in a rough neighborhood, or ask a woman how she holds her keys as she walks to her car in the dark.
Their threat model isn't my threat model, but i'm glad the mfrs are accommodating them.

That said, i would love if the electric cable lock released via proximity...

 

[cockedandglocked]

A car definitely shouldn't unlock just by being near it with the key - but many modern cars have great feature where (if you have the key with you) they unlock the door as soon as you touch the handle, by having a touch sensor in the handle. So the effect is the same as a proximity unlock, but without the chance of accidentally unlocking it when you don't mean to.



Not sure why our Kias don't have that, maybe they decided it's too expensive.

 

[Nouseformonkeys]

It’s probably for security reasons as said previously. Another far-fetched example is you and your friends arrive at a restaurant in separate cars. You get there first, get out of and lock your car. Your friends pull in and park in another aisle so you walk over to talk to them. Then you all head into the restaurant and you end up walking past your car again. You don’t want your car to unlock by itself.

Other cars will unlock the door if you just put your hand around the handle, eliminating the need to push a button. The car probably only detects the key at a very short range so that you have to be right next to the car for it to unlock.

We’ve disabled the mirror folding action. That’s just another moving part that can malfunction over time. We don’t have to worry about fitting into tight spots or park on narrow streets very often.

 

[Joefitz]

Capacitive sensing for touch detection is usually cheaper and more durable because of no moving parts, but it's tough to get reliable on outdoor stuff with varying humidity, condensation, and static electricity. Troubleshooting it in the field is nearly impossible without replacing parts.
I prefer the reliability of the pushbutton.


I haven't looked at the wiring of the Kia in detail, but on my old Hyundai locks were switched by a single trigger wire. A circuit that taps the automatic sideview motor signal and triggers the unlock would cost a few dollars in parts, even if some signal conditioning were necessary ..

 

[brandent]

It’s probably for security reasons as said previously. Another far-fetched example is you and your friends arrive at a restaurant in separate cars. You get there first, get out of and lock your car. Your friends pull in and park in another aisle so you walk over to talk to them. Then you all head into the restaurant and you end up walking past your car again. You don’t want your car to unlock by itself.

Other cars will unlock the door if you just put your hand around the handle, eliminating the need to push a button. The car probably only detects the key at a very short range so that you have to be right next to the car for it to unlock.

We’ve disabled the mirror folding action. That’s just another moving part that can malfunction over time. We don’t have to worry about fitting into tight spots or park on narrow streets very often.

So the version where you grab the handle to get the door to unlock (my 2015 Fusion you pull it out twice....second one unlocks the car) is almost identical to the Niro's unlock. You grab the handle. The diffference being in the Niro you push the button with your thumb (a very easy button to push unlike old 1960s cars). So this whole complaint stream is about moving your thumb and inch?

 

[myronbg]

I thank you for your responses.

 

[Nouseformonkeys]

So the version where you grab the handle to get the door to unlock (my 2015 Fusion you pull it out twice....second one unlocks the car) is almost identical to the Niro's unlock. You grab the handle. The diffference being in the Niro you push the button with your thumb (a very easy button to push unlike old 1960s cars). So this whole complaint stream is about moving your thumb and inch?

I definitely wasn’t complaining, just making an observation. When I was looking at different cars, there were a couple that had the feature where the door unlocks if you put your hand into the handle “pocket”. You don’t even have to touch the handle and it will unlock. Then you just pull the handle and the door opens. It’s no big deal to me to push the unlock button with my thumb on my Niro. As a matter of fact, I’m so used to using the remote to unlock, half the time I’m pulling my keys out of my pocket to hit that button.

 

[fredct]

So this whole complaint stream is about moving your thumb an inch?

#firstworldproblems

Reminds me of the person (sorry if it was one of you) who complained about needing to press the knob to turn the volume off after stopping the engine. Such an exhausting effort.

 

[Nouseformonkeys]

#firstworldproblems

Reminds me of the person (sorry if it was one of you) who complained about needing to press the knob to turn the volume off after stopping the engine. Such an exhausting effort.

Everyone has and is entitled to their pet peeves. Thank God the Niro has a volume knob. When I was shopping around for a new car, I joined a Honda Civic forum and there were some epic battles because the car did not have a volume knob. People would say “I wish there was a volume knob” and immediately five other people (usually the same ones) would jump in and say “never used the knob, don’t miss it, just use the steering wheel buttons!” What’s funny is that the people saying “use the steering wheel controls” weren't using the volume slider on the touch screen because it wasn’t user friendly and they found an analog alternative.

And then when the new models brought back the knob the same “knob bad” people were complaining that it ruined the look of the head unit.

 

[Roadkill401]

You have missed the obvious reason. They needed a button so you have an ability to lock the car without having to pull out the smartkey. if you had it touch or the switch inside the door mechanism, it would simplifiy the unlocking but make the locking part of the process that much harder. And put that along with the people who would want to cut a wire to remove any cirp sound you would be left not knowing if the last touch you had on the door handle locked or unlocked the car. or would you just go by the position of the side mirrors and hope that nobody inside flipped that switch that forces open or closed the mirrors.

 

[yticolev]

The chirp seems superfluous to me considering the loud clunk the car makes during locking. The lights also flash but I don't see them in daylight usually. Flashes and chirps are useful for those who like to lock with the fob walking away from car.

 

[myronbg]

The chirp seems superfluous to me considering the loud clunk the car makes during locking. The lights also flash but I don't see them in daylight usually. Flashes and chirps are useful for those who like to lock with the fob walking away from car.

That's me