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2K views 14 replies 7 participants last post by  JeanK 
#1 ·
Hi,
My wife just picked up a 2023 Niro - she was jealous of the MPG's I was getting with my new Ford Maverick - and we generally love the vehicle but there's a few small issues we're having trouble finding answers to.

  • How do we set the interior lights to come on when the door is opened?
  • Going uphill at highway speeds the transmission makes a lot of noise, sounding like it's working very hard. Is this normal?
  • Is there any kind of traction control that can be turned off?
  • Can 2 smart phones be set to control the car using the Kia Access app?
Thanks!
 
#2 ·
  • The ceiling lights have a multi-position switch that controls turning them on manually, on with the door open, and off at all times. You might need to consult the manual to see exactly how that switch should be positioned, as it might have changed from previous model years. 2023 was a complete refresh of the car.
  • It's hard to say without hearing it. The Niro has a dual clutch transmission (DCT), and has actual gears, as compared to cars with a CVT. Depending on your previous car, it might have a different sound. But unless the hill is rather extreme, I wouldn't expect any unusual noises from the car.
  • There should be a switch somewhere on the console that disables traction control. Again, the switch location might differ from past models.
  • There should be no issue with two different phones both having the app and controlling the car. But I never actually tried it. My wife never wanted to bother with a phone app for the car.
 
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#4 ·
The motor does work hard going up a hill, it only has about 100HP so not a lot of power. You can switch to Sport Mode and give the motor a boost and run the EV motor and gas motor together. But the battery on the normal hybrid is pretty small (compared to the phev) so you may only get a mile or two of the added power before it runs out. I often switch to Sport when going up a steep hill on the freeway to keep the engine from running so fast.
 
#5 ·
I am going to assume that the 2023 is basically the same as my 2020 HEV
The switch to control interior lights is up on the headliner where the "reading lamps" and switch is found.
The transmission will not be making noise - it is the engine (ICE) - rather buzzy, noisy thing when being pushed.
Yes, traction control can be turned off but not sure why you want to do that
I have 2 phones setup via Bluetooth and that works fine. Kia access uses wifi/data so I would assume any number of phones/computers etc could access because you are setting up 1 account.
 
#7 ·
My understanding is that the 2023 is a complete rebuild and a lot is different than the older models but I assume there are still more similarities than differences so this might be valuable.

When you are stuck in the snow and ice turning off traction control can be a big help getting unstuck.
 
#9 ·
I haven’t tried playing with traction control on my Niro EV but on my iMiev I have to turn it off to get out of a snow bank. With it on, I can’t spin the wheel very well to back out. The spin just dies. I need a slow constant spin--- which I can do with the TC off. It’s an amazing difference with the TC off. I don’t want power going to the “other wheel” when it’s on ice and the offender is in a snow bank. Once out, I’ll re-engage TC.

-Barry
 
#12 ·
Hi,
My wife just picked up a 2023 Niro - she was jealous of the MPG's I was getting with my new Ford Maverick - and we generally love the vehicle but there's a few small issues we're having trouble finding answers to.

  • How do we set the interior lights to come on when the door is opened?
  • Going uphill at highway speeds the transmission makes a lot of noise, sounding like it's working very hard. Is this normal?
  • Is there any kind of traction control that can be turned off?
  • Can 2 smart phones be set to control the car using the Kia Access app?
Thanks!
Hi there....I had the same issue as you did with the interior lights. It took several times of reading the manual and feeling around on the ceiling light. There is a button you move into a different position towards the right of center in the ceiling light. Now my lights come on when I open the car door. But when I get into the car and close and lock the door, the lights go off. I would prefer they stay on briefly after locking the door, but I think this is working as designed.
 
#13 ·
Hi all,

I created a new, separate thread for this because I didn't see this thread, which seems like a good place to post my question. So, I won't repeat the whole thing here, but did you get two key fobs when you purchased your Niro? I only got one. The dealer kept telling me they'd send me a second one. Now they are telling me you only get one fob plus some sort of manual key.

Does anyone know any more about this?

Thanks,

Jean
 
#14 ·
did you get two key fobs when you purchased your Niro? I only got one. The dealer kept telling me they'd send me a second one. Now they are telling me you only get one fob plus some sort of manual key.
If the car was new, the dealer is wrong. The car comes with two fobs. I'd contact Kia corporate about that if the dealer continues with that claim.
 
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