[pilotboy1985]

Hi Everyone,
I bought a 2018 EX Premium Niro (Not sure what model this is like in the US, I live in Canada)

When I walk towards my locked Niro, the mirrors extend and the light in the handle lights up, however the doors don't unlock. I don't have the press anything on the FOB. I just know's I'm close.

However, the doors don't unlock unless I press the button. Anyone know why?

 

[KK6PD]

.
However, the doors don't unlock unless I press the button. Anyone know why?

Because that's how they designed it! Mine does the same thing, it wakes up when I get within 6 feet of the car, push the button, I'm in! You can program it do let the drivers door unlock, or all doors unlock.
I have not seen proximity unlock discussed in the manual!

Welcome to the forum!

 

[npaladin2000]

Yeah, for some reason they programmed it to require the button press. The nice part is it can probably be re-programmed to add a function to allow for proximity unlocking...but I wouldn't count on Kia actually doing that, possible or not. I'm sure they have a reason for doing it this way that makes sense to them.

 

[Kialisa]

Hmmmm......I seem to be able to open the door without pressing unlock on the fob by waiting a beat after it "wakes up" and pressing the black button inside the door handle.

 

[fredct]

Hmmmm......I seem to be able to open the door without pressing unlock on the fob by waiting a beat after it "wakes up" and pressing the black button inside the door handle.

Yes I believe that’s the button they meant.

 

[Kialisa]

Yes I believe that’s the button they meant.

Oh I see I was confused. Not sure how you could enter without touching the door handle.

 

[kiwiruss]

Im guessing its a security thing.
The proximity activates the system and lights and then pressing the button initiates the code exchange to authenticate and unlock.

It would be interesting to see if you walk up to someone else's Niro if the lights go on. assuming the button would not unlock their Niro.

Im in Charlotte area, NC and haven't seen any other Niro's around.

 

[yticolev]

Nope, it won't work on a different Niro. But try it next time you are at the dealer!

Other cars, like Mercedes, also have a button on the door handle to unlock the car. I'm not sure I get it, but the manufacturer must have a good reason to require either the door handle or key fob button to unlock. I'd rather just pull on the door handle rather than push the button and wait quarter second before pulling the door open.

 

[pilotboy1985]

I rented a car in Orlando earlier this year. I think it was a Jeep.

After the car was locked, if you had the key in your pocket and you went to the drivers side door, it would automatically unlock, no need to press any buttons.

So, I was excited when I noticed the Niro recognized my presence and flashed the lights... so I waited....and waited.... but it never unlocked. Seems silly to even flash the lights/unfold the mirrors when you approach if that's all it can do.

Anyway, it's not a big deal, I just thought mine was operating as expected, but it sounds like it was.

 

[AdviceOnTech]

Our other car is a Honda Accord Hybrid and there is a sensor in the handle so you don't have to press any button to unlock the door, you simply grab the handle as you normally would to open the door and if you have the fob in your pocket it unlocks fairly quickly and you just pull the handle and open the door. It is a nice feature that unfortunately you get used to and miss when not available in other cars.

Kia could have done the same, but I'm sure it is all a cost balancing act. Having said that the HAH's handles don't light up so I guess they pick and choose features they think are useful or desirable.

 

[Xaqtly]

Yeah this is something I noticed almost immediately too. Both my other cars have proximity lock/iunlock, so when the Niro reacted to the key fob being in range I also assumed it was going to unlock itself. I mean, I'm pretty sure I understand the pros and cons of auto unlock vs having to push the button to lock/unlock like on the Niro, and I understand it's a conscious decision on the part of Kia. I guess I just don't know what their specific reasoning is for it.

On my other cars the way it works is not that it unlocks the doors when you're in proximity - it's tied to the door handle actuation, combined with the presence of the key fob. So when you pull the door handle it actually makes a check for the key fob, and if it finds it, it unlocks and opens the door. And then locking is done by proximity, when you leave the car and close the door, it's making continual checks for the key fob. As long as it can "see" it, the doors stay unlocked. As soon as you move out of range, the car locks itself.

I think even if you kept the unlocking part the same, where you have to push the button, you could make a really good argument for proximity locking, as that is essentially a safety feature, ensuring that the car is locked even if you forget to lock it. I guess what surprised me a little but is that all the parts are in place to do that, but they still chose not to do it.

These are pretty minor quibbles though, it doesn't detract from the ownership experience for me.

 

[Dave]

Many thanks to all for this thread! I had not yet realized that one could open the door by pressing the door-handle button, I had been fishing the keys out of my pocket and pressing the unlock button on the fob every time. This is much better, although I understand the potential dissatisfaction with having to do it that way. My prior car (Volvo XC60) behaved as Xaqtly described, if the key fob was in proximity one needed only to tug on the handle to open the door.

Question: is there an option in the car's systems menu that will allow one to specify which doors unlock when the driver door unlocks in this way? Would be nice to be able to specify either just the driver door, or driver + front passenger, or all four (Volvo had that option).

 

[13jaysan]

In dash, I believe it's in USER SETTINGS > DOOR > TWO PRESS UNLOCK. If you uncheck that box, then all doors unlock when pressing the door button.

 

[Dave]

Looks like the default settings are fine for me-- once I'm in proximity, if I press the button on my driver's door handle once, just my door unlocks; if I press it twice, all doors unlock. No need to fish the keys out of my pocket. I can totally live with that!