Interesting Discoveries Thread (Good or Bad)

[Mesmorino]

Not sure if it's an interesting discovery, but putting cruise control on disables Smart mode. Yes, this is in the manual. No, it won't literally disable smart mode, it just won't actually be smart or react to your driving. Putting cruise control on fixes the drive mode in Smart-Comfort.

My partner's 2021 Seltos doesn't do this. The Smart mode in the Seltos responds pretty fast to driving changes, flipping between Eco when you're cruising or Sport when you're accelerating etc; I noticed this and wanted to check it out in my Stinger (since I'm almost always in either Comfort or Sport) and that's how I discovered it.

May not be the same for the 3.3Ls

 

[Mesmorino]

Here's another one: I have a 2019 GT Line (2L), no Nav and I haven't gotten any updates. I'm not sure any updates are even available for my car. I also don't have a micro sd slot to try out the nav update.

But the onscreen home button to go back to the Kia homescreen (from Android Auto) has gotten the new Kia logo.

I don't know when, or how this happened, it may be Android Auto related (like AA updating the logo on their backend).

 

[MerlintheMad]

The new navigation/infotainment update has changed the right radio knob: now it zooms the map in if you turn it right and zooms out if you turn it left. (if you push the knob in it still shows which music track you're listening to)

 

[5tinger]

Turn the rear temperature control to cold.

Having to check the rear temperature control each time someone may have changed it is far from practical.

 

[ShannonC]

Having to check the rear temperature control each time someone may have changed it is far from practical.

Not an issue for me as rear seats rarely used and still "as new".

 

[Mesmorino]

Having hot air coming from the rear vents while using the AC is crazy.

Having to check the rear temperature control each time someone may have changed it is far from practical.

There's nothing crazy or impractical about it, It's a simple fact of having a three zone climate control. It is possible to set the driver, passenger, and rear to three different temperatures. If it bothers you, you're going to want a vehicle that doesn't have rear climate control, or has a sync button for the whole car and not just the front. Otherwise the people back there will always be able to change the temperature independently of whatever you have it set to. Same goes for the front passenger.

You could just reach your arm around and roll the temperature dial to match whatever you've set the front to.

 

[5tinger]

There's nothing crazy or impractical about it, It's a simple fact of having a three zone climate control. It is possible to set the driver, passenger, and rear to three different temperatures. If it bothers you, you're going to want a vehicle that doesn't have rear climate control, or has a sync button for the whole car and not just the front. Otherwise the people back there will always be able to change the temperature independently of whatever you have it set to. Same goes for the front passenger.

You could just reach your arm around and roll the temperature dial to match whatever you've set the front to.

A rear climate zone with no master override control is not practical. It's inefficient to have the rear vents operating at different temperature, particularly when the front are in sync.

Besides, last time i checked the sync button did not have a note saying for front only.

No, reaching your arms around is not a satisfactory mitigation for a design flaw.

 

[Mesmorino]

A rear climate zone with no master override control is not practical. It's inefficient to have the rear vents operating at different temperature, particularly when the front are in sync.

Besides, last time i checked the sync button did not have a note saying for front only.

No, reaching your arms around is not a satisfactory mitigation for a design flaw.

You're being unnecessarily intransigent. Of course it is inefficient to have the rear vents at a different temperature from the front, it is thermodynamically inefficient to have more than one climate zone in the same space, period. This is a deliberate design choice because the reduction in efficiency is worth allowing the rear passengers more flexibility, comfort and control. It may be inefficient, but it is very practical, as evidenced by the thousands of vehicles that do and have the exact same setup.

The sync button does not need a note saying it is for front only, this is self evident: An electronic button is not going to turn a manual dial and having said that, I'm almost certain it's in the manual that the button syncs only the front vents. It is also only present because the front passenger can disable it if they want, whereas the rear passengers would not be able to do the same.

And finally, reaching your arm, singular, around is not a "mitigation" because it is not a design flaw. It was expressly, deliberately designed this way, like did you not test drive it? Or sit in the back seats to see what the set up is? In any case, If you don't like it or you're not willing or able to do this, as I said you are going to want a different vehicle entirely. Although, I don't know what that would be as even most of the relatively cheap cars have two zone climate control, and the more expensive ones with digital controls for the rear still don't have a master sync button for the whole vehicle, or a driver control for the rear seats.

It is what is, literally.

 

[Devin]

I've noticed that a lot on the Internet these days. If something doesn't work precisely how someone expects it to, it is a design flaw.

 

[Stinger305]

I agree with 5tinger. Having never owned a car with rear climate control before, I was shocked that it was completely independent from the driver controls.

My usage may be different, but I have kids in the backseat. Silly kids with wiggly toes that can change the vent. It's not a constant problem but I have found myself on a hot summer day in a car that wasn't cooling nicely, and discovering that the rear vent has hot air pouring out.

As a driver, I not only have no control, but I have no notification. To me this is a clear design flaw, and that's whether or not 100 other cars do this.

I mean, I have controls for the rear door locks and rear dome light. I have master control over the windows (which can even lock out the rear controls). A sync option for the air vent would be nice.

 

[Mesmorino]

I agree with 5tinger. Having never owned a car with rear climate control before, I was shocked that it was completely independent from the driver controls.

My usage may be different, but I have kids in the backseat. Silly kids with wiggly toes that can change the vent. It's not a constant problem but I have found myself on a hot summer day in a car that wasn't cooling nicely, and discovering that the rear vent has hot air pouring out.

As a driver, I not only have no control, but I have no notification. To me this is a clear design flaw, and that's whether or not 100 other cars do this.

I mean, I have controls for the rear door locks and rear dome light. I have master control over the windows (which can even lock out the rear controls). A sync option for the air vent would be nice.

You do have controls for the rear vent. They just happen to be in the rear, exactly like the rear dome light. It is not intended to be used by you the driver, so it is placed where its intended users can use it. You also do not get a notification when the light is on or off, and you also have to physically reach your arm to the button to operate it. Exactly like the vent. The windows and door locks are a safety issue, which is why you the driver have control over them. As another example, in the overwhelming majority of vehicles with rear seat heating (the stinger included), you the driver also do not have control over this, the buttons are in the back, either door mounted or in the centre console. And you also don't have notification for this and if someone's left them on you have to get out of the car to open the door to turn them off.

Not being able to control features not meant for you the driver is not a design flaw. It is a design choice that has arisen out of trying to find a compromise between cost, practicality and usability for rear seat passengers. It does matter that a million other cars do and have done this, over several decades, because it means that multiple design teams in multiple countries over multiple decades looked at this situation and were ok with it. Wanting something different doesn't mean that this implementation is flawed; if it was flawed it would not be so widely adopted.

And if it was such a flaw, multiple millions of buyers, also with kids, simply would not buy vehicles with this setup. I dunno what to tell you guys, this seems to be a big issue. I'm just saying it's not unique to the Stinger and not liking it doesn't make it a flaw. Calling it a flaw also doesn't make it one. The fact that there are probably better solutions (like simply give the driver control of everything in the vehicle, right?) doesn't mean this one is a flaw.

 

[Stinger305]

You do have controls for the rear vent. They just happen to be in the rear, exactly like the rear dome light. It is not intended to be used by you the driver, so it is placed where its intended users can use it.

This is incorrect. There is a driver control, above the driver, that is able to toggle the rear dome light on and off. The driver can do this without reaching their arm back to access to rear control. Just like the windows.

This is my desire for the rear climate control as well.

As to your comment about how all other cars operate, like I said, I didn't know anything about the feature except my experience in my new Stinger, but a quick Google search just now reveals that GMCs, Chevys, Landrovers, and more allow driver syncing or locking of rear climate controls. From the driver panel. Without reaching back.

So why don't we cut back on the hostility? The big takeaway here is that some of us Stinger owners wish the car had that feature.

 

[Mesmorino]

This is incorrect. There is a driver control, above the driver, that is able to toggle the rear dome light on and off. The driver can do this without reaching their arm back to access to rear control. Just like the windows.

This is my desire for the rear climate control as well.

As to your comment about how all other cars operate, like I said, I didn't know anything about the feature except my experience in my new Stinger, but a quick Google search just now reveals that GMCs, Chevys, Landrovers, and more allow driver syncing or locking of rear climate controls. From the driver panel. Without reaching back.

So why don't we cut back on the hostility? The big takeaway here is that some of us Stinger owners wish the car had that feature.

I promise you, I am not trying to be hostile at all. I was just pointing out that the stinger not having that feature doesn't mean it's flawed, and that the intended solution, for the stinger, is to reach round and physically turn the dial. It's not a good thing or a bad thing, it's just a (very common) thing. Plus like I said and have been saying, if this is a critical issue you might want a different vehicle entirely. I genuinely wasn't trying to be antagonistic at all, I'm not the car police after all. We're just talking.

 

[turboAWD]

Our not-so-fancy Chrysler Minivan with 3-zone climate control has a specific "rear" toggle on the front panel, to adjust the rear zone independently from the front. Both our '08 Grand Caravan and '15 Town and Country work(ed) this way, so it's not some feature only found in $100K models. If Chrysler can figure it out...

 

[Devin]

My Pathfinder has a design flaw. It uses a stupid stick to keep the hood up instead of a hydrolic strut. Other companies have figured this out.

 

[5tinger]

You're being unnecessarily intransigent. Of course it is inefficient to have the rear vents at a different temperature from the front, it is thermodynamically inefficient to have more than one climate zone in the same space, period. This is a deliberate design choice because the reduction in efficiency is worth allowing the rear passengers more flexibility, comfort and control. It may be inefficient, but it is very practical, as evidenced by the thousands of vehicles that do and have the exact same setup.

The sync button does not need a note saying it is for front only, this is self evident: An electronic button is not going to turn a manual dial and having said that, I'm almost certain it's in the manual that the button syncs only the front vents. It is also only present because the front passenger can disable it if they want, whereas the rear passengers would not be able to do the same.

And finally, reaching your arm, singular, around is not a "mitigation" because it is not a design flaw. It was expressly, deliberately designed this way, like did you not test drive it? Or sit in the back seats to see what the set up is? In any case, If you don't like it or you're not willing or able to do this, as I said you are going to want a different vehicle entirely. Although, I don't know what that would be as even most of the relatively cheap cars have two zone climate control, and the more expensive ones with digital controls for the rear still don't have a master sync button for the whole vehicle, or a driver control for the rear seats.

It is what is, literally.

I don't know why you seem so keen on defending a poorly designed feature, really?
The matter of fact is that the temperature in the cabin canot be synced wholly from the main HVAC control is not only a flaw, but voids the meaning of 'sync'

A typical summer scenario - the temperature in HVAC control is set to max cool yet the cabin will have hot air pouring from the rear vents without any feedback being relayed to the front HVAC controls of such and ultimately result in the incorrect temperature in the cabin.
You don't think this is problematic?

 

[MerlintheMad]

You don't think this is problematic?

What is a problem is how hot the center console tunnel gets when hot air is directed to the rear. But perversely, this is a palpable alert to the driver that the rear heat is ON.

 

[Stinger305]

My Pathfinder has a design flaw. It uses a stupid stick to keep the hood up instead of a hydrolic strut. Other companies have figured this out.

What's the flaw though? Seems perfectly viable to me.

What is a problem is how hot the center console tunnel gets when hot air is directed to the rear. But perversely, this is a palpable alert to the driver that the rear heat is ON.

Sad but true!

 

[Coast GT]

My god just change the dam thing manually get over it and stop being such sooks. Who cares? Just enjoy driving the bloody car. This is exactly why the world is shit these days. Everyone expects things just how they like it and then sook about it if they can’t get what they want. Agree to disagree and move on

 

[Mike_TX]

Our not-so-fancy Chrysler Minivan with 3-zone climate control has a specific "rear" toggle on the front panel, to adjust the rear zone independently from the front. Both our '08 Grand Caravan and '15 Town and Country work(ed) this way, so it's not some feature only found in $100K models. If Chrysler can figure it out...

The Stinger has a manual temperature control for the rear. It would be difficult to change it from the front without having a motor to physically turn the control "wheel". Vehicles with electronic controls front and rear CAN be controlled from a front master control panel.

One reason minivans have this is because of their size (making it hard to reach back while driving), and because children in the back can play with the controls and goober things up. With a master control, the driver can fix it without having to pull over and stop.

I've had a number of cars with the same setup as the Stinger, and it's no biggie to reach back and spin the temperature wheel to my liking.