Anyone else frustrated by how bad the remote start feature is?

This is our second winter with the Carnival and we’ve generally been happy with it. However, the remote start feature has been a letdown, especially on cold mornings. When we upgraded to the 2024 Carnival from a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee, I expected a similar or better remote start experience. The Jeep would start the car, turn on the defrosters, heat the driver’s seat, and run for 15 minutes. The Kia doesn’t do any of that. On cold mornings, I often have to bring my kids out to a cold van with frosted windows, and it’s not even running to help with the frost.

My 2024 has settings I can use to turn on defrosters and heated seats. It only runs for 10 minutes, but I just repeat it on really cold mornings.

Leeland said:
My 2024 has settings I can use to turn on defrosters and heated seats. It only runs for 10 minutes, but I just repeat it on really cold mornings.

Where are these settings?

@rick
In the phone app under climate settings.

Leeland said:
@rick
In the phone app under climate settings.

I don’t pay for the app subscription so those settings aren’t available.

rick said:

Leeland said:
@rick
In the phone app under climate settings.

I don’t pay for the app subscription so those settings aren’t available.

Kia probably made it so limited in the standard mode to push their subscription model.

@WhisperingWillow
I agree. But the 2025 model comes with 3 years of the app free.

KiaTalker said:
@WhisperingWillow
I agree. But the 2025 model comes with 3 years of the app free.

That’s fine if you lease it for 3 years, but most people keep their cars longer.

Johnny said:

KiaTalker said:
@WhisperingWillow
I agree. But the 2025 model comes with 3 years of the app free.

That’s fine if you lease it for 3 years, but most people keep their cars longer.

Subscription models are awful for customers but great for companies. Every car maker is doing this now, so you either pay or go without.

Johnny said:

KiaTalker said:
@WhisperingWillow
I agree. But the 2025 model comes with 3 years of the app free.

That’s fine if you lease it for 3 years, but most people keep their cars longer.

I hope I won’t have to keep this car longer than 3 years. :sweat_smile:

I think the issue is the car defaulting to eco mode. It seems like a bug. It should switch to smart mode if that was the last one used. My theory is there should be a ‘remote start warm-up’ mode, or maybe sport mode to ensure the heat is on full. That might be why the car keeps switching back to eco instead of staying in smart mode.

@carmenpratschner
I’ve heard of the car automatically switching to eco mode. But I’ve kept mine in smart mode since I got it, and it’s never switched back.

Like others said, these features are available, but you have to pay for the subscription. It’s annoying, but that’s how it is.

Kevin said:
Like others said, these features are available, but you have to pay for the subscription. It’s annoying, but that’s how it is.

I have a 2024, so I didn’t get the free 3 years. I’m hoping I’ll get a discount code before I decide to subscribe.

@ElizaFord
They usually send those codes 4 to 6 weeks after your subscription ends, just so you know.

Kevin said:
@ElizaFord
They usually send those codes 4 to 6 weeks after your subscription ends, just so you know.

I’ll be at 4 weeks soon, so I’ll see if the deal is worth it. I mostly need it for the summer.

Kevin said:
Like others said, these features are available, but you have to pay for the subscription. It’s annoying, but that’s how it is.

It should be illegal to charge extra for features that should be standard after you’ve already paid a lot for the vehicle.

@MaryJane
Unfortunately, it’s not illegal, and almost every car company is doing the same thing now.

I’ve just started running outside to toss the keys in. I know it’s not the safest thing to do, but I’m not paying for the app service on a $50k car. Plus, the seat warmers don’t even get warm enough when you need them.

@Zara
The app lets you turn on the seat warmers. Here’s a link to show you [link].