Eco mode and weird braking … anyway I could turn this off?

Just got myself a 2023 EX but it didn’t come with a driver’s manual. I’m noticing the car brakes kind of weird sometimes, like the engine kicks back on after stopping. I read online that this might be related to some eco feature. Anyone know if there’s a way to turn this off?

There should be a button on the lower dash, to the left of the steering wheel near your knee. It’s for turning off the auto stop feature, but you’ll need to press it every time you start the car.

TellurideTribe said:
There should be a button on the lower dash, to the left of the steering wheel near your knee. It’s for turning off the auto stop feature, but you’ll need to press it every time you start the car.

Or you could jam a toothpick in the button to keep it pressed down, haha.

Some cars won’t activate the auto stop if you don’t press the brake pedal all the way down at a stop. Eco mode is a separate thing—it just helps save gas when you’re idling or stuck in traffic.

Thanks for the tips! I know I can find the manual as a PDF, but I prefer a physical copy. (I know… Boomer vibes.) Can’t wait for it to arrive.

It sounds like your car has a start/stop feature. This turns off the engine when you’re sitting at a light or stop sign. There should be a button to disable it, but I’m not exactly sure where it is.

I’ve been wondering the same thing…why not give drivers a choice to keep it on or off?

marthakrausen said:
I’ve been wondering the same thing…why not give drivers a choice to keep it on or off?

You can make it stay off for good if you get a wiring harness with a memory chip. They cost around $100 on Amazon and are easy to install.

@rsquarles
Why would anyone want to turn this off? Enjoy paying for extra gas at every red light or drive-thru?

madisonwilson said:
@rsquarles
Why would anyone want to turn this off? Enjoy paying for extra gas at every red light or drive-thru?

The gas savings are small compared to the extra wear on the starter and battery. If I’m stuck in a long drive-thru, I’d rather just turn the car off myself. I hated this feature, so I’m glad I found a way to disable it.

@rsquarles
Same here… I really don’t like it.

@rsquarles
Saving gas sounds nice, but it won’t make much of a difference with how bad traffic is getting anyway. We’re all just stuck either way.

@rsquarles
Or just pull the fuse for it and be done with it.

@rsquarles
It depends where the button is. Mine is near the gear shift, and I don’t want to mess with taking the whole console apart. So I just have to remember to turn it off every time.

Look for a button on your left with an A symbol inside a circle or arrow. That’s the one that turns it off. I have a 2020 X-Line, and it sometimes feels like the engine is braking right before I come to a complete stop.

You can look up the manual online. Does the settings menu on the dash have a link to it?

I’m pretty sure you can download the PDF version of the manual directly from Kia’s site.

Switch to manual shifting or put it in sport mode to turn off the auto stop. Honestly, after using it for a while, you might start to like it.