2021 stinger GT2 canadian model.....modem swap to US modem?

[Mike S.]

Hello all,

I'm looking to price a US modem for the stinger in topic line. I called Canada kia and they stated that since I am a US resident, I could contact local kia dealer and ask them to swap and install a US modem to connect my canadian stinger to US network. Said might have to have local dealership service manager talk to canadian district manager. Has anyone done this, if so how much did it cost. Just trying to see if worth the price or not to have the connected features.

I have contacted my local dealership and they are looking into it.

Thanks.

 

[David Mullenix]

Hello all,

I'm looking to price a US modem for the stinger in topic line. I called Canada kia and they stated that since I am a US resident, I could contact local kia dealer and ask them to swap and install a US modem to connect my canadian stinger to US network. Said might have to have local dealership service manager talk to canadian district manager. Has anyone done this, if so how much did it cost. Just trying to see if worth the price or not to have the connected features.

I have contacted my local dealership and they are looking into it.

Thanks.

What features are not available to your knowledge? I have a 2019 Canadian GT Limited(GT2), so far I haven’t noticed anything that’s not worked. I haven’t tried UVO yet. I was told we’re SOL on warranty though which sure blows.

 

[Mike S.]

What features are not available to your knowledge? I have a 2019 Canadian GT Limited(GT2), so far I haven’t noticed anything that’s not worked. I haven’t tried UVO yet. I was told we’re SOL on warranty though which sure blows.

Mine is actually the limited also, but equivalent to the gt2. UVO is not available therefore Kia connect is also not available. So your phone cannot talk to your car. Which I like for alert features such as low tires and time for oil change. Also active navigation. When I want to go somewhere maps are there but always have to use in offline mode. So no traffic updates or anything else that's active including voice commands. I use voice command and always looks for nearest place....in Canada.

These are the items that would be fixed with modem replacement.

Other differences in canadian models and US are: no front parking sensors, no remote start, no continued warranty as u mentioned and has felt instead of hard plastic around windshield. Which I actually like. That's what I noticed so far. I did not know about most of these differences until after my purchase especially the warranty, should have done more research and will in the future.

Anyway changing out modem will at least give me connectivity to UVO features. Price will determine if it is worth it or not. Probably will still do aftermarket remote start, I'm researching options now.

 

[David Mullenix]

Mine is actually the limited also, but equivalent to the gt2. UVO is not available therefore Kia connect is also not available. So your phone cannot talk to your car. Which I like for alert features such as low tires and time for oil change. Also active navigation. When I want to go somewhere maps are there but always have to use in offline mode. So no traffic updates or anything else that's active including voice commands. I use voice command and always looks for nearest place....in Canada.

These are the items that would be fixed with modem replacement.

Other differences in canadian models and US are: no front parking sensors, no remote start, no continued warranty as u mentioned and has felt instead of hard plastic around windshield. Which I actually like. That's what I noticed so far. I did not know about most of these differences until after my purchase especially the warranty, should have done more research and will in the future.

Anyway changing out modem will at least give me connectivity to UVO features. Price will determine if it is worth it or not. Probably will still do aftermarket remote start, I'm researching options now.

 

[David Mullenix]

That all makes sense as to why I haven’t really noticed. I’m so used to using CarPlay I haven’t really tried navigation and UVO. I definitely learned some lessons myself, I can’t believe I was told the warranty was good and I didn’t do my research before buying, my fault. My 19 also has the 360 cameras that wasn’t available in the US so that’s one positive, lol. Let me know if you’re able to replace the modem and what all it entails.

 

[Kazz]

... UVO is not available therefore Kia connect is also not available. So your phone cannot talk to your car. Which I like for alert features such as low tires and time for oil change.

FYI, with my 2018 model, the phone has to be plugged into the USB port for UVO to work. Therefore, I've never used it.

 

[G-529770]

Any luck with it

 

[Grump]

Pretty sure the modem chip is soldered to the radio board, you'd need a new head unit. The 21 models in Canada shipped with an MDM6200 which is 3g only. I'm not sure how far along the US is on 3g shutdown or what carrier kia is using, but a 22+ should have an LTE card. Then you need the SIM swapped. I dont know if they use esim or embedded sim, and even so, its gotta be registered with kia as one of their IOT sims, so any old sim wont work.

Perhaps the best bet is finding a wrecked 22+ US model and swapping the head unit, but since the refresh I'm not sure they're even compatible.