Car won't unlock with remote.

[SomeBlondeGuy]

A very similar situation has occurred in my 2021 Kia stinger GT2 around 5 times. When I open the drivers door no lights come on- that’s the first sign that something is wrong. Then I push start and nothing happens. Once I set off the alarm somehow. It’s random and seems to be a gremlin. The only thing that I have found that usually wakes up the car is opening then closing the passenger side door! I’ve replaced the FOB remotes and it still happens. I’m just hoping it doesn’t get any worse.

my guess is that the passenger door sensor is somehow malfunctioning and the car thinks the door has remained open so cuts power so that the battery does drain. Any other ideas?

Did you bring this up with your dealer?

 

[SKStinger]

Did you bring this up with your dealer?

Their response will be "we couldn't reproduce the problem."

It seems as though sensor/electrical issues like this don't throw codes. On my Audi's it does. Even a single failure gets stored. I have the VAG scanning tool with Ross Tech software and it's amazing the information you can retrieve. I was able to diagnose a faulty door lock sensor on my A5, order the part and install it myself.

This could also be one of the reasons why Kia service is perceived to be so terrible, they may not have enough information to properly do their jobs. If the car doesn't throw a code, then they're really going in blind.