OEM Remote Start Installation How-To

[Crewdawg130]

Just installed mine. Works great with just the key fob. Thanks for the tips.

 

[WWNJ Stinger]

If you're in the US and feeling shafted by the lack of remote start like me, you can get an OEM remote start from kia. Fear not, I'll walk you through the installation process.

The instructions that come with it are great, but removing trim panels can be a bit daunting to the every-man and nobody wants to break a panel on a new car. So I'm going to tell you how to do this without doing that so you can save some money on installation by doing it yourself.

What you'll need:
1. Purchase the kit. OEM Remote Start Genuine KIA acessory. Heres one from KiaPartsWorld for $400
2. Get a set of trim removal tools. Something like these: Trim Removal Tools
3. Something to cut the tails off the zip-ties
4. flashlight 'cus hey... it's dark down there.

1. When the kit arrives, check the box and make sure all the parts are there. Nothings more annoying than starting something to find out your missing a piece and have to wait. There's 3 main pieces here, the wiring harness, the control module, and the Receiver Module. (2 key fobs and zip ties).
Note: Go ahead and attach the wiring harness to the new control module, make sure you plug it into the correct side. The instructions will show you the image of the module, pay attention to where the sticker is on the module in that image so you plug it into the correct side.

2. As per the instructions, you'll want to disconnect the negative terminal from the battery. Did I do this? no, and that was dumb. I REALLY should've disconnected it. I was lucky and nothing happened but man, i really should've disconnected it.

3. On the passenger side, open the door and gently pry the weather stripping off the rail and let it hang out of the way.

4. The instructions will tell you to remove the Door Threshold Panel. This is the trim piece directly next to the seat, in-between the aluminum door sill scuff plate and the seat. This needs to be removed first so you can gain access to remove the passenger kick panel as the two pieces overlap slightly.
Once you've moved the weather stripping out of the way, you'll see it is held in place by 3 clips that can be pushed inward and up to release, and 2 hooks (one on either side). Release those and pull upward. Once released, set the panel aside.

5. Next, remove the Lower HVAC panel. This is the panel right below your glove-box. This ones easy, just reach under it and look/feel for the 2 pull tabs near the top, pull them upward to release the panel. If you have a light installed there, you will need to disconnect it once you've removed the panel. NOTE: there is NOT a lot of slack in the wires, so be careful not to pull the panel until you've disconnected the light.

6. Remove the passenger kick panel. This is the panel between the door and the lower HVAC panel you just removed. This is the tricky one. It's held in by a tab and a push-pin as noted in the image. The pushpin is completely hidden behind the panel so to get to that we'll undo the metal tab first. The metal tab you will see easily on the top right of the panel next to the weatherstripping. Dislodge the tab to give yourself a tiny bit more give in the panel, and shine a flashlight in the gap if you have to. You're looking for a tiny little bit of white which is the push pin, circled in the attached image. You'll need your forked trim removal tool to slide behind the panel, capture and dislodge the white pushpin. Take your time here, the last thing you want to do is break anything, it did not require a lot of pressure to pop it out, the trim tool just has to be in the right place.

7. Now you have access to the electrics. The receiver mounts in the back at the firewall, refer to the attached image for visual placement. Zip tie it to the factory harness as high up in there as you can get it.

8. The control module goes right up behind the factory IBU, which you can easily identify as the other box with red/blue/green connectors. Your going to zip tie the new control module directly behind the factory IBU, it will fit snug. The wires with the yellow tape on the connectors from the new control module, will make a U-shape, coming down underneath the two modules. You'll zip tie the new control module also as high up as you can. Mounting this too low will interfere with the trim panels re-installation.

9. Unplug the red/blue/green from the factory IBU and plug them into open ports on the new control module, then plug the red/blue/green from the other side of the new control module, into the newly vacant slots on the factory IBU.

10. Plug the two remaining connectors into the receiver.

11. Reconnect the battery, and test it out with the included remote. Follow the instructions to check the functionality but you should be good to go. You will need to hit the keyfob button once to lock the doors, then within 3 seconds, press the button again to activate the remote start.

12. Put all the panels back in reverse order.

13. Push the weather stripping back into place.

14. Enjoy the new remote-start function!

Note: you can start it by pressing Lock, then either trunk or horn button within 3 seconds to activate remote start without using the additional keyfob.

Enjoy!

GREAT tips and how to instructions...is there any way to increase the runtime and eliminate the horn honk when it shuts off after it times out. TIA

 

[Nacho]

Does anyone know how to get past the "Drive Away" security feature that kills the engine once a door/trunk is opened (after it's been remote started)? This almost defeats the purpose of having a remote start if I have to restart it after getting in the vehicle.

 

[sym]

Does anyone know how to get past the "Drive Away" security feature that kills the engine once a door/trunk is opened (after it's been remote started)? This almost defeats the purpose of having a remote start if I have to restart it after getting in the vehicle.

It works that way even with the UVO system, as far as I know. If you remote start the car from inside you'll notice that not everything actually turns on in remote start mode (the infotainment system for one). If you try to put it into drive it shuts off as well.

It appears this functionality is baked directly into the ECU.

 

[Callum]

Here's the Kia install guide FYI

 

[Joe Kraebel]

Installed mine this afternoon. Connecting everything is pretty easy, the hard part was getting everything stuffed back in. I didn't end up using any of the zip ties as everything was staying in place. Works with both remotes.

I did do a pretty stupid thing, after disconnecting the battery I decided to force close the hatch as it was cold and windy out. Had to crawl back there and use manual trunk release so I had easier access to reconnect negative battery terminal. Kind of difficult when you are big guy like myself.

Question for those who have this, when you turn off the car via the remote does the horn beep once after it shuts off? Thought that was a little odd.

 

[Joey Bradley]

Just “finished” the install haven’t put the panels back in place. I can’t get the hatch to close and when I try to start the car with the remote start fob, I get the 5 horn beeps....”hatch open”. Any ideas as to what it might be? Thanks in advance

 

[mull0263]

Very helpful write up - will be taking this one on at some point (i.e., once it warms up enough for me to do this work outside). Just curious - what sort of range does the OEM starter have?

 

[Crayola Grey]

I'm in the U.S. and My 2019 AWD GT1 came with the factory remote-start already installed.

Is this something new for the 2019 MY, or did my dealer install it on his own merit?

I don't think I'll ever use the two extra little "remote-start-only" mini-fobs - what are they for? Leaving them all around your house, so you can remote-start from different rooms?

 

[eflyguy]

Mine was listed as additional, but my dealer didn't install it. Seems like they are added "at the port", whatever that means. Could be on either side of the boat ride...

 

[Ucinn]

I'm in the U.S. and My 2019 AWD GT1 came with the factory remote-start already installed.

Is this something new for the 2019 MY, or did my dealer install it on his own merit?

I don't think I'll ever use the two extra little "remote-start-only" mini-fobs - what are they for? Leaving them all around your house, so you can remote-start from different rooms?

The two remote start only fobs have a longer range than your original key fob for remote start. If you are never out of range for your regular fob, then you won't need them.

 

[WWNJ Stinger]

It works that way even with the UVO system, as far as I know. If you remote start the car from inside you'll notice that not everything actually turns on in remote start mode (the infotainment system for one). If you try to put it into drive it shuts off as well.

It appears this functionality is baked directly into the ECU.

BEYOND STUPID

 

[JamesF]

I purchased the auto starter off of ebay (best price) and installed it in my Stinger in about an hour or so. The instructions that came with the kit were useless... thanks so much for the details. Here in the Northeast, an auto starter is a must! Although it works as advertised, there are some fixed features that make me want to strangle the engineer (or marketing) that decided they were a good idea. The first is the horn blow. After the 10 minutes warm up, the car shuts off and blows the horn. This usually happens just as I'm approaching the car to head to work at 5am. Haven't heard a complaint from the neighbors yet, but I'm sure I will. Lengthening the run duration would help this, but that seems to be fixed at 10min. That means tomorrow morning, when it's 0F outside, I can only run the car for 5-8min to make sure I get out there before it blows the horn, which doesn't actually get the temp gauge to move much. Does anyone know of a fix for this? Am I the only one annoyed by this feature?

 

[Shieldzee]

Thank you @Grishbok! Great instructions. My friend and I installed the remote starter in my 2019 GT2 this morning and the instructions you provided were great. I do have a question though I am hoping someone can help with. I am unable to get the car's original fobs to function with the remote start. The provided remotes work great. When I try to use the car's fobs, I press the lock button and then the tailgate button and the tailgate goes up. If I press the lock button and the then panic button, the horn starts beeping. Is there a different combination for 2019's? Is there something additional I need to do? Thanks in advance for any guidance.

 

[Shieldzee]

OK. Problem solved thanks to the Kia Stinger Owners Facebook group. I was holding the second button down instead of just clicking it. With the remote start fobs you hold the button down to get the car to start, but with the car fobs you just click it. Thanks all!!

 

[BigDave802]

I purchased the auto starter off of ebay (best price) and installed it in my Stinger in about an hour or so. The instructions that came with the kit were useless... thanks so much for the details. Here in the Northeast, an auto starter is a must! Although it works as advertised, there are some fixed features that make me want to strangle the engineer (or marketing) that decided they were a good idea. The first is the horn blow. After the 10 minutes warm up, the car shuts off and blows the horn. This usually happens just as I'm approaching the car to head to work at 5am. Haven't heard a complaint from the neighbors yet, but I'm sure I will. Lengthening the run duration would help this, but that seems to be fixed at 10min. That means tomorrow morning, when it's 0F outside, I can only run the car for 5-8min to make sure I get out there before it blows the horn, which doesn't actually get the temp gauge to move much. Does anyone know of a fix for this? Am I the only one annoyed by this feature?

Definitely annoying, same issue here with beeping the horn at 5am. It's ridiculous, my aftermarket compustar in my last vehicle was 20min and no damn horn beep.

 

[mitchyboy]

Anybody know if this kit will work on Australian Stingers?

 

[bosaad]

Anybody know if this kit will work on Australian Stingers?

It Is for all stingers, it's working fine with my stinger 2.0 Middle East (Saudi Arabia ) standards

 

[wtam1100]

Thanks for everyone for their help. bought the car a few wks ago and ask them to quote me how much it would cost for parts n labor n they said $580 something. Figured that was too much for something I could do. Like most found a killer deal on ebay. Install in less than a hr. Taking off the pass kick panel wasn't hard putting it back on is a different story. Still overall not too bad especially considering how much you save. I didn't use any zip ties either besides one for the remote modal. That stuff is packed in so tight nothing is going anywhere. Tested the remote starter I like it. Most OEM remote starters are like this where if you open the dr the car shuts off so that doesn't bother me having to restart the car again when you actually get in. As long as the car is warm inside and most of the stuff outside has melted its worth the money IMO.

 

[erebus121]

Anybody know if this kit will work on Australian Stingers?

I just purchased the OEM kit and am waiting for it in the mail. I'll let the thread know how it goes.