The Google is weak with this one. Kia after 2020 has a remote start function on the key fob, the little (unless you try to put it in your pocket) box that the key folds into, with switches to lock and unlock, sound the horn to annoy bystanders, etc. Sometime after 2020, the box also has a remote start switch.
Mrs. Plant’s Kia has a separate tiny black box with a button labeled “START STOP”. It has quit working. My search for how to program this little START STOP switch always ends up with a link on how to use the after 2020 key fob, not the little start stop box.
Does anyone have a link or knowledge of how to program the little start stop box for a 2020 Soul?
I was going to guess it was aftermarket but, on research, I think this is the second boxfob doodad you describe. It doesn’t answer the question but shows the start/stop button.
You should be able to pop it open to expose the battery using a flathead screwdriver. That’s how they are designed to be opened. After 5 years I’d say the battery would be my #1 suspect.
OP: Is this it? In any case, post some close-up pics of the edges of the unit, maybe we can spot the slot to open it. I disbelieve that a $335 item does not have a replaceable battery (well, OK, I can BELIEVE it but am pretty sure we’d find people whining about that online if so).
The programming for those are flashed onto the chip and shouldn’t need reprogramming after a battery swap. $600 to change a battery is insane. if I was looking at the correct key fob, it’s a regular coin cell battery, CR2032 IIRC which is one of the most common sizes out there and costs about $2.
The little black box for my 2020 kia soul remote start has a divot on one corner that makes it super easy to open and you can see the battery in there once it’s opened.
I didn’t need a screwdriver or anything - just gently using my thumb.
That seems to be the standard size for a lot of things these days. It fits the remotes for 2 different brands of cars we have (Subaru and Toyota), the garage door opener, the bathroom scales and probably a few other things we dont use enough to have run the battery flat.
Yes and I’ve spotted them at Dollar Tree, though I’d try to use a better one for a car’s keyfob if I could help it. It’s also not universal, my own Mazda, awesome in most other ways, uses the less common CR2025.
I’d say I get a little less than a year each batt and I seldom use the higher power transmit buttons and instead just the presumably lower draw keyless entry & start. I don’t have a remote starter.
I buy CR2032 batteries for Apple AirTags, except many have a bitter coating to discourage children from swallowing them. Supposedly the bitter coating can interfere with the electrical contacts in the AirTags.
Haven’t had a problem with the AirTag contacts. They look like many other Cr2032 contacts. My issue is that sometimes they are packaged in so many layers of plastic that they are a pain to get out.
I saw some coin cell packaging conspicuously touting Three!! child safety measures: the bitterant coating, the microdots of blue dye (so you can see if baby was gumming them or if you have damp hands), and, third, the very difficult to open packaging. It’s a feature, see?
I Googled the part number on the little black box, which is called a “key” and “fob”.
We had set the remote to “valet mode”; you don’t want to have your little brother start the car by remote when you are changing the fan belt.
Turning the real key from on to off, stepping on the brake and pressing the button on the remote for two and a half seconds while holding you left ear in you right hand restores remote operation. There are also instructions to connect the replacement I bought on Ebay for $15.00.