Things they don't tell you.

[Colin]

Hello All, I recently picked up my new Stinger V6 GT from Mornington Victoria Australia. Naturally there are lots of little things you need to learn and I'm still still doing just that. Being the top of line model I expected the hands free phone to have voice recognition as my 10 year old Mondeo did, but I was not only disappointed, but angry to find you had to use a cable connected and an app called Android Auto. The Korean's obviously are way behind the Europeans in technology, which did surprise me. I complained to Kia Australia and they told me it was my fault for not reading up on it well enough prior to purchase, great customer relations!
Next I decided to fiddle with the drive mode. I started with the CUSTOM after watching Youtube videos of it I thought it would be easy. Firstly I thought I would try the ACTIVE ENGINE SOUND, to my surprise it was not listed. I went back in and watched the Youtube video's again and all showed it with no comments that any extra was required. I rang the dealer and was told I needed the Bimodal Exhaust System if I wanted that, I wonder why these little things are not mentioned at the time of sale? Anyway, after the Youtube video's it is clearly not worth the cost as it will never sound like a V8.
I love my new car, but these omissions have dulled my enthusiasm a lot, particularly the hands free which I am disgusted with and very angry . I suppose I will now have to buy an after market Parrot or similar to do the job, definitely not good enough Kia!

 

[CKeeler]

Yeah, Kia’s dealer network is definitely not ready for this type of car and service. I leave the “Hey, Siri” option on on my phone and it works great over Bluetooth for controlling my phone. I rarely use CarPlay since I have my iPad hooked up for all my music.
I haven’t been impressed with the Kia/Hyundai OS. Like you said the hands free option built in isn’t great at all

 

[robz32]

Welcome aboard and congratulations. The Stinger does have voice recognition for certain features, like NAV and some on the infotainment.

The Active Engine Sound is a feature that plays artificial engine sound through the speakers, it has nothing to do with the Bimodal Exhaust. Not sure if the feature is present on all Stinger's world wide, but I don't see why they would exclude it in some markets as the software is the same.

 

[spider55]

Welcome aboard and congrats, hopefully someday Kia will come out with a firmware update that will fix that, I hope..

 

[upstatedoc]

sounds like you should have done some research

 

[zilwin]

I agree that the interactive electronics in the Stinger leave a lot to be desired. I suppose I don't have a problem plugging the phone in to use Google Maps and Waze for nav as they actively use the phone for that all the time. UVO is a complete pile of crap. I am not even sure what their intention was. If it was to monitor the vehicle and schedule maintenance then it should update all the time so the information is current. Looks like it was programmed by a marketing guy who is clueless.

 

[JimB47]

The other problem is that the cable has to be plugged in to the only USB port that will play music on the USB stick. The salesman advised me that you could put a USB adaptor in the cigarette lighter port and use that for the music, However that does not seem to work. So I have just forgotten about the hands free voice recognition and can not see why it could not have been done using Bluetooth. My 2014 Holden Calais V had that capability and although you needed to speak with a fake American drawl at least it worked .

 

[tgurian]

I'm confused a little confused at the original post. The stinger does have hands free voice recognition. There is a button on the steering wheel that allows you to speak phone and navigation commands assuming your phone is connected over bluetooth. I actually use Apple CarPlay the majority of the time and so don't have much experience with Kia's homegrown voice recognition, I usually use Siri instead.

Personally I don't find the Kia Infotainment system to be that bad. Apple CarPlay has plenty of quirks but I find Kia's interface to be simple and pretty responsive to the touch compared to other in car systems.

The active engine sound plays over speakers in the floor of the car and has nothing to do with a BiModal Exhaust.

 

[Colin]

I'm confused a little confused at the original post. The stinger does have hands free voice recognition. There is a button on the steering wheel that allows you to speak phone and navigation commands assuming your phone is connected over bluetooth. I actually use Apple CarPlay the majority of the time and so don't have much experience with Kia's homegrown voice recognition, I usually use Siri instead.

Personally I don't find the Kia Infotainment system to be that bad. Apple CarPlay has plenty of quirks but I find Kia's interface to be simple and pretty responsive to the touch compared to other in car systems.

The active engine sound plays over speakers in the floor of the car and has nothing to do with a BiModal Exhaust.

I am very happy for you, but mine does not have voice recognition, confirmed by Kia Australia, in fact they just told told me quite bluntly that is my fault for not researching enough before purchasing. They also confirmed the exhaust modification is required if you want the BiModal crap. I don't know what country you are in, but in Australia this is what we get.
Kia Uvo
myuvo.com
UVO eServices is a subscription free OEM infotainment and telematics service offered by Kia Motors America on select vehicles for the United States market.Wikipedia
Original author(s):Kia Motors America
Developer(s):Kia Motors America
Development status:Active