[earthman06]

So im planning to add cruise control to my kia rio 2018 lx
Ive been searching for a guide on how to do that and found thisforum post on the kia picanto forum:

Adding Cruise Control

Hi All, I have mentioned this in my intro post, but in case you have not read that, I will explain. I bought a 2017 Picanto II to replace my now dead engined Smart for two as a tow car behind my motorhome. The one thing I would like is cruise control. After reading a couple of posts online...

www.kiaownersclub.co.uk

I just need to know from anyone who had done it before already.
Is the guide accurate, and valid to kia rio as well?

Thanks!

 

[earthman06]

I can now confirm that the above guide for the kia picanto is also valid to the kia rio 2018.
Took some fiddling but i now have cruise control in my car =)

 

[phil866]

Don't forget to inform your insurance company. Likely wont make any difference to your cost as it's classed as a safety feature but needs doing by law.

 

[phil866]

Don't forget to inform your insurance company. Likely wont make any difference to your cost as it's classed as a safety feature but needs doing by law.

I've done it again! I did not notice earthman06 is not UK based so my advice may well not be valid. Ooops....

 

[Bodgerer]

Isn't it a nice feeling when you manage to retro fit something that was there all along but you were supposed to pay a premium for.

 

[phil866]

Isn't it a nice feeling when you manage to retro fit something that was there all along but you were supposed to pay a premium for.

Especially when the part only cost £24 including vat and shipping from China and took only 20 minutes and a screwdriver to fit. Well happy as they say.
Edited as it was £24 not £27 which makes it an even better bargain!

 

[Bodgerer]

Especially when the part only cost £27 including vat and shipping from China and took only 20 minutes and a screwdriver to fit. Well happy as they say.

Bargainous! Well done!

 

[Aln114]

Presuming converting to the adaptive cruise is a no go, if you already have STD cruise and pretty much every other gadget going?
Oh and in a manual where I think it maybe only comes as standard to auto boxes.

 

[Cold Sausage]

Can I just verify that the YouTube procedure (foreign language Picanto) has precisely the same steering wheel attachment mechanism for the airbag as the current model Rio? So all I have to do is spend a lot of frustrating time releasing those three attachment points (I have done this before on a 2014 Corolla successfully but the three holes were easier to get to on that car).

I have a Picanto at the moment that came with cruise control and am looking to get a second car (I am keeping the Picanto). I think I would prefer a Rio for my second car as the bigger wheels and tyres with the longer wheelbase and extra 130 kg of weight give it a noticeably better ride on our bad roads here in Victoria, Australia (all verified by a comparison test drive, remembering that our Australian Kias all have a bespoke Australian suspension tune).

But sadly to get the 15 inch wheel version of the Rio with the higher profile 65 series tyres means I do not get a cruise control, but Kia Australia do sell it as an accessory (exactly the same as the one in my Picanto as as available far more cheaply via the avenues described in these threads). And I do not want to pay a few thousand more for the next model up merely to get the cruise control.

So I would be willing to buy the part and install it if the only real difficulty is frustration and a lot of patience (and seemingly practice in lock picking!!!).

 

[phil866]

So I would be willing to buy the part and install it if the only real difficulty is frustration and a lot of patience (and seemingly practice in lock picking!!!).

I retrofitted cruise control to my 2018 Picanto GT line and the parts (not genuine Hyundai) came from China and were labelled for the Rio. Make of that what you will. I found the lock picking much easier by using one of those small square mirrors with tiny led's in it that has a telescopic handle. I could actually see the clips and position the screwdriver accordingly. No need to unplug the airbag as it has enough wiring to move out of the way.

 

[Cold Sausage]

I retrofitted cruise control to my 2018 Picanto GT line and the parts (not genuine Hyundai) came from China and were labelled for the Rio. Make of that what you will. I found the lock picking much easier by using one of those small square mirrors with tiny led's in it that has a telescopic handle. I could actually see the clips and position the screwdriver accordingly. No need to unplug the airbag as it has enough wiring to move out of the way.

Thanks. Do you have any link to the mirror you are talking about? I can see such a thing being useful for other tasks as well and not just this cruise control job.

 

[phil866]

Thanks. Do you have any link to the mirror you are talking about? I can see such a thing being useful for other tasks as well and not just this cruise control job.

This is the one I have.

Rolson 60515 Two LED Telescopic Inspection Mirror : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

Rolson 60515 Two LED Telescopic Inspection Mirror : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[Cold Sausage]

This is the one I have.

Rolson 60515 Two LED Telescopic Inspection Mirror : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

Rolson 60515 Two LED Telescopic Inspection Mirror : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

www.amazon.co.uk

Thanks. I can see I can get the same type locally. I will certainly get one. I remember when I had to remove the airbag on a Corolla the frustrating time spent "feeling" by trial and error would have been totally solved with a tool like that. And now all the fears I have had about buying a base model Rio without cruise control have faded away.

btw, official price for the "real thing" here in Australia is $200. Though for people who do not want to fit it themselves, an extra $150 for that. I would love to sit down and compare the $30 part and the $200 part!

 

[Cold Sausage]

Well I spent over three hours today on those two "side" releases on the airbag but failed. If anyone has any specific advise rather than the Youtube champs who can do it in 20 seconds I am all ears. And yes, the bottom one releases in 2 seconds flat. I even had a mirror and light and still no help. All I could see in there was the D shaped hole with a black plastic bump right in the way of where you would be pushing a screwdriver if you went in dead straight. So you obviously cannot do that. There then seem to be slots on either side that you could only get a flat blade driver into and other than that, metal in the background. But after three hours I just gave up. There is obviously some trick to it but stuffed if after watching several videos and trying everything I could think of...

I had wondered if you were supposed to put the driver in over the tab and push towards the centre of the bag so similar to the bottom one but no go there either. Infact I 'd award some sort of prize to anyone who can release this airbag because I am pretty persistent and when I give up it really means I am at the end of my tether!

And even though this is a Picanto the whole airbag thing is 100% identical (same parts, same everything, same holes).

So anyone who can give highly detailed advice of where the driver goes and what sort of motions are required (where, what directions, where to apply pressure) I am all ears but at this point the car is going back to Kia. Let them try it!

 

[Cold Sausage]

I am now genuinely wondering if there is some manufacturing issue with some of these steering wheels. I did a lot more research into releasing these airbags and I now know precisely how it is done. I have a mirror with lighting so I am not even scrabbling in the dark. I can pass the screwdriver blade over the plastic tab with the tang and then lever up so it pushes that tab down which then is supposed to press on the airbag pin a bit like an ultra slow pistol firing mechanism. It is actually very easy if you know what to do - and the various videos demonstrate that - it should take all of 20 seconds. And I now do know what to do but it simply will not release. At all. It is as if the pin is not aligning with the plastic tabs or the distance between the pin and tab is too high so there can never be sufficient leverage.

The dealer even had the car yesterday for 6 hours and gave up asking to get it back for another try over 9 hours next week. I am starting to think the only solution is another steering wheel and then dremeling the rear shroud off the current one so that the airbag can be released "manually". But even that does not solve the problem that required the removal of these parts to begin with (steering column problem).

Sadly my Kia experience is really starting to sour even though the dealer so far seems very good and more than willing. It isn't just that some serious issue has appeared in the steering after less than 14,000 miles of careful driving. That is a worry as it is. It is that getting to the parts causing the problem is just creating a whole new constellation of problems that is even flummoxing the dealer.

Starting to wonder what I will do if the dealer gives up. The car will become a money pit buying a new wheel, possibly airbag and then having to pay a dealer to commission the airbag - and even then it does not solve the original problems. And yes, this is a Picanto but the steering parts, airbag parts are ostensibly identical from wheel to ball joints. The wheels themselves may differ in shape and coverings but the bits that matter are the same. So this can happen to either car - maybe pretty much any Kia.

Can't wait to get that phone call from the dealer next week: "Can we book you in a third time please?"!!!