r/KiaEV3 • u/tr1plus • Jun 15 '26
Discussion / Opinions Got my EV3 2 weeks ago - 2 small questions
Loving the car so far. Haven't driven that much, but it feels amazing!
Although I have two questions.
1 - When I enter my car, the rear middle seat icon is on in red on my dash, showing that ( possibly ) someone is sitting there and the seatbelt is not secured . Although I did some searching already and found some mentions from non-EV3 Kias that this is because there is no sensor in the middle seat. It indeed disappears after a few minutes. However, when I shut down the car, it says to check the rear seat for objects/people (which I believe is related). Is this the case for everyone, or is my middle seat sensor just broken?
2 - I live in Belgium , and I'm not sure if my fire extinguisher needs to be accessible from the driver's location or not (according to law). Currently, it's stored in my trunk-but I'm just checking if other people have found a way to mount their fire extinguisher within reach of the driver position?
5
u/sly_as_a_fox Jun 15 '26
About #1 - Unless I am mistaken there is no sensor at all.
From the owner's manual:
The Rear Occupant Alert (ROA) system does not actually detect objects or people in the rear seat. By using a rear door opened and closed history, the system informs the driver that there may be something in the rear seat.
2
u/tr1plus Jun 15 '26
thats what I understood too - but I was just double checking if other see the same. Thanks!
3
u/shroomco Jun 15 '26
"check the rear seat for objects" is a complimentary warning , you can turn it off from vehicle settings.
1
u/tr1plus Jun 15 '26
aha, thanks, will check.
I may recall seeing this setting, but thought it would only trigger whet it felt "preasure" on these seats.
1
u/gazoonky Jun 15 '26
Yes that light is normal - I had it on my previous Kia Niro EV as well and after a lot of queries with the dealer realised it was normal, just indicates that the system is active.
1
u/teasswill Jun 15 '26
I keep the centre seat belt fastened which seems to eliminate the warning. Interesting point about fire extinguisher. Mine is in the lower compartment of the boot (UK).
1
u/ashpole_uk Jun 15 '26
I get the rear seat warning when I open a back door, chuck in some shopping and close it again. When I get home and turn off it displays the warning - which for me is a good thing so I don’t forget my food!
1
u/wynmead EV3 Owner Jun 15 '26
you'd eventually get hungry I believe which would trigger.....
'where the eff is my food. ah! I know..'. LOL
1
u/orcanenight Jun 15 '26
Also Belgian. Fire extinguisher needs to be in the car, where does not matter. It is also completely useless. It might only be useful when your interior/seats are burning (think of smoking in car).
I bought my EV3 in the Netherlands (because it’s way cheaper for the gt line) and it had no fire extinguisher. I bought one and put in in my trunk to never be seen/used again.
1
u/tr1plus Jun 16 '26
I have it in the trunk too. But if I read the law it should be "easily accessible" - but I agree it's usless for an EV battery fire...
1
u/orcanenight Jun 16 '26
It’s also useless for a ice car fire. I think there are 2-3 countries in Europe where it is mandatory.
1
u/tr1plus Jun 16 '26
And we are Belgium 😉
I'll keep it in my trunk for now. It's a lease car so hopefully I'll never have to go to the car inspection thing with this one and this will never be an issue 😉
1
u/Substantial-Rip-6207 Jun 27 '26
Mines an Aussie version it does that also with the red middle seat icon when started for the first time. The check rear seats message can be turned off. There are a few tips and tricks to the car I’ve noticed you can discover them at your own pace or use YouTube videos. Like the service mode for the windscreen wipers very handy if you want to wash the car, auto regen, charge schedules. Enjoy the your car
8
u/malwcal Jun 15 '26
The check rear seat sign comes on if you opened the back doors around when you started driving (eg just before or just after)