In my case (and normally), it stops alarm rear sensors as long as the P button is on, no matter how long it is on. Tested for several days now since I bought a bike rack.

 

Since then, I noticed that P button has been desactivated few times but I cannot say if it because I pushed the button inadvertently while cleaning my car (do it very/too often) or because my car stayed off for more than 24 hours (which is really uncomon in my case).

I will try to get more attention next times and will let you know.

 

Thank you Goose38 - your experience is the normal behaviour i was expecting.

this morning putting the vehicle into reverse 48 hours after I had de-activated it - and not having driven after that run - the Parking Sensor light was indeed still off (i.e. the sensor was NOT active). This was counter to my experience of the prior week when the Parking Sensor was activated as i fired up the vehicle each morning.

I will be raising this to the dealer. Appreciate your guidance

 

Update from dealer

Took my vehicle to the dealer and the service manager's view was the Parking Sensor should re-activate each time the vehicle was started.

so he started up the vehicle (my bike was on the rack behind) and no beeps as the parking sensors were still off when i had on my drive in. He checked the menu and decided time delays weren't a user adjustable option. He said he had never had anybody report the issue. I mentioned the apparent 24-hour cycle the parking sensors stayed off - hopefully he can confirm if this is intended or just a fault. Fingers crossed

 

Mine seems to act as it just pause it if done while it is alarming. The next time it will be back on. I like this feature weather it is a undisclosed additional feature(bug) or intentional.

 

3 of us have listed 3 very different behaviours for the same actions from the Parking Sensor switch. Any one of them is great by itself but when this is different within a country or if it changes over time it is a concern that needs communication whether it is a bug, hidden feature or defect. at first i thought this may be a country specific setting but Goose38 is also based in Canada.

Awaiting a response from my dealer who said he will check (my assumption is he has access to Kia resources - if not i will reach out to Kia Canada myself and see what I get)

 

Update from the dealer who says he connected with Kia engineers via their internal forum - the expected behaviour for the parking sensor is - stay off until the user presses the button again.

In order to validate my issue (Parking Sensor re-activates 24 hours after it was turned off) he has been asked to keep the car for several days and test it. Which of course the service manager doesnt want to do and I am unable to as well. the manager did indicate that in newer Sorentos the switch has been re-designed - so if the sensor is turned off the switch physically stays down and is not impacted by turning the engine off (which happens for me within the 24 hour period).

Anyone else experiencing this issue appreciate your comments. i recognise most drivers will not turn off their parking sensors so appreciate feedback from anyone that is towing over the summer

 

Appreciate that

Thanks Goose38 - i should mention the service manager i spoke to remains convinced that it is a programmable setting (not accessible by drivers) for which Kia engineers need to advise him on. this is a tough one as the button does (partially) what it is supposed to do, proving the partial non working part is the difficult aspect. Cheers

 

Update - the dealer offered to replace the switch in order to determine if that is the source.

18 hours after the switch was deactivated i turned on the car and the sensor was active (i had driven it in between but the sensor remained deactivated). it then occured to me that it might be the humidity in the garage from the hot engine. i then left the car outdoors overnight and in the morning on engine start the switch was still in the on position (i.e. the sensor was not active).

Appears to be the humidity in the garage is causing just this switch (or its sensor) to change behaviour when the vehicle is not on.

Have reported this to the dealer service manager - awaiting his response

 

Different behaviour this year

As I originally noted the parking sensor button on my vehicle would not stay lit in the state I had set it to (pressed to have the light on). It appeared to reset each day. I couldn't find a pattern to this and figured it was dependent on the weather or the humidity in the garage. The dealer also couldnt figure this out after changing out the switch.

This year i followed the same process while installing the bike rack as I did last year. The only difference is that i followed it up with a hand wash of the car - ensuring i gave the sensors on the rear (at least the ones that are visible) an extra rub. I maybe making an illogical connection but now the parking sensor now behaves as it should. it has stayed pressed (i.e. light is on) and it has not changed state from that.

Hope this helps