Hi, everyone! First post:
Since the location of the speaker and its connecting wires are now known, isn't it a simple matter to cut those speaker wires and insert a potentiometer? Apu's "Option 2" was to have the output be reduced, and I imagine one should be able buy a potentiometer at Radio Shack or some other local electronics supplier for pocket change (e.g.,
https://www.ebay.com/p/1437143829?iid=291626413935).
Though it seems like everyone here knows more about this than I do, I was surprised to see no one took that particular any further.
After test-connecting the potentiometer, have someone firewall the brake and put the car in reverse, and then you can twirl that pot until the sound is less obnoxious. If Kia fixes it with a patch, you can reach under the bumper and turn it back up to 100%, or remove the silly thing completely. Heck, if there's a box of resistors handy, one might just test to find the right resistance and solder that dude in place. It still emits a warning sound for the inattentive, but doesn't wake the neighbours.
(I have a bought-new 2011 Leaf with some just-for-fun mods I've done myself; it's one of the very first, so it originally complied with the UK's loony requirement that the external sound be wholly defeatable; I rather like being able to switch into a "stealth mode." The switch location on later years was filled with something else, like bun warmers (IYKWIM).)