2020 Kia E-Niro VESS/Reverse Chime defeat solution

Hey, did you make a choice? Wondering if you decided to get the switch. If you did, can you share your experience?

 

A big thanks to all of those that have contributed to this thread so far! Thanks to you, I was able to install the switch with no issues. To give back a little, I thought I'd add in a couple of images that might help others do the same and maybe even make the task a little easier.

1. Create Switch Assembly

First up, it looks like I ordered the same momentary push switch, with LED light, that many others have ordered from Amazon. Shown in (image) 1A is my wiring diagram, and how the switch connects to the "blue " (really blue with a black stripe) and "pink" wires on the wiring harness. (Image) 1B shows the data sheet that came with the switch. I didn’t use any of their wiring examples because none of them matched up with what I wanted to do. 1C shows how I soldered the wires in. It came with a plug that plugged into the back of the switch, but I chose to solder because I was worried about the depth of the whole thing near the fuses (In retrospect, I probably didn’t need to worry, and it would have been nice to be able to unplug that if I need to bring the car in for service). The wires I used are slightly too big (gauge-wise), but that is all I had sitting around. You can also see how I used heat-shrink tubing to insulate all of the wires individually. Then I used a larger heat shrink tube to insulate everything and provide some strain relief as shown in 1D. 1E shows me testing the LED light using a typical healthy battery voltage of 13.2V. From the data sheet, it wasn’t clear whether you needed to add a resistor, but this confirmed I didn’t need one.




2. Install Switch in Fuse Panel

With the switch assembly done, I decided to install it in the fuse cover door that is found near your left knee when sitting in the driver’s seat (in the US at least). Seemed to me that the fuse panel would be easy and cheap to replace when my lease is up, and that location is easy to reach while driving. I drilled a hole in the door where I could still read the fuse diagram on the back. These images show where I drilled (2A), what the hole looked like after drilling (2B,2C), and what the switch looked like installed (2D, 2E). I really recommend this tapered type of drill bit for drilling big holes in plastic.




3. Open Up The Dash

Next up was opening up the dash. (Image) 3A shows the use of a plastic automotive trim pry tool (Harbor Freight) to open up the side panel. Rotate the panel open like a door (3B). You don’t have to remove that piece of plastic, just leave it sitting there, rotated open. Use a screwdriver to remove the two screws (see yellow circles in 3B and also 3C) that are now exposed. Then pull the bottom panel away from the dash as shown in 3D & 3E. Notice the “hooks” in the switch panel above… that hooks into the “tabs” in the bottom panel. This is why you need to pull the bottom panel out a little… just enough to let the switch panel above it clear the tabs in the lower panel.



Not sure of the etiquette, but to keep a single post from becoming too long, I'll continue in the next post...

 

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4. Pull Out the Switch Panel

With the lower panel pulled out, unhook the upper switch panel on the left side (see previous image (3D). Pull both the left side and right side (4A) of the switch panel out sharply and evenly. Note that the panel is held in with friction clips, so a good tug will be required, but it’s not too hard. Maneuver the wire bunch to get the whole panel out to where it is shown in 4B. Press the tab on the plug (see green circle in 4C) firmly and wiggle the plug to release it. 4D shows me separating the blue/black and pink wires we are going to be using with a plastic tool.




5. Install Wire Taps

Now that we have access to the plug wires we are looking for, it’s time to install the wire taps. Since my car is leased, and I will want to undo all of this when I turn the car in, I opted for the screw-in type of tap shown here. I’m sure the other taps work just fine, but my theory is that this type of tap will disturb the insulation less and not require tape when removed. Notice the metal point (see 5A) that is driven into the wire when the two parts are screwed together. Place the gray plastic part on one of the wires, keeping in mind the spacing needed to do one other wire in this somewhat tight space. Note that I also slid the cloth/foam wire cover up a little to give it a little more room. Screw the metal point in so that it pierces the wire. Next spread the strands of the new switch wire over the other metal part of the wire tap (5B) and screw the plastic collar down snuggly. This took a little playing with since my switch wire was a bit too big for this size of tap (they come in different sizes), but it wasn’t too bad. Test it by giving the wire a little tug to make sure it won’t come apart down the road, so to speak. Do that for both wires (5C & 5D). Keep in mind that the switch wire goes to the blue/black wire and the LED wire goes to the pink wire.




6. Connect Ground Wire

The last wire that needs to be connected from our switch assembly is the ground wire. If I had a third wire tap, I might have connected it to the black wire on the plug, but I didn’t, so I picked a metal ground point on the frame. The closest potential metal ground point that looked good to me, was the hole in the bracket on the right side of the fuse hatch opening (see yellow circle in 6A). Given that the hole was close to the other black bracket and I wanted the circle spade lug to sit flat on the bare metal, I cut a bit of the circle lug with metal shears so it looked like the image in 6B. To install the bolt and nut I used the tools shown in 6C. 6D shows the use of the wrench and 6E shows the use of the right angle screwdriver (with heat shrink tube applied, just in case) used to hold the Phillips head screw still. I just cranked the bolt down while holding the head with the screwdriver until everything was nice and tight.



Continued in next post...

 

Continued from previous post...

7. Wrapping It Up

At this point all connections have been made. Next, I figured I would add a little bit of insurance in case something wiggled loose, by adding a couple of layers of electrical tape… once around each wire tap (7A) and again around both of them (7B). Then, to add a little strain relief, I used 2 small zip ties (see yellow circle in 7C) to secure the new wires to the existing wire loom. 7D shows the two new power wires and the ground emerging from the fuse panel opening. 7E shows how much wire I left “just in case” of… I’m not sure what, but since I had the wire, why not?




8. Finished Product

And that is it! All that is left is to neatly wind up the wire, stuff it in, and replace the fuse panel (8A) and see if it worked, which it did! So, every time the Niro EV is started, the LED in the switch turns on to indicate that the VESS is active (8C). Press it once to turn off both the VESS sound and the LED in the switch (8B). Originally, I thought I would be turning it off all of the time, but as it turns out, I usually leave it active in public parking lots, just in case someone is back there and helps me avoid an accident. I apparently don’t mind irritating complete strangers and, who knows, it has the potential to save a life. But… around my house, I pretty much always turn the sound off when backing either out of or into my driveway. Then, when I need to go forward, I always turn it back on, because I love the spaceship sound. It’s nice to have the option.



So hopefully that took a little more mystery out of connecting the dreaded “VESS Disable Switch”! Again, thanks to those that took the time and effort to document this in the past! I have newfound respect for you!

 

Nice details.

 

Thanks exactly what I need

 

Here's another success story: the backup chime was my least favorite thing about my new Niro, but with the instructions above I was able to install the switch in about 90 minutes. Huge thanks to ENirogus for figuring this out, Cory LaFountaine for clarifying how the wiring matches up and 3XG for posting additional photos of the disassembly process. Here are some more tips:

• I ordered these connectors from Amazon because it was a smaller quantity: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081PVPZZM. I thought the colors were arbitrary, but they actually correspond to different wire thicknesses. The 10-12 gauge size was clearly too big, but I erred on the large side and tried the 14-16 gauge size because I didn't want to risk breaking a wire. But that was still too large to make contact and the switch didn't do anything on my first attempt. I tried again with the 18-22 gauge (red) connectors, and pulled the wire deeper into its slot after clamping it shut, and that worked.
• I used this switch mentioned above: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GTJBR59. It doesn't feel too big to me; I like that it can be unplugged from the wiring, so I can more easily mount it later; and the red light coordinates with the rest of the panel buttons. The downside is that the wires aren't very long and it just barely reaches down to the fuse box cover. I haven't drilled a hole to mount it yet, but I think it will be long enough to go into the top portion of the cover.
• With that LED switch, two of the switch wires need to go to the black wire in the car, but there's not enough room for two clips on the same wire. There are two black wires on the car plug, and I confirmed from the schematic posted above that both are ground, so I clipped one switch wire to each. I just now realized that I could have twisted the two switch wires together and put them into the same connector, which would have been easier and less bulky than using two connectors.
• When I removed that first side panel, it took a lot of tugging and then it popped completely off rather than remaining tucked in on the left side. This was actually good because it allowed me to close the car door and test the button before reassembling everything.
• The button works to disable or reenable the car sounds even as they are playing, so those who want a single chime can put the car in reverse, then press the button after the first chime.

I just ran an errand and used this twice and it worked perfectly. Thanks again to everyone who contributed.

 

Congrats arlotone! 90 minutes is pretty good!

 

3XG thanks for that great photo documentation. They will give a lot of us more courage.

 

I just installed this thank you so much. I can finally have peace and quiet while driving.





Note I twisted and soldered the green and black wire then extended it to keep the switch detachable on the back. Also the yellow wire is not used.
The extra wire you use is 18 gauge

 

I just did this mod over the holiday weekend and I am very pleased with the results. A couple of notes based on my experience:
1. The dash trim pieces need a good hard pull to remove, and the space for leverage is tight. I used a trim tool as a hook to yank on the right side.
2. The wires at the back of the connector are small and tightly packed, and the t-taps are kinda bulky. I peeled back some of the tape so I could get more separation between the wires.
3. It helps to include some sort of connector between the switch and the wiring harness to allow for maintenance access and reversibility. The solution above is ideal, but I had a different switch so I used some connectors left over from fragments of LED strip lighting.
4. The LED illumination is pretty dim. It's tough to tell at a glance whether it is on or off. This is probably due to the wide viewing angle relative to the driver's eyes. On the other hand, the LED isn't distracting either.
Thanks to everyone who provided instructions and especially pictures.

 

Just ordered the parts to do this. Had to go get coffee this morning early in the am. My neighbors really don't need to hear "beep, beep beep" every time I pull out of the driveway.

Our car is leased so I need to make this fully reversible. I'd like to order a replacement fuse panel cover to drill out. I can find the 2021 cover as a part online, but does anyone know if the 2022 fuse panel cover is the same as the 2021?

 

Don't know for sure, but I would be 99.9999% sure it is.

 

The photos from djtuner13 reminded me: before drilling into my fuse box cover, I peeled off the yellow sticker, cut off the bottom inch, and restuck it, to avoid drilling out part of the fuse legend.

Also FWIW, I mounted my button on the top left corner of the fuse box cover because that's in my line of sight with my particular driving position. It's nice to be able to glance down and check the LED to make sure I turned the sounds back on after backing out of my driveway.

 

I did mine this morning! I used the same switch that some others are using: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GTJBR59

I decided I didn't want the LED to light up, so my wiring is super simple:
1. Blue wire on the switch goes to the blue-black wire on the car.
2. Green wire on the switch goes to ground. Similar to others on this forum, I grounded it to one of the bolts behind the dashboard that goes to the frame.

And that's it! Just one wire tap on the car. And I only used 2 of the 5 wires on the momentary switch.

 

Why not just tap the ground wire as well? Is there a reason to not just tap the black wire to the black on the switch?

 

No, there is no reason not to. It will work the same and may be easier if you have the wire tap and make room for the tap by unpeeling the foam wire loom cover wrapped around the wires. For the tutorial I did, I just didn't have an extra tap on hand and didn't want to wait for it.