2023 Kia Seltos: How I added features via an OTA software update

You can now receive speed camera alerts on major highways.

BHPian ttm_220d recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

As you all know, I recently detailed my review and experience of my 2023 Kia Seltos GT Diesel Automatic, I wanted to share an update on the car.

Today, while I was leaving for work, I received a notification on the infotainment system regarding a software update to be installed. A software update on a car is something I am experiencing for the first time as none of the other cars in our family fleet are this high-tech will all the gizmos.

The update prompt asked me to if I would like to install the update now, or later and it showed an estimated time of twenty minutes. As I had a thirty-minute commute to the office, I selected the update now option. The system then restarted with the usual Kia logo then changed into the update progress screen.

During the update progress, I could see the status level of the update as well as a prompt telling me “update would continue even after the car is turned off”. This is helpful to the owners who are unsure if turning off the car would affect the update. Even during my experience, every time the start/stop system switched off the car at the red lights, the update continued. I was unable to access the radio or cameras on the IFE, during the update. However, the lane-keep cameras and the parking sensors worked as usual, showing up in the instrument cluster.

It was a little unnerving at first, hoping that there would not be an error or a glitch as this was my first time updating the software on a car, it was very much like the software update on a smartphone or iPad.

Just as I was about the reach office the update finished and the system restarted. When I finally stopped, the system gave me a QR code to scan on my phone to view the details of the update. Finally, it also showed me the new features added in the update. Some of them are quite useful which are extracted as follows:

1. “ A new service has been added!

• Have you ever found it inconvenient to adjust the volume of Bluetooth Audio? Now it has been improved to be more convenient than ever.
• Are you tired of having to adjust the volume of Bluetooth Audio both on your phone and in your vehicle? Now the volume for both can be adjusted using just the phone or the vehicle controls.
• To adjust the volume to the desired level, the driver can use the Infotainment system's volume knob or the volume controls on the steering wheel like before, or a passenger can adjust the volume using the phone.

2. * Fine-tuning the volume is easier using the vehicle's volume knob”.

• Navigation has been improved to be more convenient to use.
• Camera alerts have been added thanks to our new map provider MapmyIndia.
• You can now receive speed camera alerts on major highways.
• You can disable camera alerts by going to: (SETUP] › [Navigation] › [Alerts].
• You can set the Camera Alert Distance by going to: (SETUP] › [Navigation] › (Alerts) › [Camera Alert Settings].

3. New features have been added to Voice Recognition.

• Now you can easily add stop-offs using Voice Recognition. To add a stop-off to your route, say: "Add I...J as a stop-off."
• I am excited about the speed camera warning as it was always cumbersome to use Radarbot on a separate phone device, draining the batter. Excited to see how useful and accurate this is.

I know software updates on cars have been prevalent for some time, but experiencing this firsthand really changes the way you look at a car. Questions such as how many updates will I receive? Will I receive updates if I don’t pay for the Kia Connect service when it expires all arise. But for now, I will continue enjoying this car and sharing my updates on the same.

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