You'd have to ask Bjorn, or find someone in Korea with one.

 

I’d be nervous about doing this without a way to remotely monitor the car. For instance to be alerted if the car shut down the A/C because the battery got too low. You wouldn’t want dead dogs.

 

Maybe ask someone with a Kona, it has the same feature.

 

Thanks for the tips! I'll also ask local importer, even though they likely know the least.

And indeed being able to see AC status in app would be good for the nerves, even if the 64 kWh battery should have plenty capacity to run AC for an hour or two. Hopefully Hyundai/Kia brings the app to Europe as well, with sufficient functionalities.

That being said I probably would not leave the dogs in the car in extreme heat for any extended period with this feature. The biggest need for us is in leaving the dogs waiting their turn in training when it is freezing cold. Currently we have ICE car and use its Webasto for giving heat pulses in appropriate intervals. To replace it we need to have at least similar functionality. Really really would like to get rid of the ICE car, and Niro would otherwise just fit the bill...

 

Anyone with an e-Niro tried this feature out yet?

 

I can have a look later on for you

 

Can't find it on mine

 

It’s in the convenience settings on the instrument cluster rather than the infotainment screen.

 

Tried it and have taken a video. Utility mode keeps air con on, but as soon as you leave the car it starts beeping that key is not in car. You can’t lock the car while it is on and you are outside. You turn it off by pressing the power button - turning the car off. Shame it can’t be used for keeping dogs cool. Handy for camping in the car though!

Uploaded the video to vimeo link here:

 

I thought it would be common sense that it wouldn't work when key is removed and car locked; firstly car alarm and secondly what's to say if you accidentally leave it on for a few days on your parked car and find the charge is 0.

 

Ahh I must remember to look there when I can't find something. I suspect the Wireless charging on off will be there too

Indeed it is

 

I thought it would be common sense that it wouldn't work when key is removed and car locked; firstly car alarm and secondly what's to say if you accidentally leave it on for a few days on your parked car and find the charge is 0.

You’ve never heard of Tesla’s dog friendly mode then.

 

The concept of locking anything inside a sauna with no way of it getting out and then relying on a fallible electric cooling system to keep it alive is probably alien to most people. Hate to be the first to say it, but if you have to lock your dog in a car, you probably shouldn't have a dog in the first place.

 

Dogs are not made to be locked in cars, they are animals not luggage. That was what I was commenting on so please don’t try to spin it with “you’re a Luddite” name calling.

You can have as many dog modes as you want and if something fails, you still have a dead dog.

And I bet it’s only a few weeks before someone figures they can use “dog mode” to leave their children locked in the car

 

There are times when you really have no choice to leave your dog in a car but it should be really only for a few minutes. And I really mean under five minutes.

I had a friend who parked his car outside a pharmacy to pick up a prescription, windows part open, dogs with water bowls etc. It must have been barely 90 seconds after parking when some passerby smashed open the side window to save the dogs, as my friend was genuinely in the pharmacy for 40 seconds or so. The police ended up being called, and that "helpful" person ended up nearly arrested for breach of the peace and criminal damage! He had to pay significant costs for repair to the car.

 

I would love a dog but my personal circumstances currently dictate that I have to work and have no means of managing a dog during the working day or indeed at various times when the demands of my life dictate that I cannot have a dog with me, like going into other people's premises. Your friend's experience is why I choose to not have a dog at the moment.

Each to their own I guess but the dog gets no say in when and where it is locked up, that's up to the owner and as is demonstrated so often, not all owners are responsible.

Maybe "dog mode" is a step forward in avoiding some dogs dying in cars but I can't help fear that it'll be an excuse for even more living things to be locked in cars more often and for longer with all the attendant risks that brings to the dog, the car, the owner and the passer by as described above.

 

There are times when you really have no choice to leave your dog in a car but it should be really only for a few minutes. And I really mean under five minutes.

I had a friend who parked his car outside a pharmacy to pick up a prescription, windows part open, dogs with water bowls etc. It must have been barely 90 seconds after parking when some passerby smashed open the side window to save the dogs, as my friend was genuinely in the pharmacy for 40 seconds or so. The police ended up being called, and that "helpful" person ended up nearly arrested for breach of the peace and criminal damage! He had to pay significant costs for repair to the car.

There do seem to be people in our society who go out of their way to be offended on other peoples' (or dogs' ) behalves. If a dog is in no distress and the windows were down to let air in, it would clearly be criminal damage to smash a window. I've seen some fake news Facebook posts about "X police force give citizens the right to smash windows willy nilly" which clearly has some effect, but as you state it's only lawful with clear reasoning.

 

According to Björn's infotainment system walkthrough, Niro EV has Utility Mode that allows keeping climate (AC/heating) etc. on while car is otherwise turned off.

Sorry to revive an old thread. I got my Niro EV (SX Touring) in April (one of the first in Canada) and can't locate the Utility mode per Owner's manual in the Convenience menu setup.
Is this a feature that can be 'installed' by the dealer?

 

I think it doesn't appear unless the car is in a certain mode, as I've noticed it missing a few times. However I can't remember quite what it was - did you try in park mode or with the car only on in accessory mode?

 

Not sure I no longer have the car. But it needed enabling in "auxiliary mode". It just seemed really odd that you turn heater on but the system does not let you know it is in fact disabled. This enable was only a one shot so if you turned the ignition on/off and tried the heater again it was disabled.

 

There was a video made by a Kona EV owner in the UK (YouTube channel "The EV Puzzle") he discovered that a simple way to utilize utility mode and leave the vehicle is by:

1) activates Utility Mode in the dashboard menu settings when the car is turned on and climate settings are set as desired (suggest using auto to maintain temperatures)

2) locking all the doors in the car using the automatic locks from the door panel

3) removing the emergency key from the keyfob and leaving it in the car (cupholder would be a good place)

4) exiting the car from the driver's door and then using the emergency key to lock the driver's door manually (the old fashioned way)

This allows the car the climate controls to remain on and all of the doors would be locked.

I have also tested this with my own Nire EV in Canada (SX Touring) and found that you could keep the keyfob with you and just let the chime pass that tells you that the car is on and keys have been removed.

If you leave the proximity of the car, none of the doors (including the hatch/boot) will unlock so long as the keyfob is not in proximity.

My car stayed on for 20 minutes without issue and only showed a use of 1% to maintain an internal temperature of 22 degrees in near 30 degree weather.

Also in the UVO app that we have in Canada it did confirm that the car was on ( climate on) and the doors were locked when I checked.

I would have no worries about using this method for an extended period of needed. Eg: keeping groceries from spoiling during errands.

Hope that helps.

 

2) locking all the doors in the car using the automatic locks from the door panel

My car simply won’t lock the doors when it is On and after a door has been opened.

I have also tested this with my own Nire EV in Canada (SX Touring) and found that you could keep the keyfob with you and just let the chime pass that tells you that the car is on and keys have been removed.

I did that and with the fob out of vicinity, I could still not lock the car, also not with the emergency key.

Also in the UVO app that we have in Canada it did confirm that the car was on ( climate on) and the doors were locked when I checked.

When the car is off and locked I can use the UVO app to switch on the A/C. But that is to my knowledge not the utility mode. I use that from time to time to cool down the car before I start driving.

I thought the utility mode is there so you can run anything electric (except the drive motor) including powering the 12V and 110V outlets without the car switched on for driving. And also without the fob in vicinity or inside. This would be really cool if we go car camping... recharging other rechargeable devices

 

I posted about this in our Kona...

Leaving the car in utility mode to keep cool

Hi, Many of you will have seen Nigel's short video here about leaving the Kona running in utility mode, then getting out, locking the door with the key part of the fob (leaving the immobiliser part present): Ignoring questions of whether you have enough confidence in it to leave a dog in there...

www.speakev.com

 

Thanks for pointing. I can't perform step 1 in my Niro (the menu option as shown on the internet on other cars doesn't exist in mine). As such the rest of the steps also fail.
However I can turn on the climate control to cool or heat the car when it is parked and locked by using the UVO app (and I understand that is only? available in Canada).

What drives me bonkers is that car manufacturers vary software features of the same model in different markets. I mean I get special hardware options because of climate difference and also for legal requirements, but software features? Well, one day...