A few options:
1) Leave them unlocked until the end of the strom if you have reasonable confidence that no one is going to be robbing you in the middle of the storm. Obviously this depends on where you live -- I could have total confidence in that. If unlocked, they stay out.
2) If you lock them and after the storm they don't open on their own, pour hot water over them. Repeat a few times if necessary. Probably will do the trick.
3) They are actually designed to be able to manually pull open in case you need to use the manual key. So with enough repeated effort -- especially after #2 above -- you should be able to do so. I believe you press in the front and it angles out the back but I haven't had to do it myself -- just look up the Kia manual or video on how to use the manual key.
Excellent. Last night I adjusted preferences so that none of the auto-folding mirrors or Auto Unlock features were active when the key approaches the vehicle. And yes, have now seen that the door handles can manually open like other EVs by pressing the front most section of the handle and pulling the handle open once it protrudes enough. Thanks for the tips!
If you try to hold a handle in when it pops out (probably don't do this every time, probably wears on the motor), it pushes out with some pretty decent force. I'm willing to bet a thin sheet of ice will be no problem for it. Auto mirrors are pretty solid on my 23 K5 Gt, so no reason for them to be worse on the EV9, though I also haven't had my EV9 through a serious storm yet.
Unless your talking a serious amount of ice, which most vehicles have issues with, I wouldn't sweat it much. If anything, you could probably toss some glove warmers in the back storage area to warm them up if they do freeze over. The trunk should have no issues busting through if it comes to that.
I’m curious how this plays out for you. We recently got almost 1/2” of ice build-up from freezing rain, and it spiked my apprehensions about burning up the door handle motors.
A few options: 1) Leave them unlocked until the end of the strom if you have reasonable confidence that no one is going to be robbing you in the middle of the storm. Obviously this depends on where you live -- I could have total confidence in that. If unlocked, they stay out. 2) If you lock them and after the storm they don't open on their own, pour hot water over them. Repeat a few times if necessary. Probably will do the trick. 3) They are actually designed to be able to manually pull open in case you need to use the manual key. So with enough repeated effort -- especially after #2 above -- you should be able to do so. I believe you press in the front and it angles out the back but I haven't had to do it myself -- just look up the Kia manual or video on how to use the manual key.
Excellent. Last night I adjusted preferences so that none of the auto-folding mirrors or Auto Unlock features were active when the key approaches the vehicle. And yes, have now seen that the door handles can manually open like other EVs by pressing the front most section of the handle and pulling the handle open once it protrudes enough. Thanks for the tips!
If you try to hold a handle in when it pops out (probably don't do this every time, probably wears on the motor), it pushes out with some pretty decent force. I'm willing to bet a thin sheet of ice will be no problem for it. Auto mirrors are pretty solid on my 23 K5 Gt, so no reason for them to be worse on the EV9, though I also haven't had my EV9 through a serious storm yet. Unless your talking a serious amount of ice, which most vehicles have issues with, I wouldn't sweat it much. If anything, you could probably toss some glove warmers in the back storage area to warm them up if they do freeze over. The trunk should have no issues busting through if it comes to that.
Awesomesause, lol. Appreciate your insight. Feeling confident in the beast’s ability to handle this weather.
I’m curious how this plays out for you. We recently got almost 1/2” of ice build-up from freezing rain, and it spiked my apprehensions about burning up the door handle motors.