How to Open a Kia with a Dead Key Fob
- First, if you are already inside, click here for help getting started!
- Second, you can find video help here!
- Finally, if you need or want another manufacturer, click here.
Retrieving the mechanical key
Retrieving the mechanical keyKia has used a flip key key fob since 2015 and they remain in use today (2025) in some models. The mechanical key is found by pressing the chrome button on the end opposite the key ring. The mechanical key is released and remains attached to the fob.
To use the most common Kia key fobs, press and hold the release button at the key ring end of the remote control or ‘clicker’ and pull the key ring to remove mechanical key. Use the key to unlock the driver’s door. They too remain in limited use today (2025).
Kia added a new fob in 2022 that features all the the buttons on the side (right). The button at the very top — that is, the one closest to the key ring end — is the one to push in order to release the mechanical key.
If a key hole is visible, use the key to unlock the driver’s door.
Hidden Keyholes
Two Piece Door Handles
Starting with the 2014 Cadenza and K900, the manufacturer adopted the hidden keyhole trick. The Optima and Sportage were added in 2016. These models all feature a two-piece door handle. As shown in the image to the right, press the mechanical key into the slot found under the cover at the back of the driver’s door handle (1) and pull forward and up by hand (2).
Pulling the cap while holding some upward pressure will work best. There is a black button in the slot that is being pushed up with the key in this move and the cap is immediately to move!
A “hybrid” of this was introduced in 2024 in the Sorento and Telluride. The mechanical key is again slipped into a slot beneath the back of the door handle and pushed upwards. Now however, a small cover, seen in blue to the right, is slid to the side and out of the way. This should be done when the mechanical key is still inserted and pushed upward. The keyhole is then revealed.
And yes, with the two-piece handle one way or another you must pull a piece of your car off, but its ok! The cover will come off exposing the keyhole.
One Piece Door Handles
Kia EV6 vehicles feature a flush door handle. A push on the front of the handle will rotate the rear part outward. Then pull the handle out as far as it will go. The key hole is immediately visible (right). The mechanical key can be inserted and turned to unlock the vehicle.
Check our videos for additional help.
Continue to Part II, Getting Started …
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY
They use the same key fob.
The back cover can now be pulled away moving, it towards where the key ring was attached. The mechanical key is seen inside and can then be pulled out.
Some BMW and Mini models already require that the key fob be inserted into the dashboard next to the Start/Stop button. If the key fob battery is dead, the vehicle will recognize the fob when inserted. In “Comfort Access” models, the slot is only needed if the fob’s battery dies, or if electrical interference interrupts the fob’s signal. Insert the fob into the slot and use the Start/Stop button as normal.
For other BMW or Mini models, hold the remote control against the marked area on the steering column and press the Start/Stop button within 10 seconds while depressing the brake.
The smart phone recharge pads also act as new start points. A properly connected key card or a smart phone holding the proper BMW app touched to the pads will allow the car to start. The pad is found in front of the cup holders in the i4 (first image) and on the lower level of the iX console (second image).
message to Step on the Brake. Press the brake pedal very, very hard when trying to start the vehicle again to be sure that the release switch behind the pedal is engaged. Or wait a few minutes and try again.
The car features a wireless cell phone charging station inside the center console. There is also a bulge into which the Display Key can be slipped, with the lock button up and out. The Key is charged with a micro USB cable, a micro USB port on the Key (see the arrow on the Display Key) and the USB port at the back of the console.
With the flip key key fob, the mechanical key remains attached to the fob, but several back-up locations are used. In the Buick Verano, Regal (through 2017) and pre-2014 LaCrosse, remove the cup holder from the center console in front of the storage area. This may be the entire cup holder assembly (above right), or simply a cup holder insert (below right).
Look for a notch at the top rear of the cup holders to insert a finger or tool to aide removal. Then place the transmitter in the transmitter pocket with the buttons facing up. The pocket will be shaped somewhat like the key fob.
The back up location is changed in the Regal beginning with the 2018 model year, and the car uses a newer key fob. The spot is in a narrow compartment at the front of the center console, as can be seen in the image at right. And for the first time in any GM vehicle, the spot is marked. There is an image of a padlock with lines radiating from it, meant to invoke radio waves.
For the LaCrosse in 2014 and later, the transmitter pocket is moved into the storage area inside the armrest near the auxiliary power, USB and audio ports (right). Place the transmitter in the pocket.
The newest key style was introduced in 2014. It features a removable key. Note that there are still some flip keys in use. The Buick Encore, with exception, and Envision, until 2021, crossovers will use this spot. Simply drop the key fob into the front cup holder with the buttons up, and start the car as normal. Check out videos for these models 
The exception is the Encore GX, beginning with the 2020 model. There is a small depression at the rear of a tray on the center console that is just in front of the center console storage area. This is the back up spot. The new Envista model introduced in 2024 uses this spot as well. Drop the key fob onto this spot with the buttons up and start the car as normal, again pressing the Start / Stop button while stepping on the brake.
And the 2021 Envision finds the back up spot moved to the front of the center console storage area, See the image to the right. Inside and at the front of the console there is a small, flat depression. Drop the key fob onto this spot with the buttons facing up and start the vehicle as normal, stepping on the brake while pushing the Start / Stop button. See a helpful 
Finally, the Buick Enclave gets keyless start for the first time in 2018. The back up spot is beneath the rubber mat at the bottom of the center console. Remove the mat and place the transmitter on the fob-shaped depression that is now visible. As always, with the vehicle in Park or Neutral, press the brake pedal and the Start / Stop ignition button as normal. We’ll post more information as it comes available.
message to Step on the Brake. Press the brake pedal very, very hard when trying to start the vehicle again to be sure that the release switch behind the pedal is engaged. Or wait a few minutes and try again.
Buick uses the last two of GM’s three key fob (remote control or ‘clicker’) styles. Style 2 is a flip key, shown to the right. Simply press the unmarked chrome button to extend the mechanical key. It remains attached to the key fob.
With the Style 3 key fob the mechanical key must removed from the fob for use getting into the vehicle. To remove the mechanical key, press the button on the side of the transmitter near the key ring, as shown, and pull the key out.
In these cases, the cap must be removed to reveal the key hole. To remove the cap, pull the door handle out to the open position. Insert the key into the slot on the bottom of the cap (3, right). Push it as far upwards as possible, then pry outward. And yes, you WILL feel like you are prying off a piece of your car! Move the cap rearward revealing the key cylinder. Now the mechanical key can be used in the cylinder. Look for a video 
Envista
the oval cap that can accept the key (right). Insert the key into the spot and press the key inward. This will allow the cap to move. Move it towards the rear and remove it. The key hole is now visible and the door can be unlocked.
The MKS is unique in using the glove box as the location for the backup slot. It is to the far right side under the glove box door, and may be difficult to reach. Slip the Intelligent Access key down into the slot with buttons facing out and with key ring up or out. See the image.
bit.
In 2018, the Navigator location is moved to the back wall inside the center console (right). It should look like a pocket anchored to the back wall. Slip the key fob in vertically with the buttons facing forward.
beneath the rear cup holder. Remove the bottom liner from the cup holder by pulling it up by the tab (see image to the right). The slot is then revealed. Drop the fob into the slot with the buttons facing the rear of the rear of the car.
the front wall structure ( lower right). For this model, the key fob should be placed on its side with the buttons facing the back of the console.
In MKT, MKZ Hybrid (2013) and new (2017) Continental models, the slot is found near the Auxiliary, USB and power ports in the center console, like the one shown. The Intelligent Access key is slipped in with the buttons facing out and the key ring up (in one vehicle we tested, the vehicle started with the buttons facing either direction).
In the MKC and MKX (through 2015), the backup slot is to the front of center console, also found near the Auxiliary, USB and power ports, as shown. The Intelligent Access key is slipped in with the buttons facing out and the key ring up. The slot is impossible to see and you may want to feel for the ribbing at the bottom of the slot.
In 2016, the back up slot in the MKX is moved to the bottom of the center console. The Nautilus, new in 2019, uses this location as well. There is a visible depression in the console’s floor the shape of the key fob. Place the fob in the depression with the buttons up and key ring end facing forward.
In 2024, the back up slot in the Nautilus is moved to the front of the center console (image right). Slip the fob in with the buttons facing the rear.
New in the 2014 MKZ and MKZ Hybrid the backup slot is hidden under one of the cup holders.
Hyundai, Kia, Genesis back up entry page overhaul is complete
We just completed the last step of a Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis back up entry page overhaul. The intent is to fully separate the three manufacturers who now have way too many back up entry processes.
As a first step, we separated Genesis, admittedly the simplest of the three. Overall, the page used to have only a handful of entry processes, made necessary when the battery in the key fob dies. But Hyundai in particular seems to add a new one each year!
The final step was to move Kia to its own page, leaving parent company Hyundai to populate the original. Its done, and we believe that the result is a cleaner and simpler user experience across all three vehicle lines.
And given that we have 18 videos from all three manufacturers lumped together, it’s likely time to separate them as well…
Smart Keys or Intelligent Keys, or Access Keys – or whatever the manufacturer of your chooses to call them – that let you into your car and start it with just a touch use up their internal batteries at alarming rates, catching busy drivers unawares – even though the car had tried to warn you.
Our goal is to help you feel safe – and keep you moving or get you moving if at all possible – rather than leave you fretting whenever your key fob stops working. The instructions for getting into and starting most keyless start cars can be found on our pages – without roadside assistance.
The new Genesis page is here.
The new Kia page is here.
And the original page, now belonging solely to Hyundai, is here.
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY