Finally Found the Real Avoid Highways Option!

[RRou44]

I got my 2025 Sportage Prestige Hybrid in February. I have been just dealing with the fact that in the GPS system I could not avoid highways (apparently); only move Prefer Freeways to the bottom.

After going bonkers, on several different days, I have finally found the option to actually, for true and for real, to avoid highways. I’d been searching online and in the manual and nothing made sense. But since I’ve found it I thought I’d try to help out anyone still suffering or who has just given up. And it’s so (embarrassingly) simple!

Once you have selected your destination, go to menu and select Route. Then select the Route Options. (You might have to do that twice on different areas of the screen because it will depend on how quickly you got to that step).

Under Route Options you’ll see what you’ve probably gotten sick of seeing, the options for Recommended, Fastest, Economical and Prefer Freeway. BUT …

Up above that list, right over the 1 - Recommended, is an icon that looks to me like a funnel. My husband says it’s a filter. Hit that and VOILA, there is the menu with Avoid Freeways right at the very top!

I feel crazy having gone so long not knowing how to find it or just figuring that it’s not available (!!!) but my searches lead me to believe LOTS of people have been stumped by this. So I truly hope this helps at least some of you, finally!

Happy traveling NOT on freeways!

 

[WNJeffers]

That should be useful for anyone who uses the Kia Nav system.

Personally, I have found the Nav system in my 2023 EV Hybrid to be worse than useless. It can and does turn a 4.5 hour drive into over 7 hours. I have found it so totally unreliable that I took the Garmin from my pickup truck and put it on the dash of the Kia. In the event I want to navigate somewhere and I do not know every turn, that is what I will use without fail.

I recently tried to use the Kia Nav system and it wants me to"Reconfigure." I choose that option and nothing. It tells me to contact Kia Connect and gives me a phone number. I may call it someday.

The voice activation ceased working after one year because I declined to send Kia the subscription price for Kia Connect. It has now been more than 2 years since I bought the car. Has Kia now disabled the Nav system altogether? What else will they disable on the car if I choose not to give in to their blackmail?

I have had the Garmin GPS for at least 6 or 8 years. It is vastly more reliable in finding routes and it still works for voice nav input without me paying a subscription.

 

[RRou44]

Hey, thanks for that. I don’t hate the Kia Nav and I’m still on a complementary subscription. But I do also have a Garmin I’ve had for several years and I still swear no nav anywhere beats that one! I’m hanging on to it and I bet I will use it from time to time.