2014 Soul Base Add Cruise Control

159806 Views 420 Replies 121 Participants Last post by George Miklas, 3 mo ago

billaz

Discussion Starter · Mar 22, 2014

Hey Guys,

This is the process I went through to add cruise control to my 2014 base Soul with manual transmission. This has been a long journey but its finally paying off. One lesson learned was to never let the dealer discourage you. So below are the simple steps to follow to add cruise control in.

Step 1: Order the parts. All you need here is the physical cruise control switch and a new harness inside the steering wheel so that the cruise control switch can be plugged into the clock spring. Don't let the dealer tell you that you need anything else. The following part numbers are what I ordered. I'm not sure if these change for different colors, but if your current wheel looks like mine in the photos, these are the ones you need. It should be a little over $100. If they are charging much more than that, they may be ripping you off.

Part Numbers:
Steering wheel harness: 56190-B2400
Cruise Control Switch (Black): 96700-B2100ASB

Step 2:Remove the wheel. Unfortunately, to do this right the wheel needs to come off. First thing to come out is the airbag. There are 3 holes around the side of the wheel that allow access to the airbag release pins. You need a small screw drive to push on the release pins all the way around. After all the pins are released, the airbag slides out (no screws or bolts). Then you can disconnect the wiring going to the airbag. PLEASE DO THIS WITH THE BATTERY DISCONNECTED! With the airbag out of the way, unscrew the nut in the center of the wheel. Use a Sharpie to mark the wheel and steering shaft so that you can easily line the wheel back up when reinstalling (you don't want to have the wheel ****ed when you are driving straight). I was able to remove my wheel without a puller. If you are not using a puller, be very careful not to damage the threads on the shaft.

Step 3: Build the wheel. At this point, you will need to completely disassemble the back of the wheel. After removing the 6 or so screws, the black plastic cover should pop off. Remove the existing harness and install the new one plugging in the connections to all steering wheel switches. I highly recommend that you test it, at this point. All of the switches use the exact same plug. So if you mix them up your audio buttons will be setting the cruise control and Bluetooth could be changing channels. We don't want that. Install the new switch and reassemble to steering wheel.

Step 4: Reinstall the steering wheel. Be sure to line this up with the Sharpie markings you made in step 1. Tighten on the nut to the steering shaft. Make sure all plugs are fully seated into the clock spring. Reinstall the airbag. MAKE SURE THE BATTERY IS STILL DISCONNECTED. We don't want that thing going off on you. Once the airbag is plugged in and snapped into place, you are ready to enjoy your new cruise control.

I hope this helps everyone out there who really wanted this feature. I'm personally very happy. My local dealer wanted $699 for an aftermarket kit to be added. This was less than 1/5 the cost and gave me factory results.

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jdmartin

· #2 · Mar 23, 2014

excellent job Billaz! I suspected this would be all you need, even though I don't have a 2014. Nice that someone took the plunge and gave it a shot.

2 notes for posterity: A, if you forget to mark the steering wheel, fear not. There should be an orientation dot on the shaft, or at least there was on mine. Just put the top of the wheel at the top of that dot. B, if you don't have a steering wheel puller, no problem. Loosen the steering column nut almost all the way but *don't take it off*. Then when you pull on the wheel from the back, it won't come flinging off and strike you in the head, or, worse, screw up your clock spring.

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jdmartin

· #9 · Apr 1, 2014

nickb45502 said:
I do have a question though, was this Plug and Play or did you need a ECU Flash? From what you've all said, its Plug and Play, I'm just trying to figure this out before i take the plunge.

It is plug and play. The capability is already built into the BCM.

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jdmartin

· #12 · Apr 11, 2014

Hughesm51787 said:
when you said to test it in step three, could you please describe your steps at this point. I'm in the same boat , base model with manuel trans and no CC. Just ordered parts. Thanks

Well, there's no real way to "test" the cruise control without going down the road. If the lights come on - they don't on the 2012/2013, but I seem to remember someone saying they do on the 2014 - you can just turn the key on and press the "cruise" switch. But doing this with the airbag out is going to throw your airbag light.

I personally would ignore the "test" instructions until the wheel is back together and you're driving down the road. Either it works or it doesn't, and you can still use the wheel if it doesn't work, and it takes a couple of minutes to take it all back apart. So put everything together, plug it in, put it back together, and give it a shot. If you get it plugged in right it should work no problem.

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jdmartin

· #29 · Apr 28, 2014

GeoSoul said:
Just wanted to thank you, Billaz, for getting the ball rolling on the cruise control issue. When I made the choice to buy the 2014 MT Soul, the ONLY thing I compromised on was cruise control. I hated that it didn't come installed, and worse, the dealer said it CANNOT be installed. I put mine in last weekend and wow, looks amazing and works flawlessly. I feel in appreciation to you the installation should be named "The Billaz Procedure."

Actually, and this is not to diss billazz who is probably a nice guy

- we need people to do work on new versions of vehicles - but the procedure should be called the "msnider" procedure. MSnider was the first one to figure out that if you add a steering wheel with the controls, cruise works. Without that, no one, not even 2014 buyers, would have cruise control.

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jdmartin

· #30 · Apr 28, 2014

PS: Regarding the automatic AC, I would say you probably cleared a programming bit in the computer. Most new cars operate this way, including all of the ones I've bought in the last 10 years. I also find it annoying but, hey, life is all about being annoyed

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jdmartin

· #32 · Apr 29, 2014

rickdg said:
I vote for Billaz Procedure. The step by step process should be the name - not the concept.
My thanks too to Billaz!

:tongue-new: There wouldn't be any step-by-step process if not for MSnider. Further, billazz himself would tell you he went down this path through this thread: http://www.kiasoulforums.com/2-soul...-soul-manual-transmission-cruise-control.html , heavily coached by me :applause: .

Billazz seems like a pretty cool guy but I gotta look out for my homey MSnider :smile:

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jdmartin

· #35 · May 7, 2014

Carlsoti said:
Installed my new CC today. I'm digging it.

FWIW, the tire iron from a 2003 2.5L Nissan altima fits the steering wheel nut perfectly!

I love it - now that is creative!

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jdmartin

· #37 · May 7, 2014

billaz said:
Hey Guys,

Just helped a friend do this install again last night. I just thought I would clarify on marking the steering wheel. I believe someone in a previous post mentioned there was an orientation dot for aligning the wheel. NOT TRUE. If you do not mark the wheel, it will go on any way from Tuesday. So unless you have a very trained eye to put it on the exact way you removed it, I recommend marking the wheel. My friend was actually replacing his base wheel with the redline edition, so it didn't matter. Looks great though.

I went out and looked at my (2013) wheel just to see if I could remember what I was talking about. I can't remember what was on the steering shaft, but there is a little "square" at the wheel splines that indicate exact 12PM on the wheel. I notice a small dot of white paint on my wheel, which probably means that I marked it against the steering shaft. So the "dot" I was referring to may have been the square on the wheel, I can't remember for sure now since it's been 1.5 years. I seem to remember a raised dot on the steering shaft that correlated to the indentation on the steering wheel, but it could have been my imagination. I'll have to look for a steering shaft picture now! And I have a 2013, so it may be different on the 2014.

Yes, the wheel will go on the shaft any way possible. That's why it makes the most sense to have the wheels straight ahead and the wheel centered at 12PM before taking it off the shaft. If you do get it wrong, however, it's a 10 minute job to make the correction. You'll just have to live with a crooked wheel until you make the correction

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jdmartin

· #40 · May 14, 2014

nickb45502 said:
Went to my dealer to get parts, they were clueless as to if it was possible, so I showed them this article. They are willing to use my vehicle as the test subject to see if it is but for 2 hours worth of labor. So should I have them do it? And is there anybody in southwest or northeast Ohio that could do it for me? I've never had to pull a wheel off and I don't want to screw anything up.

There's nothing to it. You really can't screw anything up if you take your time. Pull the battery cable. Wait 5 minutes. Unscrew the airbag. Pull it out and disconnect the connectors. Unbolt the wheel (leave the nut on the last two threads or so). Unhook the audio connector plug. Make sure the wheel is in the 12 Oclock position. Put a dab of paint on the wheel and the steering shaft to mark the alignment. Pull on the wheel evenly from both sides. Take the nut off and take the wheel off. Put the new wheel on in the same relative position as the old wheel was. Do everything else in reverse.

If you're real nervous about it, 2 hours of labor sounds pretty cheap to have cruise control, even if it's 100 bucks an hour at the dealer. You couldn't get an aftermarket cruise installed for $200 in my opinion.

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jdmartin

· #55 · Jun 8, 2014

GeoSoul said:
Nice work kcalk55! It's a great feeling to add the "missing link" to the Base Soul. I agree with you, Kia should have made this an option. I think most people would have been willing to pay upwards of $500 (guess?) for a dealer install, I know I would have. The profit margin would be huge for them. They left millions on the table by not offering CC. But then, they needed to prove somehow this is a "base" model, so they left something out for marketing purposes. I'm guessing the same is true with the other missing link: center armrest. With CC added, my Soul has more features and is quieter & rides as well as the Acura I traded in for it. Hardly what I would call "base."

If you can, post a picture when you get the Red Line steering wheel in.

Again, good job!

Because they want to move automatic Souls. You might be willing to pay another 500 bucks for cruise control, but were you willing to pay another 2 grand for automatic and cruise?

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jdmartin

· #59 · Jun 9, 2014

GeoSoul said:
I agree with you 100% jdmartin, spot on analysis. Moving buyers to the automatic & adding some extra features gets the price up really fast (and profits for Kia). It's not even just Kia, seems like the few new cars that come with stick shifts are all sold as "base" models. I truly believe most of the people on this board who bought stick shifts bought them because they love to drive manual transmissions, not to get the "cheapest" model they can. Imagine an Exclaim Whole Shebang with a manual.....sweet! But I guess there wouldn't be enough buyers for it???

I was sad to see the Sportage succumbed to this trend, no more manual transmission starting this year.

Lets hope, like vinyl records, for a come back of the manual tranny. I was glad to see Honda offer the new Accord in a stick.

Thanks

. I'm in both camps. I bought the base because it was the cheapest thing I could buy - I use the Soul as a economy commuter - and I love driving a manual, so getting it cheapest is a bonus. Most every car I've owned in my life was a manual, but I agree with Shaggy that manuals are an endangered species. There will still be manuals in sports cars but eventually they won't be cheaper to build than a CVT or similar and that will be the end. Right now you can get manuals in small cars and in foreign cars because manuals by and far rule the rest of the world outside of Canada and the US. So for a car made in Japan, Korea, or Europe, they're already making manuals in abundance and really cheap, so there's no real cost to add them as an option for US bound cars. For cars made here, or only for this market, I'd be surprised if there were any manuals available other than a few sports cars. Americans like automatics and I would guess less than 25% of the population can even drive a stick.

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jdmartin

· #329 · Apr 3, 2017

This is where the real value of car forums shine - how many people out there just do without, or get some funky system from a dealer or 3rd party aftermarket?

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2014 Soul Base Add Cruise Control

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