When we bought a used Kia Optima PHEV (off lease) it was missing the Maps SD card that plugs into the infotainment unit, so the onboard maps & navigation did not work. Given that every phone now comes with multiple GPS navigation & mapping options, this wasn’t a deal-breaker, but I was worried that this would be a very expensive dealer only purchase if we ever wanted to get it working.

I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that Kia will sell and ship you an SD card with updated map data and infotainment software for only $25!
The magic website is easy to find: https://update.kia.com/

I was even happier to find out that if I didn’t want to pay the $25 and wait for shipping, I could buy my own 32 GB Class 10 SDHC UHS-1 card (For $10), download their (Windows or Mac only) software and use it to write the data out to the card myself at home!

When I plugged the card into the map unit it didn’t work initially   (“Failed to authenticate navigation”) because the map files I had downloaded to the SD card were for the updated version of the infotainment unit, but their program had also placed the firmware update files on the SD card, so all I had to do was trigger the firmware update from the settings menu (System->Software Info->Update….and wait for a long time while it applied).   And then I had an updated head unit, plus working maps/navigation!

I have to applaud Kia, as this upgrade was so much nicer than the situation with many other auto manufactures.

The GPS/Navigation software on the Head Unit is not as easy to use or as slick as Google Maps, but it has the advantage of being integrated into the car’s dash   (with next turn info in the instrument cluster), as well as working with the car’s built in voice control system.   Plus, as all of the maps are local, it doesn’t need a cellular connection to work, and has EV features such as plotting a circle of your “EV only” range and displaying charging points nearby or along your route. It was well worth spending $10 on an SD card and spending a few hours downloading and applying the update.

Extra Info: The 2017 Kia Optima PHEV comes with the “Standard Gen4” unit, and when we purchased it the software version number was:
ST.JFPHEV.USA.E520.160728
SUBM.ST.JFPHEV.1008.151014

Also note that the software for the Kia Optima PHEV head unit is different from the standard Kia Optima Hybrid (which has a smaller battery with no external charging and doesn’t have an “EV ONLY” mode), so be sure to download the right version for your vehicle.