Just returned from a round trip from Crescent City, California to Moab, Utah. A couple of terrifying events took place, and I wanted to share them, with the hope that it might save some members from similar events.
My key fob had stopped working, and since I had purchased a dealer demo, they couldn't find the 2nd key. The manual suggested to put it near the 12 v connector in the console, and sure enough, the car recognized it and was operable. Unfortunately, this meant I could leave the car unlocked (with the key in place) or use my iphone to unlock it. No problem, until Reno on the way back.
The Super Charger was at a huge casino, and I was charging my iphone as I got out to hook up the charger. I happened to look back, and see the door closing, with the phone inside. It locked, and there I was, at 2 am, snow flurries starting, all alone. Panic Attack. There were a total of 2 pay phones in the huge casino. I tried 800 info, and no listing for Tesla road side service. I couldn't remember any phone numbers for my kids or friends (they're all securely in the contacts, inside the car). I finally, after 3 tries, got my 30 year old son. As I explained my situation and begged him to go online and find the Tesla number, he interrupted and said, forget that, what's your password for your Tesla App. I gave it to him, and he unlocked my car from hundreds of miles away! That was great, but next to the unlock on the app is "honk horn", which he proceeded to do several times for me waking him up!
Next emergency came on Hwy 44, in the middle of nowhere, (between Susanville and Mt. Shasta) at a rest stop. This time I was extra careful to take my phone with me. When I returned to the car, I lifted my phone, and OMG, no service. Now I was truly in the middle of nowhere, all alone in a rest stop, outside my locked Tesla. I hiked back to HWY 44, then walked along it for a half mile, holding the phone up above my head. Finally, while there were no bars, that little icon at least showed up. I hit unlock about 40 times, and eventually, the icon showed an unlocked padlock. But sometimes it seemed before that the car would lock itself after a few minutes, so I ran back. (I'm 70 years old, and had been driving for 14 hours). While running, the thought hit me--my carrier is Verizon, which is really good about getting a signal, but the car is ATT, which is not so good in rural Northern California. But, there's a happy ending, it was unlocked, and I could finish my trip....
The happy ending is that, when I gave these details to Tesla, the next day I had a ranger at my house, programming 2 new keys. Other than those emergencies, no problems at all on this long journey.
My key fob had stopped working, and since I had purchased a dealer demo, they couldn't find the 2nd key. The manual suggested to put it near the 12 v connector in the console, and sure enough, the car recognized it and was operable. Unfortunately, this meant I could leave the car unlocked (with the key in place) or use my iphone to unlock it. No problem, until Reno on the way back.
The Super Charger was at a huge casino, and I was charging my iphone as I got out to hook up the charger. I happened to look back, and see the door closing, with the phone inside. It locked, and there I was, at 2 am, snow flurries starting, all alone. Panic Attack. There were a total of 2 pay phones in the huge casino. I tried 800 info, and no listing for Tesla road side service. I couldn't remember any phone numbers for my kids or friends (they're all securely in the contacts, inside the car). I finally, after 3 tries, got my 30 year old son. As I explained my situation and begged him to go online and find the Tesla number, he interrupted and said, forget that, what's your password for your Tesla App. I gave it to him, and he unlocked my car from hundreds of miles away! That was great, but next to the unlock on the app is "honk horn", which he proceeded to do several times for me waking him up!
Next emergency came on Hwy 44, in the middle of nowhere, (between Susanville and Mt. Shasta) at a rest stop. This time I was extra careful to take my phone with me. When I returned to the car, I lifted my phone, and OMG, no service. Now I was truly in the middle of nowhere, all alone in a rest stop, outside my locked Tesla. I hiked back to HWY 44, then walked along it for a half mile, holding the phone up above my head. Finally, while there were no bars, that little icon at least showed up. I hit unlock about 40 times, and eventually, the icon showed an unlocked padlock. But sometimes it seemed before that the car would lock itself after a few minutes, so I ran back. (I'm 70 years old, and had been driving for 14 hours). While running, the thought hit me--my carrier is Verizon, which is really good about getting a signal, but the car is ATT, which is not so good in rural Northern California. But, there's a happy ending, it was unlocked, and I could finish my trip....
The happy ending is that, when I gave these details to Tesla, the next day I had a ranger at my house, programming 2 new keys. Other than those emergencies, no problems at all on this long journey.
