I am so used to walk away locking , I just walk away. The other day I went to the car, but forgot the key in the office. I opened it via the iphone app and got what I needed from the car. When I came back I realised the handles were retracted but the car was open. I guess autolock doesn't work if you unlock with the app.
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Accidentally left the car open
- Thread starter Nigel16494
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- Model S User Interface
green1
Active Member
Without the fob it has no way to know when you walked away to lock it.
You had to manually unlock with the phone, you need to manually lock with the phone afterwards
You had to manually unlock with the phone, you need to manually lock with the phone afterwards
I know, that's why I accidentally left it open. Since I was next to the car , the phone connected to the bluetooth. It knew I walked away.
I left my spare fob in my gym bag in the boot for the first two weeks I had the car.
It still retracts the door handles when you walk away, so I never knew....Lucky all was well!
I took a road trip recently and put my spare fob in the glove box in one of those conductive, RFID-isolation bags; I've used that method before. Somewhere along the way my door handles stopped auto-presenting and it wasn't until I got home and removed the spare fob from the car that I realized why: the isolation bag had failed and my car had been unlocked the whole time. In Chicago.
Cyclone
Cyclonic Member ((.oO))
Also note that if you double-click the fob to unlock the doors, the car will not auto lock. You must use the app, screen, click the fob, or let the car "turn on" before it will auto-lock again.
green1
Active Member
So far we're lucky in that many people don't realize that when the handles are retracted the car might not be locked, there's no visual indicator that your car is unlocked, and that probably deters a bunch of people. As these cars get older and more common we'll lose that extra layer of security.
Cyclone
Cyclonic Member ((.oO))
Be careful. If the car is plugged in, there is an indicator. The green charge light turns off once the car locks up. But if unlocked, it will stay lit forever.
I speak from experience because my prior car didn't have a remote keyfob and I've left my key in the Tesla multiple times. Plus I've unlocked it via fob or app when a passenger goes back to the car to get something and neglect to relock it.
green1
Active Member
Interesting, I always though the light turned off when the handles retracted... (timeout rather than lock)
That said, I don't think that changes much, if someone doesn't know that retracted doesn't mean locked, they probably also don't know that green charge port means unlocked.
As I said, over time we'll lose this added layer of security, and I don't recommend relying on it for even a moment, but it has probably helped us all so far when we have done silly things and accidentally left things unlocked.
e-FTW
New electron smell
It could use BTLE to geofence and detect when you enter and leave the car with your phone. All that would be needed is a BTLE beacon and some code work.
Duckjybe
Member
You don't need to go to this much trouble. Just open the door, hit the lock icon and leave the key in the cubby or cupholder, close the door. It will stay locked. (update: maybe you do with a second key?)
One issue I had with auto lock was when I did not have the key FOB and used my phone to start the car. I took a short drive and forgot my phone when I got out of the car for 2 minutes to drop something off. When I got back the car had auto locked. This was a problem. Good thing I could call my wife to unlock it with her phone. This circumstance could be avoided for forgetful people if Tesla would use bluetooth to see that the phone I used to unlock and start the car was still in the car!
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A couple days ago I walked all the way to my car at lunch time only to realize I left my gig in my desk. No problem, I just unlocked then started my car from my phone. Drove to a Walgreens, got out and walked away...and the car locked itself.
I think the auto lock will engage when the fob is not present, it's not seeing fob walk away, but just as when you unlock the car by pressing the fob, auto-lock will only engage after the car is started.
CHG-ON
Still in love after all these miles
I'm not sure why, but I often walk into my garage and see the green light on, even though the car is locked and the fob is not close enough to be detected. It happens regularly. And the car has been fully charged. It's just a solid green light. I hope it doesn't happen in the outside world. But I have no idea how to check it.
Cyclone
Cyclonic Member ((.oO))
The interval for the green light staying on when he car is locked is longer than the interval when it retracts the handles. I haven't timed it, but I think it's around a full 60 seconds. I realize it when I go to the outside fridge and see the light is on and I know the car is unlocked either because the fob is inside it or someone unlocked it to get something and didn't relock it.
The handles will retract and give the impression it is locked, but the car itself will not lock itself. I think the handles retracting is what is saving most of us.
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