Auto Homelink issues?

[araxara]

Every time I pull up to my drive from the left side, the garage door opens but immediately stops. I have to click on homelink twice to get it to open all the way. When I pull up from the right side, it opens up on one try. Any idea on what could cause this? I reset the location multiple times and reprogrammed homelink.

My guess would be that the car sends the signal repeatedly for a long time (or at least twice) - you can see this animated next to the button. There is probably a signal dropout (maybe due to the placement of your garage door opener antenna), so it looks like 2 transmissions to your opener - one to open and the next to close. The open/close signal is the same.

 

[asrose]

Same problem here as others in this 23 page forum although a conversation with the local SC acts as though they have never heard of the problem:

1) Auto-Open works almost all the time unless I am driving slowly up the driveway as it triggers too soon (would be nice if you could program the distance from the door at which to trigger)
2) Auto-Close rarely works (I back in to charge and when I pull out - i.e. forward - it triggers some 10 feet from the garage door).

It seems that the rear facing signal is extremely weak (continue reading please).

Potential Solutions:
I tried adding a long wire antenna to the garage door opener, and even made a dipole antenna without any improvement. Someone in the forum mentioned that "a rubber chicken on the dash was helpful" in solving the problem but I haven't gotten that desperate yet (lol) . Wife suggested that instead of turning the car around to face the front of the car toward the garage door, simply add a cheap garage door opener to the sun visor. That works perfectly and has quite a long distance range (testament to my antenna making skills no doubt) although it sure looks tacky and not befitting a $100k car. Any rate, that leads to the only logical conclusion that the problem is the lack of rear signal strength from the 2016 Model S Homelink transmitter. It is triggering properly and at the right location but the range from the rear is just very poor either due to i) a problem with the car's homelink transmitter, ii) the lack of a rear antenna in the Model S, or iii) the front antenna is too directional and narrow beamed.

Will take it to the SC soon for their assessment. If anyone has a definitive solution, I will appreciate their advice.

 

[mspohr]

Same problem here as others in this 23 page forum although a conversation with the local SC acts as though they have never heard of the problem:

1) Auto-Open works almost all the time unless I am driving slowly up the driveway as it triggers too soon (would be nice if you could program the distance from the door at which to trigger)
2) Auto-Close rarely works (I back in to charge and when I pull out - i.e. forward - it triggers some 10 feet from the garage door).

It seems that the rear facing signal is extremely weak (continue reading please).

Potential Solutions:
I tried adding a long wire antenna to the garage door opener, and even made a dipole antenna without any improvement. Someone in the forum mentioned that "a rubber chicken on the dash was helpful" in solving the problem but I haven't gotten that desperate yet (lol) . Wife suggested that instead of turning the car around to face the front of the car toward the garage door, simply add a cheap garage door opener to the sun visor. That works perfectly and has quite a long distance range (testament to my antenna making skills no doubt) although it sure looks tacky and not befitting a $100k car. Any rate, that leads to the only logical conclusion that the problem is the lack of rear signal strength from the 2016 Model S Homelink transmitter. It is triggering properly and at the right location but the range from the rear is just very poor either due to i) a problem with the car's homelink transmitter, ii) the lack of a rear antenna in the Model S, or iii) the front antenna is too directional and narrow beamed.

Will take it to the SC soon for their assessment. If anyone has a definitive solution, I will appreciate their advice.

I'm not sure what the problem is...
- It opens automatically when you drive up the driveway... what is "too soon"... the door is open when you get there, right?
- It closes after you leave the garage. (I personally wouldn't want it to start closing too soon... 10 feet sounds about right and is about what mine does.)

Am I missing something?

 

[msnow]

I'm not sure what the problem is...
- It opens automatically when you drive up the driveway... what is "too soon"... the door is open when you get there, right?
- It closes after you leave the garage. (I personally wouldn't want it to start closing too soon... 10 feet sounds about right and is about what mine does.)

Am I missing something?

You can program both the distance when it starts to close and opens.

 

[Spyder14]

I wrote in a previous post that what worked for me on both the Model S & Audi A7 was to add an antenna extension to the garage door's single wire antenna. This seems to have resolved these issues--the Audi has a Homelink system as well & seemed to be very weak or linear in its signal path. I bought the antenna on Amazon & was easy to install. If you want me to show you more (photos and/or Amazon link), let me know.

 

[sdorn]

You can program both the distance when it starts to close and opens.

How?

 

[msnow]

How?

I'm doing this from memory because it's been over a year but if you delete your Homelink setting and start over it will use the distance your car is parked from your driveway door when your configuring it for autoopen. So, if you want it to open sooner you can configure it farther from the garage door.
For autoclose mine is set at 20 feet which, as I recal, was configurable.

 

[araxara]

I'm doing this from memory because it's been over a year but if you delete your Homelink setting and start over it will use the distance your car is parked from your driveway door when your configuring it for autoopen. So, if you want it to open sooner you can configure it farther from the garage door.
For autoclose mine is set at 20 feet which, as I recal, was configurable.

I'm not being snarky, but it's painful to watch people flailing around trying to describe what is needed to set set auto-open distance. When in doubt read the manual:

Resetting the Location of the HomeLink Device

If you experience situations in which you sometimes drive up to your HomeLink Device and it doesn't open, or the HomeLink icon on the touchscreen's status bar does not display the dropdown when you approach the device, you may need to reset the device's location. To do so, park as close as possible to the HomeLink device (garage door, gate, etc.) and display the HomeLink settings page by touching Controls > Settings > HomeLink. Choose the name of the programmed device, and touch Reset Location.​

 

[sdorn]

I'm not being snarky, but it's painful to watch people flailing around trying to describe what is needed to set set auto-open distance. When in doubt read the manual:

Resetting the Location of the HomeLink Device

If you experience situations in which you sometimes drive up to your HomeLink Device and it doesn't open, or the HomeLink icon on the touchscreen's status bar does not display the dropdown when you approach the device, you may need to reset the device's location. To do so, park as close as possible to the HomeLink device (garage door, gate, etc.) and display the HomeLink settings page by touching Controls > Settings > HomeLink. Choose the name of the programmed device, and touch Reset Location.​

This procedure doesn't allow you to set the distance from your garage that the signal goes off (unless maybe if you want it to go off further away from your garage). I've reset my location many times, and the car still sends the open signal a good 50 feet from my garage door which is way too far away for the opener to receive it. Many, many others have the same problem, and we've even asked Tesla to add a feature where you can set the distance from the garage that the signal is generated. All they've told me is that they will submit it to the "appropriate team" as a new feature request.

 

[araxara]

This procedure doesn't allow you to set the distance from your garage that the signal goes off (unless maybe if you want it to go off further away from your garage). I've reset my location many times, and the car still sends the open signal a good 50 feet from my garage door which is way too far away for the opener to receive it. Many, many others have the same problem, and we've even asked Tesla to add a feature where you can set the distance from the garage that the signal is generated. All they've told me is that they will submit it to the "appropriate team" as a new feature request.

Yes, it's a pain right now. But in my case, it seems to properly judge the distance and when it counts down to 0, I'm about 5 feet from the garage door. I had reset the device location while the car was inside the garage (my garage door opener is actually by the garage door). It's obviously using GPS to determine the location, so maybe if you park in front of the garage door and wait a while before resetting it will work better. Zoom in and check the map display to make sure your car is actually located in front of your garage. I have found that sometimes backing in/out while inside the garage has made the auto-close function work, so maybe you should back in/out a few times until the car is properly positioned on your map display.

 

[msnow]

Yes, it's a pain right now. But in my case, it seems to properly judge the distance and when it counts down to 0, I'm about 5 feet from the garage door. I had reset the device location while the car was inside the garage (my garage door opener is actually by the garage door). It's obviously using GPS to determine the location, so maybe if you park in front of the garage door and wait a while before resetting it will work better. Zoom in and check the map display to make sure your car is actually located in front of your garage. I have found that sometimes backing in/out while inside the garage has made the auto-close function work, so maybe you should back in/out a few times until the car is properly positioned on your map display.

Now you're flailing. .

 

[Cyclone]

This procedure doesn't allow you to set the distance from your garage that the signal goes off (unless maybe if you want it to go off further away from your garage). I've reset my location many times, and the car still sends the open signal a good 50 feet from my garage door which is way too far away for the opener to receive it. Many, many others have the same problem, and we've even asked Tesla to add a feature where you can set the distance from the garage that the signal is generated. All they've told me is that they will submit it to the "appropriate team" as a new feature request.

Yes, it's a pain right now. But in my case, it seems to properly judge the distance and when it counts down to 0, I'm about 5 feet from the garage door. I had reset the device location while the car was inside the garage (my garage door opener is actually by the garage door). It's obviously using GPS to determine the location, so maybe if you park in front of the garage door and wait a while before resetting it will work better. Zoom in and check the map display to make sure your car is actually located in front of your garage. I have found that sometimes backing in/out while inside the garage has made the auto-close function work, so maybe you should back in/out a few times until the car is properly positioned on your map display.

I have found it better to reset the location when returning home from a trip, so the GPS has a good lock on the location. 99% success rate for me. The few times it hasn't auto-closed (always auto-opens properly for me), I also have a visited charger at one of my neighbors.

 

[AWDtsla]

My homelink seems to be +/- 60 feet with the newer firmwares, even though the nav screen confirms it thinks the car is in the right location.

BUG.

 

[ohmman]

OK, I haven't seen this reported but I've had it happen numerous times. Has anyone else with multiple Homelink devices seen this - when the auto homelink triggers, it shows the "signal" icon flashing on the wrong Homelink device? I have "House Garage" and "Pool Garage" as well as "Gate". My "House Garage" is on auto-Homelink. My "Pool Garage" is not, but both of them are geolocated very nearby. I will often, but not always, see the "Pool Garage" signal flash as if auto Homelink is opening the wrong door. Thankfully, it doesn't, but it is definitely a bug.

I'm just curious if anyone else has noticed it.

 

[BertL]

OK, I haven't seen this reported but I've had it happen numerous times. Has anyone else with multiple Homelink devices seen this - when the auto homelink triggers, it shows the "signal" icon flashing on the wrong Homelink device? I have "House Garage" and "Pool Garage" as well as "Gate". My "House Garage" is on auto-Homelink. My "Pool Garage" is not, but both of them are geolocated very nearby. I will often, but not always, see the "Pool Garage" signal flash as if auto Homelink is opening the wrong door. Thankfully, it doesn't, but it is definitely a bug.

I'm just curious if anyone else has noticed it.

I have not encountered this through my present 2.52.22 release, but then I am one of the fortunate owners that set Homelink up for both of my garage doors just one time when it first became available, and I have not touched the settings or had an issue since.

I have two side-by-side garage doors, both defined to Homelink on my MS, but only one that is set to trigger automatically where my MS generally parks. In case it's a difference in our implementations, I also tend to open the door manually via the Homelink screen or hardwired opener in my garage; back out and let Homelink autoclose the door. Homelink similarly opens my door as I pull into my driveway and once I exit my MS, I manually close the door via the Homelink screen or hardwired opener on my garage wall.​

 

[Frankman60]

I also have the problem where the car transmits the Homelink signal too soon as I am approaching my garage. I tried resetting the location in every position posssible but it still transmits too early. For the Homelink signal to be received by the garage opener my car must be within 10 feet of the garage door. The closest I can get the car to transmit the Homelink signal is when the car is about 30 feet from the garage door, and that was accomplished by resetting the location while my car was nose first all the way into the garage. I realize that a 10 foot garage opener range is not normal, but it would be nice if Tesla would add the ability to enter a transmission distance as the poster below described.

This procedure doesn't allow you to set the distance from your garage that the signal goes off (unless maybe if you want it to go off further away from your garage). I've reset my location many times, and the car still sends the open signal a good 50 feet from my garage door which is way too far away for the opener to receive it. Many, many others have the same problem, and we've even asked Tesla to add a feature where you can set the distance from the garage that the signal is generated. All they've told me is that they will submit it to the "appropriate team" as a new feature request.

 

[BertL]

I also have the problem where the car transmits the Homelink signal too soon as I am approaching my garage. I tried resetting the location in every position posssible but it still transmits too early. For the Homelink signal to be received by the garage opener my car must be within 10 feet of the garage door. The closest I can get the car to transmit the Homelink signal is when the car is about 30 feet from the garage door, and that was accomplished by resetting the location while my car was nose first all the way into the garage. I realize that a 10 foot garage opener range is not normal, but it would be nice if Tesla would add the ability to enter a transmission distance as the poster below described.

Fundamental issue I believe is the physical location of Tesla's internal MS Homelink transmitter isn't physically placed as optimum as it is in some other vehicles. From my experience, each of my different vehicles (Tesla, BMW, MBZ, multiple Lexus) all had different distances where their internal Homelink would and would not work with my same garage doors. You perhaps already have, but be sure to check other posts in this thread and others here on TMC for ideas how to extend the range of your garage door opener itself (alternatives vary based on your type of opener, but sometimes appear to be as simple as increasing the length of the antenna wire on your garage door opener). Since we can't change the hardware in our MS, perhaps improving your opener's range will improve your situation. It has for some. Good luck.

 

[EVie'sDad]

perhaps the issue is two-fold. Manual opening versus automatic opening.

I don't use the automatic open/close functionality, however I want the popup to appear as I approach my driveway so i can manually trigger it (would be nice to be able to do that from the steering wheel - elon are you listening?) I therefore set the location to be outside the garage at the distance I want the popup to appear.

For automatic opening however, if it is geofenced in some manner, seems to be triggering when with a certain range of the location set. I suggest therefore those that want to use this feature try to save the location setting to where they park their car INSIDE the garage, that way, as you approach the trigger is done but not too far away.

I know it is difficult to explain, and understand why Tesla has not tried to clarify it further. It's all a matter of preference and which setting you decide to apply.

 

[sdorn]

perhaps the issue is two-fold. Manual opening versus automatic opening.

I don't use the automatic open/close functionality, however I want the popup to appear as I approach my driveway so i can manually trigger it (would be nice to be able to do that from the steering wheel - elon are you listening?) I therefore set the location to be outside the garage at the distance I want the popup to appear.

For automatic opening however, if it is geofenced in some manner, seems to be triggering when with a certain range of the location set. I suggest therefore those that want to use this feature try to save the location setting to where they park their car INSIDE the garage, that way, as you approach the trigger is done but not too far away.

I know it is difficult to explain, and understand why Tesla has not tried to clarify it further. It's all a matter of preference and which setting you decide to apply.

Many of us have tried that and it didn't help. I set my location with the car as far into the garage as possible, but it still auto-triggers about 50 feet away from my house where there is no possibility of the garage opener getting the signal. It closes the garage automatically just fine though, firing the signal right at about 10 - 15 feet from my garage after I've backed out.

I use Smart Things for home automation, and had already installed garage door controllers that work with Smart Things. I was able to use Eve Connect for Tesla and IFTTT to create a button in the web browser that triggers my arriving at home routine (opens garage, turns on lights, unlocks door to house from garage, etc.). That works over the internet so no range concerns. I would automate it using geofencing, but that is too unreliable and you end up getting false arrivals and departures that open/close your garage door randomly which isn't good.

I can also trigger that same routine using Alexa on the Amazon Tap I have in my car if I want to be completely hands free or if the web browser isn't open to the Eve Connect page.

 

[jeffro01]

FWIW... Two updates ago when they introduced the chime option, my auto close when I leave went from working 100% of the time to maybe 10-20% of the time now... Before that, it worked 100% of the time both ways... Still works perfectly coming home...

Jeff