California FasTrak Positioning Requirements

[Larry]

This is the response I received from the most helpful customer service when I disputed charges.
The flex tag works fine everywhere except 680 when it’s turned 90 degrees to the right of the mirror.
Wtf do I do with this idiotic response?

Thank you for contacting the Bay Area FasTrak Customer Service As a one- time courtesy, we have credited $1.00 back to your FasTrak account. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

The I680 Express lanes require all carpoolers, motorcycles, and eligible clean air vehicles to acquire our new FasTrak Flex Toll Tag. This toll tag works as a standard FasTrak™ toll tag but also has a three-position switch signal whether you are traveling as a carpool or alone. Please be aware that specialized windshields may block the tag from detection. We suggest to contact your vehicle manufacturer, if you are having trouble getting your device to read. For further assistance, please contact our Customer Service Center at 1-877-BAY-TOLL(1-877-229-8655).


Thank you,

 

[Kumquat]

I continue to struggle to find the right location/orientation to have my "candy bar" toll tag work on I680. It works some days, other days not. I've change toll tags and rotated 180 degrees on both so the candy bar is vertical in the shaded area just to the right of the rear view mirror. Alas nothing works. Maybe it needs to be horizontal? Maybe I need to put it on my rear tailgate window? Anyone know where the antenna is located on this candy bar?

And don't get me started with trying to get credit from Customer Service. I must have logged half a dozen complaints, every one of them get handed off to another department to only get a few dollars in credit 2-3 months later. *sigh*

 

[Larry]

Beyond frustrating. What I don’t get is why it works perfect every time on 580 Livermore and the bridges but never on 680 and the twists at FasTrak could care less

 

[gbdesai]

Same on 680 (which is mainly what I drive), I thought it was working in the rear tailgate window; saw no charges for a month, then suddenly they appeared and showed it tagged my plates vs. the flextag. Annoying. Tesla really needs to fix part of the windshield to allow a signal through.

 

[Mint137]

Resurrecting this old thread since I have a 2016 Model S and issues with Fastrak. I’ve got one of the new fangled CAV tags and have tried pretty much every location I can think of and they don’t seem to work. Has anyone else figured out a working location for this newer tag style?

Tried: Front Windshield right of the rear view mirror. Trunk window: Top right, top left, top center, bottom center. Also tried upside down and right side up in each location.

 

[DcruzD]

Resurrecting this old thread since I have a 2016 Model S and issues with Fastrak. I’ve got one of the new fangled CAV tags and have tried pretty much every location I can think of and they don’t seem to work. Has anyone else figured out a working location for this newer tag style?

Tried: Front Windshield right of the rear view mirror. Trunk window: Top right, top left, top center, bottom center. Also tried upside down and right side up in each location.
View attachment 759830

No luck in all places for me either. Sucks

 

[roblab]

Resurrecting this old thread since I have a 2016 Model S and issues with Fastrak. I’ve got one of the new fangled CAV tags and have tried pretty much every location I can think of and they don’t seem to work. Has anyone else figured out a working location for this newer tag style?

I have mine stuck behind the front bumper in front of the hood. It reads just fine going through all the tolls I use, as the plastic bumper doesn't seem to interfere. Maybe the new tags will give me pain, but it seems that thousands of people are using them with no problems.

 

[Mint137]

The annoying thing is the older candy bar style ones with batteries will work in the various locations I've tried, but I need to use the CAV one provided to get the proper discounts and not get ticketed by CHP.

I have mine stuck behind the front bumper in front of the hood. It reads just fine going through all the tolls I use, as the plastic bumper doesn't seem to interfere. Maybe the new tags will give me pain, but it seems that thousands of people are using them with no problems.

I assume you have the older battery style ones, not the CAV one pictured, since that wouldn't be convienent to switch passenger numbers.

 

[Mint137]

A year and half later and after driving a whole lot to test: I ended making a custom 3D printed enclosure that mounts the Fastrak Flex outside of the vehicle above the license plate that is based on the SnapPlate license plate mount. It replaces their license plate "H" shaped bracket but uses their base.

SnapPlate (Model S) No-Drill, No-Adhesive Front License Plate Mount

Safety-optimized SnapPlate front license plate mounts have a clean, minimal design that installs and removes in seconds with no screws or adhesives on the 2012-2016 Tesla Model S.

everyamp.com

It does come with some compromises:
- It reads depending on the freeway, sometimes it does fail to read on toll roads. It seems to register consistently on all bridges. (I'm okay with this since before it basically didn't work at all inside the vehicle).
- It requires that you set the amount of people before getting in the car.
- It does require disassembly of the Fastrak Flex CAV to keep the design relatively slim.

Overall still not ideal, but it is better than nothing. As far as I know, the Model 3/Y doesn't have to deal with metallic windshields, and only the earlier Model S/Xs have this (2016 and earlier).

 

[coder]

It reads depending on the freeway, sometimes it does fail to read on toll roads. It seems to register consistently on all bridges. (I'm okay with this since before it basically didn't work at all inside the vehicle).

The question is: does it work on 680? I have mine mounted on the rear screen (2015 Model S) and it mostly doesn't work on 680.
Very frustrating, and I wonder how much more money Fastrak takes in as a result. Clearly the incentives aren't aligned.

 

[Mint137]

The question is: does it work on 680? I have mine mounted on the rear screen (2015 Model S) and it mostly doesn't work on 680.
Very frustrating, and I wonder how much more money Fastrak takes in as a result. Clearly the incentives aren't aligned.

Unfortunately the 680 is the most problematic, and it's definitely used my license plate to charge me instead of reading the toll tag multiple times (disputed each time). I typically only take the toll lanes when I get free access, so it's hard to keep track of when it is working since there's no line item that shows up for free uses. I've also used it on the 580 several times, which appears to be more reliable for some reason and not used my plate to charge me (has charged me via toll tag once when they switched to half price for CAV solo drivers).

It might be just too low for some of the scanners, but also it's inconsistent. I feel like Fastrak is just willing to tolerate the issues with this because the new tags are so much cheaper to distribute than the old active ones. My tag works across the bridges so it's definitely some sort of difference between how the express lanes read vs the toll booths.

I'm willing to live with it for now and just dispute any plate reads. Once my CAV tag expires I'll switch back to one of my remaining active Flex tags so I don't have to deal with it, but that might not be an option if you don't have any old ones laying around.

 

[turtlebud]

So I found a location that works on my 2017 Model S with the help of a fastrak employee. TLDR - it's the lower right side of the front windshield (passenger side). It's worked ever since I put it there (worked = not charged when set to 3).

Using the express lane on 680 (both North & South) never read my fastrak transponder. I tried mounting it to the right of the rear view mirror and also tried the rear window, but nothing worked. When I get charged in these cases, I just submit a dispute online to fastrak and they just credit my account. This time, I got a letter that said they need to follow up so I called in. I explained my situation and asked if they had any suggestions on where to mount it. He suggested I mount in the lower right side of the windshield - this was the first time I've heard this. I was skeptical it would work so I had my wife hold it in the lower right side of the windshield when we drove the 680 express lane. I checked a week later and was shocked to see I wasn't charged for using the express lane. I have since mounted it there and haven't been charged since.