Can I keep the driver door from auto-presenting with the fob?

[pdx3181]

Had a scary situation this morning.

I parallel parked on a city street to grab a cup of coffee. As I began to walk up the sidewalk, on the passenger side of the car, it dawned on me that my door is set to auto-present.

I looked back over my shoulder and saw a bus coming up the street.

I stopped so as to not get the key within the distance to auto-present the front door and risk having it torn off by the bus.

Once the bus passed, I approached from the rear and the door swung all the way open - as it's programmed to do.

Is there a way to stop the auto-presenting door with the fob, in case I don't remember to turn it off when I parallel park?

Thanks in advance!

 

[digicool]

If I remember this right, just press the lock button on the fob as you are approaching the car and the car will not autopresent the door. My worry would be that I'd forget to do that. For that reason I have left it turned off eventhough I love this feature.

 

[Need]

That sounds scary! I thought the auto present will only pop open the door when you are close, and only open fully when you walk pass the door from front to back? At least that seems to be what all the videos show on youtube. I have the PUP ordered on our MX so we will be getting that to test it in a few weeks.

 

[TOBASH]

You can go into the menu in the car preferences to stop this issue. If not, go to your service center and they will show you how.

 

[ToddS]

I will definitely try this because I have had similar issues.

Another situation to be careful about -> opening your passenger's door (or your door) when you are parked in the street when cars are coming by. While it is a nice feature to have a button to open the doors, opening just before a car is driving by very close could spell trouble.

 

[RVD98072]

You can turn it off in the settings.

If you walk up to the car from behind, it will open up all the way as you walk up to the car.

If you walk to the drivers side from the front, it will open up a little bit and then open up all the way when you pass the front door.

 

[Need]

If you walk up to the car from behind, it will open up all the way as you walk up to the car.

If you walk to the drivers side from the front, it will open up a little bit and then open up all the way when you pass the front door.

I see. So when parallel parked, you should always come from the front of the car, wait until traffic passed and walk pass the door to get in.

 

[pdx3181]

I actually did a little testing - in a safe parking lot - today.

It appears that I can stand on the passenger side of the car and not activate the self-presenting doors.

It also appears that until I am in the middle of the driver's side rear passenger (FWD) door the door does not auto-present fully.

(It did crack open a few times, but only a couple of inches.)

I have much more faith I won't open it into traffic by walking up to it.

Today marks my 7th day with the car so I am still learning.

 

[Ruffles]

I haven't had any close calls with traffic but I have had the door open while I was washing the car so now I always remember to disable this when needed.

Have you tried approaching from the front of the car? Mine only cracks a couple of inches and then waits for me to pass the front door and stand in front of the FWD before it opens. If I approach from the back of the car, it opens all of the way as I get to the FWD.

 

[ToddS]

One other tip for those new to the self presenting doors: if there is some wind in the area, it can catch the door and swing it open, even if there is another car parked next to you. So if it is windy out, be careful.

 

[kev1n]

if and when i do pick up an X, this is probably the first feature i would turn off. seems cool/nice to have but it honestly feels more troublesome when it doesnt go your way

 

[pdx3181]

I haven't had any close calls with traffic but I have had the door open while I was washing the car so now I always remember to disable this when needed.

Have you tried approaching from the front of the car? Mine only cracks a couple of inches and then waits for me to pass the front door and stand in front of the FWD before it opens. If I approach from the back of the car, it opens all of the way as I get to the FWD.

That I actually learned here, before my car arrived!

 

[vandacca]

Before receiving my X, I had already decided that this auto-presenting door feature was a gimmick and I immediately turned it during the delivery process.

3 months into my ownership, I heard on TMC that Tesla had improved the algorithm, so I thought I'd give it a 1 week try. I haven't turned it off since, absolutely love it. It killed me driving a loaner S for 4 weeks.

I know that there are locations where it will fail (eg. poll or bike handle-bar near the front door outside sensor visibility) and situations where it can be a problem (like paralleled parked on a busy street), but it's become second nature to anticipate these doors and know how to keep them safe.

Depending on your environment and use-cases, it may not work for you. But I do have XPel on the whole car, so when it does lightly touch an obstacle in my garage (about twice a year), I'm not worried. YMMV

 

[ToddS]

^ couldn’t agree more.

When I ordered the car, I thought it was a silly option, but it was part of the package. Now it is one of my favorite features.

 

[Big John]

I love this feature EXCEPT at home in the garage. We keep our trash cans in the garage and all my tools and stuff. I enter and exit the garage many times a day and the door always opens--part way since I head into the garage. And the door often does not self close from the part-open position so Im constantly closing the door. In addition I have had the door open and nail me in the chest when I’m just walking into the house from the rear of the garage between my Snowball and my second car. I wish you could disable this in certain locations--like when you are home.

 

[vandacca]

I have asked Tesla to disable the auto-presenting doors when the X is plugged in. I figure most people would not want to enter the vehicle if it's plugged in and will unplug just before they're ready to get in. Hopefully they'll implement this feature in an upcoming OTA update.

 

[myblubu]

I love this feature EXCEPT at home in the garage. We keep our trash cans in the garage and all my tools and stuff. I enter and exit the garage many times a day and the door always opens--part way since I head into the garage. And the door often does not self close from the part-open position so Im constantly closing the door. In addition I have had the door open and nail me in the chest when I’m just walking into the house from the rear of the garage between my Snowball and my second car. I wish you could disable this in certain locations--like when you are home.

Same will happen to me IF I forget and have my key fob in my pocket, but I don’t carry my key with me while at home. If the key isn’t with you when this happens, I wonder if where you store your fob is too close to your garage and the car is ‘sensing’ it?

 

[Peteski]

I'm in two minds about disabling the auto doors when I get my X. While it would be great at home on the driveway, I often parallel park on relatively narrow roads where one mistake could end in a total disaster. Obviously I could switch between modes, but then I would surely forget to switch it off at some point. As much as it pains me having paid for the PUP, I think I'll switch off the auto doors and always open manually. Then it can't go wrong! It would be cool if you could geo-tag this feature for locations you know it's reasonably safe to use.

 

[denverdan74]

Leave Auto Presenting Doors enabled and disable Passive Entry. (Same screen) You can still double click the roof of the FOB to 'self present' the doors for yourself. My wife was getting sick of walking to her S and my X opening the door for her.

I love the double click twice to open the door for your passenger as well. This is a much better feature since you can open every door now with the fob. I loved the original Model S trick to open and close all the windows...Wish they would bring that feature back as well.

- Note - Your car will no longer unlock automatically doing this...So be sure other drivers know you did this.

 

[Peteski]

I borrowed an X over the weekend and found it easiest/safest to disable auto doors and simply press the actual door button to open it. Then no need to fumble in my pocket for the key Fob and no risk of the door opening inappropriately by itself. I liked the auto unlocking on approach and auto lock on leave feature.