Can I leave my keyfob in the car and ensure it stays locked?

[timvracer]

I need to leave my car at the detail shop before they are open. They suggested I leave my fob in the frunk, and lock the car with the app, and then when they call me later I can unlock it.

Does this work? My experience as been that if the fob is in the vicinity, I can press on a door handle and unlock the car.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Take the battery out. Leave the key fob and battery in the glove box. Lock and unlock with the app.

There are a few 'dead spots' in the car where the key fob is less effective, but I wouldn't risk trying to find those spots and leaving the key fob there. Just remove the battery.

 

[Leopold Stotch]

If you keep the battery out for too long it will lose its memory and won’t work unless re-paired.

 

[HankLloydRight]

If you keep the battery out for too long it will lose its memory and won’t work unless re-paired.

Don't think that's actually true. I've had my 2nd fob battery-less for years at a time and still works when the battery is installed. This is a 2014 Model S. Might be different for a newer MX/MS/M3 that uses a different key fob technology. The key fob doesn't have any "memory" per-se. It has a fixed serial ID in hardware that the car remembers and pairs with. If the car is reset or cleared it will loose the connection to the fob, but that's not the fob's fault.

 

[ucmndd]

Tell the detail shop they need a mail slot or drop box for keys like most other vehicle service businesses do.

I wouldn’t use the frunk. First because I think the car will register the key’s proximity from there, and second because the frunk is insecure and designed to be opened from outside in the event of an emergency to access the HV disconnect loop.

 

[Patrick W]

Maybe wrap the fob in aluminum foil so the car can not detect it and then leave it in the trunk or glove box or anywhere else in the car it can't be seen or accessed from the outside (as mentioned above that rules out the frunk).

 

[BANKWUPT]

I rent one of my cars on Turo and need to leave the fob in the glovebox on occasion, this RFID pouch works PERFECT:
https://amzn.to/31R642k

 

[boaterva]

Note that newer (?) cars can and do fail when batteries are replaced in the fob. I got the ‘gateway’ story from the Service Center when I did mine once. There’s a whole thread on this. No idea if more recent firmware fixed this but it was why SC was where they did battery replacements.

I later did one in the car keeping the fob close to the car and had no problem. I’d rather use the dead spot than remove the battery. YMMV.

The dead spot is in the back left for the X but need to verify for your car. Don’t know if the 3 or other current models have one. I’d use a faraday bag myself. I use them at home to keep fobs from waking my X.

 

[Chaserr]

Altoids tin

 

[cirrussk]

I had a flat tire and had to get towed ... and picked up my Tesla over the weekend from the service center - learned two ways of doing this:

- Tesla roadside assistance said to leave it in the well on the furthest left of the car (drivers side) where the charging cable bag is. I did and the key was not recognized. When the truck driver got there he called and I used the App to open

- Tesla service taught me a new method. Leave the key in the car (anywhere like the cup holder), open the drivers door so you can get out, then hit the lock button on the center display at the top of the screen. That overrides the key fob allowing entry, so you have to use the app or second key.

I had to pick up my car over the weekend so they left it up front using that method and I left my loaner car up front using that method.

Hope that helps!!

 

[Ostrichsak]

This should go w/o saying but any of these methods could leave you locked out of your car should it not have reception for whatever reason, especially if it's being moved via tow truck or something as it could be put into a location that has poor or no cell phone service. I use my lock and remote start on the app as a back-up only and never rely on them 100% as you could set yourself up for a bad day possibly.

 

[random155]

So my SC finished work on my car and said that they locked the key in the car. They just left it in the center console. I never checked to see if the car was actually locked, just used my spare key to unlock the door. I wonder if it was actually locked...?

 

[Leopold Stotch]

So my SC finished work on my car and said that they locked the key in the car. They just left it in the center console. I never checked to see if the car was actually locked, just used my spare key to unlock the door. I wonder if it was actually locked...?

Me too