Car Unlocking On Its Own At Night

[ccutrer]

We've twice had the driver's side FWD open apparently spontaneously. Can say with certainty that a button wasn't pushed from a distance, but we found the car with the FWD open. I would love if there was an app alert that let you know if the door had been open for more than 5 minutes without any other in-car activity.

Also, we came out to the Model X from a restaurant where we knew the fob could not have reached and approached from the front and noticed that the windshield wiper had wiped during the rain that had been going on with nobody in the car. There are definately some ghosts (bugs) in the machine here.

I've never experienced spontaneous door opening, but an open-too-long alert would be great. Cause we've certainly accidentally left it open before. My garage door sends a similar alert, and sometimes it's on purpose that it got left open, and sometimes it's a lifesaver. Of course, I can also close the garage from my phone... still a feature gap for Tesla.

 

[efusco]

I've never experienced spontaneous door opening, but an open-too-long alert would be great. Cause we've certainly accidentally left it open before. My garage door sends a similar alert, and sometimes it's on purpose that it got left open, and sometimes it's a lifesaver. Of course, I can also close the garage from my phone... still a feature gap for Tesla.

The first time this happened we were in a club listening to music and must've just been in range of the fob, which was in my pocket. I assume I hit the button and the driver's side FWD opened at some point. Fortunately, someone mentioned it to the bouncer who got my attention. When I went out nothing had been taken or damaged, but we were left a gift of 2 empty beer cans by someone. So that kind of sucked, but clearly it could have been worse.

 

[jpl]

Yes, and here's the answer: The SC just confirmed to me that there is a software "Bug" (his word) that is causing the vehicle to start up on its own, including the HVAC. He said it will be patched automatically during an over the air update tonight or tomorrow.

I (and others, in separate forums) have seen something similar. Sometimes the lights are on when you enter the garage (without key), sometimes not. A couple days ago (long after the putative over-the-air update), my wife plugged in her Leaf, and my Model X's lights came on. Hasn't happened in the last couple days, but I haven't been invited to have an OTA update, either. More puzzling than a problem, but nice to understand.

 

[Softwizard]

Yes this needs to be fixed. Another side consequence I'm seeing if this it is causing my phone to act up.

2 resulting issues:
1. If I'm on a call, the phone connects to the Tesla's Bluetooth. So sound and mic are redirected to the Tesla and I need to select the phone/BT headset back on the phone settings to get the audio back.

2. My music on my phone randomly starts playing on my phone by itself. When the Tesla starts up randomly, it is again triggering music player on my phone via Bluetooth. But because it's so brief, it is actually playing Thur my phone and not the car. This is probably partially an issue with the iPhone iOS but it wouldn't be happening if the Tesla wasn't auto starting itself randomly.

I had these issues too and the fix was to move both of my keyfobs further away. Previous to 8.0, they were fine in the kitchen drawer 30 feet away (and inside the house), but after 8.0 it wasn't far enough. Now they stay in my master bedroom on the other side of the house from the garage.

 

[vista]

I had these issues too and the fix was to move both of my keyfobs further away. Previous to 8.0, they were fine in the kitchen drawer 30 feet away (and inside the house), but after 8.0 it wasn't far enough. Now they stay in my master bedroom on the other side of the house from the garage.

I resorted to a similar fix and keep the key fobs farther away. I'm hoping the behavior changes back, as it was before 8.0

 

[jomo25]

I've since started keeping keys in the opposite end of the house. But still it occasionally will wake up. I guess our house isn't wide enough :/

I've now taken to the other suggestion to try to remember to set the radio to Radio, not BT before exiting. It may not stop the waking of the car, but it helps with the waking of me in the middle of the night.

Tesla, please fix this!

 

[Laserbrain]

I had these issues too and the fix was to move both of my keyfobs further away. Previous to 8.0, they were fine in the kitchen drawer 30 feet away (and inside the house), but after 8.0 it wasn't far enough. Now they stay in my master bedroom on the other side of the house from the garage.

Instead of moving the keyfobs further away you could also put them in a metall box or a wooden box which is laid-out with tinfoil. This should block the keyfob's signal like a Faraday cage.

 

[Colby Boles]

Instead of moving the keyfobs further away you could also put them in a metall box or a wooden box which is laid-out with tinfoil. This should block the keyfob's signal like a Faraday cage.

This works for me. We have a metal keybox like you see at a valet / parking office. It's only 15 feet from the car but it keeps the car from waking up even if I don't close the metal door completely.

I work in the space where my MX is. Having it wake up over and over as I walk by is pretty annoying. It only seemed to start doing this with 8.0 - I'm not sure why this functionality changed. It would also be nice to have the car close / lock up on a triple tap of the fob instead of a single tap. I have lightly crushed my family five times now by bending at the hips and having the fob depress in my pocket while they are unloading, or changing a diaper in the back. The car (and I) get no love when this happens. Single tap to close is just dangerous and could be easily fixed by a more complex sequence without turning of the functionality altogether. Similarly, I don't need the car to wake up every time I walk by - I would like a mode that just waits until I push a door or fob button.

 

[kfmfe04]

I (and others, in separate forums) have seen something similar. Sometimes the lights are on when you enter the garage (without key), sometimes not. A couple days ago (long after the putative over-the-air update), my wife plugged in her Leaf, and my Model X's lights came on. Hasn't happened in the last couple days, but I haven't been invited to have an OTA update, either. More puzzling than a problem, but nice to understand.

I recently had the same problem - the MX turning on by itself whenever someone got close. Even if I lock the MX using the app, within a few minutes, it would unlock itself. No matter how I locked the car, with the app, or with the FOB, it would unlock itself and the headlights would go on if someone enters the garage.

Coincidentally, I had an OTA update a couple days ago, so I naturally pointed my finger at Tesla.

I then investigated some more. After some thought (along with a high aversion to visit the SC), I noticed that recently, I moved my work desk from the MBR to the bedroom at the front of the house (along with a glass canister where I keep the FOB). This new bedroom also happens to be right above the garage.

I tried relocating the canister to the opposite corner of the house on the second floor and voila! All issues went away.

Now, the apparitions are gone - everything made sense. The MX was simply preparing itself to drive every time someone entered the garage, since the FOB in the bedroom above the garage was just too close.

 

[Lamy29]

Lol I wish I read this earlier, had the same issue my spare fob sits on my desk in a room above and near the garage. I kept noticing the car would unlock itself every 10 minutes. Just moved the spare fob and it hasn't happened in last 20min.

 

[John Smith]

I have a model 3 and I've been finding the car unlocked many times while overnight charging. It's verified to not me human error, because tonight I looked out the window and the green charging light was blinking. I went outside, thinking someone tried to steal the cable, and the car was unlocked. The light stops blinking after a very short time so my best guess is that it unlocked by itself and therefore, the charging light lit up as expected.
Problem is... it wasn't unlocked by ME! Not good.

So, if the car unlocks itself and allow burglars inside, is Tesla responsible?

 

[DCGOO]

I have a model 3 and I've been finding the car unlocked many times while overnight charging. It's verified to not me human error, because tonight I looked out the window and the green charging light was blinking. I went outside, thinking someone tried to steal the cable, and the car was unlocked. The light stops blinking after a very short time so my best guess is that it unlocked by itself and therefore, the charging light lit up as expected.
Problem is... it wasn't unlocked by ME! Not good.

So, if the car unlocks itself and allow burglars inside, is Tesla responsible?

I've never had this problem on my 3, however this is the Model X forum. You might try asking in the Model 3 forum.

 

[osher]

This is more than likely the culprit. After 8.0, the X seems to be responding to the fobs from further away.

I have the same issue with my 3. After locking it I check on my app later and it’s unlocked. My fob and key is not near the car.

 

[vista]

I thought it was solved in 2016, but my X started to unlock in my carport throughout the night starting in January 2023 again. At this time I'm using "RFID blocker" pouches and so far it seems to have stopped my X from unlocking.