Coated windshield impacting door openers and EZpass

[astrotoy]

No pano roof here so, can't answer that. Still having to stick the transponder out the window through the ~50 mph carpool lane of the Dumbarton Bridge. By the way, had to go through the 25 mph regular FasTrak lane (with a narrower canopy than the carpool one) of the same toll plaza the other day (with no passenger) and tried the transponder on the spotted area to the right of the mirror stem and it beeped just fine! So, the speed and/or proximity of the sensors in the canopy may have something to do with it too.

Regarding requirements, an EV is equivalent to a carpool even when driving solo and both have to use the transponder or (occasionally) rely on the plates being recognized through bridge toll plazas. The same carpool hours apply. You do have to "hide" the transponder in the HOT lanes (such as 237) and you can ride in them solo with the HOV decals; an external transponder would put you at a disadvantage here.

The Fastrack instructions say to save the mylar film bag it comes in and put the transponder in the bag when you go in HOT lanes. The sensors won't see the transponder and won't charge you.

To make it clear, you have to have a Fastrack to use the bridge toll carpool lanes and you do pay a discounted toll. It used to be free and no transponder was required. But that changed a couple of years ago. If the sensor doesn't see your transponder, they will take a picture of your license plate which has been registered with your transponder and just deduct the toll from your balance. This is true for anyone with a transponder that doesn't get read. A few years ago I had a transponder whose battery went bad and it would never beep when I went through the toll plaza. However, I still got billed as if it had read the transponder. If you go through without a transponder and don't have one registered to that set of plates, then you get a big ticket.

 

[MikeK]

FasTrak has a big list of vehicles with these coated windshields, so they know that the internal transponder doesn't work on them. Has anybody seen any suggested guidance from them for people with the license plate transponders of how to deal with HOT lanes? They can't seriously expect that those folks are SOL, can they?

 

[jerry33]

FasTrak has a big list of vehicles with these coated windshields, so they know that the internal transponder doesn't work on them. Has anybody seen any suggested guidance from them for people with the license plate transponders of how to deal with HOT lanes? They can't seriously expect that those folks are SOL, can they?

Well it's government, so they expect that everyone will conform their standards rather than [the government] giving any flexibility.

 

[W8MM]

I was inspecting my own (VIN 03751) windshield and comparing it to an October vehicle, and our windshields are different. His solid black region near the mirror is symmetric, but mine is not--the passenger side has black dots rather than a solid black region. However, my coating covers this black-dotted region, so there is nowhere for my EZPass to be located. How many different windshield configurations are there?

I'm very interested in your observation. How can you tell where the coating boundaries are located? Do you need a flashlight or just sunlight?

I've had a long conversation about the windshield coating with Tesla, mainly to do with radar detectors. They assured me there would be no windshield produced without the coating because of thermal gain into the interior of the Model S from sunshine.

However, they didn't reveal whether they might block up the coating hole further ;-0

 

[dashrb]

I'm very interested in your observation. How can you tell where the coating boundaries are located? Do you need a flashlight or just sunlight?

I found it easiest to see in broad daylight. The coated portion is more reflective. Looking at the blue sky via reflection off the windshield, I was able to see where the coating ends, near the "margins" (edges) of the windshield where the glass is solid black. I looked very closely to see it initially, but once my eyes recognized the boundary, it was easy to visually observe the coating around the entire glass.

 

[Tommy]

Crossed the Bay Bridge on Sunday night, with my transponder held in the "dotted" area next to the mirror mount. It did not register. :-( Next time, I guess I'll try it just below the mirror mount.

If that fails, next time I'll try holding it up to the panoramic roof, with the roof closed.

I don't use the EZ Pass often enough that I'm especially worried about it, but it's annoying.

Hope this helps with getting your FasTrak transponder to work reliably. I am in Southern CA, however, per the FasTrak web page, a FasTrak responder will work in Northern CA or Southern CA. My mounting placement should work as well for you.

Some background: I tried placing the transponder in the dotted area of the windshield just right of the rear view mirror as suggested by other posters with mixed results; 1 out of 4 times it would work. I noticed looking from the outside at the windshield, there is a sensor where the mirror mounts and reasoned that there might be a "hole" in the windshield coating to let unfiltered light be "seen" by the sensor and hopefully also be "seen" by the transponder.

To test my idea out, I mounted the bottom edge of the transponder to the vertical stalk of the rear view mirror by placing a small piece of velcro on the bottom of the mirror stalk and a small velcro piece on the bottom edge of the transponder. Next, I rolled up the strip of white velcro that comes with the transponder to wedge the transponder between the mirror and itself so the transponder is firmly held up against the headliner.

I have used the transponder over a dozen times now in this placement and it it has worked each time giving me the two beeps as I pass through the overhead readers. Hopefully it works for you too so you don't have to go the license mount way.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Interesting, Tommy. Thanks! I may not put it there permanently - still an eyesore - but, will prop it up there briefly when going through the toll plaza.

 

[Tommy]

Interesting, Tommy. Thanks! I may not put it there permanently - still an eyesore - but, will prop it up there briefly when going through the toll plaza.

The camera notices it, the driver's eye doesn't. I thought the same thing when I first mounted it; however convenience trumps aesthetics in this case as it is not nearly as obtrusive as the camera depicts unless starring at it. It tucks behind the mirror fairly well.

 

[eelton]

SUCCESS!

Building on what Tommy posted, I've come to the realization that none of the exposed parts of my windshield are uncoated. I've tried my parking transponder to the right of the mirror, below the mirror, and to the left of the mirror, but no success.

However, it turns out that the part of the windshield covered by the plastic mirror mount *is* uncoated. So, the transponder can transmit through that plastic mirror mount.

I've found that these two locations work reliably for me. I tend to favor the second, although I may apply a coat of black Plastidip (removable paint) to the transponder to make it less visible.

 

[MikeK]

Is there anyplace in the Bay Area where you can test FasTrak without just going back and forth over bridges and paying tolls?

 

[fmatteson]

Thanks, Tommy. This morning I drove over the Carquinez bridge (with the fast lanes), holding the transponder out the window when it was pouring rain and 42 degrees. I can't wait to try your method!

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

The camera notices it, the driver's eye doesn't. I thought the same thing when I first mounted it; however convenience trumps aesthetics in this case as it is not nearly as obtrusive as the camera depicts unless starring at it. It tucks behind the mirror fairly well.

Tommy, this was brilliant! I held up the transponder in that spot this morning going at 50 mph through the Dumbarton Bridge's carpool toll lane and it worked! It wasn't inconvenient to hold it up there briefly (I only have to do this once a weekday) and then put the transponder back in the chin cubby. Thanks again!

 

[Malasada]

Thought I was on to something as placing my FasTrak in the area above the 17" screen "T" worked for 4 days in a row going across the San Mateo bridge, but today it didn't pick it up. Would be curious if this area works at all for other Bay Area tolls.

 

[sp4rk]

Mounted mine on the mirror's vertical holder and for the first time it worked at a toll plaza!

Why is TM not telling us this? Should we really need to be experimenting?

 

[bbamrah]

Mounted mine on the mirror's vertical holder and for the first time it worked at a toll plaza!

Why is TM not telling us this? Should we really need to be experimenting?

Are you using the fat EZ Pass in Illinois, or do you have a slimmer version that I don't know about?

 

[Tempus]

Mounted mine on the mirror's vertical holder and for the first time it worked at a toll plaza!

Why is TM not telling us this? Should we really need to be experimenting?

To confirm this, i have been able to use my ezpass consistently in va, md, de, nj by holding it directly behind the rear view mirror. Brilliant suggestion above!

 

[sp4rk]

Are you using the fat EZ Pass in Illinois, or do you have a slimmer version that I don't know about?

I am using IPass.
As pictured here: Pea Gravel: I-Pass, I-Zoom, EZ-Pass Toll Transponders
It is FAT. But what am I to do? Will paint it black maybe.

 

[Mark Z]

I have posted this over at Tesla Motors. The 91 Express Lanes doesn't read the FasTrak pass as well as on The Toll Roads. Studying the vehicle for proper angle and clear window area, this is the location that is working for me 100% of the time.

Under the rear hatch gives proper angle and alignment through the rear window, yet not visible from the outside. The recessed area makes it easy to find and mount with the Velcro provided.

I did not want to place the FasTrak on the rear glass due to angle, visibility and adhesives on the window defogger traces.

For those that want to hear the double beep, it will be difficult in this location. For testing, I placed an iPhone under the cover handle and recorded the sound using Voice Memos. Just take note of the driving start time and when passing under the sensor.

 

[MikeK]

On a recent return trip from the East Bay, I held my FasTrak transponder up by the mirror stem when passing through the Dumbarton Bridge toll plaza. Worked fine! Just FYI.

 

[kevincwelch]

I am using IPass.
As pictured here: Pea Gravel: I-Pass, I-Zoom, EZ-Pass Toll Transponders
It is FAT. But what am I to do? Will paint it black maybe.

Rob-

Would you mind posting a picture?