Homelink Auto open/close situations

[DaveRZ]

So I'm about to pull the trigger and order my Homelink upgrade. I've got a few questions about auto open/close specific to my situation that I want to hopefully understand better so I know what I'm getting into. Worst case I don't mind just using the homelink manually if need be.

1) I have to back into my garage in the evening (for the cord to reach). I also may sometimes back in too far and need to move forward again a few inches. Will this mess up my next auto open/close? I've read in other threads that people have problems when they move their car back after initially pulling into their garage.

2) I live on a cul-de-sac and after driving up the street (and the door auto-closing), I have to make a couple turns and end up driving BEHIND my house to drive out of my neighborhood. It's not super-close to the house, but close enough that I think my factory Genie remote would open the door if I stuck it out the window. Should I have any concern that Homelink will try to auto-open my door thinking I turned around and went home?

3) How far away do you need to be to have the door auto-close? I ask because every weekend when I wash the car (600+ miles a week driving on the I-15!) I pull out into the street and turn the car around and pull forward into my driveway. Is it going to try to auto close/auto open in that scenario?

Thanks for the info!
D

 

[hugh_jassol]

1) probably... I don't back in, but if I pull in, then back up a few inches, it will NOT auto-close when I back out the next day.

2) You can adjust the radius at which it will trigger. I set mine to 25 ft, which should definitely cover it not opening when you drive behind the hosue

3) maybe - depends on how far you pull out, what your radius is set to, etc. you can easily tap "cancel" though.

 

[ewoodrick]

So I'm about to pull the trigger and order my Homelink upgrade. I've got a few questions about auto open/close specific to my situation that I want to hopefully understand better so I know what I'm getting into. Worst case I don't mind just using the homelink manually if need be.

1) I have to back into my garage in the evening (for the cord to reach). I also may sometimes back in too far and need to move forward again a few inches. Will this mess up my next auto open/close? I've read in other threads that people have problems when they move their car back after initially pulling into their garage.

2) I live on a cul-de-sac and after driving up the street (and the door auto-closing), I have to make a couple turns and end up driving BEHIND my house to drive out of my neighborhood. It's not super-close to the house, but close enough that I think my factory Genie remote would open the door if I stuck it out the window. Should I have any concern that Homelink will try to auto-open my door thinking I turned around and went home?

3) How far away do you need to be to have the door auto-close? I ask because every weekend when I wash the car (600+ miles a week driving on the I-15!) I pull out into the street and turn the car around and pull forward into my driveway. Is it going to try to auto close/auto open in that scenario?

Thanks for the info!
D

1) Shouldn't be a problem
2) Definitely problem, could be an issue. Can your current garage door opener open it from there? Some shielding on that side of the garage door opener may help.
3) It's about 50 feet. I don't think that it is far enough to trigger the open though.

When leaving, mine triggers just a few feet outside the garage. When arriving it triggers before I get into the driveway.
If I pass the house, it opens. And then go down the street and come back, it sends a command and closes.

 

[RTPEV]

I'll add my guesses to the above, even though they appear to conflict!

As a preface, I have my auto open/close set to 20 or 25 feet, and I was just outside the garage door when I first set it. Honestly though it was so long ago, and it's worked so well since then I can't even remember the setup process. I have a pretty short driveway (maybe 1.5 car lengths).

1) I haven't totally figured out the logic of when the car decides to "Skip" the door close or not. Yes, it's related to putting the car in P and getting out and then getting back in and starting it again, and yes, sometimes it appears to skip closing even after a long period of sitting parked inside the garage, but honestly it doesn't happen that often, and I've trained myself to always look and see if it says "Skip" or "Auto close" so I just manually press it if it says Skip.

2) In my case this would definitely not be a problem. Even with my short driveway I have to practically be in my driveway for it to trigger an "open". That is REALLY close to my house/garage. On a related note, when I charge my car (I only do so every few days when it needs it), I too need to back in. As I am approaching my driveway, I get the usual messages "Auto-open in 20 feet, 10 feet, 5 feet, etc". I have found that if I go past my driveway without it auto opening and then start to back in, the countdown seems to start over. Therefore I always pull slightly into my driveway to cause the door to open, and then turn back out into the road and then back in. It's no big deal, but just something else to consider if you have to back in.

3) With my setup, the door closes just about the point the car touches the road. Given your #2 question and needing to keep your radius fairly tight, I would say that the door would definitely close if you pulled out into the street. Not really a huge deal, you just hit the Skip button, or maybe you could experiment with setting a larger radius. I guess I'm curious as to why you need to turn your car around to wash it though!

 

[DaveRZ]

Ahhh! Thanks everyone! I didn't realize the system was good at letting you know it is going to trigger your door. I was just concerned that it would think it's XX feet away and just operate the door, leaving me wondering if my door just opened (or closed) as I drove nearby, or as I'm maneuvering for a wash.

If there's an obvious prompt and an easy override, I think I'll be just fine!

D

 

[RTPEV]

Ahhh! Thanks everyone! I didn't realize the system was good at letting you know it is going to trigger your door. I was just concerned that it would think it's XX feet away and just operate the door, leaving me wondering if my door just opened (or closed) as I drove nearby, or as I'm maneuvering for a wash.

If there's an obvious prompt and an easy override, I think I'll be just fine!

D

It beeps when it sends its signal too, so even if you aren't looking at the screen, if you hear the beep (i.e. if you are driving on the road behind your house) that's an indication that it tried to open your door. It's a bit less obvious when it DOESN'T beep (i.e. it skipped the Auto Close), but like I said, I've trained myself to look at the screen when I am pulling out to make sure it's not going to skip. Not as important when I am backing out of the garage since it always closes as I am still facing the garage.

 

[SDKoala]

1) Shouldn't be a problem

The answer to #1 is absolutely yes. Making adjustments after entering the garage definitely keep auto-close from working the next time. I've never tried backing into my garage and adjusting to see the effect, but I suspect it would still mess it up.