Homelink question re auto close distance

[Pdadoc]

Just got HomeLink installed, and overall works great. I've read through other posts, and it appears the "distance" that is set controls the arriving "open" distance, which I have set to 40 feet- works fine.

I have it set to auto close, which has been working reliably, but not quite how I'd like. When I back out of the garage, just perhaps 5 feet clear, and then put the car in drive to turn out the driveway, the door immediately closes.

I realize many others seem to have an issue with it not closing soon enough or consistently. My issue is that not infrequently, I may have another family member coming out from the garage (connected to house) to get in the car, and the garage door is already closing- not good! I'm wondering if there is anything I could adjust so that it doesn't close until I actually start driving away a few feet?- thanks.

 

[RTPEV]

I must admit that the way auto-close/auto-open works is a bit of a "black box" to me. I don't understand all the nuances of how it works. I can only say that I have mine set up like yours (40 feet I believe) and I'm very pleased with the distances (I realize this doesn't help you at all). My driveway is fairly short (maybe 1.5 car lengths) and the door opens just before I pull into the driveway, and when I leave it usually closes as I am backed out into the street, and like you, as I put the car in drive. Until I read your post, I assumed it was distance based, but now I wonder if it happens to be triggered by putting the car into drive after it was in reverse. I will say that when I back the car into the garage (to charge) and pull the car out in drive, it still seems to close the door at about the same spot (as the car is fully in the street). I will have to do some experimenting to see if this theory is correct.

I am trying to envision why you would be putting the car into drive at just 5 feet clear to "turn out the driveway", but I am guessing your garage is on the side of the house (perpendicular to the driveway). I wonder if you could set up Homelink again, but rather than programming it just a few feet away from the garage door, program it 20 feet or so down the driveway. If the close function is triggered by putting the car into drive (after it's been in reverse) this may not help, but maybe it's worth a try. Failing that, maybe it's switching up your routine. Don't put the car into drive until your family members exit the garage. After doing this enough, it will feel more natural.

The problem that I have with the auto-close function is that if I put the car into Park, it assumes I want to skip auto-close. Otherwise I would simply recommend that you put the car into park until your family members exit the garage.

 

[Lexdysic]

It's definitely not triggered by switching from reverse to drive. I back into my garage, so when I pull out I'm in drive all the way.

It does seem that the garage decides to close a tad early, but I don't remember seeing a setting for door closure. (only distance to open)

 

[nicholb]

From memory, you can set the close distance by stopping the car at the place you want to trigger the close and then in the homelink settings there is a set position (or similar wording) button.

Looked it up in the manual. The option is "reset location".

 

[RTPEV]

It's definitely not triggered by switching from reverse to drive. I back into my garage, so when I pull out I'm in drive all the way.

Yes, as I said, I occasionally back in to my garage so am in drive all the way as well when pulling out, and in this situation it obviously is distance based. BUT, if I do start out in reverse and then switch to drive, I wonder if that is ALSO a trigger to close the garage. Like I said, I will need to test this. It likely is just all distance based, but you never know.

It does seem that the garage decides to close a tad early, but I don't remember seeing a setting for door closure. (only distance to open)

I always assumed the "distance" setting applied to both open and close and any difference between open and close has more to do with the position of the GPS receiver within the car.

 

[sa012]

I am very interested in getting Homelink for my M3 but I exclusively back into my garage. I have a long narrow driveway ~90 feet in length and I back in from the street. Are there any issues with Homelink and the garage door opening as I am backing in? I know the unit is in the front bumper so wasn't sure if I set it to 40 feet or even 100 feet if it will work at those distances.

 

[RTPEV]

Well my experimenting didn't take much effort. My garage door closed while still backing up in reverse. But I was certainly more than just 5 feet away from the garage door (I was partway out into the street).

 

[RTPEV]

I am very interested in getting Homelink for my M3 but I exclusively back into my garage. I have a long narrow driveway ~90 feet in length and I back in from the street. Are there any issues with Homelink and the garage door opening as I am backing in? I know the unit is in the front bumper so wasn't sure if I set it to 40 feet or even 100 feet if it will work at those distances.

I know that when I back in to my garage (to charge) I partly turn into my driveway (forward) until the door starts to open, and then I crank my wheel to the left to line up so I can back into the driveway. The reason I do this, as you've anticipated, is because the GPS receiver appears to be in the front of the vehicle so if I don't trigger the door to open while facing the garage and instead let it trigger while I'm backing up to the garage, it won't trigger before my rear bumper is already at the door.

Now I have my open/close distance set fairly low for a few reasons (I live on a corner so I like the door to open/close while it's well within view before I round the corner). But in your case, with such a longer driveway, you probably don't have this problem, so yeah, you could probably get away with just increasing the distance (or setting it up further away from your garage door). It should be very consistent in your case if you ALWAYS back in. You'll definitely want to set it higher than 40 feet, but probably won't need to set it much higher. (I don't know what the maximum distance you can set it is).

 

[Pdadoc]

I continue to experiment with this.... Interestingly, it just isn’t consistent... without changing anything, twice I left and the garage did not start closing until I was turning out of the driveway, which is perfect. But then yesterday, again, it closed quickly just after I finished backing out (had totally cleared the door, perhaps 5 feet away, so it hasn’t been an issue closing so soon that I worry about hitting the car).... it’s odd that it’s so inconsistent. Not sure if that distance setting makes a difference on closing, but perhaps I will try adjusting that to see if it changes anything.

 

[cdswm3]

Homelink is so yesterday. I put in TailWind and it is amazing. Smart phone control from anywhere and auto open/close work great. Under $100.00

 

[Lexdysic]

Homelink is so yesterday. I put in TailWind and it is amazing. Smart phone control from anywhere and auto open/close work great. Under $100.00

Heard good things about TailWind. The auto open/close matches the functionality of Homelink. You can also control it from an app. The only thing you don't get is control from the display in your car, and an OEM feel. (obviously for most people that's not a big deal)

Sadly, I read about it after I shelled out the $300. No regrets though- I'm happy with Homelink.