How to avoid setting off the alarm??

[radiocycle]

So, we stopped by Wild Flour Bakery for a couple of scones on our Sunday drive out near the coast. We got back in the car to scarf our scones and coffee when we realized that my gf had left her shades in the store. I went back in to find them and all of a sudden the horn starts honking in the car alarm mode and my gf is frantically trying to figure out how to stop it...

What happened was, a minute after I left, the car locked mirrors folded in. After another min or two she thought to open the door and look to see if they had dropped next to the car when she got in. That's when the horn started to sound and continued for some time. It finally stopped and she was very relieved! However, I come back out of the bakery, open the door and the alarm starts honking again; by this time the rest of the patrons are getting a bit perturbed.

Now, she did have our 2nd key card in her wallet. Should she have put it on the center console or on the pillar as pictured on the card? Would that have stopped the horn? And, what should I have done in the first place, as I left the car with her in it, to have prevented the horn from going to alarm? Shouldn't she be able to stay in the car for a few and then get out if she needs to without setting off the alarm??

Thanks!

radio

 

[JeffK]

That's interesting and I can see why the alarm went off. I wonder what would have happened if she had interacted with the screen after the doors locked.

If you do some scientific tests I'd love to know the results. According to the manual taking the key card to the b-pillar on the driver's side would turn off the alarm.

 

[boaterva]

How about unlocking the door from the screen? The car may not be able to tell the difference between the inside and outside handles (as weird as that sounds, because the outside ones are locked).

But many screen interactions keep the car on, as noted, and unlocking it with the padlock may have disarmed the alarm.

 

[radiocycle]

Well, once the mirrors turned in, the fan stopped, and the screen went dark, I don't think she could have used the screen to unlock...

 

[fr100]

Well, once the mirrors turned in, the fan stopped, and the screen went dark, I don't think she could have used the screen to unlock...

The passenger can tap the screen to wake it up along with the climate controls.

 

[animorph]

Happened with my wife in the car on one of our early trips. Now she always gets out with me. Leaving a door ajar should prevent the alarm.

 

[NathanielHrnblwr]

I read somewhere that the car had to be put in drive to turn off Sentry. Perhaps this is the same?

 

[boaterva]

I read somewhere that the car had to be put in drive to turn off Sentry. Perhaps this is the same?

I’ll have to try that also. I had Sentry not turn off on the app when I returned to my X last week so I just disabled it. Didn’t wait to put car in drive!

 

[JimTheFrog]

First off, this isn't related to Sentry mode, as some posters have intimated. It's just the regular alarm -- once the vehicle is locked, opening the doors (from the inside or the outside) sets it off.

My rule of thumb is never let someone stay in the car unless you unlock it from the app, or leave a door ajar as another poster suggested.

If the alarm goes off, unlock the car from the app or by tapping the key card on the pillar (I don't know if tapping the console will work).

 

[EVnut]

Came here to to find this very answer. I have a slight twist though. My daughter was in the rear seat when my wife and I went into the store. Car locked as expected. Daughter then decided to come into the store after us. Alarm went off and freaked her out (and the dog!). I mention the back seat because that makes reaching the center screen to unlock quite difficult.

This whole thing is an odd situation. And having to work around it seems silly. The car knows when people are in it. I contend that the default is to NOT alarm if a door is opened from the inside when a person is inside since the car last was "on."

A question for the masses: If the alarm HAS been tripped like this, can somebody tap the screen and tap to unlock at that point? That would seam to defeat part of the security issue. But without that, my daughter would have no way of turning the alarm off once she triggers it. (Except texting me.... which happened just as I was responding the the Tesla App alert that my alarm was triggered!)

 

[joebruin77]

This happened to me the other day. I think the best solution is that if someone is waiting in the car, just leave your phone with that person. Since I use my iPhone as my key, I just leave the iPhone in the car if it is occupied. The alarm has not gone off since.

 

[EVnut]

This happened to me the other day. I think the best solution is that if someone is waiting in the car, just leave your phone with that person. Since I use my iPhone as my key, I just leave the iPhone in the car if it is occupied. The alarm has not gone off since.

Yeah.... though that's one more thing to have to remember.... and I generally have my shopping list on my phone. This is certainly something that can be solved through the car's existing technology.

 

[afadeev]

What happened was, a minute after I left, the car locked mirrors folded in. After another min or two she thought to open the door and look to see if they had dropped next to the car when she got in. That's when the horn started to sound and continued for some time.

For the above reason, and after numerous times of trying to get something out of the car in the garage and finding it locked, I've disabled "lock when I walk away" feature in the car. For me, it's more of a PITA than a convenience. I lock it manually on the rare occasion when I park in a place where security is a concern (e.g.: a mall).

This happened to me the other day. I think the best solution is that if someone is waiting in the car, just leave your phone with that person. Since I use my iPhone as my key, I just leave the iPhone in the car if it is occupied. The alarm has not gone off since.

That has the obvious downside of making the car easy to steal (with your phone in the car).
Less of a concern if you are leaving an adult in there. Major worry if you are thinking of living your kids in the car.
Also a problem if you want to communicate with someone while you are away from the car (e.g.: update your shopping list, invite them in, etc, etc). Basically, I find any "solution" that involves separating me from my phone a major hassle.

On the other hand, as long as the car doesn't auto-lock when you walk away, most problems are avoided.

YMMV,
a

 

[davewill]

I just take the time to turn off auto lock when I need to do this.

 

[Ol'Blue]

I leave my wife and kid in the car all the time. I always turn on the “climate on” on my way out and it seems to sense they are still in the car or something as the stereo keeps going and such.

This may be incorrect information because as soon as I walk away, my wife’s phone is in her hands and she barely knows what’s happening around her after that happens. But I do know the door isn’t locking with them there.

 

[davewill]

...
This may be incorrect information because as soon as I walk away, my wife’s phone is in her hands and she barely knows what’s happening around her after that happens. But I do know the door isn’t locking with them there.

Is her phone registered as a key? That may be why it's not locking.

 

[Ol'Blue]

Nope. She doesn’t have enough room on her phone to have the app even. Only room for pictures.

 

[EVnut]

For the above reason, and after numerous times of trying to get something out of the car in the garage and finding it locked, I've disabled "lock when I walk away" feature in the car. For me, it's more of a PITA than a convenience. I lock it manually on the rare occasion when I park in a place where security is a concern (e.g.: a mall).

We're on the same page, though our usage is different.

Where we're the same is in the garage. And this should be geofenced. I don't want the car locked, nor the charge port locked when I am home. Most other places I go, I DO want auto-lock, so on balance it is more useful for me to keep that on.... but man. This is an easy fix. We can geofence Sentry... please let us do that with locking as well!

If it were easier to lock the car without the walk-away feature (like say a pressure-sensitive area on the pillar) that is used ONLY to lock the car (like the handle button on a Prius), I would turn off auto-lock. And I'd feel more comfortable about KNOWING it is locked before I walk away.

I'm curious what folks have found to be the most efficient way to lock the car "manually." Pulling out the phone, opening the app, waiting for it to connect enough to tap lock sorta sucks the "high tech" convenience out of the process. Same with pulling out the key card to do so.... which seems to confuse my car, and would like me to use the key card to unlock the next time I approach.

On the other hand, as long as the car doesn't auto-lock when you walk away, most problems are avoided.

Except the problem of convenience those other times.

One thing for sure: If you drive in places with little or no connectivity (as I often do) for SURE turn off auto-lock. The car is REALLY challenged to accurately use the proximity phone locking when connectivity is sketchy. I generally don't worry about theft in these areas, so basically just aways leave the car open.

I would LOVE to have a convenient/easy way to lock the car without the walk-away (and without the fob!)