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InsideEVs: Key Fob free to current owners!
- Thread starter ebmcs03
- Start date
diamond.g
Active Member
Hank42
Legacy Supporter
Kichwas
Member
Second paragraph of the article started with “The key card’s potential exit...” which I guess I overread as it being phased out.
For me the card instead of a fob was a major feature. No more heavy plastic covered battery I had to make a habit of grabbing all the time.
For me the card instead of a fob was a major feature. No more heavy plastic covered battery I had to make a habit of grabbing all the time.
By definition convenience is completely subjective so actually preference plays a large part of it. You seem to be arguing that
simple = convenient or that easy = convenient, neither of those are true in and of themselves either.
I would be one of the last people to bet against Tesla making a dumb decision on any given subject, but I still think it’s highly unlikely they’d totally ditch the card.
Why?... Because I think they’re also unlikely to ditch the phone key, and a phone key requires a backup in case the phone breaks/malfunctions/runs out of battery. And the key card form factor is just about perfect *as a backup* since you can just put it in your wallet and forget about it until it’s needed once in a blue moon.
diamond.g
Active Member
I don't disagree. But this is the same company that instead of defaulting Walk Up unlock to off, flat out removed it instead. So I am not holding my breath.
FloridaGary
Member
I would like to know this too. Has anyone read how the Fob will work? If I carry a keyfob, I want it to work like my Model S, with the exception that the door handles won't present themselves in the Model 3. The phone and keycard does not do this, but if the fob did, I would carry it gladly. It's never been an issue for the past 3 years of S ownership.
N5329K
Active Member
This is a great use case for a card. Going someplace where a conventional fob (or phone) can't go without drowning is another.
As for leaving a fob in your pocket, that's the way Toyota has done it for years. I would expect that of Tesla since that's just good design. Unless Tesla wants to innovate for innovation's sake and comes up with something less useful, which of course they wouldn't.
Oh, wait...
Robin
diamond.g
Active Member
How do you know it is 42.1 that is going to go out? Maybe it is 39.10? Or 42.2? Or even 42.42?
C141medic
Active Member
Definitely. Kind of reminds me going into an Apple store and asking them a question about an upcoming product. They plead ignorance but you know that they’re more informed than led to believe. They just can’t fess up without probably losing their job.
dhanson865
Well-Known Member
chronopc said:
I haven't let them know but I sure don't respond. They can call my desk phone or email my work email address and I'll respond to those the next time I'm in the office.
diamond.g
Active Member
Elon tweeted it. Well he tweeted that Nav on AP is going out. I am assuming it is 42.1. Could be wrong though. We’ll see I guess...
RayK
Active Member
You were correct when you posted that (last Wednesday). I had never attempted to use the phone-as-a-key up to that point. That was right before I took a trip down to L.A. for four days. During that time I did activate my phone (Samsung Galaxy J3) as a key since I wanted a backup in case I lost my keycard. Walkaway auto lock worked 100%, although there were a couple of times that I couldn't hear the car beep so I had to check the app to make sure the car locked. Driving away with my phone inside the car and not having to "badge in" worked every time too. Auto unlock, however, was another story. My guess is that it worked about 80% of the time. Several times I had to unlock the car with the keycard as it remained locked while I was standing next to the driver's door, pushing on the handle and seeing the message on the screen saying to use the keycard. I admit that I didn't wait around for more than a couple of seconds each time that happened to see if the car responded to the phone (on my right hip with bluetooth enabled), as my wife is the impatient type and I also expect technology to work 100% of the time. Really, anything less than perfection when it comes to the simple act of getting into my car when I'm ready to go is completely unacceptable. I'm aware that there are a couple of workarounds to the phone's OS and/or app settings which could push the success rate closer to 100% but workarounds can eventually break when the software behind it is not under your own control.
My 2000 BMW keyfob requires a button press to unlock and unlock. It has worked 99.999%. It's a real key that has to be inserted into the ignition (so low-tech!). The 0.001% failure rate was due to a broken GM5 module I had several years back and if memory serves, affected the driver's door where it would lock but not unlock, while the other three doors operated normally. There's a battery inside the fob which is wirelessly charged whenever it's in the ignition; in other words, it's not user-replaceable.
My 2011 Nissan Murano fob only requires that it be near the car for it to unlock the doors; no button push on the fob necessary. It has worked for me 100%. It just needs to be inside the car for it to start and drive; no key insertion required. To lock the vehicle, I press on the button on the door handle after closing it. The CR2032 battery can be replaced by the owner.
My wife's 2018 Ridgeline works basically the same way as the Murano. The fob has also worked 100%. It has the option to do the walkaway auto lock but I don't think my wife has activated it. It too has a CR2032 battery that can be replaced when it goes dead.
Both the Murano and Ridgeline fobs can be kept inside my pocket and I can still open the door, get in and drive off. Both the Murano and Ridgeline fobs have hidden keys built into them which will allow you to open up the vehicle when the battery inside the fob dies. Both the BMW and Murano keys are very expensive ($100+). I'm assuming that the Ridgeline is in the same ballpark but we haven't purchased any spare keys for it yet. I believe that all three fobs require the dealer to set them up with the vehicle. So $15 for a Model 3 fob, which I think the owner can activate them, sounds ridiculously cheap.
My Model 3 has a phone-as-key success rate way less than these other three vehicles. Yes, I haven't tinkered with the numerous settings in my phone to see it will improve. But my thinking is, why should I have to? My other three fobs work when and where I want them to. @voip-ninja: I agree that using a keycard on a $60K car seems very outdated. For the next week or two I'll continue to try out my phone and see how it works, but for me, the phone-as-key option is not acceptable in its current implementation. Your phone may work for you 100% of the time and it's great that it does, but for other people that are having problems with their phones, having them adjust power settings deep in the OS (with the possible side-effect of draining their phone battery faster), or telling them to power-cycle bluetooth if they can't get into their car, or saying that they have to take their smartphone whenever they want to drive the car and have to take the phone with them when leaving the car (if they want it locked) or even telling them to get a different phone, that doesn't seem to be a solution for a $60K+ car either. I can only hope that the fob has a better user experience otherwise I'll stick with the keycard, because in my experience, it just plain works.
clostridium
Member
Your model 3 doesn’t unlock when you walk up to it with the phone in your pocket? Mine does. I think that’s the intended functionality however I know that some have had the phone key not work well. I would expect the fob to work the model S does and how it works when the phone work key works right - and that means it unlocks as you approach with the fob in your pocket.
diamond.g
Active Member
Tesla removed that feature on the 3 some time ago. Now you have to actually open a door for the car to unlock and turn on.
I have found with the iPhone X that I have to have the phone within 18 inches of the door to work. If I stand out of range and reach over it will be locked. I keep the phone in my left pocket. Sometimes I have to move my left hip closer to the car to get it to work. Most of the time it is not an issue since I tend to open the drivers door with the left hand since the left hand has the thumb in the correct position. I really only have the issue when I am on the passenger side since I use my right hand.
