Key Fob Nightmare

[jimtelsa]

Wow

Im a newbie

Just dont know how this can happen

So my son wants to drive the Tesla Rental car I have while mine is getting updated

He drives up to the mall, and goes to get out and has a key fob is not in the car

Its not anywhere, not in car, no where

I look around the house, outside where car was parked nothing

Call Tesla service

I ask can the car drive with out the key fob. No

so we look more..nothing..then Tesla says that if the key fob was near car when put in drive and then drive away it could drive without in car

so it then should have been somer where outside near car, maybe fell out of pocket

anyway, as im looking for fob weird guy comes out of neighbors yard and walks down street

have not seen him or car before, gets in car drives away

after I pick up son, Tesla locked car, and drive back, there is creepy dude again, this time i get license plate number and ask what he wants...

some bogus story and he drives away. I called the police and reported him. Waiting for them now to show up

I think the key fob fell out of pocket and in street, son drove away, creepy guy came buy and picked it up. and came back looking for car..

Just how can the car drive with out the fob

I need a drink

 

[Jason S]

I've found some thing block the key fob from working. RFID door fobs, for instance.
Moving the key fob just a little will help it.

But if I'm understanding correctly, you are describing the car working but you don't know where the fob is.

If worried about the fob being in somebody else's hands, I suggest locking the car in other way -- put in locked garage or use a steering wheel lock until you get the fob situation sorted. Steering wheel lock should be available at many stores.

 

[Soolim]

Wow

Im a newbie

Just dont know how this can happen

So my son wants to drive the Tesla Rental car I have while mine is getting updated

He drives up to the mall, and goes to get out and has a key fob is not in the car

Its not anywhere, not in car, no where

I look around the house, outside where car was parked nothing

Call Tesla service

I ask can the car drive with out the key fob. No

so we look more..nothing..then Tesla says that if the key fob was near car when put in drive and then drive away it could drive without in car

so it then should have been somer where outside near car, maybe fell out of pocket

anyway, as im looking for fob weird guy comes out of neighbors yard and walks down street

have not seen him or car before, gets in car drives away

after I pick up son, Tesla locked car, and drive back, there is creepy dude again, this time i get license plate number and ask what he wants...

some bogus story and he drives away. I called the police and reported him. Waiting for them now to show up

I think the key fob fell out of pocket and in street, son drove away, creepy guy came buy and picked it up. and came back looking for car..

Just how can the car drive with out the fob

I need a drink

Your story sounds interesting but hard to follow. Kindly reformat your post for easier reading. Please do not add additional line break on a single paragraph, and complete the sentence with a period. Thanks.

 

[Johan]

I thought it was kind of like a poem. A haiku or something.

 

[JasonT]

I had a hard time following this post, but I wanted to address one item in here

I ask can the car drive with out the key fob. No

This isn't entirely correct. The Android/iOS app will let you remotely "start" the car as well - no fob needed. Not that that's what happened in this case.

 

[tomas]

I had no problem understanding

If if it were your car, not loaner, you could use the app to get in without key

then you go home and fetch your other fob and then could drive to SC and have them disable lost key fob

buying new one expensive, so you might wait a bit to see if it turns up.

Then creepy guy only has useless toy car

more of a problem with loaner, since you don't have app and extra fob. But SC should have both

i'd make you a virtual drink but it's 7am here

 

[cgiGuy]

Car drives fine to mall
Creepy guy wants to steal it
Missing FOB, cops called

Sorry about your troubles. The first thing that bothers me is that Tesla couldn't verify your ID somehow and enable keyless driving. I think the service center employees can add all their loaners to their profiles on the app, and should have been able to enable it for you.

 

[Zythryn]

With Tesla's cooperation you could...
Place car in Valet Mode and leave it in your driveway.
See if creepy guy does indeed have the fob and takes car (while recording).
Monitor speed and position. When car stops, police grab creepy guy and fob.

The risk, is that creepy guy takes it on a high speed, reckless joy ride and damages the car.
It probably isn't worth the risk. If the fob doesn't show up, you are probably better off buying the new one.

 

[jimtelsa]

morning

Waiting for Tesla to open. Police showed up, but there is nothing they can do.
Having one remote and no ap sucks. Knowing car can drive with out Fob, concerned.

Guess you cant blow off steam, will use a translator next time.

Moral of story, limited options with out Fob.

 

[bonnie]

morning

Waiting for Tesla to open. Police showed up, but there is nothing they can do.
Having one remote and no ap sucks. Knowing car can drive with out Fob, concerned.

Guess you cant blow off steam, will use a translator next time.

Moral of story, limited options with out Fob.

Sorry for the rudeness of those who felt the need to correct your language - I am not fluent in other languages (though easily understand French) & applaud those of you who are. I had no problem understanding your post.

It's not that the fob leaves you with limited options - the issue really is more than it was a loaner Model S, so you did not have the options available on your smartphone. (Sounds like the Service center could have remotely started it for you, however, since they remotely locked it.)

Too many people ignore the bad feeling they get sometimes and it leaves them in danger. Always good to believe your gut. So believe you were probably right. The guy is going to be totally frustrated when he swings back, sees YOUR S parked, and the loaner fob doesn't work.

 

[jaguar36]

So wait, you (or your son) lost the fob to a loaner car, and called the cops on some random guy who happened to be walking by?

 

[ecarfan]

As I understand the OP's story:

He has a loaner S while his is being serviced.

His son asks him for the fob (apparently Tesla only provided him with one, not two like all Tesla owners are given) so he can drive the loaner to a mall. He takes the fob, drives the car to the mall, parks, exits, when he comes back to the car discovers that he can't access the car because the fob is no longer in his possession. Dad goes to pick him up and informs Tesla of the situation.
OP (dad) posted "after I pick up son Tesla locked car". But I would think that the car was already locked since the fob the son thought he had was missing. So that statement confused me.
Then there is the description of some "creepy dude" acting odd. Maybe he has the fob, maybe not, but in any case he doesn't know where the car is located.
The son could have lost the fob at the mall after exiting the car, or could have dropped it just outside the car at the house.
Two points:
-- The car can only be "turned on" and driven if it detects a valid fob or through the Tesla smartphone app connected to that car. But it is possible to put the car into Drive and drive off if the fob is on the ground right next to the car. I believe people have demonstrated that in the past and other manufacturers cars can also work like that.
-- Moral of story, if you have only one fob available and no smartphone app connected to the car, if you lose that fob you are out of luck and that would be true for any car. Tesla should provide two fobs with any loaner Tesla.

 

[Soolim]

The loaner car continues to drive while the FOB was accidental dropped somewhere?

 

[ecarfan]

Yes, as I made clear in my post just above yours. There are other cars from other manufacturers that also allow that. I used to own a Prius, you could start the car, toss the fob out the window and drive off. The car would make an alert sound for a bit and then the sound would stop and you could keep driving.

 

[Soolim]

Yes, as I made clear in my post just above yours. There are other cars from other manufacturers that also allow that. I used to own a Prius, you could start the car, toss the fob out the window and drive off. The car would make an alert sound for a bit and then the sound would stop and you could keep driving.

Thanks, I asked without the benefit of reading your post first. So how was the loaner recovered by Tesla SC? Could Tesla remotely unlocked and start the car for the father and son to drive the car back?

 

[Ugliest1]

As I understand the OP's story:

<snip>
Good summary!!

Tesla should provide two fobs with any loaner Tesla.

I'm thinking they give one fob out and keep the second at the centre so they can protect that second fob in case the "loanee" loses the first fob.

 

[mspohr]

Wow

Im a newbie

Just dont know how this can happen

So my son wants to drive the Tesla Rental car I have while mine is getting updated

He drives up to the mall, and goes to get out and has a key fob is not in the car

Its not anywhere, not in car, no where

I look around the house, outside where car was parked nothing

Call Tesla service

I ask can the car drive with out the key fob. No

so we look more..nothing..then Tesla says that if the key fob was near car when put in drive and then drive away it could drive without in car

so it then should have been somer where outside near car, maybe fell out of pocket

anyway, as im looking for fob weird guy comes out of neighbors yard and walks down street

have not seen him or car before, gets in car drives away

after I pick up son, Tesla locked car, and drive back, there is creepy dude again, this time i get license plate number and ask what he wants...

some bogus story and he drives away. I called the police and reported him. Waiting for them now to show up

I think the key fob fell out of pocket and in street, son drove away, creepy guy came buy and picked it up. and came back looking for car..

Just how can the car drive with out the fob

I need a drink

Sounds like you lost the keys to your loaner. What do you normally do when you lose your keys?

 

[scottm]

Sounds like you lost the keys to your loaner. What do you normally do when you lose your keys?

... have a nightmare.

Then a good stiff belt of whiskey.

Then sell all my assets and move to South America....

... of course! Doesn't everybody?

 

[Canuck]

So wait, you (or your son) lost the fob to a loaner car, and called the cops on some random guy who happened to be walking by?

Seriously?

If it was just "some random guy who happened to be walking by" then why did that guy "comes out of his neighbors yard and walks down street". I assume he knows his neighbors and this is obviously not them. Then later, the same guy returns. So he used circumstantial evidence (set out in his post -- which I understood fine) to tell us why he called the police. People are serving life in jail based solely on circumstantial evidence.

To the op -- Jimtesla -- please let us know if you asked your neighbour if they know who this was on their property?

 

[mspohr]

<snip>
Good summary!!


I'm thinking they give one fob out and keep the second at the centre so they can protect that second fob in case the "loanee" loses the first fob.

Whenever I rent a car, I only get one set of keys.
I assume the rental company has the other set so they can help me out if I lose the keys.