Locked out of our Model S (with easy solution)

[Newscutter]

Ham guy and former TV station employee here... isn't most of your station's transmitting done via microwave to the transmitter site? Or is your transmitter onsite? I don't think microwaves would interfere with the key fob's signal, especially since they are directional, but the main transmitter might.

Station used to be located within the cable footprint of the main tower, but now we bouncing about a mile via microwave. All the satellite dishes are on this site along the parking lot edge, as are the radios-- basically everything except our main transmitter (which remained that original building's location where the tower is). I'm not an engineer so I just assumed something here would have some effect--- but maybe you're right! I guess I'll have to bring my own Tesla here someday to try it out.:love:

 

[Longhorn92]

So, my wife just called and was locked out of our Model S. She had left her purse with the key fob in the middle "canyon" area. When she came back out to the car a few minutes later, the handles wouldn't present when she touched them. I asked if she had her iPhone, but she informed me that her iPhone was in her purse as well, so I opened up the Tesla app on my iPhone, verified that the car was indeed locked, then unlocked the car using my app. Problem solved, but why would the car lock within minutes of closing the door if the key fob was in the center console area?

Here are my initial guesses:
1. Since the key fob was in her purse, maybe the car wasn't sensing it through the purse (although her key fob never leaves her purse, and she has never had a problem with the car not sensing it before)
2. The key fob battery is low (car is only three and a half months old... does anyone know how long the key fob batteries are suppose to last?)

Any other possibilities that I might be missing? This was in the driveway of our house, so there were no transmission towers nearby. She states that she has done this several times when she briefly stops at home, and the handles always present when she returns and touches them.

 

[flyinghawaiian]

So, my wife just called and was locked out of our Model S. She had left her purse with the key fob in the middle "canyon" area. When she came back out to the car a few minutes later, the handles wouldn't present when she touched them. I asked if she had her iPhone, but she informed me that her iPhone was in her purse as well, so I opened up the Tesla app on my iPhone, verified that the car was indeed locked, then unlocked the car using my app. Problem solved, but why would the car lock within minutes of closing the door if the key fob was in the center console area?

Here are my initial guesses:
1. Since the key fob was in her purse, maybe the car wasn't sensing it through the purse (although her key fob never leaves her purse, and she has never had a problem with the car not sensing it before)
2. The key fob battery is low (car is only three and a half months old... does anyone know how long the key fob batteries are suppose to last?)

Any other possibilities that I might be missing? This was in the driveway of our house, so there were no transmission towers nearby. She states that she has done this several times when she briefly stops at home, and the handles always present when she returns and touches them.

This exact scenario just happened to my wife this morning. We also tried using the other FOB, it wouldn't unlock the car either.

I used my app and it indeed showed the car was locked. I was able to unlock it. But why wouldn't the other fob not unlock it? The car was in our driveway and we hadn't had any interference issues. Secondly, what kind of design is it where your car locks you out with the key still in it? My audi and bmw doesn't do that.

 

[Mark Z]

It's easy to forget your phone if charging it in the center console. Be extra careful and get in the habit of removing the phone each time.

A work around is to find another person with a smart phone that would let you borrow their phone while they stand by. Install the Tesla app, log on, unlock the car and then delete the app.

 

[flyinghawaiian]

It's easy to forget your phone if charging it in the center console. Be extra careful and get in the habit of removing the phone each time.

A work around is to find another person with a smart phone that would let you borrow their phone while they stand by. Install the Tesla app, log on, unlock the car and then delete the app.

We like the auto locking walk away feature so we plan to keep that on. We will definitely need to take extra precaution to prevent this from happening again.