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M3 Keyfobs
- Thread starter steve in socal
- Start date
Lifeinabox
Member
Love mine! I did have to buy a holder for it, since Tesla didnt include a lanyard for whatever reason, but other than that it has been great! It has worked 100% which I can't say for my phone as key.
I still have my phone as key active, but I use the fob to unlock when it's raining or cold or in a dark parking lot at night where I have security concerns. Basically any time I absolutely want the door to be unlocked 100% when I pull the handle. I also use it to unlock the trunk as I approach with groceries, hands full, etc. I can manage the fob with a couple of fingers vs digging my phone out of my purse and getting into the app. Before the fob I had several times where I got to the trunk arms full, it wouldn't open with the button, and I had to set everything on the ground to fish for my phone to open the app to unlock.
jkoya
NA2 NSX
Someone here on TMC linked me to the following holder for the Model S keyfob, which also fits the model 3:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0769FWRWM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They might be somewhat pricy for some, at almost $30, but they fit very nice (especially once you take a couple of the included foam pads and put it inside the holder... then the keyfob doesnt move at all).
It makes the keyfob look premium, and its some sort of metal. They come in a few colors, and I got the blue one since my model 3 is blue. I always carry my wifes BMW key with me, so I just clipped the two of them together, and the tesla key looks just as premium as the BMW one in this holder.
It also comes with the keyring shown. For me, the $30 was well worth it for this keyfob (I consider it 3 fast food lunches, vs something I will have for at least a couple of years).
Needsdecaf
Active Member
Is this being purchased mainly because people are having issues with phone as key?
Personally I'm loving NOT having a keyfob in my pocket...
Personally I'm loving NOT having a keyfob in my pocket...
I just like wasting money. My phone actually works really well.
StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
Ha ha! I like wasting money too but I don't like stocking/replacing batteries in a bunch of devices. And having more things around to keep track of. Plus both my wifes phone and my phone work flawlessly as keys. Maybe I'll just send Tesla a check for $150 and tell them to keep it.
I'm laughing reading this trying to imagine the times you DON'T want the door unlocked when you pull the handle.
I'm laughing reading this trying to imagine the times you DON'T want the door unlocked when you pull the handle.
LOL, well, you know, the things we get used to owning Teslas.
T34ME
Active Member
Over a one month+ period, my wife's Samsung S8 has worked 100% of the time. I bought the key fob for myself. It arrived last week. I bought a silicone florescent cover for it - glows in the dark! I don't carry a smartphone. Personally, I'm loving NOT having a smartphone in my pocket.
Jaywlker
Former Vendor
There is a place for a keyring. You can find info in the manual. You need to buy a lanyard separately, though.
A few reasons for me...
1. I carry they keyfob to my wifes BMW every time I leave the house (habit, I guess, since we both have our profiles linked to our specific BMW keyfobs). I am used to having 2 BMW keyfobs in my pocket, and being able to lock and unlock the car with a keyfob if desired... although on the BMWs I have had, they all had the comfort access passive entry feature so no need to take the keyfob out.
2. Phone as key has worked "most" of the time. All of the time once I realized I needed to not have my phone in the back pocket of my jeans, which is where I keep it when not in hand. I have an iPhone 8, wife has an iPhone XS Max. Both work 100% to open the car, as long as a human being is not between the phone and the car.
A couple times i needed to get in the car "quickly" as it was raining outside etc, I had not yet realized that the phone being in my back pocket was an issue.
3. Ability to give the keyfob to someone who will be providing a service, and know they know what to do with it. I even bought a keycard wallet, that I could give to someone if needed (valet parking, car washing, window tinting, car wrapping, relative running to the store, etc etc). Explaining usage of this keyfob takes 20 seconds, because everyone understands a car keyfob at this point. Push once on the roof to lock, twice to unlock. Done.
Handing someone a keycard, even in a wallet, and telling them that is for driving your car, and they get a glazed look on their face that says "whaaaa?????" even if they dont say it. As Model 3s get more and more "out in the wild" that will be less and less of an issue, but for right now, it is definitely an issue. Not giving someone my phone, and afraid they would lose my keycard if they cant hang it with the rest of their keys. Even with the key wallet, it is different than their normal processes... and different is not necessarily good when it comes to these things.
I felt the price was more than fair, actually. Unlike some that are complaining about $150 being excessive for a key, that seems like a drop in the bucket when coming from German car keys.. BMW keys can be 300-400 even 500 dollars, depending on the dealer and the state you are in, and then they want to charge dealer programing for it.
So, $150 for the "life of the car" or "life of the keyfob" which I expect the keyfob to last at least 5-6 years unless I drop it and step on it or something, seems like a small price to pay. All money "worth" is relative though.
4. It looks cool, especially with the holder I got (not discounting this.. this is part of it for me). The keyfob with the holder I got actually looks like a premium product now, and is a good matching set with the BMW keyfob I carry.
roguenode
Member
I got it for valet use and to see if I liked it better (than the keycard) to take with me on runs when I don't want my phone with me. Funny thing, most valets I've dealt with so far are so used to not having to push to lock/unlock with Tesla keyfobs they are still confused.
StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
T34ME
Active Member
Nope, I prefer a rotary phone with a party line and an operator that says, "number pleeeaz." I'm going to put a hand crank into the towing port on the nose of my model 3 to make it look more like a REAL car. Got a problem with that, sonny? Now get off my lawn!You must be that Model 3 owner I heard about that still uses a flip-phone!
StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
Nope, I prefer a rotary phone with a party line and an operator that says, "number pleeeaz." I'm going to put a hand crank into the towing port on the nose of my model 3 to make it look more like a REAL car. Got a problem with that, sonny? Now get off my lawn!
Haha. I actually had a Nissan Patrol with a hand-crank starter that inserted into a hole through the front bumper. It came in handy one night after I accidentally left my headlights on for 7 hours at a ski area in a storm. The starter battery was stone cold dead so I pulled out that steel crank, inserted it and gave it a manly heave. That big 4.0L cast iron block straight-six fired right up. I was in business again! Which meant I could drive wherever I wanted as long as I had enough gas to feed that thirsty 15 MPG engine! That gave it a 250-mile range.
Nissan didn't even offer a key fob for it.
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