Model 3 Gripes 2 Months later

[jsmay311]

Charger button doesn’t unlock even with phone in range though.

This has never worked for me (even when the phone is working as the key). Pressing the UMC button does wake up my Model S right next to the 3

What??? SERIOUSLY?!?!?

Why in the world would this be??? If it can detect a phone to allow you to open the trunk when you're near the trunk, why not allow you to release the charger cable?

 

[nvx1977]

What??? SERIOUSLY?!?!?

Why in the world would this be??? If it can detect a phone to allow you to open the trunk when you're near the trunk, why not allow you to release the charger cable?

agreed. It feels like a needed enhancement. The car wakes when you press the UMC button (based on the clicking noises the car makes when you press it), but it doesn't unlock the car, and you can't remove the UMC.

Historically, UMC button was only intended to release the plug, and the car had to first be unlocked. This was to prevent randoms from unplugging you. The car should make an exception if the car detects your proximity, which it could with the newer S/X BLE fobs (I think?) and Model 3 phone key. I'm even ok if the car remains locked but I'm able remove the UMC.

Anyone with a newer S/X able to verify UMC button behavior? Can you unlock the car or remove the UMC by pressing the button if you have your fob on you?

 

[NRG4All]

I agree with you here, but for a different reason. Turning the steering wheel while not moving is not bad on the tires, but it is incredibly stressful on the steering components. It takes a lot of force to rotate 2 tires that aren't rotating. There's just a ton of friction between the tires and the road. My dad has told me since I was 5 years old to never turn the steering wheel (on anything you drive) unless the vehicle is moving. And you can definitely feel the difference between sitting still and barely moving - it goes from hard to turn to very easy.

One trick perhaps you haven't tried is to lightly touch the brake pedal so that the tires can move while the steering wheel is being turned. When the brake is depressed hard as in a full stop what you've said is exactly true. Thus, by releasing some of the pressure on the brake pedal should help. Does for me.

 

[NRG4All]

Although helpful, I suspect a lot of people won't watch it just like a lot of people unfortunately don't read manuals.

IMHO, they should produce it but ALSO should include an audio recording (hopefully with sections or "chapters") that basically goes over the same info so that the driver can listen to it while driving. And, perhaps it should be mandatory listening at above a certain volume level before AP is even enabled for the driver. After all, there's a calibration phase anyway.

I'd hope it'd be shorter than an hour though... like 15 to 40 minutes.

People today are looking for "sound bites". I would suggest that before the car is driven each day, that it displays a menu of 30 second (no longer than a minute) topics covering just one feature apiece. Of course there would be an "opt out" button to send these topics to a folder somewhere in the software so they could be reinstated but not come up on the screen every time a driver is in the car.

I had a personal experience dealing with this attention subject. An older friend was visiting and in the course of the conversation I indicated that I had read the book "The Water Will Come" by Jeff Goodell and that I had saved an hour long special of a speech he gave. My friend said he was willing to watch. After a few minutes (about the sound bite length) he exclaimed "Why doesn't he get to the point?". A few minutes after that he fell asleep. When it was over and he awoke, it was still too early for bed so I played him an episode of "Murder She Wrote" starring Angela Landsbury and he stayed awake for the entire hour!

 

[slipnslider]

FWIW, I've been driving Model 3 daily for the past 10 days and have had zero (i.e., nada, 0, bagels, ziltch) problems with my phone talking properly with the car. 100% success. (iPhone 6S, btw) In fact, I laughed at myself yesterday because I went out to my LEAF to drive to the gym (that is now LEAF's sole job, so as to maintain the new car smell of Model 3 for as long as possible) and hadn't thought to grab the key fob, which very suddenly feels super old-school to me. I keep the Model 3 key card with me now as a habit (3 pieces of plastic in my pocket now, rather than just two), thereby eliminating any phone/bluetooth stress. But again at a 100% hit rate thus far over 10 days/500 miles, I've already adjusted to lack of fob and find the notion of a fob to be quaint. I suspect the vast majority of Model 3 users will have the same experience as I am having. Unfortunately, few will bother to post about positive experiences.

A 28 page thread about phone key problems says you're wrong.
And just because yours is working NOW (because you happen to have the right phone with the right operating system) doesn't mean it always will. Every time you get a new phone or new OS, you're going to be hoping it works with your car.

 

[slipnslider]

FWIW, I've been driving Model 3 daily for the past 10 days and have had zero (i.e., nada, 0, bagels, ziltch) problems with my phone talking properly with the car. 100% success. (iPhone 6S, btw) In fact, I laughed at myself yesterday because I went out to my LEAF to drive to the gym (that is now LEAF's sole job, so as to maintain the new car smell of Model 3 for as long as possible) and hadn't thought to grab the key fob, which very suddenly feels super old-school to me. I keep the Model 3 key card with me now as a habit (3 pieces of plastic in my pocket now, rather than just two), thereby eliminating any phone/bluetooth stress. But again at a 100% hit rate thus far over 10 days/500 miles, I've already adjusted to lack of fob and find the notion of a fob to be quaint. I suspect the vast majority of Model 3 users will have the same experience as I am having. Unfortunately, few will bother to post about positive experiences.

A phone key working isn't a positive experience. It's just an experience. That's like saying sitting in a chair is a positive experience because it didn't collapse under you. Unless the phone key has equal or better reliability than a fob, it's an inferior solution. A 28 page thread about phone key problems suggests it's less reliable. Unless you can find a 28 page thread about fob problems somewhere...

 

[israndy]

Gads @slipnslider

Anywho, somehow I fell behind on this thread so a little late:

Floor mats, ordered the TRAPMATS

-Randy

 

[chronopc]

one other issue i thought of that I didn't add....

Accidental ear piercing audio. I often listen to things on youtube which requires me to turn volume up. I'll get out of the car and when I get back in I'll want to listen to the radio or stream or whatever. When I turn it the volume is unbearably loud. Would be nice to not just have a master volume but volume controls specific to the the different types of audio.

If you're using Android you can use an app called MacroDroid that will do this. I have it adjust to a specific volume depending on what type of bluetooth device (ie. car, headphones, etc.) I connect too.

 

[cellogig]

A phone key working isn't a positive experience. It's just an experience. That's like saying sitting in a chair is a positive experience because it didn't collapse under you. Unless the phone key has equal or better reliability than a fob, it's an inferior solution. A 28 page thread about phone key problems suggests it's less reliable. Unless you can find a 28 page thread about fob problems somewhere...

Today I resolved my issue with turning on location on my iPhone. But will it stay consistent? I hope so.

I met a fellow model 3 owner the other day and witness her issues with the iPhone as a key. I texted her today about turning on location on her iPhone. Now you would think and assume it work for her....nope, did not. She still has issues with connectivity using her phone as a key.

I know many people have valid reasons to go with a key fob. My wife has a fob for her model x. It is consistent every time. We should have be given a choice between a card or a fob.

 

[suwaneedad]

Unless the phone key has equal or better reliability than a fob, it's an inferior solution.

By this logic, I'd still be using copper phone service from my house, rather than digital cellular or WiFi calling, which are not as reliable.
That said, if it'd make you feel better, I suspect Model 3 owners who are happy with their phone as their key could produce more than a 28-page thread, but again those who are happy are less likely to bother talking about their happiness. Griping is all the rage these days.

The failsafe is the key card, which I carry with me and therefore I don't even wonder whether my phone key will work. Key card is lighter and less bulky than a fob, and its battery never dies. Use that, and leave your phone at home. Drama solved.

 

[cellogig]

Today I resolved my issue with turning on location on my iPhone. But will it stay consistent? I hope so.

Just moments ago went outside to retrieve some music in my locked car in my garage.

My pants with my wallet in another part of the house.

iPhone in hand. Thinking to myself “ah what a great day today...my iPhone key issue was finally resolved.

Now envision the price is right when a contestant loses and music plays when they lose....or has lost the game


I forgot to add...on the screen inside the car. Tap key card to unlock was illuminated inside car

 

[slipnslider]

By this logic, I'd still be using copper phone service from my house, rather than digital cellular or WiFi calling, which are not as reliable.
That said, if it'd make you feel better, I suspect Model 3 owners who are happy with their phone as their key could produce more than a 28-page thread, but again those who are happy are less likely to bother talking about their happiness. Griping is all the rage these days.

The failsafe is the key card, which I carry with me and therefore I don't even wonder whether my phone key will work. Key card is lighter and less bulky than a fob, and its battery never dies. Use that, and leave your phone at home. Drama solved.

The fact that they have to provide a failsafe is an admission by tesla that the phone key is unreliable. Fobs didn't need a failsafe.

 

[Bet TSLA]

The fact that they have to provide a failsafe is an admission by tesla that the phone key is unreliable. Fobs didn't need a failsafe.

The failsafe for fobs is calling up Tesla and having them unlock the car for you. The phone app is also a backup that I've used when the fob has failed me (both for unlocking and starting). There are many people who use the phone app as their primary key for a Model S/X and use the fob as an emergency backup.

 

[israndy]

Geez slipnslider

 

[KarlaM3]

Why does Tesla have to provide them? Just buy these... They're great:

https://www.amazon.com/ToughPRO-Tesla-Model-Floor-Mats/dp/B0792RW471

I bought these same floor matts and I love them. They fit perfectly.

 

[jackbowers]

A few thoughts:

Powering down and powering up your phone will often clear up problems with the Model 3 ignoring it.

If you own more than one Tesla, you must Select the Model 3 in the Tesla App or the phone will be ignored.

It would not be hard for Tesla to design a bluetooth fob and make it available as an accessory. Even if software improvements eventually solve most of today’s key problems, this kind of device would be useful for people who don’t carry around a smartphone, or who choose to wear an Apple Watch and leave their phone at home.

 

[Paul S]

I’ve now owned my model 3 for over 2 months and while I overall am happy with the car I wanted to summarize issues/problems I’ve experienced that may go under the radar in most reviews I've seen. Some of them are small gripes so I tried to put them in order of importance to me.

1. Without a doubt and by far my #1 issue is the Bluetooth connection to unlock/lock car. Essentially I was told over the phone the technology needs to “catch up” and other signals my phone projects (GPS, 4G, etc) shadow the bluetooth signal so the car doesn’t sense Bluetooth. No clue when this will be fixed but the workaround is putting phone in airplane mode with only Bluetooth on (or could remotely unlock in the app but then you also have to remotely turn car on which requires typing in your password). I have an android phone but the tech person said they are mostly seeing the issue in Iphone 10 users. Having difficulty unlocking your car in rain, when hands full etc is not something I would expect to have to deal with for a car that cost this much. Also I’ve lost a cell phone as a result of me trying to unlock my car in the pouring rain.
   1. Somewhat related, in a software update they turned off car unlocking when you approach it and it won’t do so until you touch the door handle. This should be an option of which you want as obviously it could work either way and might be a personal preference. Especially when I have no clue if my car is sensing my Bluetooth it was helpful not having to touch the door handle to figure this out (again not ideal when hands are full).
      
      
   2. Cannot remove the charger without unlocking a door or opening trunk. People have mentioned this but the problem is further compounded when it’s difficult to unlock the car.
2. Poor Customer Service. While Tesla may have been known for excellent customer service my experience has been otherwise. I used a loved one’s reservation and it’s been over 2 months and they still have not moved the car to my account. From day 1 the car was always in my name and mine only. I have been told several times “2 weeks away from fixing this”. They admitted to messing up finally and only putting in request for me to have phone access. Despite acknowledging the mistake was on their end they refuse to do anything to go out of their way to make the issue right again other than the standard process they use (which has not worked). Their customer service people are short, rude and answers vary widely depending on who you talk to. The loved one has recently filled a 2nd reservation their spouse had and has their own model 3 now. Their phone app now shows both model 3’s and it’s a safety concern they might accidently mess with controls on my car by accident while I’m driving it. Never mind the confusing mess of who charged what in supercharging that it creates.
   
   
3. Interior upholstery on the door seems cheap. I had a printer in a box sitting in passenger seat and made a left/right turn not very hard. It created a dent/smudge on the passenger door. I was shocked the material was so sensitive.
   
   
4. Slow software updates. 2 things: Enhanced autopilot features arriving….? I paid $5,000 extra for features that are coming at an undisclosed time. My manual mentions things like the summon feature, and also was told it would pull on to and off the freeway with autopilot. Also I’m somewhat annoyed that heated rear seats suddenly became available after the cold winter had passed. The technology to provide this given the hardware was already present should not be that tough for a tech company to figure out. It makes me wonder/wish a heated steering wheel update is in the works but I have no idea if the hardware is there or not which would make this happen.
   
   
5. Floor Mats are like magnets to dirt and are hard to keep clean. I’ve replaced them as a result of this
   
   
6. Airbag needs service. I noticed at first when I stayed at a lady friend’s house and my car was in her driveway on the cold Ohio mornings in Feb/March I would get an airbag needs service request. I contacted them and they just said lets monitor it. Month or so later now the warning comes up 100% of the time. I cannot open my trunk from inside the car because the warning is over this. They need to move the warnings so they don’t decrease additional functionality on the car. I am bringing the car in today to be serviced.
   
   
7. Car charging via android/iphone should be wireless. These mounted chargers are very impractical as they won’t work if your phone has a case on it
   
   
8. Various small bugs. Several times screen hasn’t come on. I’ve had screen also look like a broken monitor (pixels running in vertical lines) which others have reported having happen. Several times when making a phone call it sounds like I’m listening to an encrypted deceptacon talking.
   
   
9. Ambiguous functionality of autopilot. I’ve found it very hard to get any real details on what the autopilot is supposed to do. Why can’t it tell me that it will only lane change on the freeway or when I have my turn signal on and just have to wonder if it will move or not, give an indicator message such as “cannot change lanes”
   
   
10. Auto-park icon rarely shows up if I wanted to use it. However, given how auto-park works I would avoid this as it likes to adjust the steering wheel while the car is stopped. This cannot be good for the life of the tires.
    
    
11. Not an issue for me but I have ethical issues with the fact they are allowing people to pay $3000 for full autonomous mode when it may never come to pass, or at least certainly not for many years from now.

I’ve now owned my model 3 for over 2 months and while I overall am happy with the car I wanted to summarize issues/problems I’ve experienced that may go under the radar in most reviews I've seen. Some of them are small gripes so I tried to put them in order of importance to me.

1. Without a doubt and by far my #1 issue is the Bluetooth connection to unlock/lock car. Essentially I was told over the phone the technology needs to “catch up” and other signals my phone projects (GPS, 4G, etc) shadow the bluetooth signal so the car doesn’t sense Bluetooth. No clue when this will be fixed but the workaround is putting phone in airplane mode with only Bluetooth on (or could remotely unlock in the app but then you also have to remotely turn car on which requires typing in your password). I have an android phone but the tech person said they are mostly seeing the issue in Iphone 10 users. Having difficulty unlocking your car in rain, when hands full etc is not something I would expect to have to deal with for a car that cost this much. Also I’ve lost a cell phone as a result of me trying to unlock my car in the pouring rain.
   1. Somewhat related, in a software update they turned off car unlocking when you approach it and it won’t do so until you touch the door handle. This should be an option of which you want as obviously it could work either way and might be a personal preference. Especially when I have no clue if my car is sensing my Bluetooth it was helpful not having to touch the door handle to figure this out (again not ideal when hands are full).
      
      
   2. Cannot remove the charger without unlocking a door or opening trunk. People have mentioned this but the problem is further compounded when it’s difficult to unlock the car.
2. Poor Customer Service. While Tesla may have been known for excellent customer service my experience has been otherwise. I used a loved one’s reservation and it’s been over 2 months and they still have not moved the car to my account. From day 1 the car was always in my name and mine only. I have been told several times “2 weeks away from fixing this”. They admitted to messing up finally and only putting in request for me to have phone access. Despite acknowledging the mistake was on their end they refuse to do anything to go out of their way to make the issue right again other than the standard process they use (which has not worked). Their customer service people are short, rude and answers vary widely depending on who you talk to. The loved one has recently filled a 2nd reservation their spouse had and has their own model 3 now. Their phone app now shows both model 3’s and it’s a safety concern they might accidently mess with controls on my car by accident while I’m driving it. Never mind the confusing mess of who charged what in supercharging that it creates.
   
   
3. Interior upholstery on the door seems cheap. I had a printer in a box sitting in passenger seat and made a left/right turn not very hard. It created a dent/smudge on the passenger door. I was shocked the material was so sensitive.
   
   
4. Slow software updates. 2 things: Enhanced autopilot features arriving….? I paid $5,000 extra for features that are coming at an undisclosed time. My manual mentions things like the summon feature, and also was told it would pull on to and off the freeway with autopilot. Also I’m somewhat annoyed that heated rear seats suddenly became available after the cold winter had passed. The technology to provide this given the hardware was already present should not be that tough for a tech company to figure out. It makes me wonder/wish a heated steering wheel update is in the works but I have no idea if the hardware is there or not which would make this happen.
   
   
5. Floor Mats are like magnets to dirt and are hard to keep clean. I’ve replaced them as a result of this
   
   
6. Airbag needs service. I noticed at first when I stayed at a lady friend’s house and my car was in her driveway on the cold Ohio mornings in Feb/March I would get an airbag needs service request. I contacted them and they just said lets monitor it. Month or so later now the warning comes up 100% of the time. I cannot open my trunk from inside the car because the warning is over this. They need to move the warnings so they don’t decrease additional functionality on the car. I am bringing the car in today to be serviced.
   
   
7. Car charging via android/iphone should be wireless. These mounted chargers are very impractical as they won’t work if your phone has a case on it
   
   
8. Various small bugs. Several times screen hasn’t come on. I’ve had screen also look like a broken monitor (pixels running in vertical lines) which others have reported having happen. Several times when making a phone call it sounds like I’m listening to an encrypted deceptacon talking.
   
   
9. Ambiguous functionality of autopilot. I’ve found it very hard to get any real details on what the autopilot is supposed to do. Why can’t it tell me that it will only lane change on the freeway or when I have my turn signal on and just have to wonder if it will move or not, give an indicator message such as “cannot change lanes”
   
   
10. Auto-park icon rarely shows up if I wanted to use it. However, given how auto-park works I would avoid this as it likes to adjust the steering wheel while the car is stopped. This cannot be good for the life of the tires.
    
    
11. Not an issue for me but I have ethical issues with the fact they are allowing people to pay $3000 for full autonomous mode when it may never come to pass, or at least certainly not for many years from now.

I love it when folks buy the economy version, then complain about minor issues.

 

[Oldschool496]

[QUOTE There are many people who use the phone app as their primary key for a Model S/X and use the fob as an emergency backup.[/QUOTE]

I never got in the habit of this APP key because as we all discovered last weekend and one other time I can recall the App was down.
So when I travel I have one Fob and my wife has the other and the App is the backup plan. Model 3 that card is your key. IF its not working you better get it fixed now PRONTO. The App as per all this reading looks like not dependable at all yet for Model 3 perhaps.

As far as unlocking the charge cord, at home it unlocks from my MS sometimes without unlocking the car????

I have never had it unlock anywhere else though without unlocking the car. If your car does not unlock you can safely assume your charge cord is stuck. Pressing the button on the cord is still required even if car unlocked.

Yes, I agree try resetting your phone, I do it all the time. Shut it off. Too many apps running or background bookmarks etc.

 

[Oldschool496]

I love it when folks buy the economy version, then complain about minor issues.

Supposed economy version, the first one I ever sat in showroom was I recall $57,900. NO way paying 57,900 for that car. Model S any day of the week for more money sure, but way more of a car for the price. We now all understand why the MS60 is gone. Its glaring.

Now 35 grand for grocery getter that has all the bugs worked out, well perhaps.

 

[feli]

Tesla should provide an optional FOB for model 3. The issue here is NOT Tesla's SW or bluetooth. It is about how the bluetooth implementation is on both Android and iPhones. The phone needs to save power, so they do NOT have the bluetooth radio advertising all the time its presence. It is dynamically managed by the OS in the phone and it decides when to broadcast the bluetooth services of the phone. The car's BT radio is always on scanning to see if a known BT advertiser (your phone) is around and then unlock the car.

These varies from phone to phone and from OS to OS version in the phones, to give you an example sometimes on iOS there can be lapses of 30s or more with the BT radio not advertising its ID making it impossible for the car to detect the presence.

I have developed bluetooth proximity applications and know how this works, it is documented on both Android and iOS developer guides. As the battery of your phone gets lower the power management policies become more aggressive and bluetooth is not advertising for longer periods of time.

Tesla knows this, and still they chose to use this as the primary method to unlock the vehicle. From an App perspective you can't override the phone OS bluetooth power policy when the App is in the background. When it is on the foreground (app open) your car will unlock easier (because the App now has full control of the BT radio on the phone) but when the phone is in your pocket (App in background mode) the phone OS has to arbitrate the use of the BT radio based on all the services requested by all BT apps in your phone (Tesla app being just one of them). This is how phone OSs work so you do not burn battery as BT will be advertising its ID too often.

So, give us the option of an FOB like in the model S. Also heard phone auto unlock is coming on Model S at some point.