Model 3 Key Fob is here: $150

[voip-ninja]

it is supposed to be instant - you walk up and press the handle, and the door opens. you have never once had to stand there holding the door handle open and wait even a second or two for the car to unlock and let you in? i know we have seen people with new iphones here who are still having issues, so i want to know what kind of unicorn setup you have going on that it literally is working flawlessly 100% of the time...also, while we're at it, please email tesla support and ask them to pull logs from your car and offer them any relevant logs from your phone so they can see what's going on too and make it work for all of us.

In two months of ownership I have had one occurrence where the car did not immediately respond to pulling the handle and opening the door. I'm not sure what happened that time as after a delay of about 5 seconds it finally let me in and I didn't have to get the card out. This also coincided with update to 42.x software.

The Tesla phone integration is working pretty well for me with my iPhone X, much better than I expected in fact but it's not "perfect" and never will be based on the hardware that is in the car.

A few things I would like to see that should be possible with what's in the car now;

• Ability to add commonly used functions to the iPhone side-dock area to quick launch functions like climate-control activation, stop charging, unlock charge port. Currently I have to launch the Tesla app, wait for my car to wake and then execute those functions... but I can send an address to the Tesla app via an app like Maps and the car has the address up on my screen ready to navigate by the time I get into it.
• Add support for backup BT entry methods like watches.
• Allow me to schedule the car so that it knows when I'm most likely to be getting in or exiting..... this would use a little more energy but would speed up unlocking times so that the car isn't a zombie when people try to get into it.
• Geo fencing of the car when it's parked at home in my garage... there is no need for it to lock in that case. Signal level of WiFi could be used to "learn" when the car is in the garage proper, or owners could do an on-screen waiver that they understand using the feature can't result in perfect results if they for example park the car in their driveway one night instead of garage and it is broken into.

The final thing is that Tesla needs to put some of their "we know better" hubris aside and understand that not all other car makers are idiots.... for example, Tesla needs to join the very large group of automakers who is working on a standard with phone makers for using NFC to unlock and activate vehicles. Instead Tesla engineers continue their "we know better" attitude and do their own thing.

 

[TT97]

Is the Model 3 fob battery not a user-replaceable, standard-size battery?

It's just a basic coin battery CR2032 - same as the Model S fob. Easily replaceable on your own.

Model 3 Key Fob

 

[crackers8199]

When the battery runs out, it'll fail.

as opposed to failing multiple times a day every day? not really the best comparison to try to make a point that phone key is awesome, unless you were being sarcastic...

 

[chronopc]

as opposed to failing multiple times a day every day? not really the best comparison to try to make a point that phone key is awesome, unless you were being sarcastic...

My point was that it's unrealistic that expect a success rate of 100%. When it comes to digital technology nothing is ever 100%.

My phone has only failed twice since I got the car in early June. While that's not a 100% success rate, it might as well be.

 

[crackers8199]

My point was that it's unrealistic that expect a success rate of 100%. When it comes to digital technology nothing is ever 100%.

it is not at all unrealistic to expect a success rate of 100%. if my 2013 model year vehicle that cost $30k less than my model 3 can hit that mark, it is not at all unrealistic to expect a 2018 model year $60k tech marvel of a car to do the same.

using the "if the battery dies, it'll fail" argument as if it's a reasonable way to excuse the problems we've all been having with this is a joke. of course it's going to fail if the battery dies, nobody is saying it should work if the battery is dead...what we want it to do is work 100% of the time when the battery is charged, and it's not even coming remotely close to that for most of us.

 

[Az_Rael]

Got mine in today!! Here are some comparisons to the S fob:

Looks like it is close enough that a sleeve made for the S will work on the 3. My S "bikini" sleeve does fit on the 3 fob. So I ordered a couple leather S covers to do me until the 3 sleeve market catches up.

And yes, no lanyard in the box. Bah.

 

[FranceUSA]

Nice match to the S one

Got mine in today!! Here are some comparisons to the S fob:

View attachment 352745 View attachment 352746

Looks like it is close enough that a sleeve made for the S will work on the 3. My S "bikini" sleeve does fit on the 3 fob. So I ordered a couple leather S covers to do me until the 3 sleeve market catches up.

And yes, no lanyard in the box. Bah.

Nice match. They look in love.

 

[TT97]

And yes, no lanyard in the box. Bah.

At $150, their margins are razor thin. They would need to increase the price to $200 to include a lanyard!

I suppose they could have included a lanyard instead of the 2nd battery which honestly don't know what to do with. The first battery should last about five years, once the battery dies, I'm not replacing it with a five year old battery.

 

[luvnMyTS]

Wonder if this will fit on the Model 3 key fob

Utopicar Key fob case Tesla Model S - Car Key Sleeve Engineered Perfect snug fit. [Genuine Leather] [Handmade] (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071469ZY7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_Aj06BbTHJN6GC

Yes, it will fit. Model 3 key fob is the same size as the Model S key fob. The Model X key fobs are apparently larger, but the Model 3 and S key fobs I can verify firsthand that the Model S key fob sleeves/pockets/covers (whatever you want to call them) will work on the 3 key fobs. I had extras and already put my 3 fobs in them. The fit like a glove.

 

[ian stuart]

My point was that it's unrealistic that expect a success rate of 100%. When it comes to digital technology nothing is ever 100%.

My phone has only failed twice since I got the car in early June. While that's not a 100% success rate, it might as well be.

I got my Model 3 in July. I have had nothing but problems with the phone control, including problems getting the charging point to unlock. The final straw was standing in torrential rain and having both the phone and the card fail to open the car. I ordered the fob but I must admit that I find it annoying that Tesla charges me $150 to fix THEIR failure (and the phone is an LG V30 with T Mobile so not an unknown model)

 

[Lucy#?]

The cute little car is not a "fob." It's a toy; too big, no passive entry? $150? Useless and ridiculous.

 

[DaveHarper]

Ever since the Model 3 was introduced we've wanted a key fob in the worst way. Unfortunately, that's exactly what Tesla has given us.

 

[chronopc]

it is not at all unrealistic to expect a success rate of 100%. if my 2013 model year vehicle that cost $30k less than my model 3 can hit that mark, it is not at all unrealistic to expect a 2018 model year $60k tech marvel of a car to do the same.

using the "if the battery dies, it'll fail" argument as if it's a reasonable way to excuse the problems we've all been having with this is a joke. of course it's going to fail if the battery dies, nobody is saying it should work if the battery is dead...what we want it to do is work 100% of the time when the battery is charged, and it's not even coming remotely close to that for most of us.

My comment was in response to someone who said he's upset when people say their phone works 100% of the time because he is saying there had to be a failure once. Which is a true point, 99.99% isn't the same as 100% but nothing works 100% of the time. My comment about the battery dying was a joke, but I find it hard to believe that a key fob, never ever fails, not even once. From what people are posting on youtube the fob for the Model 3 is already having issues.

 

[whitex]

The cute little car is not a "fob." It's a toy; too big, no passive entry? $150? Useless and ridiculous.

No passive entry because it's an afterthought. Very consistent with Elon's "fail fast" strategy - release a product, see what customers complain about, fix it in software or in the next version. The problem is, once you produce 100K+ of the product and it's not a software only fix, you have to placate existing customers, hence the current fob. I still have a 2015 Model S with Elon's genius parking-sensor based blind spot monitoring which can't even see a Cadillac Escalade next to my car at 75mph on a highway (or slower with a headwind), not to mention tractor trailers it can't see at any speeds. Solution, camera based blind spot monitoring, but requires me to buy a new car to get it.

 

[chronopc]

I got my Model 3 in July. I have had nothing but problems with the phone control, including problems getting the charging point to unlock. The final straw was standing in torrential rain and having both the phone and the card fail to open the car. I ordered the fob but I must admit that I find it annoying that Tesla charges me $150 to fix THEIR failure (and the phone is an LG V30 with T Mobile so not an unknown model)

The card failed to open your car? Maybe there's a bigger issue with your Model 3.

 

[chronopc]

The cute little car is not a "fob." It's a toy; too big, no passive entry? $150? Useless and ridiculous.

I would be fine with paying $150 if it support passive entry and summon.

 

[glgador007]

I'm not buying the FOB because I believe Tesla will eventually figure out a fix to the problem using mobile phones to access TM3. Having my phone out of my pocket to open my car is a much better alternative than carrying another gadget for the same purpose.

 

[chronopc]

I'm not buying the FOB because I believe Tesla will eventually figure out a fix to the problem using mobile phones to access TM3. Having my phone out of my pocket to open my car is a much better alternative than carrying another gadget for the same purpose.

I feel bad for you and everyone else who is having problem using the phone to access TM3. It's such a great feature. You don't even have to take your phone out of your pocket to open the car.

 

[rama2468]

Does this work with summon? Thats the main thing I was hoping the Key Fob would addresss.

Anyone know why they disabled passive entry?

Amar

MQUOTE="darknavi, post: 3187238, member: 72964"]Let me say that I love my phone-key and it works flawlessly for me. The price is one thing, but lack of passive entry makes this thing basically useless.[/QUOTE]

 

[rama2468]

Ive had intermittent problems with passive entry. Sometimes I have to reopen the app to make it work. Anyone have any tricks on making it work without taking my phone out?

I feel bad for you and everyone else who is having problem using the phone to access TM3. It's such a great feature. You don't even have to take your phone out of your pocket to open the car.