My key fob got auto-locked inside the car

[cmarshack]

I just have no tolerance for stupid people. I truly hope you get stranded one day.

 

[agtdDelirium]

I just have no tolerance for stupid people. I truly hope you get stranded one day.

Ok, I was just about to respond to this post, quoting others and suddenly realized most of the thread was from a year ago. Don't get too upset. Nonetheless, I have been frustrated multiple times by the seeming randomness of when my car will suddenly lock with the FOB in the car. What's amazing is that a post from a year ago is still so relevant today! I nearly panicked at a car wash late at night, drying off my car when it locked itself with the FOB (inside a backpack and likely signal blocked) and my phone inside. For no reason whatsoever, all doors would not respond, but the trunk opened when pressed and suddenly the car was unlocked again. I now never leave the FOB in the car without my phone in my pocket.

 

[RAW84]

I just have no tolerance for stupid people. I truly hope you get stranded one day.

You can call me “stupid” and a “moron” all day long, but only one us locked their fob in their car...proof’s in the pudding

 

[Hugg727]

I recently purchased a Model S from a private seller. The other night I stopped at a Supercharger and upon completing the charge I got out of the vehicle, closed the door behind me and tried to remove the charger from the car. The fob was in my backpack in the back seat and my phone was still in the car, but that didnt matter because I cant move the car over to my Tesla account until I get the new registration. As soon as I heard the doors click I knew I was in trouble. I was locked out and the charger was also locked into the port. I tried multiple ways to open any of the doors with no luck.
Good thing this supercharger was at a rest stop with a gas station and a restaurant...I had to borrow a phone from one of the attendants and call the 800 number that I found on the Supercharger. Once connected the CS rep was extremely helpful and asked for the VIN and the email that the cars account is connected to......"uh I dont have that setup yet" . Ok "can you tell me the name of the previous owner?"..."uh, i dont remember and his phone number is on my phone that is locked in the car". The only way that I could get back into the car was if the previous owner would be able to unlock the car from his phone. The CS rep tried calling him for 20 minutes with no answer. As she was about to give me the phone number for a local roadside assist to come and slim Jim the door open, i asked her to try him 1 more time. Thankfully he answered and opened the door remotely.

I have owned many cars with key fobs and all of them have a safety feature that if the fob is in the car it wont lock. I cant believe the Tesla cant figure this out.

 

[Mary Starfnbu]

This kind of thing can happen to anyone. There are so many things we do by habit and rote and it happened to me today. After a couple of months of driving the S exclusively, I needed our Jeep to haul some stuff. I parked the car, made sure I had the fob in my pocket and walked away. After about ten steps, I realized I not only left it unlocked, but I left the engine running. I felt really foolish.

 

[tranzndance]

When I've forgotten the fob in the Tesla, the car stayed unlocked. It appeared locked, but pushing any handle would open the door.

 

[PrGrPa]

A couple of times I left the key inside the Tesla Model S and the doors locked. Since the other key was available in the house, I was able to unlock the car using the second key. What if the other key was not available? What if the phone w app was in the car, too? How would I get into the car? Why doesn't Tesla prevent locking a key inside? My other automobiles (Lexus, Toyota) do not allow the doors to lock when the key is left inside. Please let me know if you have a solution.

Fascinating. The key was left in the boot of my model S just earlier this week. Only reason I noticed this was that it was sat on the driveway with its door handles out and mirrors unfolded. Stayed like that until I found the key in a bag, in the boot, and put it in an RFID-proof pouch in the bag. Closed the boot and the car locked itself.

I think we can only expect manufacturers to anticipate a certain degree of carelessness from owners. I suppose different manufacturers design for different scenarios. I’ve had saloon cars in the past where the cabin and boot are inaccessible from each other. In those it has been possible to lock the cabin, open the boot, put the key in the boot, close it and then have to call for help to regain entry to the vehicle.