New Tesla Model 3 extended range locked me out, Tesla refused to help

[datoda]

It's where I carry mine but it's sort of putting all your eggs in one basket. If I lose my phone, I lose my card too. Fortunately, I have another keycard in my wallet .

edit: The nice thing about the keycard-sandwiched-in-the-phone-case is that I can use it if I take too long to drive off and the car asks for a card to start. It does take an exact placement of the phone behind the cupholders for it to be recognized though. Probably the metal in the phone restricting the RFID reader's range. Same thing occurs if I try to use the phone against the B pillar reader. Useless to use my wallet (with keycard inside) as I have one of those RFID-blocking ones.

An alternative placement of the keycard. This way, you'll always have it with you (or you'll have things more pressing to worry about if you do lose it).

 

[RayK]

An alternative placement of the keycard. This way, you'll always have it with you (or you'll have things more pressing to worry about if you do lose it).

Uh.... no.

edit: Before I would even CONTEMPLATE something like that, I'd get one of those CNICK rings.

edit2: Now that you made me even remotely consider that option, I'm starting to wonder if I my two microchip cat feeders would recognize a Tesla keycard....

edit3: Nope, I can't program my Tesla keycard into the cat feeder. Didn't think it would really work since I understand that the Tesla keycards are NFC and pet microchips are RFID. Both systems have different operating frequencies and data standards.

 

[threeputts]

Uh.... no.

HELL NO

 

[bddesh]

This is very hard to read, but I left it the way you posted it, without adding spacing.

I read through it, and what it seems to me is:

1. You went someplace in your tesla, and for some reason only took the phone as a key
2. Your phone as key didnt work, and you were unable to get into the vehicle.
3. You contacted roadside assistance and they closed your request without assisting you in getting into the vehicle
4. You went home and requested tesla to tow the vehicle, and they told you that you need to be with the vehicle for roadside assistance.

That sound about right?

The reason I only took the phone is because when I got my Tesla the Tesla representative told me clearly that there is no need to carry the card. He said Tesla app is good enough as it works all the time!!!
I am upset because the Tesla roadside assistance closed my request for help while I was standing next to the car. Afterwords, I got a ride home and then they told me, they won't do anything unless I go back to my car with Tesla card.
If carrying the card is so important then, tell the customer clearly!

 

[jjrandorin]

The reason I only took the phone is because when I got my Tesla the Tesla representative told me clearly that there is no need to carry the card. He said Tesla app is good enough as it works all the time!!!
I am upset because the Tesla roadside assistance closed my request for help while I was standing next to the car. Afterwords, I got a ride home and then they told me, they won't do anything unless I go back to my car with Tesla card.
If carrying the card is so important then, tell the customer clearly!

You are losing me here, sorry. I was not there, but have never heard anyone say a tesla representative said to them "You dont need that keycard, the phone works 100% of the time so no need to carry it".

You can fit it in your wallet / purse in the same place you carry a drivers license. Even if you dont carry credit cards or they are all digital, you still have to have a physical drivers license, and wherever you put that, you can put the keycard, regardless of "what tesla said".

Where you lose me, frankly, is, the lack of personal accountability. You chose to not take the keycard, regardless of what someone else said. The attempt to evade your own responsibility here is where I start to lose some sympathy for your situation.

 

[bddesh]

It's a learning experience: Technology doesn't work reliably all the time.

That's why I appreciate a redundancy system:

If the phone fails, I could use the fob.

If the fob fails, I could use the card.

If the card fails, I could use the app for Roadside Assistance.

If the app for Roadside Assistance fails, I could use the voice phone for it.

Of course, "redundancy" also means spending more money for it (the fob) and some effort but it's well worth the price.

Tesla representatives told me , I don't need to carry the card key as long as I have my phone.
The app for roadside assistance didn't fail. I was also responding to them via app. There is a whole list of messages on my phone.

 

[bddesh]

You are losing me here, sorry. I was not there, but have never heard anyone say a tesla representative said to them "You dont need that keycard, the phone works 100% of the time so no need to carry it".

You can fit it in your wallet / purse in the same place you carry a drivers license. Even if you dont carry credit cards or they are all digital, you still have to have a physical drivers license, and wherever you put that, you can put the keycard, regardless of "what tesla said".

Where you lose me, frankly, is, the lack of personal accountability. You chose to not take the keycard, regardless of what someone else said. The attempt to evade your own responsibility here is where I start to lose some sympathy for your situation.

How can you say that I should disregard what Tesla representative tells me when I get the delivery of my car?
Your comment about me that I am not taking personal responsibility and I am totally responsible for this sounds like a personal attack to me!
Are you being paid by Tesla?

 

[jjrandorin]

How can you say that I should disregard what Tesla representative tells me when I get the delivery of my car?
Your comment about me that I am not taking personal responsibility and I am totally responsible for this sounds like a personal attack to me!
Are you being paid by Tesla?

No, TMC is not affiliated in any way with Tesla. If you think you have no responsibility here, that tells me everything I need to know about the rest of this situation.

Good luck to you and your situation.

 

[Sophias_dad]

Tesla representatives told me , I don't need to carry the card key as long as I have my phone.

C'mon man, your phone could be stolen, left behind, in your pocket when you go swimming, just plain fail, run out of battery and so on. The idea that it would ALWAYS work to open your car is incredibly naive.

 

[Macb00kemdanno]

Good idea. You can hide a keycard in your phone case, since no one carries a phone naked anymore, right?. Just slip it in the back between your phone and case.

I like that idea, but that's a no-go if you use wireless charging. With that said, I keep one keycard in my wallet, and my wife has one in her purse for these occasions. So even if my phone doesn't work, and if I somehow lose my wallet, I can always call my wife and have her come bail me out

 

[mangrove79]

The reason I only took the phone is because when I got my Tesla the Tesla representative told me clearly that there is no need to carry the card. He said Tesla app is good enough as it works all the time!!!
If carrying the card is so important then, tell the customer clearly!

ASSUMING those statements are in fact what happened, it's only attributable to an ignorant salesman. Every traditional dealership has people like that, and Tesla is not immune. It's not out of the ordinary for salespeople to try to overly impress customers by exaggerating features. But it's also not out of the ordinary for some customers to hear what they want to hear, and interpret information given to them in a wrong way. It's perfectly possible that "it'll work as long as your phone has signal" can be heard as "it'll work all the time" (because my phone will always have signal).

 

[MaskedRacerX]

Put the card in your wallet. I mean, if something happened to your phone, what do you expect to happen?

It's been said a few times, but I'm going to say it again for emphasis: always have a card, fob, even a wearable NFC device as a backup. Phones can run out of juice, crash, have general connectivity issues, which is why I keep a card in my wallet (wife does too). If you don't carry a wallet, get a phone case that will hold a card, so even if the phone flips out, you have the card with you (or stash one on the car somewhere using a magnetic holder).

You said you tried to open the car using the app. Did you ever set up your phone as a phone key? The phone key feature uses Bluetooth, but the app requires an internet connection to your car, which means both your phone and the car require internet access. As you’ve learned, you should always carry your key card in case the phone doesn’t work.

Another good point, make sure your phone is setup as a key, then cell/network connectivity won't be an issue (it'll unlock/start "locally" using Bluetooth).

 

[Tam]

Tesla representatives told me , I don't need to carry the card key as long as I have my phone.

I never doubt that a salesperson promises lots of things but the problem is:

We don't know what their qualifications: Is their motivation is to educate customers or just to get money to survive? Do they even own a Tesla? Imagine going to a Contact Lens only office and everyone, including the doctors all, wearing glasses! Do these salespeople what Ohm's law is?...

The app for roadside assistance didn't fail. I was also responding to them via app. There is a whole list of messages on my phone.

You are too technical. That's the problem of over-relying on technology. When the app auto-canceled me, I consider it a failure even though technologically, the program worked fine with no errors or crashes. Because I accepted that as a failure, my next move was to rely on a voice system and not an app system.

I do agree that Tesla should do better. There's no question about it. But in the meantime, there are other things that I can do myself to prepare for this repeated incidence next time.

 

[AMPd]

Difficult to read all that, but surely being locked out of your car is not actually the worst thing you’ve ever experienced?

Also if Tesla closed your roadside assistance request, why not call a tow company to get your car towed? You could have had them take it to your house.

 

[one2many]

Lets talk coat hangers for a moment. Driving VW bug, we had coat hangers
and all kinds of tools. They always need something to keep running. Now
you say "what does that have to do here". Well over the years I have helped100's of
folks that locked there keys in the car. A bend here and there and its open.
There was a time that almost everywhere we went someone was locked out.
Heck one time I crawed though window to help an old lady locked in her bathroom.
Never got a penny. What TNT at happy hour ... never mind

 

[Randy-12]

The reason I only took the phone is because when I got my Tesla the Tesla representative told me clearly that there is no need to carry the card. He said Tesla app is good enough as it works all the time!!!
I am upset because the Tesla roadside assistance closed my request for help while I was standing next to the car. Afterwords, I got a ride home and then they told me, they won't do anything unless I go back to my car with Tesla card.
If carrying the card is so important then, tell the customer clearly!

As per the user manual

CAUTION
Always carry your key card with you in your purse or wallet to use as a backup in case your authenticated phone has a dead battery, or is lost or stolen.

Model 3 Owner's Manual | Tesla

Learn about the types of keys that your vehicle uses to lock, unlock and drive.

www.tesla.com

 

[FastEddieB]

You can hide a keycard in your phone case, since no one carries a phone naked anymore, right?. Just slip it in the back between your phone and case.

Not a great idea, since a lost phone is one of the eventualities one needs to protect against.

 

[ThomasD]

If Tesla won't tow a car without the owner being present how does it work if the car is registered to a company?

 

[MaskedRacerX]

An alternative placement of the keycard. This way, you'll always have it with you (or you'll have things more pressing to worry about if you do lose it).

"Talked to a few doctors, they were a little leary about doing this ... it's kind of ... a questionable thing... I end up finding a guy ..."

 

[RichAZ/CapeCod]

How can you say that I should disregard what Tesla representative tells me when I get the delivery of my car? ...

No, you were given bad advice. And ignore the silly middle-school banter on this thread. Comes with the territory.

In any case I'm sincerely interested in how this issue was resolved? Was it as simple as using the Tesla key or was there another problem?

Rich