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

[father_of_6]

Perhaps we should put the call out to all forumites…´if you were in that area can you please check your Sentry Mode for a bewildered man getting increasingly angry around your car’

LOL... I came out to my M3 once to find a same colored MY parked right next to it with a women inside. There was a sentry event... that woman pulled at my door handle.

It was dark out, and we *don't* have a ton of Teslas on our roads.

Thankfully, she didn't call roadside assistance and have my car towed to her house.

 

[enemji]

The OPs viewpoint is that it doesn’t matter he had no common sense available. Maybe he was drunk at the beach. But either way, his problem is that Tesla should have helped him out by sending a tow truck and towing a car back to his home.

 

[one2many]

So what happens in a normal car when you lock the
keys in it or loose your keys. You call a friend to pick
you up to get the spare key sitting on your printer at home.
You hitch hike home. Calling the CEO of GM will not help.
You may need to get a new one made. Why would anyone
expect a free tow. A bit over the top.. So the next time you
look in the dresser and see a coat hanger, think what would
one2many do, forget the car and go to happy hour. never mind

 

[RayK]

Personal story....

Way back in 1975 or 76, I was driving a dark green, 1971 Lincoln Mercury Capri 2000. I parked at the junior college I was attending (Foothill in Los Altos) one morning and starting walking to class. I noticed an identical car a few slots down from me that had its lights on. Being a nice guy I went up to see if the door was unlocked so I could turn off the lights. Note to the younger crowd here: this was when most cars of the era did not have a chime to warn you that the lights were on or have a function which automatically turns off the light after a period of time. Anyway, I found that both doors were locked. Just for s***ts and giggles, I tried my own key. It opened the door (!). I switched the lights off and re-locked the door. I didn't have time to leave a note as I was almost late for class. I'm sure that the owner had no idea that I may have saved them from a dead battery.

 

[Bouba]

Personal story....

Way back in 1975 or 76, I was driving a dark green, 1971 Lincoln Mercury Capri 2000. I parked at the junior college I was attending (Foothill in Los Altos) one morning and starting walking to class. I noticed an identical car a few slots down from me that had its lights on. Being a nice guy I went up to see if the door was unlocked so I could turn off the lights. Note to the younger crowd here: this was when most cars of the era did not have a chime to warn you that the lights were on or have a function which automatically turns off the light after a period of time. Anyway, I found that both doors were locked. Just for s***ts and giggles, I tried my own key. It opened the door (!). I switched the lights off and re-locked the door. I didn't have time to leave a note as I was almost late for class. I'm sure that the owner had no idea that I may have saved them from a dead battery.

Back in the day you didn’t need a spare key...a coin in the fuse box could start your car...then they invented the steering lock

 

[one2many]

Back in the day you didn’t need a spare key...a coin in the fuse box could start your car...then they invented the steering lock

The good old days. Roach clips they were called I think.
My Leaf key went dead years ago. Wow I got a battery and put it in.
Saved me from days in happy hour waiting for a tow.

 

[OliverM3]

I take it back about not knowing what security question they could ask to identify me as the owner. I forgot I had to send them a picture of my license.
If the person on the phone has access to the camera's then that's probably exactly the reason you have to be standing by the car before they will unlock it or send assistance. Or these ICE drivers would be pranking Tesla owners all day long having the cars towed

 

[pipp]

As an old fart Boomer myself, I feel entitled to express my intimate knowledge of Boomer Refusal and the use of the so-called Boomer Voice...

First, one of the essential parts of being said Boomer is never acknowledging personal responsibility, especially when it comes to tech things. One of the most used Boomer phrases is "This *&^% computer won't let me [insert what you're trying to do here]...". It's always the *&^&% computer's fault. So, even if the OP discovered that he was, in fact, trying to get into the wrong car --- and let me digress here for a moment. This is not unique to being a Boomer who owns a Tesla. I once spent 10 minutes trying to get my fob to unlock my Honda CRV, an effort that included going back into the mall and having the battery replaced only to return to my car and find it gone which, of course, was not surprising since it wasn't my car in the first place. Mine was over there, in the next row.

Where was I... yes, if the OP discovered he was trying to get into the wrong car this would in no way excuse Tesla for cancelling his service request, even if the cancellation was, in fact, a dropped call because *deep breath* I used to live out near where his car was parked and the cell service out there is about the same as the central Death Valley. I'm not saying anything about what actually happened, just saying that it's important to understand that, as a Boomer, when I discovered that the Honda I was trying to get into was not, in fact, my Honda, my immediate response was that the mall did a terrible job of marking the parking lot and how in the hell was I supposed to remember where I parked my car??? No wonder I was trying to get in the wrong car!

Not sure where this is going, except to note that another hallmark of this Boomer Refusal thing is that once all the evidence piled up to reveal that a) I was trying to get into the wrong car, b) the parking lot was, in fact, well marked with large signs mounted on light poles, which I had ignored, c) there was nothing wrong with "this useless piece of &^%$ key fob that needs a new *&^%$ battery every 20 minutes", and d) it was me all along... I simply refused thereafter to talk about what had happened. Just pretended nothing had happened, just pretended that was not a smirk on wife's face sitting there next to me, reminding me that she had SAID "this doesn't look like our car" (I know I left that part out... on purpose), and when my daughter asked me if anything interesting had happened at the mall I said NO!

Which, in my humble Boomer Voice opinion is why the OP has not returned to explain how this all turned out. We just don't talk about these things.

OK so you are in a unique position to make a call here. You are familiar with the area where the OP parked. You are familiar with the possible pitfalls of mis-identifying your car in a mall. So, in your expert opinion, how likely is it that somebody parks their car on a street near the Half Moon Bay beach, and then manages to find their way back to a completely different car? I would imagine there are plenty of Teslas in Half Moon Bay, but how difficult would it be to not even know what street you parked on when you got out to walk to the beach?

 

[one2many]

For bottom readers :
1. guy cannot get in car (phone) no key card
2. Tesla canceled towing ( I am sure that they looked at logs)
3. Guy is pissed at Tesla
4. 99% think he was at the wrong car
5. 50% thinks Tesla should have towed
6. 50% Thinks he should gone home and got his card
7. 50% think he was hammered (like the guy already)

This is one of the few threads where everyone is correct
To tow or not to toe that is the question
sorry TNT is on the hour, never mind

 

[Bouba]

For bottom readers :
1. guy cannot get in car (phone) no key card
2. Tesla canceled towing ( I am sure that they looked at logs)
3. Guy is pissed at Tesla
4. 99% think he was at the wrong car
5. 50% thinks Tesla should have towed
6. 50% Thinks he should gone home and got his card
7. 50% think he was hammered (like the guy already)

This is one of the few threads where everyone is correct
To tow or not to toe that is the question
sorry TNT is on the hour, never mind

249%....that’s almost everybody

 

[one2many]

249%....that’s almost everybody

Like I said everyone is correct !!

 

[WhiteWi]

100% readers want to know a conclusion of the saga! That is for sure.

 

[Knightshade]

If we stick with the wrong car theory, and according to the OP it said his app said his actual car was unlocked, I'd speculate Tesla cancelled the roadside request to deal with a locked car because they checked and the car wasn't locked- so why dispatch a driver for a solved problem?

 

[one2many]

So everyone wants to know how an engineers mind works
Here it is

 

[oreobbq]

For bottom readers :
1. guy cannot get in car (phone) no key card
2. Tesla canceled towing ( I am sure that they looked at logs)
3. Guy is pissed at Tesla
4. 99% think he was at the wrong car
5. 50% thinks Tesla should have towed
6. 50% Thinks he should gone home and got his card
7. 50% think he was hammered (like the guy already)

This is one of the few threads where everyone is correct
To tow or not to toe that is the question
sorry TNT is on the hour, never mind

Your cover as a perpetual drunk has been blown! This post was too coherent and readable.

 

[one2many]

Your cover as a perpetual drunk has been blown! This post was too coherent and readable.

Sorry I just did my taxes, watch my post in a few hours, all posts are correct !!
It will never happen again.

 

[wwu123]

This thread is entertaining - while the OP hasn't helped things by not finishing out what happened, leaving many details unanswered, the plausible theories have spawned entire Loki-style parallel universes that keep getting richer in detail - OP is not just a Boomer but speaks and types in Boomer voice, was at the wrong car and then won't admit it, etc. Actually it must be that OP was not the owner of the car, was trying to steal it, then towed it to a supercharger in Austin thus getting very dusty in the process, and then abandoned it when he couldn't disconnect the cable... (OK if you didn't get that one, you have a life instead of spending too much time on TMC).

Have no clue if OP is a Boomer, but if anything displays two traits I find more common in Millennials + my wife (we are both neither Boomers nor Millennials though):
-absolutely trust in the infallibility of anything iPhone-related (Android users like me have no illusions when phone-as-key has never worked more than 30% of the time)
-belief that DM (direct messaging), in this case via the app, is superior to all forms of communication

If I was to fault OP for anything, it's not for lacking a backup redundancy, but for persisting on the DM in an urgent situation. If OP had escalated by calling and talking to a real customer service rep, even though we know how crappy Tesla's ones are, it could have led to some better and faster outcomes. Like:
-"while we call a tow truck for you, perhaps you'd be more comfortable waiting IN the car - if you just provide a few pieces of verification, I can unlock the car for you so you can wait INSIDE rather than by the side of the road", and then maybe
-"now that you're inside, I'm not authorized to remote start the car for you, but since you have app connectivity, perhaps you can try the "remote start" button once more. Oh, you're an engineer with multiple patents? I understand, but if you just enter the Controls menu and press the "start" button one more time"...

As for having backup plans, it's been mentioned many times, so I'll not suggest the obvious. I'll just observe that EVERY method has had failures, so it's up to each person to judge how many levels of redundancy to carry for each trip:
-phone-as-key failed for my wife's iPhone (as I mentioned her similar situation earlier, and she was at the right car since I remote unlocked for her, and she knew how to restart her app and check her Bluetooth)
-remote app can eaily have Wi-fi/cell connectivty or cloud issues
-keyfobs can fail (not just battery issues, but I've had Tesla keyfobs de-sync such that you have to bring ALL of them to a service center to re-sync)
-keycards are glitchy, requiring multiple placements to get recognized
-even AAA failed me not once but twice when tow trucks failed to show after an hour or longer, this was before even cheap cell service, but managed to limp car to get other assistance each time. But quit AAA after 20 years of misplaced trust.

I'm an engineer and have software patents, but just expressing my personal experiences....

 

[Bouba]

another reason that the OP may never have had a backup key is because he was at the beach

 

[CyberGus]

 

[one2many]

This thread is entertaining - while the OP hasn't helped things by not finishing out what happened, leaving many details unanswered, the plausible theories have spawned entire Loki-style parallel universes that keep getting richer in detail - OP is not just a Boomer but speaks and types in Boomer voice, was at the wrong car and then won't admit it, etc. Actually it must be that OP was not the owner of the car, was trying to steal it, then towed it to a supercharger in Austin thus getting very dusty in the process, and then abandoned it when he couldn't disconnect the cable... (OK if you didn't get that one, you have a life instead of spending too much time on TMC).

Have no clue if OP is a Boomer, but if anything displays two traits I find more common in Millennials + my wife (we are both neither Boomers nor Millennials though):
-absolutely trust in the infallibility of anything iPhone-related (Android users like me have no illusions when phone-as-key has never worked more than 30% of the time)
-belief that DM (direct messaging), in this case via the app, is superior to all forms of communication

If I was to fault OP for anything, it's not for lacking a backup redundancy, but for persisting on the DM in an urgent situation. If OP had escalated by calling and talking to a real customer service rep, even though we know how crappy Tesla's ones are, it could have led to some better and faster outcomes. Like:
-"while we call a tow truck for you, perhaps you'd be more comfortable waiting IN the car - if you just provide a few pieces of verification, I can unlock the car for you so you can wait INSIDE rather than by the side of the road", and then maybe
-"now that you're inside, I'm not authorized to remote start the car for you, but since you have app connectivity, perhaps you can try the "remote start" button once more. Oh, you're an engineer with multiple patents? I understand, but if you just enter the Controls menu and press the "start" button one more time"...

As for having backup plans, it's been mentioned many times, so I'll not suggest the obvious. I'll just observe that EVERY method has had failures, so it's up to each person to judge how many levels of redundancy to carry for each trip:
-phone-as-key failed for my wife's iPhone (as I mentioned her similar situation earlier, and she was at the right car since I remote unlocked for her, and she knew how to restart her app and check her Bluetooth)
-remote app can eaily have Wi-fi/cell connectivty or cloud issues
-keyfobs can fail (not just battery issues, but I've had Tesla keyfobs de-sync such that you have to bring ALL of them to a service center to re-sync)
-keycards are glitchy, requiring multiple placements to get recognized
-even AAA failed me not once but twice when tow trucks failed to show after an hour or longer, this was before even cheap cell service, but managed to limp car to get other assistance each time. But quit AAA after 20 years of misplaced trust.

I'm an engineer and have software patents, but just expressing my personal experiences....

Some of not know its tax time. My eyes are burned out, like my old boss would say can
you make this power point with 3 things. please no real issues.