Non-fob car wash procedure?

[RubberToe]

So no fob means no fob left in car to keep it unlocked. If you have the "walk away lock" setting turned on, and your phone is the key, the car will lock when you walk away. Assume you don't leave your phone in the car. The only other way to get in is the key card swipe. So you leave the key card with the guy who takes your car, or you leave the car unlocked and it runs fine without your phone or key card being in the vehicle?

RT

 

[boaterva]

So no fob means no fob left in car to keep it unlocked. If you have the "walk away lock" setting turned on, and your phone is the key, the car will lock when you walk away. Assume you don't leave your phone in the car. The only other way to get in is the key card swipe. So you leave the key card with the guy who takes your car, or you leave the car unlocked and it runs fine without your phone or key card being in the vehicle?

RT

I assume you need to leave phone in car so they can drive it out of wash, etc.? Eww.

Not sure this was a thought-of case!

 

[RubberToe]

If the credit card key can open the door, it must be able to allow the car to drive too. So maybe you just leave the credit card key in the vehicle.

RT

P.S. Of course I will be hand washing the Model 3 when I get it, at least until it becomes the not most important thing in my life. Oops, hope @MrsRubbertoe isn't watching this thread

 

[boaterva]

If the credit card key can open the door, it must be able to allow the car to drive too. So maybe you just leave the credit card key in the vehicle.

RT

P.S. Of course I will be hand washing the Model 3 when I get it, at least until it becomes the not most important thing in my life. Oops, hope @MrsRubbertoe isn't watching this thread

We have seen the card left in the cupholder, so perhaps that's the use case for tow-through car washes. Hope the guy on the far end knows how to 'start' a Tesla! (I forgot about the cupholder case for a second!)

 

[JeffK]

Yes, the key card in the cupholder allows the car to run...

 

[dsvick]

You'd have to leave the card with the attendant. Tapping it between the cup holders lets you start and drive it. I assume you can probably program it so the key card only operates in some sort of valet mode so they can't open the glove box, trunk, frunk, and do other things.

 

[Runt8]

Can you just leave the car on and in neutral? Don’t need to worry about harmful emissions in an enclosed space like with an ICE. I‘m pretty sure in the Model S/X once the car is on you can take the fob out and still drive it.

 

[electracity]

"Walk away lock" would not lock with the keycard on the center console.

That said, the car is different enough that I would not bring it to a machine car wash that is attendant operated for a year or two.

 

[AlanSqB]

Yes, I'm interested how well the paint is going to hold up considering M3 owners might be more likely to run through car washes than to use Cquartz and the two-bucket method.

Hopeful we don't end up seeing a bunch of swirly sctatchy M3s out there.

 

[az erik]

I'll use the 22ple I have from my Porsche I never got around to using.
Was thinking of a wrap but matte wrap and glossy roof... na.

 

[Snow Drift]

Back from the dead. I live in an Apt so I can't hand wash and frankly the place I use washes Bentley's, etc and if I trust them with my STI, the M3 isn't a big deal.

The manual says if you leave the car it will shift to park, but we need it to stay in Neutral. So...can anyone confirm if leaving the Key Card in the car will allow it to stay in N and roll through the car wash?

I guess Tow mode could work, but that's a lot of menus/buttons/time and could confuse the attendant who has to drive eventually to detail the car.

 

[daniel]

I don't let strangers (or most friends) drive my car. In 2004, when I got my Prius, there were stories about clueless parking valets getting out of the car without shutting it off. Once their foot is off the brake, it slowly rolls into whatever's ahead. Then there was the Xebra and then the Roadster. So the Model 3 will be no different. Nobody drives it but me or the Tesla ranger.

I can't take the Roadster through a tow-through car wash because it's too low to the ground. I go to a coin-operated car wash. I would take the Model 3 to a tow-through only if I could stay in the car and drive it up to and out of the tunnel. But I'll probably stick with the coin-operated wash.

 

[gregd]

The manual says if you leave the car it will shift to park, but we need it to stay in Neutral. So...can anyone confirm if leaving the Key Card in the car will allow it to stay in N and roll through the car wash?

My guess is that it will not.

In earlier descriptions about the keycard says that you tap it on the B-pillar to unlock the car, and the tap it on the console behind the cup holders to get the car to "start". With the very short range of the RFID technology in the keycard, I very much doubt that it would still see the keycard rattling around in the cup holder. I also recall reading that the presence of the keycard wasn't needed once the car had been started.

I'd suggest contacting Tesla to ask how they expect this to work, and don't let them off the hook until they give you a reasonable answer. They really need to consider the corner cases when they throw out a solution that's been refined over the past many decades, in favor of something new and shiny.

EDIT: My guess (prediction): disable your phone's bluetooth, unlock the car with the keycard, and use the keycard to start the car. Without the phone active, walk-away will be disabled.

 

[Ken7]

Back from the dead. I live in an Apt so I can't hand wash and frankly the place I use washes Bentley's, etc and if I trust them with my STI, the M3 isn't a big deal.

The manual says if you leave the car it will shift to park, but we need it to stay in Neutral. So...can anyone confirm if leaving the Key Card in the car will allow it to stay in N and roll through the car wash?

I guess Tow mode could work, but that's a lot of menus/buttons/time and could confuse the attendant who has to drive eventually to detail the car.

Therein lies the problem. I personally don't risk having an attendant drive my S on to the belt with the hope that he properly engages tow mode. So I insist (and many car washes fully understand the issue) on staying in the car.

If you politely tell them they might be responsible for some significant damage if the car is not kept in neutral, that might help for those car washes that aren't accustomed to seeing Teslas.

 

[Snow Drift]

I feel like leaving the Key Card inside should work, but it’s annoying to even have this problem. Most people will not wash a car in their driveway in the middle of winter so a car wash is the only option.

Car Wash anxiety is real.

 

[daniel]

My guess is that it will not.

In earlier descriptions about the keycard says that you tap it on the B-pillar to unlock the car, and the tap it on the console behind the cup holders to get the car to "start". With the very short range of the RFID technology in the keycard, I very much doubt that it would still see the keycard rattling around in the cup holder. I also recall reading that the presence of the keycard wasn't needed once the car had been started.

I'd suggest contacting Tesla to ask how they expect this to work, and don't let them off the hook until they give you a reasonable answer. They really need to consider the corner cases when they throw out a solution that's been refined over the past many decades, in favor of something new and shiny.

EDIT: My guess (prediction): disable your phone's bluetooth, unlock the car with the keycard, and use the keycard to start the car. Without the phone active, walk-away will be disabled.

I was under the impression that from the app you could disable proximity lock/unlock.

I still won't let anyone drive my car.

 

[KennyBry]

I took my 2021 MYLR to a place that hand washes cars. I park, turn on valet mode, and leave the key card laying behind the cup holders thinking this will keep the car unlocked and drive-able for the guys washing it. Nope, walk away lock still locked the doors. They had to come get me in the waiting room.

Is there any solution to this? I do not want to toggle off walk away lock every time.

 

[Snow Drift]

I took my 2021 MYLR to a place that hand washes cars. I park, turn on valet mode, and leave the key card laying behind the cup holders thinking this will keep the car unlocked and drive-able for the guys washing it. Nope, walk away lock still locked the doors. They had to come get me in the waiting room.

Is there any solution to this? I do not want to toggle off walk away lock every time.

Nope. Toggle off walk-away and auto-wipers before you leave the car...and pray they understand Transport (tow) Mode, or put someone in the seat while it goes through the wash.

You can always have your app ready and unlock the car after you leave OR use your key card to drive car, not the phone, and I believe the car won't auto lock. You have to manually lock it with the card.