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North Texas Toll Tags

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Today around 2:30PM, I went to the Plano NTTA office and spend a bit of time with one of the supervisors named Rine Sanchez. He was really helpful and said he knows of other Tesla owners that are having this same problem. He had a hand-held tag reader and we went out to the car to try various locations. Some seemed promising, so I hopped on the tollway to test it out but none of them worked. He checked the system each time I got back and they never registered.

1. Sticky slim tag stuck to the middle of the inside of the nosecone
Reader had to be almost touching the nosecone but never registered on the tollbooth
2. Sticky slim tag slipped between the dash and windshield, just below the IR coating
Reader had an easier time reading it, but tollbooth still didn't register it.
3. Older hard plastic tag, will try it between the dash and the windshield. I'll be putting a string or something on it to retrieve it.

Once I have #3 in place, I'll tool around the booths to see if it registers. If not, I'll get the larger black module and put it behind the nosecone. I'll be damned if I'm forced to drill holes in my nosecone or pay the ZipCash toll price.

I had read about the difficulty of the reader on a MS.
I went to NTTA, sat down with one of the clerks and asked them to do a visual scan of my license plates.
He and his supervisor agreed, so no reader is typically required.

For when I do visit the airport, I still have my old cream-colored thick plastic reader that I keep in the front lip of my seat (with my Blink card).
I just open window and hold on roof as I approach the tollbooth, it gets read, and I proceed.
 
I had read about the difficulty of the reader on a MS.
I went to NTTA, sat down with one of the clerks and asked them to do a visual scan of my license plates.
He and his supervisor agreed, so no reader is typically required.

For when I do visit the airport, I still have my old cream-colored thick plastic reader that I keep in the front lip of my seat (with my Blink card).
I just open window and hold on roof as I approach the tollbooth, it gets read, and I proceed.

Yeah, that's the thing: NTTA is going to start charging the ZipCash rates (50% more) if they can't read your toll tag. I've been using the plate only method and waving the older hard plastic tag out the window at the airport. NTTA says it costs them more money to look up your plate than just scanning your tag, so they want to pass the cost onto us.

Now, if MS owners can get a permanent exemption, that would be great. I'm doing what I can to work with them and they appreciate the experimentation I'm doing to get this done. Hopefully this pays off and we don't have to be required to drill holes in the nosecone just for the tag.
 
I'm coming in to this thread a bit late, but I don't understand what the problem is? The Dallas SC showed me how to get the tolltag working and it's simple. Go to NTTA and request the license plate tag, the black cylindrical version. Mount it to the grille, all the way down, with drywall anchors. These have the 2 spring loaded legs that pop out. No drilling, no modifications to the car at all. Black tag on black grill = blends in. I've checked the NTTA logs after a drive and it reads every time.
 
I'm coming in to this thread a bit late, but I don't understand what the problem is? The Dallas SC showed me how to get the tolltag working and it's simple. Go to NTTA and request the license plate tag, the black cylindrical version. Mount it to the grille, all the way down, with drywall anchors. These have the 2 spring loaded legs that pop out. No drilling, no modifications to the car at all. Black tag on black grill = blends in. I've checked the NTTA logs after a drive and it reads every time.

We took our S in for annual maintenance on Friday and took with us the black cylindrical tag. When we requested that the SC install it behind the nosecone, they told us that the method you're describing is much better and they installed it that way for us.

I'd prefer that it be entirely hidden behind the nosecone, but it's pretty subtle like this.
 
I'm coming in to this thread a bit late, but I don't understand what the problem is? The Dallas SC showed me how to get the tolltag working and it's simple. Go to NTTA and request the license plate tag, the black cylindrical version. Mount it to the grille, all the way down, with drywall anchors. These have the 2 spring loaded legs that pop out. No drilling, no modifications to the car at all. Black tag on black grill = blends in. I've checked the NTTA logs after a drive and it reads every time.

Does DFW airport parking raise the gates with this installation method?
 
Anyone tried to fit the sticker one in the roof rack mounts? Sounds crazy but we're at that point right?

That wouldn't work since the whole tag is an antenna. It's to big to jam into that tiny space.

Here's what I've come up with recently and hope to produce quite a few more for other Texas Tesla owners. It works great, even at high speeds :)
Gloss black is easy for those with the pano or black roof as well as white, but the other body color roofs will need some time for me to color match. All you do is apply the thin sticker-type tag in the center of that area on the back of the roof and put this overlay on top. Use a light spray mixture (100:1) of water/dish soap for repositioning and bubble expelling. If anyone wants me to do this at Cars and Coffee, just bring your tolltag and $5 and I'll happily do it.

tolltag1.jpg
tolltag2.jpg
 
Here's what I've come up with recently and hope to produce quite a few more for other Texas Tesla owners. It works great, even at high speeds :)

I was talking with the folks at the SC recently and they indicated that this was the only method they've seen that would actually work well, and with the airport. They referenced another MS locally that had the sticker on the outside of the windshield (in the traditional spot) but this looks much better. Hopefully it will hold up in the heat of the summer - looks like it should. Glad you have it figured out.

Have you run through the gates at DFW with this?
 
Have you run through the gates at DFW with this?

I haven't had a need to go there, recently but the sticker is on the outside of the car. Since it's a few feet back from the normal spot, I imagine you might need to roll forward a few feet to get it to scan, but the sticker is pretty powerful when it's not behind glass. If it reads on the tollway going 100MPH+ it should read at DFW going 0MPH. It's the same equipment.
 
I'm coming in to this thread a bit late, but I don't understand what the problem is? The Dallas SC showed me how to get the tolltag working and it's simple. Go to NTTA and request the license plate tag, the black cylindrical version. Mount it to the grille, all the way down, with drywall anchors. These have the 2 spring loaded legs that pop out. No drilling, no modifications to the car at all. Black tag on black grill = blends in. I've checked the NTTA logs after a drive and it reads every time.

I finally got around to trying this method, but no joy. NTTA gave me a license plate tag (that was obviously used), but it doesn't work at DFW, and apparently it doesn't work on the toll roads either -- I have a lot of missed scans.

I guess I will go and have them point the gun at the car and see if the tag is working. I might also try the Chris TX method, which seems simpler / more reliable... But going cross town to cars & coffee is a high price to pay. ;)
 
So, NTTA said the license plate tag scanned fine, but admitted I had a fair number of missed scans. My plate is readable by the cameras, so they're happy to correct missed scans manually and didn't offer any other remedy.

Still, I want the DFW TollTag discount, so I returned the license plate tag and brought home a sticker tag. I have applied it like Chris TX did so we'll see how it goes. Next trip to DFW is Friday AM.
 
So, NTTA said the license plate tag scanned fine, but admitted I had a fair number of missed scans. My plate is readable by the cameras, so they're happy to correct missed scans manually and didn't offer any other remedy.

Still, I want the DFW TollTag discount, so I returned the license plate tag and brought home a sticker tag. I have applied it like Chris TX did so we'll see how it goes. Next trip to DFW is Friday AM.

You still get the discount even if they manually enter it for a missed scan - as long as you have an account and it reads most of the time.
 
I have since moved the tag to the square black part of the windshield where the rear view mirror mounts. Just be sure to not cover up the rain sensor. Works like a charm. I had planned on going to C&C this morning, but we had other plans that came up.
 
I have since moved the tag to the square black part of the windshield where the rear view mirror mounts. Just be sure to not cover up the rain sensor. Works like a charm. I had planned on going to C&C this morning, but we had other plans that came up.


Like what Mark said please post some pics...

I will be receiving Model S either last week of Sep or early Oct and I use TX Tag every day...

Thanks