Paranoid in LA

[hrtoppel]

I absolutely love my M3 unconditionally. But now I am a bit paranoid walking away from it. I got locked out. Am I alone with this problem? I have to start by saying that I am a software engineer and a pilot and have backups for everything so I ordered a second set of key cards. One is hidden inside of my M3. Another is in my wallet. A third is with my spare keys at home and the fourth is in a safe place I seldom visit. Just in case!!

I am generally not in a habit of waking away from my car with my wallet in the front seat and my cell phone in the console charger (at 78%. ). But I was in a hurry and only for a couple of minutes, I rationalized. As I walked away I heard the locking click and the beep. To my utter horror the mirrors turning in confirmed what could not happen with THE PHONE IN THE CAR!!! It was getting dark. I was alone without my cellphone. I promise you that there is no greater horror! Deserted on Mars! And it was the evening of the Pacific Palisades fire still smoldering 1/2 mile from my house. Two key cards are locked in the car as well. A Good Samaritan drove me to my house fortunately only 10 minutes away where I had to break in to retrieve my spare key card. This happened right after the second V10 upgrade. Tesla Service in Culver City cycled the software for an hours trying to recreate the condition to no avail. Has anybody experienced this. I no longer leave my car without a keycard in my pocket along with my cellphone. Restless in LA.

Ok I could have asked the Good Samaritan to download the Tesla soft ware and get into the car with my password if I had remembered. Smiles.

 

[KenC]

Your phone is setup as a key? It shouldn't have locked on you if the phone is in the car.

 

[Watts_Up]

I wonder if Tesla could not remotely open your car?

 

[RTPEV]

Couple of comments / questions...

My wallet is always in my pocket (unless I am actively retrieving something from it anyway), so I am completely confident that my wallet (containing my backup key card) would ever be left in the car. That scenario reminds me a bit of a time when I was at a food concession and saw a wallet sitting on the counter. I had been behind what was clearly a young person who was using their phone, so after asking the counter staff if they knew whose wallet it was, I ran after that patron (who by then had started to walk away) and sure enough, they set down their wallet. I guess younger people are just not used to carrying a wallet--they should probably try to get into the habit of immediately placing their wallet back into their pocket.

I'm also in the habit of grabbing my phone whenever I exit the vehicle. There are only two exceptions, and both feel unnatural enough that I feel uncomfortable each time I do this. First, I leave the phone in place every day when I step out of the car at my mailbox to get my mail. I'm literally only 10 steps away from the car for a total of 30 seconds, but I'm always wondering if the car would lock on me (but fortunately my wallet is in my pocket!) Second, I do leave the phone in the car when my I have a passenger in the car that will be waiting for me. My thought is that I am trying to prevent the car from locking, activating Sentry Mode, etc. I don't know if it works the way I think it will or not, but that's my intent, and yes, I always think about it as I'm exiting the vehicle.

So no, I am never concerned about being locked out, but I suppose that's because my habits regarding keeping my wallet and phone on me are very strong.

My question is this: what purpose does having a hidden key card in your car serve? I suppose this is analogous to hiding a key somewhere in the vehicle, but that practice seems to date WAY back to the days when we wouldn't bother locking doors and the spare key was so we could tell a friend or relative they could borrow the car and tell them where the key was. It seems like that use case is long gone.

 

[RTPEV]

I wonder if Tesla could not remotely open your car?

They certainly could. But the OP didn't have a way to contact Tesla without their phone, and then there is the question of whether Tesla SHOULD remotely open your car. Somehow you would have to prove to them that you are who you say your are and not a thief trying to trick them into opening your car.

 

[jrose1g]

They certainly could. But the OP didn't have a way to contact Tesla without their phone, and then there is the question of whether Tesla SHOULD remotely open your car. Somehow you would have to prove to them that you are who you say your are and not a thief trying to trick them into opening your car.

I had to have them do that. I forget what info I had to give them to prove I was legit, but it think it included the last four digits of my Tesla account number. It did take me a while to look up the correct Tesla support phone number.

 

[mbdionio]

maybe your phone is not near the charging station that is why you got locked out.

 

[JulienW]

....I am generally not in a habit of waking away from my car with my wallet in the front seat and my cell phone in the console charger (at 78%. ). But I was in a hurry and only for a couple of minutes, I rationalized. As I walked away I heard the locking click and the beep. To my utter horror the mirrors turning in confirmed what could not happen with THE PHONE IN THE CAR!!!....

If an iPhone and you have an Apple Watch get the Stats app and you can just unlock the car.

 

[Kevy Baby]

Ok I could have asked the Good Samaritan to download the Tesla soft ware and get into the car with my password if I had remembered.

This wouldn't work, even if you could remember the PW. The phone needs to be paired with the car while inside the car and using a key card.

As others have said, your car shouldn't have locked with you phone in it, assuming that was the active pairing (if you entered your car using a key card, I am not sure that remains the same).

Myself, I use my phone exclusively for entering and driving (it is such a no-brainer - I literally don't even have to think about it or take any action). I also have a key card in my wallet for backup for myself. When it gets real bad, my wife's phone is also paired and she has the other key card

 

[CharleyBC]

So here's a weird thing I accidentally discovered just a few days ago. Similar to OP's story, I got out and walked away, and the car locked itself. Horn tooted. Mirrors folded.

About 2 seconds later I remembered my phone was in the car plugged in. Oops. Unlike OP, I had my keycard in my wallet on my person, but I had a thought. The car is supposed to unlock itself when in proximity of a phone configured as a key. Proximity would seem to include inside the car. So I walked up to the car and tried the door.

Sure enough. It unlocked.

Footnote:

Deserted on Mars!

Our car is called Wattney.

 

[MichaelP90DL]

So here's a weird thing I accidentally discovered just a few days ago. Similar to OP's story, I got out and walked away, and the car locked itself. Horn tooted. Mirrors folded.

About 2 seconds later I remembered my phone was in the car plugged in. Oops. Unlike OP, I had my keycard in my wallet on my person, but I had a thought. The car is supposed to unlock itself when in proximity of a phone configured as a key. Proximity would seem to include inside the car. So I walked up to the car and tried the door.

Sure enough. It unlocked.

Footnote:

Our car is called Wattney.

Wattney. Perfect!

 

[xilex]

To my utter horror the mirrors turning in confirmed what could not happen with THE PHONE IN THE CAR!!! It was getting dark. I was alone without my cellphone. I promise you that there is no greater horror! Deserted on Mars! And it was the evening of the Pacific Palisades fire still smoldering 1/2 mile from my house. Two key cards are locked in the car as well. A Good Samaritan drove me to my house fortunately only 10 minutes away where I had to break in to retrieve my spare key card.

Bro, before I had phone key set up, I would use the key card to unlock, and then I'd always lock the car with the screen button. And then I locked myself out in Joshua Tree. I left my key car inside because needed to hit the RFID each time to drive. I left my cell phone in car because it was charging. There is no ATT reception out there so Tesla would never be able to remotely unlock. And Sentry Mode was laughing at me as I'm standing outside trying to figure out what to do.

Now I use phone key and keep the card in my pocket at all times.

 

[hugh_jassol]

I absolutely love my M3 unconditionally. But now I am a bit paranoid walking away from it. I got locked out. Am I alone with this problem? I have to start by saying that I am a software engineer and a pilot and have backups for everything so I ordered a second set of key cards. One is hidden inside of my M3. Another is in my wallet. A third is with my spare keys at home and the fourth is in a safe place I seldom visit. Just in case!!

I am generally not in a habit of waking away from my car with my wallet in the front seat and my cell phone in the console charger (at 78%. ). But I was in a hurry and only for a couple of minutes, I rationalized. As I walked away I heard the locking click and the beep. To my utter horror the mirrors turning in confirmed what could not happen with THE PHONE IN THE CAR!!! It was getting dark. I was alone without my cellphone. I promise you that there is no greater horror! Deserted on Mars! And it was the evening of the Pacific Palisades fire still smoldering 1/2 mile from my house. Two key cards are locked in the car as well. A Good Samaritan drove me to my house fortunately only 10 minutes away where I had to break in to retrieve my spare key card. This happened right after the second V10 upgrade. Tesla Service in Culver City cycled the software for an hours trying to recreate the condition to no avail. Has anybody experienced this. I no longer leave my car without a keycard in my pocket along with my cellphone. Restless in LA.

Ok I could have asked the Good Samaritan to download the Tesla soft ware and get into the car with my password if I had remembered. Smiles.

You could have logged in to the app on the Samaritan's phone, unlocked the car. Just remember to log out!

EDIT: I don't mean use the phone as a key, but use the unlock button in the app.

 

[Kevy Baby]

You could have logged in to the app on the Samaritan's phone, unlocked the car. Just remember to log out!

EDIT: I don't mean use the phone as a key, but use the unlock button in the app.

Can't be done (in the OPs situation). You have to pair the phone with the car while in the car and with the key card present.

 

[hugh_jassol]

This wouldn't work, even if you could remember the PW. The phone needs to be paired with the car while inside the car and using a key card.

Sure it will. You don't use the phone-as-a-key you press the "unlock" button in the app. Does not need to be paired with the car to do that.

 

[hugh_jassol]

Can't be done (in the OPs situation). You have to pair the phone with the car while in the car and with the key card present.

Now we're double replying But as I mentioned... log in to the Tesla app from any phone anywhere and you can press the "lock/unlock" button to unlock the car. You can aslo enable driving without a key - for example, you are on vacation and you need your neighbor to move your car. Just unlock remotely, enable drive without a key, and they can get in and drive.

I've locked/unlocked my Model 3 with my iPad many times and I assure you, it's not paired with the car

 

[Dan203]

If you knew your password the good samaritan could have just let you borrow his/her phone, download the Tesla app, log in and unlock the car. Log out of the app on their phone and hand it back. Change your password when you get home just for good measure.

 

[Trevor B]

I thought the car will not lock if the phone is inside the car (and setup as a key)?

 

[Az_Rael]

They certainly could. But the OP didn't have a way to contact Tesla without their phone, and then there is the question of whether Tesla SHOULD remotely open your car. Somehow you would have to prove to them that you are who you say your are and not a thief trying to trick them into opening your car.

Onstar has an account PIN you give to them verbally on the phone to prove you were you before a remote unlock. Not sure why Tesla doesn't have that option. Of course they are just now looking into 2FA, so security isn't their strong suit.

 

[bolero]

I absolutely love my M3 unconditionally. But now I am a bit paranoid walking away from it. I got locked out. Am I alone with this problem? I have to start by saying that I am a software engineer and a pilot and have backups for everything so I ordered a second set of key cards. One is hidden inside of my M3. Another is in my wallet. A third is with my spare keys at home and the fourth is in a safe place I seldom visit. Just in case!!

I am generally not in a habit of waking away from my car with my wallet in the front seat and my cell phone in the console charger (at 78%. ). But I was in a hurry and only for a couple of minutes, I rationalized. As I walked away I heard the locking click and the beep. To my utter horror the mirrors turning in confirmed what could not happen with THE PHONE IN THE CAR!!! It was getting dark. I was alone without my cellphone. I promise you that there is no greater horror! Deserted on Mars! And it was the evening of the Pacific Palisades fire still smoldering 1/2 mile from my house. Two key cards are locked in the car as well. A Good Samaritan drove me to my house fortunately only 10 minutes away where I had to break in to retrieve my spare key card. This happened right after the second V10 upgrade. Tesla Service in Culver City cycled the software for an hours trying to recreate the condition to no avail. Has anybody experienced this. I no longer leave my car without a keycard in my pocket along with my cellphone. Restless in LA.

Ok I could have asked the Good Samaritan to download the Tesla soft ware and get into the car with my password if I had remembered. Smiles.

You can hide your keycard in the Frunk. worst case scenario ask someone to give you a jump start this would open your Frunk . You can also use a 9V battery. I assumed you know where the jump start terminal is.