Phone "keyless entry" works, but not "keyless start"

[Taxvictim]

For some reason, my M3P will recognize my phone and unlock when I walk up, but it will not start when I get in unless I put my key card on the console.

Everything looks normal on my phone and Tesla app. Bluetooth on, Tesla app on, etc.

 

[jjrandorin]

For some reason, my M3P will recognize my phone and unlock when I walk up, but it will not start when I get in unless I put my key card on the console.

Everything looks normal on my phone and Tesla app. Bluetooth on, Tesla app on, etc.

Are you making sure you start the car in the allowed time after you enter it? Said another way, do you have a routine where you open one of the vehicle doors, perhaps help a child get into a car seat or put a bag in trunk, etc, then get in the drivers seat and try to start the car?

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Model 3 Owner's Manual | Tesla

Learn how to power up your vehicle, resolve power up issues, and power off your vehicle.

www.tesla.com

Drive Disabled - Requires Authentication​

If Model 3 does not detect a key when you press the brake (a key fob or phone key is not detected or two minutes have passed since you used the key card), the touchscreen displays a message telling you that driving requires authentication.
If you see this message, place the key card behind the cup holders where the RFID transmitter can read it. The two-minute authentication period restarts and you can start Model 3 by pressing the brake pedal.

 

[Ital]

How do you start the car? I never start the car, I just hop in and drive....

 

[Lindenwood]

Are you making sure you start the car in the allowed time after you enter it? Said another way, do you have a routine where you open one of the vehicle doors, perhaps help a child get into a car seat or put a bag in trunk, etc, then get in the drivers seat and try to start the car?

==================================================

Model 3 Owner's Manual | Tesla

Learn how to power up your vehicle, resolve power up issues, and power off your vehicle.

www.tesla.com

Drive Disabled - Requires Authentication​

If Model 3 does not detect a key when you press the brake (a key fob or phone key is not detected or two minutes have passed since you used the key card), the touchscreen displays a message telling you that driving requires authentication.
If you see this message, place the key card behind the cup holders where the RFID transmitter can read it. The two-minute authentication period restarts and you can start Model 3 by pressing the brake pedal.

Interesting. I have never had this issue, and there have surely been times my wife or kid has gotten in the car and more than two minutes passed before I was in the driver’s seat…

It sounds specifically like his phone isnt actually broadcasting the required signal? I have not used the key card itself since the day I bought the car.

 

[jjrandorin]

Interesting. I have never had this issue, and there have surely been times my wife or kid has gotten in the car and more than two minutes passed before I was in the driver’s seat…

It sounds specifically like his phone isnt actually broadcasting the required signal? I have not used the key card itself since the day I bought the car.

I havent specifically tested it, I just remember reading about a time frame, and remembered looking at this shortly after I got my car in late 2018.

Question for you, since you mention it. In your "longer than 2 minutes" example above, are you opening the drivers door, but not sitting down in the car and trying to start it for that amount of time? Im not saying this is the case, i am just asking the question (my day job is basically troubleshooting, so I tend to think in terms of trying to isolate actions).

 

[Shelburne]

How do you start the car? I never start the car, I just hop in and drive....

Yeah...exactly...that's how you start a Tesla...just hop in, select "drive" & go

 

[Ital]

Yeah...exactly...that's how you start a Tesla...just hop in, select "drive" & go

but is what is confusing they are able to hop in but not drive... so the car should be started... dunno

 

[EVRider-FL]

but is what is confusing they are able to hop in but not drive... so the car should be started... dunno

If you're in the car and it doesn't detect your phone, the car will "start" but you won't be able to shift into gear without the keycard. Maybe the car was already unlocked when the owner got in, so the phone key wasn't needed for that.

 

[Taxvictim]

Nope, the car definitely unlocked when I walked up because the mirrors unfolded. Then I get in, foot on brake, but when I try to put it in drive, I get the screen that says "put your key card by the cupholder." This is a recent phenomenon.

 

[XPsionic]

Nope, the car definitely unlocked when I walked up because the mirrors unfolded. Then I get in, foot on brake, but when I try to put it in drive, I get the screen that says "put your key card by the cupholder." This is a recent phenomenon.

I've had that happen a couple of times, I toggled bluetooth off then on again on the phone and the car eventually let me select drive. That's over a year ago though, haven't seen this lately.

 

[Taxvictim]

Well this time when it didn't work, I walked away from the car to go shopping and checked the App again. It gave me the option to Pair a Key Card. So I re-paired it and everything went back to normal. Not sure how it ever got un-paired.

 

[PianoAl]

I've had this happen intermittently, but not recently.

 

[skygraff]

Is your phone in a pocket that might let your body (bag of water) block the BT signal?

I don’t know where the BT antenna is but, sometimes, if my phone is in my outer leg pants pocket, I’ll get that annoyance. Take the phone out for a second and it’ll be recognized or, if I’m in the mood, put it in the center console phone holder and everything’s grand.

Just because it says tap the card on the center console doesn’t mean you have to use the card. It’s generic Tesla for “I lost contact with your key.”

 

[brkaus]

Just adding - the 2 min thing is for keycards. Not phones unlocking the car.

 

[jkdman123]

Well this time when it didn't work, I walked away from the car to go shopping and checked the App again. It gave me the option to Pair a Key Card. So I re-paired it and everything went back to normal. Not sure how it ever got un-paired.

I was gonna suggest unpairing and then repairing.

If it happens again and the pairing trick doesn't work, put in a service ticket. I had similar issues and not long after I put in the ticket a remote maintenance guy called me. He could see that I had a bluetooth firmware mismatch and pushed an update to the car while on the phone.

 

[herrlich98]

I will call out there are two semi-related "repairings" you can do. the security phone/card repairing and bluetooth repairing. I have fixed some glitches similar to this with my phone by just doing the bluetooth repairing. Bluetooth is easier to do. Doing the security repairing is a bit more work and 100% make sure you have a valid keycard on you before deleting your phone as a security key!

 

[rlsd]

I deleted the phone then re-added it and it worked.

 

[DGSteig]

Similar but different issue - my M3 intermittently won't open any doors until I open the app on the phone, or other times will open only the drivers door (then all the other doors work and the car starts normally). Checked to ensure that the phone is set to Location Always.

 

[NoBoZo]

This happened to met the other day. I could enter the car but it wouldn't engage the motors. In the app I could open doors and do most other things. I saw that my Samsung S22+ phone had been disconnected. I rebooted phone, started Tesla app and all was back to normal. Just more weird Tesla shyte.

 

[jkdman123]

Similar but different issue - my M3 intermittently won't open any doors until I open the app on the phone, or other times will open only the drivers door (then all the other doors work and the car starts normally). Checked to ensure that the phone is set to Location Always.

Have had this problem for a while now. Recently, the opposite problem is happening; the car won't lock when I walk away. But hey, Elon is sure smoking fools on Twitter, isn't he?