Question about FOBs

[DrWhoDey]

I'm in the queue, waiting on my M3LR, but I'm pretty certain I'm going to want to get a key fob. Shop.Tesla is asking $175 but is OOS and no way to know if/when they'll be available. I see many M3/MY fobs on eBay, most listed for much older vehicles (2014-16 being common), and I don't know enough about them or the entry systems to know if they're compatible with a 2022 vehicle. Further, I don't know if they can be user-programmed to work with a different vehicle or if they require a Tesla technician do it... and I don't even know if a fob purchased from a third-party is one that Tesla would have anything do to with.

So - before I think about buying one of these.... does anyone know whether they can be made to work?

 

[MaskedRacerX]

This is pretty good documentation on the fob itself:

Model 3 Key Fob | Tesla Support

Learn about the Tesla Model 3 Key Fob. Find out where to purchase your key, replace the battery and how to pair your key to your Model 3.

www.tesla.com

I believe there's a specific fob for 3/Y and another for S/X, so any of those pre-2017 fobs I'd assume wouldn't work[?]

OOC, why are you interested in a fob? I haven't missed having one, and while I get wanting a backup, I the wife and I each keep a keycard in our wallets (since we're still not able to go totally digital so to speak).

You can also get things like NFC rings that allow access.

 

[pipp]

Sorry, I can’t help thoroughly with the fobs question, but I also almost got a fob for my car, because I didn’t own a phone. I do remember that even the older Model 3 fobs don’t offer the walk-away feature where the car automatically locks everything up when you walk away from it. I’ve really enjoyed that feature and wouldn’t want to miss it with an older fob. What swung me, in the end, was Amazon was selling refurbished iPhone SE’s for $300, and Red Pocket was selling $10/month plans. So for a couple hundred more than the fob, I had a key and a phone, which might come in handy if the car breaks down on some dark and stormy night in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Tam]

...I see many M3/MY fobs on eBay...

It's a wild world out there. Make sure you can get a refund if it doesn't work as desired.

Bought a used key fob, passive entry doesn't work

So, caveat emptor and all that, but I bought a Model Y key fob from another Tesla owner, and when I pair it it shows up as a key and not a 'key fob'. Buttons work, I can tap the NFC points to unlock and start the car, but passive entry does not. The FCC ID and all the labels appear identical to...

teslamotorsclub.com

...I don't know if they can be user-programmed to work with a different vehicle...

You can do it yourself with Model 3 and Y. They work interchangeably: Same one fob for 2 different Model 3 and Y.

or if they require a Tesla technician do it...

Only if it's defective from Tesla.

and I don't even know if a fob purchased from a third-party is one that Tesla would have anything do to with.

No. Tesla does not want to deal with anything not coming from them.

So - before I think about buying one of these.... does anyone know whether they can be made to work?

If it's me, I would get it from Tesla in case if I need additional support to verify whether the new fob is working or defective.

 

[jjrandorin]

I'm in the queue, waiting on my M3LR, but I'm pretty certain I'm going to want to get a key fob. Shop.Tesla is asking $175 but is OOS and no way to know if/when they'll be available. I see many M3/MY fobs on eBay, most listed for much older vehicles (2014-16 being common), and I don't know enough about them or the entry systems to know if they're compatible with a 2022 vehicle. Further, I don't know if they can be user-programmed to work with a different vehicle or if they require a Tesla technician do it... and I don't even know if a fob purchased from a third-party is one that Tesla would have anything do to with.

So - before I think about buying one of these.... does anyone know whether they can be made to work?

No fob you see for 2014-2016 teslas will work on a model 3. You will need to ensure its a model 3 or Y fob. There are two versions of those model 3 / Y fobs, an older V1 style without passive entry, and a newer one with passive entry. I have a V1 keyfob for my model 3. I almost never use it, but got it because in 2018, no one understood tesla keycards if you took your car anywhere.

Anyway, you would need to be extremely sure that the keyfob was for a model 3 / Y, NOT S/X (at least the older S/X, not sure about the new ones).

I do know that the older S/X keyfob is not compatible though, and since model 3 didnt exist till late 2017, and didnt have a keyfob available till sometime in 2019, there is no "2014-2016 tesla keyfob compatible with model 3/Y".

Since you dont even have the car yet, I would just order from tesla and wait for it to come in, if it were me. Its not going to be that much of an inconvenience even if the car comes in first.

 

[FARKLE!]

Sorry, I can’t help thoroughly with the fobs question, but I also almost got a fob for my car, because I didn’t own a phone. I do remember that even the older Model 3 fobs don’t offer the walk-away feature where the car automatically locks everything up when you walk away from it. I’ve really enjoyed that feature and wouldn’t want to miss it with an older fob. What swung me, in the end, was Amazon was selling refurbished iPhone SE’s for $300, and Red Pocket was selling $10/month plans. So for a couple hundred more than the fob, I had a key and a phone, which might come in handy if the car breaks down on some dark and stormy night in the middle of nowhere.

Honest question...you didn't own a cell phone until after you got a Tesla?

 

[pipp]

Honest question...you didn't own a cell phone until after you got a Tesla?

Not really. I had an iPad with cellular rigged up with a google phone number that I used for mobile. But Google seemed to kind of change things up in the last year or so and I couldn’t get get the iPad to make calls any more. The last straw was when I sold my car at Carmax, the Carmax folks went through all the steps and then told me to wait out in the main room for my turn to receive my check. I thought somebody was going to come out and get me but they were apparently just sending text messages to customers when their check was ready, and for some reason I wasn’t getting those texts. Spent about 2 hours longer waiting than I needed to…

 

[DrWhoDey]

Fobs are back in stock in the Tesla store, which is a good thing. Means I probably don't need to worry about this, since if stock comes and goes now, it should come and go later as well.

I'll wait until I have had my car for a while to see if phone access and the cards they provide will work for me as-is. If not, then I'll consider a fob.

Thanks all.