Still able to drive the car even the key fob is outside

[flying_things]

I noticed that If I put the key on a table near the car in the garage, I can still able to get in and put the gear to "D" and then drive away without any warning. Eventually, the car will find key is missing and pop up a warning while I am on the street and I need to drive back to get the key.

However, my Toyota can do better than that. When a key is near my Toyota but outside, it will unlock the car, however, it will popup a "key not inside warning" when I try to start the car. i.e. I am not able to drive away with key outside of the car.

So, it seems that either the Tesla can't not tell if the key fob is inside or outside or if it does, the software hasn't be programmed to behavior differently. Something can be improved by firmware in future?

 

[Andyw2100]

Certainly it is better to keep your fob with you.

But just in case you were not aware, you can always unlock and start the car using your Tesla app. And if for some reason you don't have a data connection on your phone, but do have a cellular connection, you could, say, call your significant other and have them use the app to unlock and start the car for you, assuming the car itself had connectivity. (If the car has no connectivity you can call your significant other and ask them to bring you a fob! )

 

[Rockster]

This has been known for a while. It's unfortunate because it potentially causes one to drive away and leave the key behind. I'm careful to store my key out of range so that this doesn't happen.

 

[flying_things]

Certainly it is better to keep your fob with you.

But just in case you were not aware, you can always unlock and start the car using your Tesla app. And if for some reason you don't have a data connection on your phone, but do have a cellular connection, you could, say, call your significant other and have them use the app to unlock and start the car for you, assuming the car itself had connectivity. (If the car has no connectivity you can call your significant other and ask them to bring you a fob! )

Sure I can unlock the car via my phone, but I don't think I can drive it without the physical key fob once. I.e. I left my key behind and park the car, I no longer able to drive it again unless I retrieve the key fob from my significant other.

 

[cstromme]

No you can start and drive the car using the app without the fob.

 

[Andyw2100]

Sure I can unlock the car via my phone, but I don't think I can drive it without the physical key fob once. I.e. I left my key behind and park the car, I no longer able to drive it again unless I retrieve the key fob from my significant other.

As the poster below me said, you --CAN-- start the car with the app. The app will actually prompt you for your password before allowing you to start the car. Once entered, I believe you then have two minutes to actually start the car.

The risk here, though, is that you drive the car away, park it, and don't have connectivity where you have parked. That would present a problem.

 

[T3SLA90D]

This is major major security issue. I'm surprise Tesla has not addressed it yet. Car is parked in my garage. I exit the car, close the door and lock the car with the fob. I leave the fob in a plate by the entrance door which is about 4 feet from the car on the opposite side of the garage wall. Then I come back to the car with the fob still in the plate, press the door handle, it opens (that's normal since fob is closeby), but then I sit in the car, it turn ON and I can drive it away. The car should know the fob is not INSIDE and should not turn on. A thief can break into my garage and drive it away. Tesla needs to fix this ASAP.

 

[Sandy Chamois]

I have driven from Manhattan, where I work, to home (34 miles away) at night with the key fob outside the car on the windshield, unbeknownst to me. The garage guys usually leave the fob in the car but sometimes put it on the windshield when they move cars around within the garage. Fortunately the fob did not fly off the windshield while I was driving...

 

[jeffro01]

This is major major security issue. I'm surprise Tesla has not addressed it yet. Car is parked in my garage. I exit the car, close the door and lock the car with the fob. I leave the fob in a plate by the entrance door which is about 4 feet from the car on the opposite side of the garage wall. Then I come back to the car with the fob still in the plate, press the door handle, it opens (that's normal since fob is closeby), but then I sit in the car, it turn ON and I can drive it away. The car should know the fob is not INSIDE and should not turn on. A thief can break into my garage and drive it away. Tesla needs to fix this ASAP.

Yeah... I wouldn't get your hopes up on that... This has been the behavior since the very first Model S delivery and I don't see it changing anytime soon...

Jeff

 

[Electric700]

This is major major security issue. I'm surprise Tesla has not addressed it yet. Car is parked in my garage. I exit the car, close the door and lock the car with the fob. I leave the fob in a plate by the entrance door which is about 4 feet from the car on the opposite side of the garage wall. Then I come back to the car with the fob still in the plate, press the door handle, it opens (that's normal since fob is closeby), but then I sit in the car, it turn ON and I can drive it away. The car should know the fob is not INSIDE and should not turn on. A thief can break into my garage and drive it away. Tesla needs to fix this ASAP.

Please report this behavior to [email protected]. A software update may be all that's required to fix the issue.

 

[T3SLA90D]

Please report this behavior to [email protected]. A software update may be all that's required to fix the issue.

I did. Got reply that car is functioning as intended. They filed a "feature request".

 

[Drewflux]

However, my Toyota can do better than that. When a key is near my Toyota but outside, it will unlock the car, however, it will popup a "key not inside warning" when I try to start the car. i.e. I am not able to drive away with key outside of the car.

This is due to the way Toyota/ Lexus wrote their smart fob/security module. It both looks for fob detection and signal strength. They use 4-6 antennas, model dependent. The antennas in the doors can allow unlock/lock of the vehicle from a distance, but to start you need a strong signal from the overhead antennas above the driver/passenger front seats. Its also the reason that you shouldn't be able to lock the fob in the car or trunk.

Although as you may know, occasionally the fobs can be in a dead spot and intermittently not be detected.

I think Tesla could change the behavior of the system without any additional hardware, though im not sure where their antennas are placed in the vehicle.