Summon Changing to Smartphone Only (According to Consumer Reports)

[Kbra]

It should also have the horn blaring too as a safety precaution because a blind person could be near by and not see the flashing lights as its rolling to them while laying on the ground. The app should also use a the camera to confirm you are in your bubble suit. Safety first guys.

 

[DrumCoder]

It was a fun parlor trick while it lasted, but I don't trust it with the app. I only used the fob because of the instant communication, rather than relying on two internet connections (my phone's and the car's.) If they're taking it away from the fob then it's pretty much useless to me.

Thanks, safety police!

 

[GasKilla]

No plans to ever use summon with my car. Besides my steep driveway I don't like the idea of making my car a giant remote control car, the consumer reports guys scrapped up the rims, I sure I could do much worse than them.

 

[davidc18]

Tesla updates auto-park feature after Consumer Reports raises safety concern

Did anyone else see this article? Tesla updates auto-park feature after Consumer Reports raises safety concern - Feb. 10, 2016

The article states that Tesla has updated the summon feature so that it will no longer work with the key fob, only the phone app. I have actually been using the summon feature to back the car out of the garage with the key fob. It worked and it was easy. I don't see how using the phone will make it "safer", just less user friendly.

 

[Super_Popular]

Yes, there is already a thread about it.

 

[scottf200]

Did anyone else see this article? Tesla updates auto-park feature after Consumer Reports raises safety concern - Feb. 10, 2016

The article states that Tesla has updated the summon feature so that it will no longer work with the key fob, only the phone app. I have actually been using the summon feature to back the car out of the garage with the key fob. It worked and it was easy. I don't see how using the phone will make it "safer", just less user friendly.

Need to hold finger on phone button it seems ("dead man switch")

Tesla to Add Protections to Self-Parking Feature | Consumer Reports - YouTube

 

[Stoneymonster]

Well that sucks, because my phone has never successfully worked with it and takes forever to connect to the car (yes the car is supposed to be on WiFI to an AP in the garage. It's pretty hit-or-miss when it decides to be connected).

 

[Super_Popular]

Well that sucks, because my phone has never successfully worked with it and takes forever to connect to the car (yes the car is supposed to be on WiFI to an AP in the garage. It's pretty hit-or-miss when it decides to be connected).

Do you have "always stay connected" on?

 

[Stoneymonster]

Do you have "always stay connected" on?

Yup. I often get in the car and it's struggling to be on 3G. If I manually select the wifi SSID from the list it connects to it fine. It's like it just forgets.

 

[Rockster]

Limiting 'summon' to the app would be stupid. If they add the dead-man switch in the app, they should add it to the fob, too. The fob is more reliable and responsive than the app. What if the app crashes? What if you are in a garage or other area with poor or no cell phone coverage? What if you're using summon and the app crashes or you lose cell phone connectivity?

This +1,1000

I don't want to trust control of my 4,600 pound motorized bludgeon to a cell phone's signal integrity.

 

[Haggy]

Consumer Reports just published a video claiming that Tesla will release an update to the summon feature as soon as this week to address what they call a safety issue in that the car can continue moving even if the fob is dropped or app closed. In the video, they claim that Tesla will switch summon to be app-only and require your finger to stay on the on-screen button for the car to continue moving. I'm sure this may upset some people, but I could see how this may be a good safety enhancement.

Apologies if this news was reported elsewhere already.

If I start Summon with the fob, and tell it which direction to go with the fob, it's a safe bet that the fob is in my hand. It has not been reliable with the app, and I did have the car keep moving after the app claimed that it was no longer in communication with the car. The solution would be to disable the app, not the fob, since the fob will not lose communication.

I think it's time to flood Tesla with complaints.

On the other hand, I agree that if they found it too risky to let a long press of the center lower all the windows, then it should be considered risky to have it start the summon process. Perhaps holding both the frunk and trunk buttons at the same time would have been more sensible, and they could have assured that the top was not being pressed.


I just sent an email to Tesla complaining about this. If I have to look at my phone, it's very unlikely I'd notice an obstacle that even the car couldn't see. If I had the fob in my hand, I'd be looking at the car, not at my phone.

 

[davidc18]

I don't know if it will help but I sent my opinion of using the phone instead of the key fob to [email protected]. I agree that using phone to control the car is not safer than using the fob.

 

[JenniferQ]

A problem I experienced is using the app on Android while using summon and the car was moving the app crashed and the car kept moving. Luckily I had the key fob in my pocket and stopped the car. If I didn't have the key fob also handy I wonder what would have happened??

If you step in front of it the car will stop. At least it has for me. YMMV

 

[Soolim]

I think it's time to flood Tesla with complaints.

Canadians don't have the summon to complaint. :frown:

 

[modelx007]

If you step in front of it the car will stop. At least it has for me. YMMV

Honestly haven't tried and at this point not willing to beta test standing infront to see.

 

[Caligula]

Yep, I too have learned to rely on the fob rather than the app.

Fortunately, I would bet that Tesla would keep the fob summon functionality as they seem to always have added functionality to the fob rather than removing it (e.g. charge port door opening...)

Also, I don't believe that Windows phones have the app as of now so they can't rely on everyone having an app or having their phone on them all the time (as BertL mentioned above).

Also, it's doesn't require further programing to keep the fob except to make it where you have to keep the fob pressed. Based on the comments above we should know pretty quickly what they will do.

Wait... we can open the charge port with the key fob now? How?

 

[green1]

Wait... we can open the charge port with the key fob now? How?

Push and hold the trunk button

 

[Fanatic1]

The article below is from The Verge Blog feed I cut and pasted. Looks like they are doing a "dead man's stop." You have to keep the fob pressed to have the car moving. If you let go, it stops.

CARS
Tesla updates 'Summon' feature after Consumer Reports flags safety flaw
By Jordan Golson on February 10, 2016 03:21 pm

Tesla is updating the "Summon" feature in the Model S and X, introduced earlier this year, to fix a safety flaw. The feature allows Tesla owners to "drive" their cars remotely at very slow speeds; the idea is to allow the car to move in and out of tight spaces, like garages, with the car driving itself.

However, as Consumer Reports pointed out, there was a potential safety issue with the feature. To use Summon, a driver presses a button on the key fob to get the car moving (albeit, again, at a very slow speed). To stop, the driver presses the button again. However, if the key was dropped (or the iPhone app was accidentally closed) or the driver presses the wrong button, the car could continue to move on its own.


The car would stop on its own if it encountered a curb or if someone touched the door handle, but it was still an unnecessary risk. So, Tesla has updated the feature to be a "dead-man's switch" — in order to make the car move, the driver now needs to physically hold down the button to make the car move. Let go and the car stops.

"Consumer Reports surfaced valid concerns that we’ve already built fixes for, continuing to make Summon and our vehicles better," said a Tesla spokesperson in a statement.

VIAROADSHOW
SOURCECONSUMER REPORTS

 

[eloder]

A problem I experienced is using the app on Android while using summon and the car was moving the app crashed and the car kept moving. Luckily I had the key fob in my pocket and stopped the car. If I didn't have the key fob also handy I wonder what would have happened??

You can walk in front of the car to stop it with ease, from what I've seen on videos.

 

[JenniferQ]

You can walk in front of the car to stop it with ease, from what I've seen on videos.

Yes, I have experimented with this several times and it always stops. YMMV.

I have always thought we should have to keep the frunk or trunk pressed the whole time. Otherwise, I could see setting it off accidentally in my purse at some point.