Tesla Model 3 driven by the wrong owner

[zoomer0056]

But it was already open ; ) because Tesla 2 opened it then took Tesla 1 that was left open to begin with. He calls the guy that took his brother's car and says hey come back

Its a word problem from school.

This does not jive. Opened as state above I can buy. But the stranger moving away from his own car out of blue tooth range would've cause his car to lock. Made up story for the papers, click bait.

 

[PianoAl]

The other cars owners phone or the key must have been in the car.

Thats exactly what I thought, but I read that the owner looked in the driver's car and found something with the driver's phone number. That's how he texted him.

I agree, more to the story.

 

[enemji]

Thats exactly what I thought, but I read that the owner looked in the driver's car and found something with the driver's phone number. That's how he texted him.

I agree, more to the story.

The other owner must be standing on the other side of the car, close enough.

 

[enemji]

This indeed happened to me this morning, I was driving away from home and the car told me there is no key detected and it would not start once turned off. My phone was in my room at home but was close enough to be detected so I could start driving.

Mine is very sensitive. If I am not within a foot of the car, it does not work. Also if the phone is in my back pocket, it does not work.

 

[mgs333]

Mine is very sensitive. If I am not within a foot of the car, it does not work. Also if the phone is in my back pocket, it does not work.

My phone (Pixel 6a) seems to have an extraordinarily strong Bluetooth signal. When I first got the car, I noticed I needed to walk about 100 feet before it would auto lock and now that I think about it, I could always unlock and start the car in the garage when the phone was anywhere in the house. Not sure if it's just my particular phone or all Pixel 6a are like this.

 

[bobbyjae]

This is a reason why you shouldn't get white. It's rare to see 2 black (or blue/red) Tesla's next to each other.

 

[P3dStealth]

Its a word problem from school.

This does not jive. Opened as state above I can buy. But the stranger moving away from his own car out of blue tooth range would've cause his car to lock. Made up story for the papers, click bait.

No, think about it. The guy claims he used the app to open the car but entered the wrong car and drove off. He actually used the app not as hands free. If he opened the app and went to controls and hit unlock the car doesn't lock again. Everyone is assuming he used only Bluetooth and walk away lock but he doesn't say that. He said he used the app to unlock his car.

If he does have walk away lock on anyway and we consider that he was using handfree the other option is he did something that made it not lock to begin with. There are other ways cars don't lock but nobody reads the manual.

From the manual:
A phone key or paired key fob is detected inside Model 3.
A door or trunk is not fully closed.
The phone key's Bluetooth setting is turned off.
A phone key remains within range for ten minutes or a key fob remains within range for five minutes after all doors have been closed.
The driver does not use the driver door to get out of the vehicle.

If Model 3 detects an authenticated key for five minutes after you exit the vehicle and close all doors, Walk-Away Lock disables and doors do not lock when you walk away. In this case, you must manually lock your vehicle until after your next drive.

 

[mgs333]

This is a reason why you shouldn't get white. It's rare to see 2 black (or blue/red) Tesla's next to each other.

I get your point but it wouldn't apply in the SF Bay Area. At my company, there are 3 red Model 3's that park next to each other.

 

[enemji]

No, think about it. The guy claims he used the app to open the car but entered the wrong car and drove off. He actually used the app not as hands free. If he opened the app and went to controls and hit unlock the car doesn't lock again. Everyone is assuming he used only Bluetooth and walk away lock but he doesn't say that. He said he used the app to unlock his car.

If he does have walk away lock on anyway and we consider that he was using handfree the other option is he did something that made it not lock to begin with. There are other ways cars don't lock but nobody reads the manual.

A phone key or paired key fob is detected inside Model 3.
A door or trunk is not fully closed.
The phone key's Bluetooth setting is turned off.
A phone key remains within range for ten minutes or a key fob remains within range for five minutes after all doors have been closed.
The driver does not use the driver door to get out of the vehicle.

If Model 3 detects an authenticated key for five minutes after you exit the vehicle and close all doors, Walk-Away Lock disables and doors do not lock when you walk away. In this case, you must manually lock your vehicle until after your next drive.

LOL. I too can open any Tesla with my app as long it is already open because of the owner standing close by.

 

[P3dStealth]

LOL. I too can open any Tesla with my app as long it is already open because of the owner standing close by.

Seriously it's funny but something as simple as that could be it and everyone made it a news story for some reason.

 

[zoomer0056]

made it a news story for some reason.

To sell advertising. It's click bait. Fake news.

 

[enemji]

Seriously it's funny but something as simple as that could be it and everyone made it a news story for some reason.

The obvious answers are always almost the right ones

 

[enemji]

To sell advertising. It's click bait. Fake news.

🩳 Tesla

 

[zoomer0056]

🩳 Tesla
View attachment 917681

The only choice here is a thumbs 👍 up and like! 😁

 

[Ron97062]

I use the "Pin to drive" feature to prevent theft if my fob is ever cloned. It would have prevented this as well.

 

[father_of_6]

BREAKING NEWS:
Cars can be unlocked using their key! Don't forget to lock your car.

The real difference here is that it's very easy to drive away in a Tesla.
--
Seriously though... years ago I took a coworker's car to deliver some pizzas (we worked at a restaurant). It was an old beater, not easily confused with other cars in the parking lot, even though it was dark outside.

After dropping the pizzas off, I was able to unlock the car door with the key (manual... insert and turn), but strangely was unable to turn the ignition.

As it turns out, I was indeed in the wrong car. It took me a few minutes to figure it out because there was so much similarity between the vehicles, *and* I was super confident (but wrong) that I had just used the key to unlock the car. This car was 2 cars away from the one I was driving, an uncommon make/model in the same color and beat up condition.

--
Also... I think it's very common for key card users to not lock the car (especially car borrowers). When my wife got a new phone recently, she delayed setting up the phone key for a few days and instead used the key card... and never locked the door.

 

[khorton]

One of my bosses from 1994-95 told a great story about his mid 80s Honda Civic. One day he came out of the local DMV, unlocked and climbed into what he thought was his powder blue Honda Civic. He saw some stuff inside that was not his, so got out and relocked the car. He found his car a few spots further down and drove away.

A few months later he accidentally locked his keys in the car. He saw another similar vintage, but different colour, Civic in the mall parking lot. On a whim, he waited for the driver of the other Civic to show up. He managed to convince the very skeptical lady to try her keys in his door, and was very happy when she was able to unlock his car. So, in this case, at least three different Civics seemed to have similar keys. Or, the locks were all so worn out that any key would work.

 

[skygraff]

Yes, physical key locks for most manufacturers were (still are?) of limited variety so, with a decent sampling of similar cars in a lot, possibility of one key opening multiple doors is/was fairly high and, with only two cars in the lot, the chances are/were non-zero.

I believe the same was true of ignition locks but modern chipped keys probably reduced/eliminated that issue. Take that to the nth degree with pairing phones and keycards so even unlocking the wrong Tesla (or similarly managed vehicle) would be massively unlikely.

 

[RonAz]

Back in 1969 a friend of mine had a new MG. I had a new XKE. We found out by mistake that each vehicle had the same key. No fancy security stuff back then.

 

[khorton]

"Mahmoud Esaeyh, who owns the Tesla that Randev drove off in, was home at the time. He said he had loaned his car to his brother Mohammed, who was using it to run an errand. When Mohammed returned to where he’d parked, he noticed the remaining Tesla had a different interior and wasn’t Mahmoud’s. He called Mahmoud, who was able to track the location of his car — being driven by Randev — on his app. But when he attempted to remotely lock the Tesla from his phone, it failed, he said."

Tesla #1:
So the brother Mohammed was likely driving the car using a Tesla key card because he borrowed it and he still has his phone because he called his brother on it.

Tesla #2
Rajesh Randev of Vancouver told Global News that a stranger’s Tesla was parked next to his and was the same model and color as his own. He used his app to open the car, and reality started sinking in a few miles down the road when Randev noticed the windshield of the Tesla he was driving was cracked.

The solution is Tesla #1 parks and gets out. He doesn't tap the side and lock the car with his key card. So now right after Tesla #2 walking to his car hits unlock on his phone... His car (Tesla 2) does unlock but he just jumped in Tesla #1 and left. If you hit unlock on the app in controls it stays unlocked. So now here comes Tesla #1 driver Mohammed who says let me try my key card on Tesla #2 and wow it opened.... But it was already open ; ) because Tesla 2 opened it then took Tesla 1 that was left open to begin with. He calls the guy that took his brother's car and says hey come back.

Done 👍

The problem with this explanation is that Tesla #1 (the one that was driven away) would refuse to drive unless the key card was present. That is the way it is with my 2022 Model S, as I confirmed a few minutes ago.

I see several possible explanations:

• perhaps the Model 3 is different than my Model S, and the key card is not required if the driver walks away without locking.
• perhaps different SW versions work differently (I've got 2022.44.30.10)
• maybe the key card was left sitting on the card reader in Tesla #1
• maybe there really is a security bug (but it must be fairly new, or other users would probably have already found it)
• maybe the story is generally true, but some important fact is not as written
• maybe the story is a work of fiction.

We don't have enough info to decide which of these explanations is the real story.