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⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️
Village Idiot
⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️
Village Idiot
deonb
Active Member
⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️
Village Idiot
This seems like a big to-do over (almost) nothing to me. People have been doing this a lot for years with push button cars. If your key was in the wife's purse and you drop her off, and drive off - you are now in a very similar situation with no key. I had a coworker who just bought his first push button car and several times already he has driven off without a key.
Granted, when you do this in a push-button car, it warns you the key is not present, and you can leave the car running if you have to before you return for the key (so he wouldn't have been stranded by the dog-seat adjustment incident). Not sure how to keep a model S "running" once you get out of the seat.
I am just surprised that someone who lives in the desert would be caught off-guard by no cell signal areas. We have lots around where I live, so I never count on having cell signal.
Granted, when you do this in a push-button car, it warns you the key is not present, and you can leave the car running if you have to before you return for the key (so he wouldn't have been stranded by the dog-seat adjustment incident). Not sure how to keep a model S "running" once you get out of the seat.
I am just surprised that someone who lives in the desert would be caught off-guard by no cell signal areas. We have lots around where I live, so I never count on having cell signal.
From Tesla owner gets stranded in the desert after relying on phone to start the car
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Even if you own a Tesla, you should still carry your car keys at all times.
Tesla owner, Las Vegas investor and entrepreneur Ryan Negri learned that the hard way as he got stranded with his Tesla six miles from home near Red Rock Canyon, Nevada. Negri used the Tesla mobile app to start the car at home, and didn't bring his keys; but when he had to stop and restart the car to adjust a dog seat, there was no cell service, so the start-with-phone method was useless.
"Need to restart the car now, but, with no cell service, my phone can't connect to the car to unlock it. Even with cell service, the car would also need cell service to receive the signal to unlock," Negri described the event on Instagram.
To start the car, Negri's wife Amy had to walk 2 miles to get cell service, then call a friend to take her home and pick up car keys.
Negri told Mashable via a message that he was aware that the mobile app won't start the car without cell signal, but he simply forgot about the poor cell signal in the vicinity.
"Forgot when you get out of the drivers seat, you have to re-initiate the sequence to unlock keyless driving. After I adjusted the dogs bed, I got back in and I had access to the cars display panel and all options besides to drive! I could even play music from my phone because my phone was synced via Bluetooth," he said.
And even though everything ended well, it was still a pretty dangerous situation. "We got out of the car and waited on the side, because it was a thin 2 lane road and it just didn't feel safe. Something worse could have happened," Negri told us.
While taking your car keys when you go for a drive seems like quite an obvious precaution measure, the technology that makes our lives easier can sometimes make us forget the simplest of things. Sure, it's nice to be able to unlock and start your Tesla with a phone, but car keys are still a very valid addition to your pocket necessities.
While acknowledging that not taking the keys was definitely his fault, Negri suggested that Tesla should add a password-protected way to start the car from the mobile app even when there's no signal.
Something similar happened to me in my wife's Escalade. She had come home and I hoped in her car when she pulled in driveway to run to grocery store. When I left grocery store I realized my wife still had the keys since the Escalade said key fob not found. Luckily the grocery store was only a few blocks so I ran home and all was good. Doesn't look like this guy had as much luck as I did. Not sure why you would depend on your phone to start your car when your in such a remote area. I also worry about little things like this too much to not bring my keys when heading out of town.
NikeWings
Active Member
Heck, I just leave my FOB in the car. Always. Did it when I had keys too.
OK bring it on........
OK bring it on........
Andyw2100
Well-Known Member
Heck, I just leave my FOB in the car. Always. Did it when I had keys too.
OK bring it on........
I'm not going to address the security concerns that you are obviously expecting flak over. I'll just point out that you are going to run the battery in your fob down very quickly.
NikeWings
Active Member
Never thought about that one Andy. So inside the car, it's in a more active mode? I suppose that would be the case outside but within range as well? I need to possibly come up with a plan B. (I juts hate carfying keys, which I inevitably lose.). Thank you for the tip and no flak.
Andyw2100
Well-Known Member
Never thought about that one Andy. So inside the car, it's in a more active mode? I suppose that would be the case outside but within range as well? I need to possibly come up with a plan B. (I juts hate carfying keys, which I inevitably lose.). Thank you for the tip and no flak.
Sure!
Yes, my understanding, though I have never tested this myself, is that the fob uses a lot more power when kept in close proximity to the car.
If you are dead set on keeping it in the car, you could probably put it in some sort of Faraday cage, and remove it when you need to use it.
Good luck!
I don't think that that's right.
1) Cell service isn't universal so the ability for an app to start the car creates a new potential problem. If Tesla cares about its owners it's reasonable to do something about it. Simplest solution would be a popup message after an app start if there's no key in the car.
2) It's fob, lower case. the definition of fob
You can tell he's a guy who takes responsibility for his actions because when he screwed up it was his wife that ended up walking 2 miles through the des... er... never mind.
NikeWings
Active Member
⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️
Village Idiot
If it's not relevant to you, then go read something else. There's no need to be insulting.
Archduke
Member
"...Negri used the Tesla mobile app to start the car at home, and didn't bring his keys; but when he had to stop and restart the car to adjust a dog seat, there was no cell service, so the start-with-phone method was useless. "
Can we talk about the fact that his dog has a 'dog seat'?
Can we talk about the fact that his dog has a 'dog seat'?
Canuck
Well-Known Member
Same here.
There's one other option no one mentioned. All he needs to do is carry one of these around instead of his fob...
MCD-4800 BGAN - A Global Internet Hotspot Case
Then if there's no cell signal he just opens the lid, gets wifi from the satellite for both his phone and the car, then starts the car. It's a little bigger and heavier than the fob but it works.
f-stop
Active Member
Or if one really, really insists on keeping a (spare?) fob in the car, why not just take out the battery and store/hide it separately somewhere else in the car (or keep the battery in your wallet?) IIRC, you need to at least have a weak battery in the fob for the car to recognize it, e.g. putting the fob at the base of windshield to unlock the car. My understanding is that a fob with no battery installed won't unlock the car. Storing a spare fob and battery separately this way might have solved the problem mentioned by the OP, yet still be somewhat secure
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