The Key Fob

[MitchL]

I was thinking about the key fob as I replied in the "what's going to fail first" thread.

The Tech Package is supposed to detect my fob as I approach the car and do magical things to unlock, extend handles, and personalize the car for me, right? (meaning, I don't have to press any buttons on it).

My wife's also going to have a fob too, it'll be in her purse. As we both approach the car, which fob will it personalize for?


Maybe the car should pick one of us at random, and whoever the car chooses gets to drive .


Certainly this is a "solved problem." How is this handled in other cars with keyless ignitions, like recent model hybrids? How should it work on the Model S?

/Mitch.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

This has been discussed before, and I think, the consensus was that the wife's fob always wins :wink:

Seriously, my wife and I both carry our ('easy access') fobs into the car when carpooling in our Mini Clubman and, unless I actually choose to plug the fob into the slot (not necessary to hit Start/Stop), it appears to be a tossup as to whose fob 'wins'; well, there's no seat memory and such in the Mini but, whatever else is paired to the fob (such as in-dash display settings, climate control) seems to go either way...

 

[NigelM]

This has been discussed before, and I think, the consensus was that the wife's fob always wins

That's what my wife told me too!

 

[MitchL]

I probably wouldn't be able to sit in the car with the seat set in her position . I'm sure what exactly is paired with the fob has been discussed before (I should catch up on old threads)

If she wants to drive it every time we're together, I'd consider that to be a huge win. She's not overly positive on EVs (yet), so if I could program her fob to win all the time, I would!


/Mitch.

 

[AnOutsider]

Shouldn't it go by proximity to driver? Whichever fob approached the driver's door seems the easiest way to decide

 

[Doug_G]

Shouldn't it go by proximity to driver? Whichever fob approached the driver's door seems the easiest way to decide

Yes, that makes sense. I think Nissan/Infiniti goes by whichever FOB is closest (i.e. antenna is next to driver's seat, takes the largest signal).

One reason to leave the other FOB at home is if you ever wanted to lock a bag containing a FOB in the car. The car won't let you lock with a FOB inside - that's so you can't lock yourself out of the car.

 

[smorgasbord]

The car won't let you lock with a FOB inside - that's so you can't lock yourself out of the car.

Hmm. Then how does the Tesla dealer do that for me when I'm picking my car up from service after hours?

 

[Doug_G]

Hmm. Then how does the Tesla dealer do that for me when I'm picking my car up from service after hours?

The Roadster isn't keyless. As for the Model S, well, either (a) they can't, or (b) it will be possible to lock your FOB in the car, or (c) it's possible to deliberately lock the FOB in the frunk (my Infiniti will let you lock a FOB in the trunk; my old Murano didn't have a trunk and you couldn't), or (d) there will be some kind of override feature on the touchscreen.

 

[Citizen-T]

Why not have a priority order? My wife's car can be setup with more than one cell phone, but her's is the "favorite". If we are both in the car, her's connects. I can change it to mine with the touchscreen if I want of course.

Seems to me that in most families, the Model S is going to be somebody's car. A simple priority ordering of the keys with a manual override would solve this problem for most everybody.

 

[strider]

On my Corvette it would be based on the fob in the driver's seat. I'm sure you could confused it if you got them too close together but my wife and I never had a problem if her's was in her purse in the passenger footwell and mine was in my pocket in the driver's seat.

 

[Robert.Boston]

I think Citizen-T's approach is the right one.

 

[Doug_G]

I think Citizen-T's approach is the right one.

Agreed - another good use of that huge touchscreen.

 

[gmontem]

Why not have a priority order? My wife's car can be setup with more than one cell phone, but her's is the "favorite". If we are both in the car, her's connects. I can change it to mine with the touchscreen if I want of course.

Seems to me that in most families, the Model S is going to be somebody's car. A simple priority ordering of the keys with a manual override would solve this problem for most everybody.

That will get tired real quickly. If my wife's fob was the favorite, I will always have to set the driver's seat and steering wheel to my settings as my wife sits in the back with the baby.

I prefer something a bit more complicated. :wink: Allow the fob in the driver's seat to customize all individual seat settings, but as soon as another valid fob comes in proximity of a passenger seat, then that passenger seat will use that fob's settings for the desired seat.

Has anyone asked Tesla if the rear trunk has a recessed door handle? Will I have to dig the fob key out of my pocket to open it?

 

[AnOutsider]

That will get tired real quickly. If my wife's fob was the favorite, I will always have to set the driver's seat and steering wheel to my settings as my wife sits in the back with the baby.

Then set yours as priority?

 

[gmontem]

Then set yours as priority?

That will get tired real quickly. If my fob was the favorite, my wife will always have to set the driver's seat and steering wheel to her settings.....

:wink:

 

[Robert.Boston]

I'm just not sure how narrowly the fob location can be tracked. If it can figure out who's in the driver's seat, then that's the obvious way to go. Our BMW's bluetooth has a priority list, and it works just fine. If my wife's phone is in range, it syncs there; otherwise, it syncs to mine.

If tight location of the fob can't be determined, a simple approach would be: if more than one fob is in range, then an app shows up on the screen inquiring who the driver is. One push and everything's adjusted.

 

[Tommy]

If the driver's seat differentiated by weight to set the preferences; I can state unequivocally, the car would know who was driving between my wife and I.:wink:

 

[woof]

Hmm. Then how does the Tesla dealer do that for me when I'm picking my car up from service after hours?

Wrap the key in tin foil. Worked in my Acura RL when I had both keys in the car and it kept defaulting to The Wife's key (even though it wasn't supposed to do that).

 

[strider]

Has anyone asked Tesla if the rear trunk has a recessed door handle? Will I have to dig the fob key out of my pocket to open it?

I recall reading somewhere that w/ the tech package you'll just have to sweep your foot under the rear of the car and the hatch will open (assuming the fob is nearby).

On my Corvette there was a button above the license plate that would open the hatch so it wasn't hands free but I never had to dig the fob out of my pocket.

 

[Doug_G]

I recall reading somewhere that w/ the tech package you'll just have to sweep your foot under the rear of the car and the hatch will open (assuming the fob is nearby).

Now that is cool! If true, that will be really great for when you're carrying all kinds of stuff.

On my Corvette there was a button above the license plate that would open the hatch so it wasn't hands free but I never had to dig the fob out of my pocket.

Same with my Infiniti.