ModelS1079
Member
And Ron and Barbara are again forging the way for the rest of us - appreciate sharing such a frustrating experience on behalf of saving us the same hassle and raise the bar for the folks at Tesla.
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The Key Fob
- Thread starter MitchL
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- Model S User Interface
Thanks for posting Todd, I never bother with the TM forum these days, the last few times I tried to post stuff I got some dumb spam errors, and it's so much less functional than here.
My last 5 or 6 cars have had different variants of keyless entry, none of them have ever allowed me to shut my key inside the car. My current car just keeps popping the truck if I try to shut a key in there. It takes a couple of time before I realize the car is trying to tell me something, rather than a badly aligned trunk latch. I'm smart, me.
My last 5 or 6 cars have had different variants of keyless entry, none of them have ever allowed me to shut my key inside the car. My current car just keeps popping the truck if I try to shut a key in there. It takes a couple of time before I realize the car is trying to tell me something, rather than a badly aligned trunk latch. I'm smart, me.
The post seems to be gone from the TM site anyway.
The Prius beeps and won't lock the car if there is a fob inside. It's possible to lock a fob inside but it's not easy to do. It can be done with the manual key and it's also possible if you place the fob in a dead zone (these are hard to find though). I'm really surprised that the Model S doesn't do this.
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
One other thing about the key that afaik hasn't been mentioned yet.
For a car that is driven by a motor fuelled from a rechargeable battery isn't it strange that it comes with a key that isn't rechargeable?
Or how is it done? I mean take my 3-series for example. My car keys have rechargeable batteries inside which are charged whenever I drive my car, as the ignition lock functions as charger.
How is it done on Model S where the key hasn't got physical contact with the car itself? Inductive pad? Or do you need non-rechargeable batteries which have to be exchanged every so often? Would not really be very eco-friendly.
For a car that is driven by a motor fuelled from a rechargeable battery isn't it strange that it comes with a key that isn't rechargeable?
Or how is it done? I mean take my 3-series for example. My car keys have rechargeable batteries inside which are charged whenever I drive my car, as the ignition lock functions as charger.
How is it done on Model S where the key hasn't got physical contact with the car itself? Inductive pad? Or do you need non-rechargeable batteries which have to be exchanged every so often? Would not really be very eco-friendly.
contaygious
Active Member
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
The Mini fob doesn't have a rechargeable battery (atleast my '08 one doesn't). It takes a CR2032 coin-sized battery. The dock's there for the key to be plugged in in case the car doesn't have the easy access package (a la the Tesla) or if the battery's low.
The fob does remember details about the car - odometer reading, service indicator status, etc. - and Mini service centers can dock the fob into a reader to pull that info. I wonder if the Tesla fob does something like that.
contaygious
Active Member
I dunno I have a 2012 mini s and was told it recharges it. It doesn't have any memory though like my infinity does with mirrors, steering wheel, seat, etc.
spatterso911
P100DL - Raven
The SA's at dealerships always get that wrong. The non-"comfort key" access is rechargeable, the "comfort key" batteries are non-rechargeable CR2032 disc batteries which must be swapped about every 3 years or so. They all have the data transmission feature, though.
Todd Burch
14-Year Member
I noticed this in the Model S Owner's Guide:
Can someone verify why this is? I'm assuming that if it's in the car, it's transmitting and receiving between the car more often (so the car can verify that the key is still there) which is why the battery drains faster. Is that right?
Model S Owner's Guide said:
Can someone verify why this is? I'm assuming that if it's in the car, it's transmitting and receiving between the car more often (so the car can verify that the key is still there) which is why the battery drains faster. Is that right?
So what if you spend a lot of time driving? Or does it somehow stop this drain when you are actually operating the car?
kevincwelch
Active Member
I would think the battery in the fob would be checked during the annual service visit. Unless the fob battery is liquid cooled, replacement shouldn't be a task. 
When you're driving the car, the only check it does is if the fob leaves the car and it may be the action of opening the door that turns the monitoring on (I recommend not throwing the fob out the window on the freeway to test this) . If you think about it, once the car has been started, you don't want an interruption in the fob signal to create some action while you're driving.
I suspect that battery life is really a moot point. I replaced the fob battery at five years even though the manual says that 1.5 to 3 years is the normal fob battery life.
I suppose if your key has a really strong battery and you're standing next to the car, someone could steal the vehicle and drive off. Presumably you'd want it to safely slow down to aid in catching the thief?
This is absolutely not true in the Prius and I would expect it to be not true in the Model S as well. There are several transponders which triangulate the location of the fob so the car knows whether the fob is inside or outside. I've actually tested this by holding the fob against the window and having someone try to start the Prius. Can't be done unless the fob is inside the car.
Not clear where you get "not true" from. I wasn't stating a fact. I was proposing a hypothetical. That aside...
We already know the key fob has an impact on the "openness" of the door handles, so it's already being detected outside the vehicle in some fashion. It's not that much of a stretch to assume that a sensor could misread or misinterpret the exact location of the fob as inside vs. outside. It seems like a reasonable "defense in depth" measure to react properly to the situation where the key "disappears" while driving. Perhaps that's just me though; I assume software (and hardware) are imperfect and try to react to the various theoretical states in a reasonable way, even if that are unexpected or unusual situations.
We already know the key fob has an impact on the "openness" of the door handles, so it's already being detected outside the vehicle in some fashion. It's not that much of a stretch to assume that a sensor could misread or misinterpret the exact location of the fob as inside vs. outside. It seems like a reasonable "defense in depth" measure to react properly to the situation where the key "disappears" while driving. Perhaps that's just me though; I assume software (and hardware) are imperfect and try to react to the various theoretical states in a reasonable way, even if that are unexpected or unusual situations.
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