Valet gave my card key to another Tesla driver. It’s gone.

[jkoya]

Pier 29 is a great place to park overnight if you're staying near valet hotels there. The better rate is to reserve space online and not on site.

I decided valet was too risky and parked my ICE at Pier 29.

Thanks for the tip - much appreciated. We've been lucky so far at the Presidio and near the Ferry Building, but we started taking our Volt to the city now, as it seems people tend to leave it alone.

 

[yerEVan]

There is no programming needed if you still have a spare card, if you do then you add it on screen and placing it on the console

I didn’t have any cards with me and they were going to setup one solo. So no clue why a $5 difference, but it’s not a big deal.

 

[PoitNarf]

I haven’t encountered a situation to try my strategy yet but I had always planned on telling a valet only place that I forgot my key card and I need my phone on me for an important call. They can’t valet my car if I have no key to leave with them. Anyone else try this?

 

[BYE FSL]

Update:
I removed the lost key from the list on the screen in my car as suggested. Thanks.
I also bought a new key online. $25.
Later I got an email from the restaurant saying that the valet found my key and they are Fed Exing it to me. Of course this is inconsistent with the story that the valet gave it to another Tesla driver who acknwleded having it. Maybe they are just sending another Tesla owner’s key.
Final expected score: I’ll have 3 cards, I spent $25 for one I didn’t need, the restaurant credited the charge for a $80 bottle of wine, I lost a couple hours of time, and I got a good story.

 

[RedOctober]

I will never use a valet after someone we know parked expensive cars for a fancy business I won’t name. The guy was telling us that at first they were paranoid about driving and parking some of the exotic cars that showed up. But over time people became brazen and started taking cars around the block of this place that had some open road at various times of the evening. They would even race each other. The only thing that came to mind during this conversation was what kind of lawsuits and criminal charges were these knuckleheads facing if a collision occurred where people were injured. The guy was laughing his head off reliving his activities. Opened our eyes not to trust unknown people with our cars. I could just imagine what else they were doing in these cars.

 

[Jerev]

That sucks.

I bought this on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z372GSP

I used a label maker to put my phone number and make/model/color of my car on it + a keyring. I keep it in my center console and will slide in my key card when I need to valet.

Very good idea and I would add license plate number to the label.

 

[tvad]

Update:
I removed the lost key from the list on the screen in my car as suggested. Thanks.
I also bought a new key online. $25.
Later I got an email from the restaurant saying that the valet found my key and they are Fed Exing it to me. Of course this is inconsistent with the story that the valet gave it to another Tesla driver who acknwleded having it. Maybe they are just sending another Tesla owner’s key.
Final expected score: I’ll have 3 cards, I spent $25 for one I didn’t need, the restaurant credited the charge for a $80 bottle of wine, I lost a couple hours of time, and I got a good story.

Good outcome. Mistakes happen, and reasonable people work them out. Kudos to you and the business owner/manager.

 

[hoang51]

Last valet I used was Marin Joe's in Corte Madera. Completely insane, as the car was outside our window, 10 feet away. They left a window down. No more valets for me!

I know in the Tesla app, for the Model 3, you can vent the windows and then make them all close.

 

[hoang51]

Update:
I removed the lost key from the list on the screen in my car as suggested. Thanks.
I also bought a new key online. $25.
Later I got an email from the restaurant saying that the valet found my key and they are Fed Exing it to me. Of course this is inconsistent with the story that the valet gave it to another Tesla driver who acknwleded having it. Maybe they are just sending another Tesla owner’s key.
Final expected score: I’ll have 3 cards, I spent $25 for one I didn’t need, the restaurant credited the charge for a $80 bottle of wine, I lost a couple hours of time, and I got a good story.

Good to have closure on this issue so that you can move on.

You can try and cancel your replacement card keys order before it ships.

 

[srs5694]

I also bought a new key online. $25.
Later I got an email from the restaurant saying that the valet found my key and they are Fed Exing it to me. Of course this is inconsistent with the story that the valet gave it to another Tesla driver who acknwleded having it. Maybe they are just sending another Tesla owner’s key.
Final expected score: I’ll have 3 cards, I spent $25 for one I didn’t need

If you bought the new key card from Tesla, note that it's a pack of two cards for $25. Assuming you still have (or will have, once the restaurant delivers your old key card to you) your original two cards, that'll give you four key cards. If you have the time and care, you could then try hacking one or more of the key cards to put the RFID hardware in something more convenient:

People have embedded the extracted hardware in rings, watch straps, and even their own hands (I shudder at that last one!).

 

[jkoya]

Final expected score: I’ll have 3 cards, I spent $25 for one I didn’t need, the restaurant credited the charge for a $80 bottle of wine, I lost a couple hours of time, and I got a good story.

When I purchased the key cards from the online Tesla store, the price of $25 was for 2 key cards. So, you may end up with 4 cards... I got the extra cards with the intent of dissolving one and getting the RFID and antenna...

Glad to hear the restaurant credited the wine for you !

Edit: srs5694 beat me to it !!

 

[daniel]

When I got my Prius in January of 2004 pretty much nobody understood these cars. There were stories of valets getting out of the car without turning it off (engine stops, they think the car is off) and it rolls into a barricade. I never let anybody drive that car except the service guy at the dealership who drives it in and out at oil changes. I'd just tell people "This car is different."

Same with the Roadster. I didn't let anybody but the Tesla Ranger drive it when he came for the annual service and needed to do a check drive afterwards. Except one friend who I knew to be a very safe and careful driver, and I was in the car with him.

And same with the Model 3, except that I had to let Matson drive it on and off the shipping rack when I shipped it here. All went well except that they put a couple of stickers on it that I could not remove, but when I had the car detailed the detailer got it all cleaned off. I just don't go places that have valet-only parking. For Matson I bought a plastic card holder with a key ring on it so they could hang it on a key hook.

If I inadvertently found myself somewhere with valet parking, I'd just tell them that my phone is my key and I cannot leave my phone with them, as someone else suggested upthread. If they know about the key cards, I'd lie and say I don't have it with me.

 

[jkoya]

If I inadvertently found myself somewhere with valet parking, I'd just tell them that my phone is my key and I cannot leave my phone with them, as someone else suggested upthread. If they know about the key cards, I'd lie and say I don't have it with me.

Do they just leave your car parked out front then ?

 

[Galve2000]

If I inadvertently found myself somewhere with valet parking, I'd just tell them that my phone is my key and I cannot leave my phone with them, as someone else suggested upthread. If they know about the key cards, I'd lie and say I don't have it with me.

Really? and this was worked for you every time? very strange. in my neck of the woods the valets would refuse to take your car. now if this is the "hack" you use in order to self park your car in a valet space, good for you.. but again... at some point you'll find yourself walking a long distance away from your destination to park your car on your own. not sure it's worth I.. but to each his own.

 

[daniel]

Do they just leave your car parked out front then ?

As I said, I've never been in that situation. I'd offer to park my own car with the valet along to tell me where they wanted it parked. More likely, I'd just say, "Where can I park?" If they say "You can't" I'd leave. There's no restaurant so good that it's worth letting them damage my car. I cannot imagine a situation where I would have to turn my car over to a valet. But I've never lived anywhere where valet parking is common. I once stayed at a resort with valet parking, but I was driving a rental car. A common scam in Mexico is that some guy will put on a uniform and stand outside a restaurant looking like a valet. You give him your car to park and you never see it again.

 

[daniel]

Really? and this was worked for you every time? very strange. in my neck of the woods the valets would refuse to take your car. now if this is the "hack" you use in order to self park your car in a valet space, good for you.. but again... at some point you'll find yourself walking a long distance away from your destination to park your car on your own. not sure it's worth I.. but to each his own.

See my reply above. I've never been in that situation. I just don't go anywhere that has valet parking.

 

[jkoya]

As I said, I've never been in that situation. I'd offer to park my own car with the valet along to tell me where they wanted it parked.

Sorry - I missed the "If" you had at the beginning of the sentence. Apologies for my senior moment.....

 

[r1200gs4ok]

Tell the valet mgmt they owe you $10 plus shipping.

I’d ask them for life time valet parking

 

[daniel]

Sorry - I missed the "If" you had at the beginning of the sentence. Apologies for my senior moment.....

No problem.

 

[Galve2000]

Sorry - I missed the "If" you had at the beginning of the sentence. Apologies for my senior moment.....

I read the "if" as a "when" ... and it's not just about "no restaurant is good enough" -- for some of us, supercharger usage is predicated on leaving the car with a valet. I know, there are other superchargers out there.. but sometimes the one you need to use needs you to leave your car, and your key, with a valet.