Ah. I gotcha. That’s a bit more challenging - Not sure how they’d work that into the UI. I suppose it’s possible but sounds like a very complex setup for configuration purposes.
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No garage door opener?
- Thread starter Atreyu
- Start date
Ah. I gotcha. That’s a bit more challenging - Not sure how they’d work that into the UI. I suppose it’s possible but sounds like a very complex setup for configuration purposes.
yeah, if they were going to make the change they should have made the install at least 1500.... at 500 it seems like it just results in a lot of paperwork and nickel and diming feel.
While the Homelink opener is nice and all but the tech feels a bit dated. For about the same money you can have a new garage door opener installed that supports WiFi and can be remotely controlled via an app on your smart phone, voice commands, etc.
Garage doors even have cameras in them now.
Smart Opener With Camera | LiftMaster
Garage doors even have cameras in them now.
Smart Opener With Camera | LiftMaster
mal_tsla
Member
WiFi opener is nice, and we use it when not in the car, but for us, now that we've had gps open, the convenience is easily worth $300 over the life of the car.
Pretty much most cars come with homelink now... not just luxury cars. Homelink is probably more common than power windows which also came with most cars now. At a minimum, if they want to charge $300 for it, put it as an option when buying it. Making people buy it afterward and take it back to the service center to install it makes no sense.
Knightshade
Well-Known Member
Depends on how much "work" it is to build one car different from the next.
They generally build in batches, so doing one-off stuff like installing Homelink or not on the MFG line has a cost (especially if it's selected rarely enough to not make "do this whole batch of type of car X WITH homelink" an option)
Tesla has apparently concluded it's a higher cost than having a ranger or service center do it for whatever # of folks actually want it.
Thanks to whoever suggested taping the garage remote to the back of the screen. This works really well and feels similar to BMWs placement of the HomeLink buttons under the mirror. I centered the remote to the back of the screen under the mounting arm so it's Hidden from view yet easy to find. No need to spend $300 for GPS enabled HomeLink. For us it was more the inconvenience of keeping a remote in the cubby. This was a no brainier fix.
What I did isn't necessarily the most efficient, engineering-wise (if I had to do it from scratch, I'd do it differently), but it is fast and inexpensive...
1) Buy a TP-Link Kasa wireless AC switch or similar. These interface directly with Alexa without the need for a hub, currently $14 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Occupies-HS105-Wall-Light-Electronic-Component-switches/dp/B01K1JVZOE
2) Buy a simply 5V relay, 5V DC coil, with relay that is suitable for 120VAC, low current. It could be a module with connectors like this ($6.00):
https://www.amazon.com/Tolako-Arduino-Indicator-Channel-Official/dp/B00VRUAHLE
or even just a raw 5VDC relay like this:
https://www.amazon.com/QWORK-SRD-05VDC-SL-C-5Pins-Power-Relay/dp/B085ZX7LVJ
3) Find or buy a simple 120VAC to 5VDC charger wallwart, like any old USB charger. You probably have several lying around, or get one at the Dollar store, or this (overkill): it just needs to provide 120VAC->5VDC at 100ma...
https://www.amazon.com/Android-Adapter-2000mah-Charger-Matricom/dp/B073VYWBGK
4) Optional, a project box, like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Awclub-Waterproof-Dustproof-Universal-100mmx68mmx50mm/dp/B07CG2B9H3
The idea is simple:
- Alexa tells the TPLink Kasa wireless switch to turn ON (120VAC)
- The 120VAC powers the USB charger
- The 5VDC turns ON the relay
- The relay acts like the garage door opener button.
Alexa >> TPLink >> 5VDC charger >> 5V relay >> garage opener switch terminals closed
Wire the NO (normally open) relay output (switch) across the opener terminals where the opener switch goes -- in parallel, the existing switch can stay. This project took me maybe 20mins to make and fit in a small project box -- another 5mins to wiring into the opener setup. Total cost < $30.
The last tidbit is that a standard opener switch is "momentary", a push button, whereas the TPLink is ON or OFF. So go to the Alexa App and create a simple "routine", called Garage or similar. The routine is simply Turn ON Kasa switch, wait 5secs, Turn OFF Kasa switch. Then you just say "Alexa Garage" to activate the routine.
The major "con" of this method, is that there is no knowledge of if the door is already open or not -- the same is true for the standard garage opener switch. In practice, it hasn't been a problem. But if you want to do better, just put a wireless sensor (like a window security sensor) on the garage door that Alexa can read and have the Routine account for the state of the garage door. I haven't bothered with this though...
Let me know if you have more questions....
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I personally don't find having to fish out my phone, rummaging around for an app and tapping some app button to be an advance over tapping a button on garage remote control (e.g. on the visor). The advance I was interested in is hands-free voice control. Proximity auto-opening/closing is nice.... until you don't want it to happen. Yes, there are several options now for Alexa-enabled openers, more than $30 though and usually requiring completely re-doing the opener mechanism instead of using the existing opener.
This guy made a Youtube video of basically the same idea, but using another brand of wireless relay...
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Who said you have to use your phone. I double-sided taped my controller to the back of the screen. The linked solution you provided looks like a fire hazard haha
Ronbo
Member
You paid $55k and not $55.3k - Tesla gave you the option to save $300
More accurately Tesla saved themselves a few bucks per car by deleting it as standard equipment.
This is why. Purely a licensing issue. Have to pay a fee for every unit sold, regardless of use. Structured volume pricing. At $300 and a mobile service visit, it's not a significant driver in margin.
lUtriaNt
Member
its the license cost. likely tesla are not making much off the sale.
the model 3 i have was born in march this year and i had to get it installed after the sale too. its not a big deal since the ranger can install it at your home or office in under an hour and there is no extra labor cost, but it would have been a "nice to have" option of requesting it to be included when your car was scheduled to be built.
i read tesla don't necessarily build model 3's specifically to unique people since its now a mass produced car, but still..
the model 3 i have was born in march this year and i had to get it installed after the sale too. its not a big deal since the ranger can install it at your home or office in under an hour and there is no extra labor cost, but it would have been a "nice to have" option of requesting it to be included when your car was scheduled to be built.
i read tesla don't necessarily build model 3's specifically to unique people since its now a mass produced car, but still..
you should design your own and then pay people to drive to customers homes to install it. You will be a trillionaire!
if the size of the module is your deciding factor, I bet you never bought a cpu, large high speed flash drive, or even a cell phone. The size/price comparison is insane.
The module probably costs less than $50 to them. The rest is the maximum labor rate for a mobile tech drive out to your home and back and time to install. $125/hr x 2 = $250.
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