What’s the one thing you like the least about your Model 3?

[N5329K]

And I don't see it that way since it has worked every time since initial delivery a long time ago for me, my wife and a bunch of other people.

The remote lock/unlock fob on my Gen 1 Prius has never failed. Not once in seventeen years. The remote lock/unlock fob on my Prius V has never failed, not once in six years. That said, if my neighbor's Toyota fob worked some of the time and not others, if it required her to occasionally take it out of her purse/pocket, to hold it just so, to sidle up to the car crabwise (no back pockets please) in order to get it to do the simple thing of opening up the car or locking it, I would say, I sure am lucky. Not, Toyota's remote access device is terrific.
I definitely get that you're experience with it has been fine. I would suggest that you are lucky to have just the right combination of devices along with the smarts to keep them all happy together. Good on you.
But having to always, always carry my phone (which I don't), or wondering Will it? after every SW update, change in phone, app, electronic environment or wardrobe, would drive me bonkers.
Robin

 

[StealthP3D]

@StealthP3D: And I don't know why you keep telling me to use some other system when I've said that these days the phone as key is working for me.

If it's not working 100%, with zero failures, then I wouldn't exactly say it's "working".

The point is that a lot of people have reported having problems with it, and people who know more than I do have said that the BT protocol allows manufacturers to implement it in different ways which are not always all 100% compatible with each other. The simple fact that so many people have reported it not working is evidence that either it was a poor choice to begin with or Tesla implemented it poorly.

The Internet is infamous for causing an issue to appear much, much larger than it is in reality (due to the fact that people with an issue are about 10-100 times more likely to post about it than someone who has perfect functionality). If it does what it's supposed to do, it's not news.

If BT were a truly reliable system, no app on the phone would prevent it from working.

Incorrect. If the phone were designed correctly, it would prevent misbehaving apps from corrupting the BT stack. You don't have to be a software engineer to keep your phone clean, just use some restraint before putting apps from questionable vendors on your phone.

Tesla should have provided a proximity fob along with the car until they had enough experience with it for it to become truly reliable.

Again, you are acting like the problem is not with your phone, but with Tesla and yet you provide no evidence to support your opinion other than quoting unknown people who are supposedly experts in BT who claim the technology is flawed. It's comical. I talk to other Model 3 owners whenever I get a chance and am always curious about issues they have experienced with the car. I've learned that not only are mechanical problems very rare, people also love the "phone as key" feature and the freedom is enables.

The $150 key fob (sorry I got the price wrong) which should have come with the car at no extra cost, is hardly much better than the key card and is the crummiest key fob around.

Only when you run your own successful car company do you get to choose whether to charge everyone for an option, regardless of whether they actually want it, or make it optional, so only those who find value in that option have to pay for it. I do not want another little device that needs regular battery replacements. I always have my phone when I'm going somewhere and I have to keep iit charged anyway. That's also the beauty of the Key Card, not only does it fit easily in my wallet but it's passive so there are no batteries to replace, ever! The bottom line is this system simplifies my life.

This is the best car on the road today. I would not trade it for any other car, unless that car was so expensive that I could sell it and buy another Model 3 and have enough money left over to be worth the bother. But they did not get everything right.

It's your opinion that "phone as key" is not a good feature but a flaw. You are free to have that opinion and I'm free to provide the reasons why I think it's a feature, not a flaw. I LOVE the "phone as key" feature, it's just one more thing that sets the Model 3 apart from the competition.

 

[Hobari]

Single biggest thing is that I'm afraid of is getting hit. Last time I got in an accident was in 1992 and it was when someone ran a red light as I was the 3rd car going through a green. But for some reason, I'm terrified of being hit driving the Model 3. It's not even the most expensive car I've driven, but it stresses me out nonetheless.

Based on my experience with repair time, this is a valid fear. My bumper was dented and the car ended up in the shop for 5 weeks awaiting parts.

 

[sixela]

But having to always, always carry my phone (which I don't), or wondering Will it? after every SW update, change in phone, app, electronic environment or wardrobe, would drive me bonkers.

I have one of the two keycards in my wallet, which I do tend to have with me (it's a legal requirement to have government ID on you over here). If it drives you bonkers, then you are doing it to yourself.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Based on my experience with repair time, this is a valid fear. My bumper was dented and the car ended up in the shop for 5 weeks awaiting parts.

Why wouldn't you just drive the car until the parts came in?

 

[WhiteSpeed]

Rearview mirror visibility

Yeah, that's mine too.

 

[WhiteSpeed]

It’s a small one, but the auto wipers. Randomly coming on and not being that consistent when on. Every luxury manufacturer figured this system out 20 years ago and Tesla is still in beta mode.

My Ford Expedition does this really well. My Audi Q7 (fully equipped luxo-model) sucked at this.

 

[WhiteSpeed]

CarPlay would be awesome. I know this is controversial, but in my opinion Apple Maps has improved beyond Google and Waze for navigating in traffic. I am always streaming from my phone, whether it's music or podcasts. Even though CarPlay UI is terrible, and way too sparse (IOS13 will be better), it is much safer and convenient on the road.

 

[WhiteSpeed]

You know how sometimes your right ankle will get itchy when driving? Well when you pick your foot off the accelerator it slows you down. I hate that, my ankle itches sometimes dammit.

Cruise Control On --> scratch ankle --> Cruise off.

 

[WhiteSpeed]

collision repair. Long wait for completion (7+ months in my case, due to numerous part delays and body shop delays)

I had my M3 one week and got rear ended. It is projected 3-4 weeks to get it fixed.

 

[Mrcarcrazy]

When i first bought the car it would have been rear visibility, however i've somewhat gotten used to that. Now it has to be the fact that phone key doesn't work reliably. I love not having keys. Do not love having to wake up my phone, enter my code and then bringing up the Tesla app to get the car to unlock.

iPhone or android? I’m curious if this complaint is specific to one OS or what the cause is.

 

[rdunniii]

1. The itty bitty sized text on the screen. Sometimes I have to have autosteer on for a few seconds to look down and try and focus on the small print.
2. How far out the nav map goes on Interstates and how late it zooms in after exiting` freeways making seeing the first couple of turns difficult. Such as "in 500 feet turn left". except you're in an exit lane that cannot turn left and there is too much traffic to get there.

 

[Luudcrs]

When i first bought the car it would have been rear visibility, however i've somewhat gotten used to that. Now it has to be the fact that phone key doesn't work reliably. I love not having keys. Do not love having to wake up my phone, enter my code and then bringing up the Tesla app to get the car to unlock.

Which phone/OS and are you having to do this on a regular basis? This definitely doesn't sound right. I'm on iPhone X and it's always in my pocket and locked when I get to the car. In 6+ months of ownership the car has not unlocked only a handful of times.

 

[SeanM]

The phone key. It’s inconsistent. It fails to work at least 5 times a week.

You might want to check your cellphone's cellular strength, when you find the "phone key" doesn't work.

I never had any issue of opening/closing of my Model-3 using phone key, but have observed that if I have poor cellular reception, the Summon feature either doesn't work or is spotty (Summon get abruptly aborted midways).

Let us know your findings, thanks.

 

[Luudcrs]

You might want to check your cellphone's cellular strength, when you find the "phone key" doesn't work.

I never had any issue of opening/closing of my Model-3 using phone key, but have observed that if I have poor cellular reception, the Summon feature either doesn't work or is spotty (Summon get abruptly aborted midways).

Let us know your findings, thanks.

This is not true. I park in an underground garage at work on a daily basis that has zero cell and wifi signal. Have not had any issues with the phone in walk up/walk away feature to unlock/lock the car. I cannot speak for summon as I don't have that.

 

[daniel]

... If the phone were designed correctly, it would prevent misbehaving apps from corrupting the BT stack. You don't have to be a software engineer to keep your phone clean, just use some restraint before putting apps from questionable vendors on your phone.

No. Tesla knew when it made this decision, that there are many different brands of phones, in many different models, and several different operating systems for each. Tesla never announced, "If you buy our car you must have a phone from this list." Tesla just said, "Your phone will be your key." Tesla made an implied promise that whatever smartphone you have, it will work with the car. This has proven not to be the case.

I have an iPhone SE. I've always kept the OS up to date. iOS does not allow users to download apps that have not been approved by Apple, and I have not jailbroken my phone. I don't even have that many apps.

And yet Bluetooth is so wonky that right now it lists 4 different BT devices as being CONNECTED even though none of them ever asked permission from me to connect, all of them have "names" like S86f01c31bf8... etc., and NONE of them show the little lower case letter "i" in a circle, that with other "devices" allow you to tell it to "forget" them. WTF is going on with that?

My phone's Bluetooth is connected to four different devices that are unidentifiable, that never asked me for permission, and that it will not allow me to disconnect or forget. I call that a totally fu@%ed up protocol.

Bluetooth is unreliable, yet Tesla promised buyers that their phone would open their car, and very clearly implied that it would work for any phone, certainly any phone from any of the major phone makers. This was a promise they could not keep, and the reason they could not keep it is that BT is wonky and unreliable.

 

[jdcollins5]

No. Tesla knew when it made this decision, that there are many different brands of phones, in many different models, and several different operating systems for each. Tesla never announced, "If you buy our car you must have a phone from this list." Tesla just said, "Your phone will be your key." Tesla made an implied promise that whatever smartphone you have, it will work with the car. This has proven not to be the case.

I have an iPhone SE. I've always kept the OS up to date. iOS does not allow users to download apps that have not been approved by Apple, and I have not jailbroken my phone. I don't even have that many apps.

And yet Bluetooth is so wonky that right now it lists 4 different BT devices as being CONNECTED even though none of them ever asked permission from me to connect, all of them have "names" like S86f01c31bf8... etc., and NONE of them show the little lower case letter "i" in a circle, that with other "devices" allow you to tell it to "forget" them. WTF is going on with that?

My phone's Bluetooth is connected to four different devices that are unidentifiable, that never asked me for permission, and that it will not allow me to disconnect or forget. I call that a totally fu@%ed up protocol.

Bluetooth is unreliable, yet Tesla promised buyers that their phone would open their car, and very clearly implied that it would work for any phone, certainly any phone from any of the major phone makers. This was a promise they could not keep, and the reason they could not keep it is that BT is wonky and unreliable.

The four BT devices are the four low-power BT sensors located around your car so that you can unlock and open doors and trunks from anywhere around the car.

 

[StealthP3D]

The four BT devices are the four low-power BT sensors located around your car so that you can unlock and open doors and trunks from anywhere around the car.

True. It seems the only people who don't like the "phone as key" feature don't even understand how the feature works.

Complaining that the car has four different Bluetooth access profiles? Priceless.

 

[StealthP3D]

You might want to check your cellphone's cellular strength, when you find the "phone key" doesn't work.

I have a mountain cabin. There are no cell signals from any cellular carrier within 15 miles of my cabin. zilch.

The phone as key functionality works 100%, every time. And it's been like this with two Model 3's, two different phones, with multiple software upgrades on both the phones and the cars, for over a year (since our first delivery). Cell service is not needed. The car has four Bluetooth access points around the car. All you need is a phone that adheres to Bluetooth standards and keeps the Bluetooth active when the phone sleeps.

 

[jebinc]

The car probably thought the bug splatters were raindrops.



I'd prefer a hatchback. But for me it's not that big a deal. I just think a hatchback is a better use of space.



Same here. Wipers are a safety issue.



Snow? What's that? (Sorry. I couldn't resist. After 30 years in North Dakota and 12 in Spokane, I should have moved here at least 20 years ago.)



Yeah. I used it once, many years ago. It worked great at first. But then my windshield started to lose clarity. Not going to use it again.

I use and highly recommend AquaPel to RainX. Lasts forever and not RainX issues. Can be found in bulk on Amazon. One treatment lasts about a year.