I just can't wrap my head around the fact that I need to pay $325 to get a $60k car to open a garage door. Is this true? Any workaround/app anyone knows of other than a service call to install the home link module? Love the car but this feels like a huge miss much bigger than say Sirius or Android Auto.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
What are some alternatives to buying homelink?
- Thread starter fishacura
- Start date
Knightshade
Well-Known Member
Homelink charges a license fee for every opener installed in a car (plus the HW cost itself of course)- even if the owner doesn't need or want it.
So it's far cheaper for Tesla (and ultimately customers who don't need a GDO) to make it an option after the fact.
So it's far cheaper for Tesla (and ultimately customers who don't need a GDO) to make it an option after the fact.
If you decide you want homelink on your car, make sure you order (and receive) the part first from the tesla store before you place that "service call to install homelink module".
There are plenty of work arounds. The simplest one is to use the garage door opener "clicker" that comes with your garage door opener. Some people put it on the visor like they used to on other cars.
Some use velcro tape to mount the clicker to the back of the model 3 screen so its not visible on the visor.
Some have internet connected garage door openers, and use whatever app comes with that to open it (or setup automation on their smartphones to activate it).
I have said this in a few other threads on this exact topic, but I completely understand why tesla wants to charge people for homelink vs putting it in every vehicle. The reason is because of what @Knightshade said. Its a license that must be paid when its installed, and tesla has statistics on exactly how much its used (in how many cars). They have determined that its cheaper to sell the part and "roll a truck" for installation than it is to include it in every car.
I have no idea how much the part + license + installation costs tesla, but I doubt its much less than they charge for the part. So, charging for it isnt the issue in my book. The big "miss" on this, is the fact that its not a "clickable option" on the order form for "+325 homelink module" install. There is some reason they are not simply allowing people to order it with the car, and I dont know what that is. I suspect its simply a "its would be bad PR" thing, but dont know.
Wait... I thought "HomeLink" cleaned the house, made the beds and vacuumed. All it does is open the garage door?? What the hell good is that?! How is it a "HomeLink" if it doesn't do anything in the house? That makes it a "GarageDoorLink".
So, if I get this thing do I also need to get one of those garage door lifty up thingys, too? Or does this get out of the car and lift up the garage door for me? I'm still kind of old school...
So, if I get this thing do I also need to get one of those garage door lifty up thingys, too? Or does this get out of the car and lift up the garage door for me? I'm still kind of old school...
Tam
Well-Known Member
Good feedback for $60 Tailwind (Android price, pay $20 more for iPhone):
SR+ homelink
I’m very curious to know if it will require a software update once it’s installed though, and how long it will take to get refreshed. I was wondering this, as well. If I were to buy a module off eBay, would it run (ala plug n play), and it just show up in your screen?
teslamotorsclub.com
TunaBug
Member
I have the Tesla homelink and think it's way overpriced for the hardware.
Search for homelink rearview mirrors on Amazon and they're much cheaper. My guess is that 50% of what we pay to Tesla for this is for the convenience of having a ranger come install it and the overhead of treating it as a separate SKU and the "free" shipping. Is Tesla making money off this? Perhaps not. Is it the right thing for Tesla to not install the hardware in every car? Perhaps so. But I for me the cost of hardware is not reasonable.
But I looked at it as the whole package. Let's say I think the hardware should be $150, using mirrors on Amazon as a guide. So what does the additional $150 get me? It's the automagic geofenced behavior (a first world problem if there ever was one). And I did not want one of the third party cloud-enabled smart opener solutions: I don't want another app on my phone, certainly not one doing geofencing or more behavior tracking into their cloud system. Nor do I want to have to manage that app on my wife's phone.
Or to summarize: nearly a year later the price of the Tesla homelink still bugs me, but I still think that I wouldn't have done it any differently.
Search for homelink rearview mirrors on Amazon and they're much cheaper. My guess is that 50% of what we pay to Tesla for this is for the convenience of having a ranger come install it and the overhead of treating it as a separate SKU and the "free" shipping. Is Tesla making money off this? Perhaps not. Is it the right thing for Tesla to not install the hardware in every car? Perhaps so. But I for me the cost of hardware is not reasonable.
But I looked at it as the whole package. Let's say I think the hardware should be $150, using mirrors on Amazon as a guide. So what does the additional $150 get me? It's the automagic geofenced behavior (a first world problem if there ever was one). And I did not want one of the third party cloud-enabled smart opener solutions: I don't want another app on my phone, certainly not one doing geofencing or more behavior tracking into their cloud system. Nor do I want to have to manage that app on my wife's phone.
Or to summarize: nearly a year later the price of the Tesla homelink still bugs me, but I still think that I wouldn't have done it any differently.
lUtriaNt
Member
mate,
the high cost is for the license to use the product. the part was probably 2 dollars to make in china. its not teslas fault. tesla used to instal these into the cars at first but logs showed
that most people were not using them so they decided to stop installing them. so for those few who want to use it, they atleast get the install for free and its at your home. c'est la vie mon frere.
the high cost is for the license to use the product. the part was probably 2 dollars to make in china. its not teslas fault. tesla used to instal these into the cars at first but logs showed
that most people were not using them so they decided to stop installing them. so for those few who want to use it, they atleast get the install for free and its at your home. c'est la vie mon frere.Sorry
I attached a sonoff mini do my garage doors, and coded a simple html page. So when I open a browser, this is my homepage.
As you can see I have 4 garage doors and one electric gate at work. I controll them all.
A 5x 5 EUR solution
I attached a sonoff mini do my garage doors, and coded a simple html page. So when I open a browser, this is my homepage.
As you can see I have 4 garage doors and one electric gate at work. I controll them all.
A 5x 5 EUR solution
heavyD
Member
This is another one of those things that the inclusion of CarPlay could solve for a lot of people. Most new garage door openers offer homekit capability and the nice thing about the CarPlay integration is that the button pops up only when I get close to home and I can either just tap the screen or the steering wheel button and ask siri to open the door. It's such a shame that Tesla ownership involves losing out on what is standard tech in most new cars today. Kind of strange actually as in some ways these cars are a step forward but in other ways a step back and really it doesn't have to be that way as Elon is being really stubborn and in the process ensuring his vehicles will never be as great as they could be.
Knightshade
Well-Known Member
The car already has wifi, there'd be no need for Carplay to open wifi controlled doors- just an app on the car that can send the appropriate signal.
Elon has even mentioned this will be coming eventually (though Elons value of soon may not match those of others)
Elon has even mentioned this will be coming eventually (though Elons value of soon may not match those of others)
heavyD
Member
This would be great as it would eliminate the need for Homelink for a lot of owners although given that was 2020 one has to wonder if it's coming or not. I know there are rumours of some app store addition but for all we know that could be years away.
So I've got an ancient, non-wifi-enabled garage door setup and also couldn't believe the extra charge for Tesla's Homelink part. So bought an interior tray organizer from Abstract Ocean which perfectly fits my garage door clicker and hides away nicely. I have no plans to purchase Homelink as I'm totally fine with what I have.
With MyQ wifi garage door opener, when my cell phone get close to my house, my garage door open automatically. Away and close. I do not see any reason to waste $325 for HomeLink. I have a Honda comes with HomeLink but I don’t need to use it.
Have had HomeLink on all my cars in the last 10 years, including the Teslas because it just came with it. The car uses it but I still bought a Tailwind because we don’t have wifi enabled garage door openers. We use the other capabilities - like “Night Mode” that will automatically close any open door based on a schedule. I have two kids, and they have a total inability to close an open garage door in any circumstance. I also greatly prefer know the actual status of the door - open or closed - which HomeLink doesn’t support at all.
MaskedRacerX
Member
We had two basically unused, small garage door openers, I took one, just some 3M tape, and put in the driver-side door pocket, super easy to reach without looking, totally out of way and it's no less convenient vs. HomeLink, i.e., it's one button.
At some point I'll adda HomeKit compatible controller since we're already all in on that tech (probably the Meross since I already have a few of their other products).
At some point I'll adda HomeKit compatible controller since we're already all in on that tech (probably the Meross since I already have a few of their other products).
