Where to hide or stash a key card on the outside of the vehicle.

[Calliope]

This all sounds like serious paranoia.

I thought this was about convenience, not fear.

 

[Canyonero]

I keep my keycard well hidden. It's in my wallet. Luckily, I don't go surfing.

And again, in 60 years of driving, I've never had a car stolen, and with the Tesla anyone stealing my car would have to find a key. Even then, I could follow their every move on my phone, tell the police exactly where the car was at any moment, and watch as they got arrested. This all sounds like serious paranoia.

I think you’ve misread the intent a little. This is simply about having a backup in case the phone key doesn’t work. I don’t carry a wallet (drivers license, couple CCs and a few bucks cash in a wallet case for my phone) and as long as the phone works as a key I’m likely to use the cards in there a lot more often, so the Tesla key card doesn’t make the cut. But if my phone dies/gets lost/stolen, I’m screwed. And with a newborn that’s not a risk I can take much longer.

I do like the ring idea, only missing function then is having a key to give a valet or car wash. Just got to try to remember to bring it with me in those cases unless the brain trust here comes up with something better.

 

[Calliope]

only missing function then is having a key to give a valet or car wash. Just got to try to remember to bring it with me in those cases

You could keep a key card in the glove box, which can be secured with a PIN - that way it's available if you need to give it to a service person to use the car.

 

[LoudMusic]

I wonder if there are plans for face unlock. The car has loads of cameras on the outside.

 

[EVer Hopeful]

How about taping it to the B Pillar?



For the surfers - check out the youtube of the guy who took a keycard and melted it down in a jar of acetone, then mounted the chip and antenna on (an ironically key shaped) piece of plastic, then covered it in epoxy so he could attach it to his wet suit

I'd get a ring, but they only go up to 12 and I'd need a 13 or possibly even a 14

 

[Calliope]

but they only go up to 12 and I'd need a 13 or possibly even a 14

Teslaring has rings up to size 13, for what it's worth.

 

[RCM11]

I have a Tesla ring I got off of Amazon. Works every single time, and since I never remove my wedding band (which this now acts as), I ALWAYS have a key.

 

[lklundin]

So I have stashed a card on the outside of my vehicle for emergencies. I'm wondering whether anyone else does this or how or where they stash the card. Doing things like skiing, swimming, kayaking, several day hiking trips especially if you've done a car shuttle, Or just going to a beach where your stuff could get stolen are all situations where I might want a back up method to get in and get going.

I guess there are two kinds of stashing - one is leaving the key on the car to use when you get back and the second is to securely stash the card in a way where you could get it in an emergency. I've done both. Sometimes it's as simple as leaving a card on top of a tire. I'll do this if hiking or running. I'm not that worried someone would find it. If they do, they still couldn't drive away since the card is PIN protected. An anyone who is likely to steal something is almost nearly as likely to just do a smash and grab... it would be cheaper for me if they found the card! Have people found any magic hiding places? For this method I might try and see if there is an out of the way spot where a magnet could hold the card - I'm thinking the trailer hitch?

The other thing I've done is to securely tape a card onto the outside of the vehicle in a pretty safe place with Gorilla Tape so that there is always a key in emergencies. I live in an area where there isn't always cell service, and as recent Tesla Network outages have shown you might not always be in luck even with your phone and cell coverage. I do a lot of backcountry skiing in the winter and have had my phone die in the cold. Being the last people to return to a remote trailhead in the cold and not have access to the car could be life threatening. I'm pretty sure the card is sealed up enough that exposure to moisture and salt won't cause it to fail.

The other option I've looked into the is RFID ring.

Other thoughts or options?

I found instructions on how to drill two holes in the key card and keep it on a string around my neck e.g. when wearing a wet-suit. Before that I kept it in a thigh pocket in my shorts under the wet-suit, but found it inconvenient to have to raise my thigh up to the point on the B-pillar where it is read.

 

[EVer Hopeful]

Teslaring has rings up to size 13, for what it's worth.

Thanks, I'll take a look

I must have big sausage hands



ok I checked - that's cnick and I've looked at them. I thought they only went up to 12 so now I'm confused

 

[Calliope]

that's cnick and I've looked at them. I thought they only went up to 12 so now I'm confused

Maybe it depends on which ring (wood vs ceramic)? It looks like it depends on which ring.....I just looked at the "ebony" rings and they offer up to size 15 Ebony so it obviously depends on which ring (and may be when you're looking and what they have in stock?)

 

[EVer Hopeful]

So they do!

I'd only been looking at the ceramic ones because I thought they'd be more rugged. Might have to go for an ebony one

thx

 

[Tcatz]

It's not so much having it hidden as it is, accessible. I plan to always use my phone. But in the event that something happens to my phone, I have 'stashed' one card at home, and one at my office. Hmmm, where the heck is my office one?

 

[DriveMe]

Pick someone you trust (parent, relative, friend) and have their phone paired with your car as a backup (install the Tesla app). If you ever lose your phone and your key card, just find a human being with a phone, make a phone call and unlock your car remotely. That’s it!

Or just call Tesla Customer Service (or roadside assistance). They might be able to unlock it for you remotely as well.

 

[EVer Hopeful]

Pick someone you trust (parent, relative, friend) and have their phone paired with your car as a backup (install the Tesla app).

I have to say, this is the best idea yet

 

[EVer Hopeful]

Maybe it depends on which ring (wood vs ceramic)? It looks like it depends on which ring.....I just looked at the "ebony" rings and they offer up to size 15 Ebony so it obviously depends on which ring (and may be when you're looking and what they have in stock?)

I wrote to them and got this back: "Unfortunately, we cannot make a ceramic ring larger than size 13"

When I suggested I preferred ceramic to wood for the durability, they said: "Our production technology guarantees the highest quality and durability for both ceramic and wood rings."

...and not comparing to other threads on here (ahem) but I got the response immediately

 

[Calliope]

Pick someone you trust (parent, relative, friend) and have their phone paired with your car as a backup (install the Tesla app). If you ever lose your phone and your key card, just find a human being with a phone, make a phone call and unlock your car remotely.

Awesome idea! I should do that too.

 

[CharlieMY]

If you went the RFID ring route, it might make it easy to zip tie it to the car some place.

Wouldn’t the ring keep the vehicle unlocked if nearby?

 

[Need]

Wouldn’t the ring keep the vehicle unlocked if nearby?

The ring has to be pretty close to the B-pillar for it to work just like the key card. It's not like a key fob or the phone key. Also I believe if you unlock the car with key card or a ring without a connecting key fob or phone key, auto walkaway lock doesn't work. You have to manually lock the car at the B-pillar again before walking away.

 

[Warenpeace]

What I do (Model 3 but same situation) is I have a spare RFID card with me when I am surfing - around my neck in a silicone lanyard inside my wetsuit in winter, and zippered in my boardshorts pocket in the summer. I have my phone locked inside the car with its Bluetooth turned off, AND I also have an Apple Watch app that can lock/unlock my car and I wear my watch for surf tracking anyway. The RFID card is a safety fallback for if I lose/break my watch, its battery runs out, bad LTE connection or anything like that.

I surf about 5 days a week year round and have done that with my Tesla since I got it the start of this year with no problems at all.

thanks for this, i've been hiding my phone with my key which I knew couldn't be right, thanks for the tip!