I'm calling this thing the door key until someone can point out if it is possible to use it to start the vehicle. My understand is that only the fob, in proximity to the start button can enable starting the vehicle. If the fob battery is low, you have to hold it closer to the start button. I am assuming that the vehicle will alert me if it detects the fob battery low? Anyway, for the door key, I bought the following blanks and carried them to my dealer to be cut. They look up your VIN and then cut the keys based on that. Don't even need the original key, just proof that you own the vehicle. My dealer did it for no charge. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0719PP89F
Yes. You will get a notification that you fob battery is low. You can always access every door, trunk, hood, and electric/gas port with the key and the manual overrides. At the Drive Electric Week event I was at (of course I was the only PHEV and Clarity) one person borrowed a Tesla Model 3 to attend. He charged his phone in the car and got locked out since he didn’t have the owner’s wallet card. I tried not to laugh. Having a physical key is a good thing IMHO. Buttons too for that matter. At least I don’t have to go through menus to open my glovebox!
Yes I just learned about the Tesla glove box this morning. Don't get me wrong. I think the Tesla cars are wonderful and they have turned the automotive industry on it's head. It's just not for me. I think there are functions for which I want buttons and knobs. The large LCD screen that handles most features and functions in the Tesla are deal breakers for me.
Really!? I can understand using the phone to unlock the car, but how did he lock it? Toyotas and Volkwagens won't let you lock a fob in the car. If Tesla is using NFC (Near Field Communications) from the phone to unlock, can't they detect that the phone is in the car before locking it? (p.s. haven't tried to see if the Clarity refuses if the second fob is left in the car).
Don’t know how he did it but his phone was on the seat plugged in and we couldn’t get in. Had to drive him across town to find the owner. He couldn’t remember the owner’s phone number to call him. I don’t know if the owner could have unlocked it by his phone. We brought him back with a thin plastic credit card that when touched to the door pillar between front and back windows and let him in.
Yes, the Tesla app allows remote unlocking by the owner. We've done this with both a Model X and a Model 3 when we had them in the Auto Show (the show runs from 10 AM to 10 PM for several days and the owners were not on-site 100% of the time) I also experienced this when picking up a Turo Model X. Owner had the FOB inside the car in an RF shielded pouch. Remotely unlocked when I arrived in the early AM and I was able to use the fob during the rental. Reversed the process when returning.
