Can't start car

mibaro2 · May 27, 2014

I drove to work today, and then my wife took the car and continued driving to her work (so when we started the car, both keyfobs were in the car. I grabbed mine when I was dropped off).

Now, my wife can't get into the car using the keyfob.

She was able to get in using the tesla app, but could not start the car. The keyfob did not open the trunk or frunk either. That keyfob was last used on Saturday. The car is only 6 weeks old.
Could the fob battery be dead already? Any other way to start the car if the fob is not recognized?

If the fob is dead (and I don't know what else would cause these problems), I guess a call to tesla service is required? Anything else I/my wife can try?

Adm · May 27, 2014

I always wonder why people don't call Tesla Service first. They can probably tell from California what's wrong with your car without having to speculate about the cause of this malfuction.

mnx · May 27, 2014

Sorry to hear about your troubles! Your wife could obviously try replacing the battery in her FOB...

Saghost · May 27, 2014

mibaro2 said:
I drove to work today, and then my wife took the car and continued driving to her work (so when we started the car, both keyfobs were in the car. I grabbed mine when I was dropped off).

Now, my wife can't get into the car using the keyfob. She was able to get in using the tesla app, but could not start the car. The keyfob did not open the trunk or frunk either. That keyfob was last used on Saturday. The car is only 6 weeks old.
Could the fob battery be dead already? Any other way to start the car if the fob is not recognized?

If the fob is dead (and I don't know what else would cause these problems), I guess a call to tesla service is required? Anything else I/my wife can try?

Where is the car while she's trying to use the fob? I've read a number of cases here where the car doesn't see the fob when right by power lines or otherwise in a high EM environment.

There's a spot on the windshield where you're supposed to be able to put a dead fob and have the car see it anyway - and I think there's something similar on the inside.
Walter

Kalud · May 27, 2014

If the battery in the key fob is dead you can start the car by placing the keyfob in the cup holder, there is a RFID inside that doesn't need battery power to work but it has a very limited range. See you manual for more info.

mibaro2 · May 27, 2014

@Adm : Normally I find that people here have solutions to any wierd behaviour. (ie rebooting the console for a non-working internet explorer).

cgiGuy · May 27, 2014

Are you leaving your fob in the car at night? If so, doing this will drain the fob battery quickly, as the car continues to "interrogate" the fob throughout the night. This, according to the delivery specialist.

mknox · May 27, 2014

Adm said:
I always wonder why people don't call Tesla Service first. They can probably tell from California what's wrong with your car without having to speculate about the cause of this malfuction.

I couldn't get my charge cable to work (port was eventually replaced) and was surprised to find that Tesla could not only see the trouble on their end, but knew exactly how many times I plugged and unplugged the UMC into the car trying to get it to work. People are not used to this kind of connectivity and diagnostic capability, so natually wouldn't think of calling Tesla first for problems like this... but you're right... they should.

mibaro2 · May 27, 2014

Thanks for the advice.
Was able to get in the car by putting the fob on the back windshield. Then put it in the cup holder, and the car started.
Strange thing is that when it was parked a few minutes later in the same spot, the fob worked flawlessly when it was tried a few hours later. Not sure why.
I'll probably pick up a battery for it just in case, and check with Tesla to see what they see in the logs.

@cgiguy: The fob is not left in the car overnight.

Chipper · May 28, 2014

Please let us know the outcome.

Rockster · May 28, 2014

My car often fails to recognize the fob if I have the fob in the same pocket as my cell phone.

zwede · May 28, 2014

I had a week long period where my fob often wouldn't be recognized. I had to double click the fob to get the door handles to come out. Sometimes the car started and then during the trip I got the message that there's no key in the car. I had to pull the fob from my pocket and wave it around in the car and it would finally accept it.

Oddly enough the problem disappeared after a week and since then it has worked fine. Some fob, same battery, same locations, etc. I have no explanation. Suddenly it just started working again.

mibaro2 · May 28, 2014

zwede said:
I had a week long period where my fob often wouldn't be recognized. I had to double click the fob to get the door handles to come out. Sometimes the car started and then during the trip I got the message that there's no key in the car. I had to pull the fob from my pocket and wave it around in the car and it would finally accept it.

Oddly enough the problem disappeared after a week and since then it has worked fine. Some fob, same battery, same locations, etc. I have no explanation. Suddenly it just started working again.

Good to know I wasn't the only one with this wierd issue.

LMB · May 28, 2014

If you replace the fob battery, try to find someone to measure the voltage on the old one. If it's good, the problem is more likely external electro-magnetic interference (EMI) or a flaky connection inside the fob. If marginal or bad, then probably a battery issue.

mknox · May 28, 2014

zwede said:
Oddly enough the problem disappeared after a week and since then it has worked fine. Some fob, same battery, same locations, etc. I have no explanation. Suddenly it just started working again.

Since installing our AMI (smart meter) network at the electric utility I work for, we have seen all kinds of weird RF interference. We use a licensed frequency and so can chase infringers off, but we've had baby monitors, web cams, gasoline station pumps (who knew they used RF to communicate!) as well as wireless ISPs all create temporary RF interference.

mibaro2 · May 30, 2014

LMB said:
If you replace the fob battery, try to find someone to measure the voltage on the old one. If it's good, the problem is more likely external electro-magnetic interference (EMI) or a flaky connection inside the fob. If marginal or bad, then probably a battery issue.

When I went by the SC, they didn't see anything strange in the car logs. They also said that they have had problems in that parking lot with other cars. (they brought a loaner down to someone in that parking lot, and the loaner started having the same problem!) . Since the parking lot is right by the CBC, it makes sense that it was caused by interference.
The SC gave me a new battery anyway. I appreciated the gesture.

Gastogne · Jun 2, 2014

Have you tried to push the Start-button?

mknox · Jun 2, 2014

mibaro2 said:
Since the parking lot is right by the CBC, it makes sense that it was caused by interference.

The CBC is not far from Toronto Hydro's Windsor sub-station. I used to park there sometimes years ago when I worked for Toronto Hydro and found my old car's remote key fob would not unlock the car unless I had it pressed right up against the car's window. Sometimes I had to use the metal key to unlock the doors. I assumed it was RF interference from the high voltage equipment.

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