How do I leave the AC running upon exiting the car?

If you leave the key with the passenger, he can turn the AC back on by touching the main screen.

RobinF said:

I live in Houston Texas. Summers are hot, humid, and long. When running errands I will often need to leave the car for just a few minutes. If I have a passenger in the right seat that means they have to endure a rapid heat build up when the AC turns off once I exit. Is there any way to tell Model S to leave the AC on if there's a passenger detected?
I suppose it's new feature request time.

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Put the car in N, then set the Emergency Brake. That will leave the A/C, Radio etc. active. Only issue is that the car will be unlocked, but if someone is in it, no problemo.:smile:

Or, simply turn the AC on with the remote app.

Use your smartphone app after exiting and lock the car to start the climate control

Exit the car as normal, the AC will run for a couple minutes anyway; if it stops before you return to the car the passenger can just tap the center screen and the AC (and radio) will resume. We do this often, it's hot and humid here also.

Oh and no need to leave the key in the car; just make sure your passenger remembers that the doors may lock and exiting then can set off the alarm. (We've discovered that by experience)

This topic has been rehashed many times.

How to keep car on
Passenger comfort

Search is definitely your friend on this issue.

The passenger can also open the door slightly, and the car should remain on along with the AC.

The tapping of the screen upon timeout seems to be the best with a passenger in the car. The neutral + E-brake setup is good if no one is in the car.

RobinF said:

I've tried the remote app but it takes so long to connect, it's not worth it.

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If you have an iPhone then you should get the Remote S app.

RobinF said:

Thanks muchly! I will let them know they can touch the screen for relief.
I've tried the remote app but it takes so long to connect, it's not worth it.

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Note: the touch the screen method times out after a bit. So, they'll have to touch it very shortly after the screen times out or goes off otherwise it wont have any effect. (I think it's like 30 seconds).

Also note that if you use the "neutral-touchscreen/ebrake" method at night and manually turn the lights off so as to not sit in the parking lot with the lights on, the lights will not automatically turn-on again like they usually do when you put in drive.

When I'm leaving a passenger in back(and they can't tap the touch screen) I just leave the driver's door open a click. Just close it until you hear one click. The door will look pretty much closed but the car stays on for about 1/2 hour.

For either app, Remote S or Tesla's own, be sure to choose the "Always Connected" option in the energy savings / sleep settings in the car. That'll ensure faster connectivity from your smartphone.

Just don't close the door all the way when you get out. Just close to the first click rather than all the way shut.

question---if im by myself, and want to leave the car for 5 minutes, ive been told i can put car in neutral, turn on emergency brake and leave. IF i take the FOB with me, AC will stay on and will car be locked? or unlocked?

jlucero said:

question---if im by myself, and want to leave the car for 5 minutes, ive been told i can put car in neutral, turn on emergency brake and leave. IF i take the FOB with me, AC will stay on and will car be locked? or unlocked?

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Humm, if you do this it leaves it "on" as in it's drivable(same way with not closing the door all the way). I'm not sure if it locks right away either. If there is no one in the car the safe thing to do would be use the app.

jlucero said:

question---if im by myself, and want to leave the car for 5 minutes, ive been told i can put car in neutral, turn on emergency brake and leave. IF i take the FOB with me, AC will stay on and will car be locked? or unlocked?

Click to expand...

Either way, you can just (un)lock it from the touchscreen as always.